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iMac Pro's RAM Can Only Be Upgraded by Apple or Authorized Service Provider
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Have they actually said/promised 2018? I don't think I've seen that in writing anywhere...
Yeah, they didn't exactly say 2018. That's pure supposition by me. Would be pretty janky to announce a product more than a year out. That's some Kickstarter type of stuff. Not really Apple-like.
How do you know it’s not SO-DIMM? I thought I remember seeing that in iMac 5K tear downs. Is the Pro different?
It's SODIMM in the regular iMacs, has been since the first Intel iMac. But this thing may be different.
I just checked, the service guide isn't up yet, and I haven't found a teardown at the usual locations either, so I don't know what's going to be in it. There haven't historically been ECC SODIMMs, so it's possible that it's full size DIMMs.
I can say that I strongly suspect it's going to be kind of a pain to do, much like the 21.5" iMac RAM upgrades have been. If you're not familiar with that procedure, on the ones with no external memory slot that don't have soldered RAM, upgrading requires removing the logic board, the RAM is on the back side. To remove the logic board, you have to cut off the screen (yes, cut - and clean off the old adhesive, and put new adhesive strips on to put it back together) and remove the power supply and hard drive.
It’s ECC too. I don’t think we know if it’s RDIMM or LRDIMM yet, but Crucial’s prices are about $1,650 or $1,950 respectively for 4 x32GB kits, if you want to do the upgrade yourself. It’s probably RDIMM, so you could potentially save something like $600-700 if you had a shop do the upgrade.
Most companies of any size would likely just order from Apple though. They want a single point of contact/responsibility. At $169 for 3 years AppleCare is a no-brainer. Apple may refuse to work on your machine if you’ve got third party RAM installed. It doesn’t void the warranty, but you might have to put the original RAM back in before they’ll work on it.
It likely won't fail... They've already started the catering to influencers game. People with way too much spare money to care will get it because it looks nice and is beefy and "the latest".
Even if they missed sales to the pro crowd they'd still be able to report good sales.
That's the sad part of a company becoming iconic and being fullyaware and extorting of that fact: they get away with murder and laziness.
Glassed Silver:ios
I agree with that not all "pros" are not techies that open up their machines. But now the "pros" that are techies can't upgrade they ram. Is that like big middle finger to all techie "pros" ?
Apple's "artist's conception" showed four long and skinny memory modules, i.e. regular DIMMs.
Not really to me. Reason being is because the regular 27" iMac is used by many pros. And you can add RAM to that. iMac Pro is a step above that and a step below the new Mac Pro. It's not like we've had iMac Pro all this time and Apple changed the expansion options. So if the regular iMac has been meeting your workflow, you still have that. And if you need more power and more expandability, then the new Mac Pro will be that, I assume. iMac Pro sits between. To me, it's the MacBook Pro of the desktop lineup. And I know plenty of pros that use them as their only computer.
"modular" means sell your kidneys for a overpriced base machine to which you can add more stuff later.
Mac OS and iOS are very expensive (but Windows is a nightmare...)
Expect anything... Apple can do whatever they like to make it "non-standard"
Gives more of that "Well, now you really must come back in the store" attitude..
My guess, if Apple does start doing that, even iFixit will have a job pulling things apart
Glad they're working on an update to the now several-years-out-of-date Mac Mini that they claim is an important part of their strategy, and which they're going to quietly discontinue then immediately declare obsolete, if they haven't already done so, and not trivial, frivolous things like headphones and 'smart' speakers... Oh, wait, no. This story has nothing to do with the Mac Mini.![]()
Standard 27-inch iMacs have a small hatch in the back that allows the RAM in the machine to be upgraded after purchase, but the iMac Pro does not have that feature.
There is no rear hatch because the RAM in the iMac Pro is not user upgradeable following purchase, but there's good news -- an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider is able to open up the iMac Pro and swap out the RAM.
