iMac Pro
DeveloperApple Inc.
Product familyiMac
Macintosh
TypeAll-in-one
Workstation
Release dateDecember 14, 2017
DiscontinuedMarch 5, 2021
Operating systemmacOS
CPUIntel Xeon W
SuccessorMac Studio[1]

The iMac Pro is an all-in-one personal computer and workstation made by Apple Inc. from 2017 to 2021. While it was sold, it was one of four desktop computers in the Macintosh lineup, sitting above the consumer range Mac Mini and iMac, and serving as an all-in-one alternative to the Mac Pro.[2][3]

Background

In 2013, Apple replaced its tower Mac Pro workstation with a radically-redesigned cylindrical model. The 2013 Mac Pro languished for years without any updates, and Apple later said that its small design and focus on dual graphics-processing unit had been a mistake. In April 2017, Apple convened a roundtable of journalists and executives to restate their commitment to professional Macs. As part of the announcement, Apple said a new monitor and Mac Pro were being developed but would not arrive that year. In June, Apple announced the iMac Pro to fill the gap.[4][5][6]

Design

The iMac Pro uses the same chassis as the 27-inch iMac it was sold alongside, but comes in a darker "space gray" finish, with a color-matched Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad.[7] The iMac Pro also has more connectivity options than the iMac, with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, four USB-A ports, a headphone jack, Ethernet port, and SDXC card slot. The iMac Pro uses Xeon-W processors and includes a larger cooling system.[8] The iMac Pro was the first Mac equipped with Apple's T2 chip, a custom Apple co-processor. The T2 handles security, encryption and some video encoding and decoding.[9][10][11]

The processor, memory, and storage are not soldered and can be removed.[12] Unlike the 27-inch iMac, the iMac Pro does not have a memory access hatch; memory upgrades require disassembling the display.[13][14] The solid state drive is user-replaceable, but requires disassembly of the iMac Pro and an Apple Configurator restore after the new storage modules are installed.[15] The iMac Pro's stand is user-replaceable with a licensed OEM VESA mount kit sold by Apple. The mount uses zinc screws that may be prone to breaking.[16]

Release

The iMac Pro was announced at WWDC on June 5, 2017, and was released in December 2017. Apple billed it as "the most powerful Mac ever made".[17][18] The configurations included an 8-, 10-, 14-, or 18-core Intel Xeon processor, 5K display, AMD Vega graphics, ECC memory, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

The iMac Pro received minor updates after release. Configuration options for 256 GB of memory and a Vega 64X GPU were added on March 19, 2019. Apple discontinued the 8-core model on August 4, 2020, making the 10-core model the base model.[19] The iMac Pro was discontinued on March 5, 2021; Apple continued to sell the computer while supplies lasted.[20][21] It was delisted from Apple's website and online store on March 19, 2021.[22] An indirect successor, the Mac Studio, was released on March 18, 2022, alongside the Apple Studio Display.[1][23]

Reception

The iMac Pro was positively received. Jason Snell, writing for Macworld, said that the machine was clearly not for average customers, but filled a niche for users like himself who had drifted from using pro desktops to iMacs, but still wanted more power than Apple's consumer line could offer.[7] Wired considered the iMac Pro a statement from Apple that it was renewing its commitment to pro Macs.[24]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Technical specifications

Model iMac Pro[25]
Released December 14, 2017
Discontinued August 4, 2020 March 19, 2021
Model iMacPro1,1
Model ID A1862 (EMC 3144)
Order number MQ2Y2LL MHLV3LL
Display 27″, 5120 × 2880, 60 Hertz refresh rate
Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology with P3 color gamut
500 nits brightness
1.07 billion colors
Processor 8-core 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon W (2140B) processor up to 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost[26] on the LGA2066 socket
Configurable to 14-core 2.5 GHz Intel Xeon W (2170B) processor up to 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost[26] 		10-core 3.0 GHz Intel Xeon W (2150B) processor up to 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost[26] on the LGA2066 socket
Configurable to 18-core 2.3 GHz Intel Xeon W (2191B) processor up to 4.3 GHz Turbo Boost[26]
Security chip Apple T2
Memory 32 GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC SDRAM
Formally configurable to 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB
Expandable to 512 GB with third party modules.
Graphics AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8 GB HBM2 video memory
Configurable to: Vega 64 or 64X and 16 GB memory
Storage 1 TB SSD
Configurable to 2 TB or 4 TB
Camera FaceTime HD camera (1080p, 2 MP)
Networking Internal Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac)
10 Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 5.0
Peripherals 4× USB-A 3.0
4× Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C 3.1 gen 2)
Supports two 5120 × 2880 or four 4096 × 2304 displays
SDXC Card slot with support for UHS-II
Audio Headphone/digital audio output
Built-in stereo speakers
Weight 21.5 lb (9.75 kg)
Original OS macOS High Sierra 10.13.2
Latest OS macOS Sonoma 14.2.1

