Apple’s iMac Pro has been shrouded in mystery ever since it was discontinued in 2021. Over the past year, it has swung back into the news as numerous leakers and analysts have claimed a new one is coming soon. But when exactly? That’s far from certain.
Now, though, we might have moved a little closer toward knowing, and it’s not great news if you’ve been hoping for an imminent update. That’s because reporter Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter has outlined Apple’s plans for 2024 — and the iMac Pro is conspicuous by its absence.
In the report, Gurman sets out his expectations for the next year in Apple products. We can expect major changes to the AirPods and Apple Watch lineups, and for the Vision Pro to also set to hit store shelves. There will be the iPhone 16, of course, while on the Mac front, we can expect “big upgrades” for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
That’s where it ends. We wouldn’t expect changes to the 24-inch iMac, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro, since they were all updated earlier in 2023. That just leaves the iMac Pro on the list of rumored Apple products — and Gurman makes no mention of it at all.
Still on the road map
This doesn’t mean that Gurman has abandoned the idea that an iMac Pro is coming at all. But it seems to indicate that, at the very least, it’s not imminent. Indeed, it might suggest that the device will not even launch next year.
Gurman has previously discussed the iMac Pro. In October 2023, in fact, he noted that Apple was still working on the device and that it would probably arrive in “either late 2024 or 2025.” That lines up with a report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who previously stated that the iMac Pro would launch in 2024.
According to Gurman, Apple “tabled” plans for an iMac Pro due to its cost. Yet, the project was never canceled entirely, and the company is still working on it, Gurman believes.
That means if you’re looking forward to a larger iMac, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not coming. We’re just going to have to be patient.
Expect a high price
While we don’t know what the holdup is with the iMac Pro, we can hazard a guess at its features based on what Gurman said in the latest Power On newsletter, as well as what has been revealed in past leaks.
Given that it’ll be a pro-level device, the iMac Pro will likely be outfitted with an M3 Pro chip at the least, and we can probably expect an M3 Max option as well. Unlike in the M2 generation — where pro devices faced lengthy delays as Apple purportedly worked to get their chips ready — the M3 Pro and M3 Max launched alongside the entry-level M3. That gives me hope that the delay to the iMac Pro won’t go on for too much longer, since the chips are ready to go.
But there are other issues to contend with. The iMac Pro will come with a 32-inch screen bearing mini-LED technology, which would make it the largest iMac ever released. Given the current $4,599 starting price of the Pro Display XDR — which is also 32 inches across and features mini-LED tech — that alone could cause the price to balloon out of control, even before we get to the powerful chip inside the machine.
That all means there are a lot of hurdles for the iMac Pro to overcome. It does seem to be on the way, despite its absence from Gurman’s report. But when it arrives — and how much it costs — is up for debate. Just don’t be surprised if it’s eye-wateringly expensive.
