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The Future Of The Mac Lineup - Will the new 24" iMac be the only iMac without a "Pro" tag?

W

William Lawes

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
21
19
Hello Apple Friends!

I wonder if you think the same as i do: After Apple Inc. will complete the transition to Apple Silicon in 2022, will there be any none-"Pro" iMac Models aside the 24" model? My read is that Apple will streamline the entire mac lineup and complete the "normal"+"Pro" dichotomy:

Mac mini - Mac Pro
iMac (24") - iMac Pro (30"/32")
Macbook (Air) - Macbook Pro (14"/16")
a (future) Apple Display - Apple Pro Display (XDR)

I know this is obvious to many of you and in a way foreseeable, but do you think the new 24" iMac will be the only iMac without a "Pro"-Tag or do you think Apple will release a 30" iMac without a "Pro"-Tag?​

Free-iMac-2021-Mockup-2.png


Greetings from Berlin, Germany!
 
Since they completely killed off the iMac Pro. I think it'll just be an iMac. Not that it'll matter. As I don't think they'll have two separate lines. Maybe a base model with just the integrated graphics. Then a higher end option with a Discrete Apple Silicon GPU. But all sold as one line.
 
Most likely, yes.

1. They made it bigger, creating a smaller gap than previously existed between small and large models, significantly reducing the need for "consumer" small and large models.
2. The M1 is more than fast enough for any consumer need, so the idea of needing a "bigger" one just to get a "faster" one is also a non issue for the consumer.

Safe to say the hypothetical 32" iMac with M1X processor (the same that will soon be in the MacBooks Pro) would be labeled iMac Pro, and probably come in fewer colors, including darker.
 
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Lemon Olive said:
....
Safe to say the hypothetical 32" iMac with M1X processor (the same that will soon be in the MacBooks Pro) would be labeled iMac Pro, and probably come in fewer colors, including darker.
Click to expand...
That would be so good as that would quiet down all the naysayers about the current "consumer" M1 iMac colors.

And since the "Pro" models will be so much more expensive with more unified memory and darker colors - they can pay a lot more than my $1249 "consumer" iMac that will run circles around my 2019 iMac which is achingly slow....

Can't wait to see how my blue iMac will look - just ordered it this morning...
 
velocityg4 said:
Since they completely killed off the iMac Pro. I think it'll just be an iMac. Not that it'll matter. As I don't think they'll have two separate lines. Maybe a base model with just the integrated graphics. Then a higher end option with a Discrete Apple Silicon GPU. But all sold as one line.
Click to expand...
mapleleafer said:
Apple has said that the iMac Pro has been discontinued, so the new larger iMac is very unlikely to be called an iMac Pro. The MacBook Pro and Mac Pro were never discontinued before they were upgraded.
Click to expand...

It’s likely they discontinued the iMac Pro because they were using custom Intel Xeon processors from 2017 that Intel probably didn’t want to manufacture anymore, and they were getting outperformed by the current 27” iMac. They certainly could bring it back if they wanted to.

It would make sense from a marketing standpoint to label the larger iMac the iMac Pro if it comes with a beefier chip inside. If thr M1X chip goes into the MacBook Pro’s and a iMac Pro, they would easily be able to market it as a “pro” level chip reserved for pro level macs.
 
Last edited:
Apple has said that the iMac Pro has been discontinued, so the new larger iMac is very unlikely to be called an iMac Pro. The MacBook Pro and Mac Pro were never discontinued before they were upgraded.
 
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My guess —

The base line will be available in only the 24” size.

The new iMac Pro will be available in 24” and a larger size.

My thought is this would follow a similar strategy used in iPhones, iPads, MacBooks — though the MacBook Pro released late 2020 doesn’t make sense. They maybe should have gone back to a “MacBook” that is their base line, and a “MacBook Pro” that has the larger screen size options. This won’t be an issue with the iMac though, so I see the Pro coming back before we see a larger screen.
 
zedsdead said:
Macbook. Canceled, brought back as the slim model. Canceled again.
Click to expand...
Ah, yes I remember I actually had all 3 generations of Macbook:

  • 2008 polycarbonate Macbook w/ peeling edges (non unibody) C2D (retired)
  • 2010 polycarbonate Macbook unibody C2D (retired)
  • 2015 Retina MB core 3 512GB SSD (my daily bedtime & travel)
  • 2017 Retina MB core i5 512GB SSD (my wife's travel laptop)
 
Kierkegaarden said:
They maybe should have gone back to a “MacBook” that is their base line, and a “MacBook Pro” that has the larger screen size options.
Click to expand...

I agree that it would make more sense to call the 13” 2 port MBP just “MacBook” - but when the Intel version was launched (or, rather, when the 2 port/4 port and CPU type distinction appeared) Apple were going with the 12” MacBook. (Maybe plan A was for that to drop in price and become entry level, just like the original Air).

The current M1 MB Pro, Air and Mini kept the exact same external design as their predecessors (bar a couple of ports on the Mini) and dropping the “pro” would sound like a downgrade. I suspect any re-naming will happen when if/when they’re replaced with new designs, and/or when the “real pro” laptops get new display technology, M2 processors etc.

I think iMac Pro would be a sensible name for the 5k iMac replacement, especially if it doesn’t have a 5120x2880 screen any more... No worse than re-using the iMac name. Another sensible principle would be to have “Apple Silicon” (M1, for ultraportables and tablets) and ”Apple Silicon Pro” (M2/whatever => M1 Pro for higher end machines) SoCs and base the naming off that... Otherwise, M1 will be an ultraportable chip, M2 will be a pro laptop/desktop chip and M3 will be... er... the new M1... better than the M1 but not as good as the M2...?!