![imacproram-800x259.jpg]()
iMore's Rene Ritchie spoke to Apple and learned that any service center is able to upgrade the RAM on an iMac Pro following purchase.
At Apple Stores, iMac Pro users will likely only be able to upgrade to Apple-provided RAM, but third-party service providers will be able to offer non-Apple RAM and might even allow users to bring in their own RAM. Policy will undoubtedly vary by location, however.
The entry-level $4,999 iMac Pro ships with 32GB of 2666MHz ECC RAM, but up to 128GB RAM is supported. Apple charges $800 to upgrade to 64GB RAM and $2,400 to upgrade to 128GB RAM. Upgrading RAM after purchase in eligible machines is often more affordable than purchasing Apple's RAM upgrades at checkout.
There are no post-purchase options for upgrading the SSD, processor, or graphics card in the iMac Pro.
Apple began allowing customers to purchase the iMac Pro this morning. 8 and 10-core machines will begin shipping out this week, while 14 and 18-core options won't be available to ship out for 6 to 8 weeks. While the entry-level iMac Pro is priced at $4,999, there are a number of upgrades available. A maxed out 18-core machine with 4TB of storage and a Radeon Pro Vega 64 is priced at $13,199.
Article Link: iMac Pro's RAM Can Only Be Upgraded by Apple or Authorized Service Provider
But then again, neither does Apple, anymore.
One of these days, they're going to announce the next iMac will have a touch-screen interface, and cost $10,000 for a base-model, and the first reviewers will notice with chagrin that it's just a 27" iPad bolted to a "chin" stand, and no home button, running iOS 12, or perhaps 13, and that it won't allow loading of apps from anywhere but the Beats StŌr, (which is what they'll rename the App Store by then,) but it will have always-on (even if you try to turn it off) Siri, which will sound EXACTLY like a human being but be unable to understand a thing you say, and facial recognition unlock that Apple will insist is the most secure thing EVER, but which people will discover can be unlocked easily by anyone, by speaking the magic words "root, no password".
People will slavishly line-up around the block to buy them, and then just stare blankly at them without turning them on, which they won't be able to, because they don't come with the new iThunder power adapter, which is due out a few weeks later. Then you'll see stories about how they're backordered past next Christmas. Then iFixIt will post a tear-down revealing that there's actually nothing inside, Apple's just been selling mock-ups, and people will still buy them, because Apple.
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You seem to be assuming Apple gives a rats ass about anything but maximizing profits. LOL
as of today, Apple's policy is to only replace parts with like parts if they're broken. this has historically even been true for ram. while an aasp could certainly upgrade the ram, i doubt ram will be upgradable by Apple.
for it to be upgradable all the geniuses would be notified via internal means that it's possible (we haven't yet). additionally, there would have to be a systematic change in how "repairs" are checked in because right now there's not even a way to check in a ram upgrade (outside of when the machine is first purchased at the store).
for it to be upgradable all the geniuses would be notified via internal means that it's possible (we haven't yet). additionally, there would have to be a systematic change in how "repairs" are checked in because right now there's not even a way to check in a ram upgrade (outside of when the machine is first purchased at the store).
Not scientific by any means but the top threads on this story are all people expressing that they don't like this change and yours has about 2 other people who seem to think everything is just fine as you do. Oh, on a Mac enthusiast site. Just saying.
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Of course a thread designed to complain about it will attract complainers. My point is that Mac users aren't PC users in general. Customization and modding your own gear is left to the PC guys in general.
Adding more resources is far from "customization" or "modding".
Do you know the easiest way to domesticate a group of wild animals? You don't just run up and try to take them all; You just start slowly building a fence bit by bit a good distance from them while appearing to have no interest. Then over time you divide the fence around them into smaller and smaller areas. Then by the time they are fenced into a tightly cordoned area they are so used to being there that they don't even take it as out of the ordinary.
But then again I am sure having products with fewer options and higher price tags are obviously more desirable. What do I know?