References

  1. ^ a b "Apple's Mac Studio Is the iMac Pro Reboot You've Been Waiting For". PCMAG. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Vincent, Brittany. "Apple Officially Discontinues the iMac Pro". PC Mag. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Moyer, Edward. "Apple's iMac Pro to be discontinued". CNET. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "Apple admits the Mac Pro was a mess". April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  5. ^ "The good news and bad news of Apple's Mac Pro announcement". Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "Apple Introducing New Mac Pro, Pro iMacs and External Display over Coming Years". April 4, 2017. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Snell, Jason (January 18, 2018). "iMac Pro review: Mac Pro power in the shape of an iMac". Macworld. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "iMac Pro Teardown". iFixit. January 2, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "iMac Pro packs new T2 chip for extra security | Cult of Mac". Cult of Mac. December 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 18, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  10. ^ "iMac Pro debuts custom Apple T2 chip to handle secure boot, password encryption, more". appleinsider.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  11. ^ "Apple details iMac Pro's T2 chip, which handles secure boot, system management, ISP, more". AppleInsider. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  12. ^ Cranz, Alex (January 3, 2018). "Wait, The iMac Pro Might Actually Be User-Upgradeable". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  13. ^ "iMac Pro Teardown". iFixIt. January 2, 2018. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Rossignol, Joe (January 3, 2018). "Apple Authorized Service Providers Can Upgrade an iMac Pro's RAM Starting Later This Month". MacRumors. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  15. ^ "Mac Pro 2019: Interchangeable Parts, T2 Security & Custom Configuration". MacFinder. December 20, 2019. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  16. ^ Wuerthele, Mike (May 30, 2018). "Flaws in Apple's iMac Pro VESA mount fueling new episode of repair anxiety [u]". AppleInsider. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  17. ^ Haselton, Todd (June 5, 2017). "Apple unveils 'the most powerful Mac we have ever made'". CNBC. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  18. ^ "iMac Pro Available to Order December 14, Starting at $4,999". Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  19. ^ "Apple Bumps iMac Pro to 10-Core Processor on Base Configuration". MacRumors. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  20. ^ Mayo, Benjamin (March 6, 2021). "Apple discontinues iMac Pro, Apple Store says buy 'while supplies last'". 9to5Mac. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  21. ^ Slivka, Eric (March 5, 2021). "iMac Pro No Longer Custom Configurable, Available 'While Supplies Last'". MacRumors. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  22. ^ Clover, Juli. "iMac Pro Officially Discontinued, Removed From Apple's Site and No Longer Available for Purchase". MacRumors. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  23. ^ Chant, Tim De (March 18, 2022). "Mac Studio is far better for the climate than the iMac Pro—even with the display". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  24. ^ Pierce, David. "The New iMac Pro is Apple's Most Bonkers Supercomputer Ever". Wired.
  25. ^ "iMac Pro—Technical Specifications". Apple Support. Apple Inc. December 9, 2020. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  26. ^ a b c d Shilov, Anton (December 13, 2017). "Apple Starts iMac Pro Sales Dec. 14". Anandtech. Archived from the original on December 14, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.

Timeline of iMac models

Timeline of iMac and eMac models (sorted by screen sizes)
Mac StudioApple WatchiPadiPhoneMacBookMac MiniPower Mac G5iPodPower Mac G4 CubeiBookPower Macintosh G3iMac (Apple silicon)iMac (Apple silicon)iMac ProiMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac (Intel-based)iMac G5iMac G5iMac G4iMac G3#2nd generation: Slot-loadingiMac G4eMaciMac G4iMac G3
See also: List of Mac models

External links

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