...but, what the heck, it’s all just names to be decided by Apple Marketing at the stroke of a pen... More interesting is how they plan to affordably offer >16G of Unified RAM, if they’ll stick with an integrated GPU and whether it can beat the higher-end dGPU options, and whether they will be able to keep with the current pattern of not jacking up the prices...
 
OK, let me try this again. I'm trying to get to the definition of words (sorry, I'm an editor). Has Apple ever officially discontinued a product line and then brought it back? I'm not talking about any reconfigurations or different sizes or updates. If so, can you provide links -- from Apple (I'm not interested in other people's opinions)?
 
Yes - bigger (unfortunately) is directly correlated with Pro to Apple. Want the biggest screen-size iPhone, iPad or MacBook? You're forced to buy the highest-end, priciest components along with that. My suspicion, and I would put money on this, is that they're going to apply the same philosophy to the iMac.

The 24" will be the consumer iMac, and the larger, more powerful 27-32" iMac will be rebranded as the iMac Pro. It allows them to consolidate the two prior models (27" Intel iMac & iMac Pro) into one device that has a high level of upgradeability from a reasonable baseline - there's really no reason to have two different iMac models with the same screen size.

I have long wanted a 15" MacBook Air, which they could easily provide for ~$1500, but Apple knows that if I want the largest screen I will shell out the $2400 they charge for the 16" MBP. I really don't need all that power, I just want the large screen with consumer-level internals. Oh, well.
 
mapleleafer said:
OK, let me try this again. I'm trying to get to the definition of words (sorry, I'm an editor). Has Apple ever officially discontinued a product line and then brought it back? I'm not talking about any reconfigurations or different sizes or updates. If so, can you provide links -- from Apple (I'm not interested in other people's opinions)?
Click to expand...
The 'MacBook' moniker (no Air or Pro addition) has been discontinued and brought back a few times now, I believe.
 
Again, links please -- from Apple. I'm not interested in opinions, beliefs, or alternative definitions of "discontinued". I'm not saying (i.e. I don't know) that Apple has not previously admitted to discontinuing a product line, thinking it dead, and then later re-introducing it. My only purpose here is to address the OP's title question. My initial response was probably. The only scenario I can see for resurrecting the "iMac Pro" name, without the admission of a cockup, is that Apple and Intel had a legal agreement that iMac Pros could only have Intel processors and if the official discontinuation of the name nullified that agreement.
 
Do you think there will be an M1X version of this 24” iMac with the colours, or will the standard M1 be the only option?
 
That's a very good outlook OP

Tbh I have no clue what Apple plans to do I mean they had the audacity to put a M1 chip in an iPad Pro and they completely surprised us with the design and color of the new iMacs who knows what Apple has up their sleeve.

it could also mean the Mac Pro silicon will be epic if these surprises continue
 
I posted about this in a different thread last week. It's inevitable to see where this is headed – Apple will keep the base model chips for the "consumer" devices and charge through the nose for the newer chips when they come out by labelling them as "Pro".

They already use this tiered approach by keeping around older models of phones, watches and iPads with older silicon. Cook is clearly looking to homogenise the product line in this way for the Mac as well.
 
William Lawes said:
Hello Apple Friends!

I wonder if you think the same as i do: After Apple Inc. will complete the transition to Apple Silicon in 2022, will there be any none-"Pro" iMac Models aside the 24" model? My read is that Apple will streamline the entire mac lineup and complete the "normal"+"Pro" dichotomy:

Mac mini - Mac Pro
iMac (24") - iMac Pro (30"/32")
Macbook (Air) - Macbook Pro (14"/16")
a (future) Apple Display - Apple Pro Display (XDR)

I know this is obvious to many of you and in a way foreseeable, but do you think the new 24" iMac will be the only iMac without a "Pro"-Tag or do you think Apple will release a 30" iMac without a "Pro"-Tag?​

View attachment 1767017

Greetings from Berlin, Germany!
Click to expand...
I think that it's highly possible that the Apple Silicon successor to the 2020 27" Intel iMac could be branded as "iMac Pro". There's natural doubt being cast on this, however, given that Apple did discontinue the 2017 iMac Pro without releasing a successor.

But one thing to factor into this is that the Xeons in the (2017) iMac Pro were due to hit EOL sometime around this year anyway, forcing Apple to discontinue it one way or another. Certainly, their site lists the 24" iMac and the 27" iMac as two distinctly different Macs (just as they do with the 13" MacBook Pro and the 16" MacBook Pro). So, it's highly possible that Apple will just simplify the lineup by making the larger model simply the "iMac Pro".

Then again, they may just not do that at all and keep two sizes of iMac. I don't feel like this is likely given that the 21.5" iMac and the 27" iMac have definitely diverged in terms of use cases and target audiences. It's not like the late PowerPC and early Intel days where you had multiple (but not drastically different) sizes of iMac with mostly the same computer inside.

I'd imagine that, when they do replace the 27" Intel iMac, they'll be factoring in people that use it for high-end workflows and workloads, whether it's "Pro" in name or not.
 
MacStreamer said:
They offered a 21.5" and 27" iMac for years. I don't see that changing because of the M series.
Click to expand...
Agreed - 27" iMac would come out with an Mx silicon as an affordable consumer orientated & priced Mac.

But an "iMac Pro" would be much more expensive - out of the reach of most consumers - making it more elitist and low number of users who would benefit considering how well the M1 is doing..

Sort of like the Mac Pro which was discontinued - a very low volume sales niche Mac....
 
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