the iMac Pro has been one of the most rumored products in recent times. Its version with Intel processors was discontinued in March of last year, since the beginning of this 2022 rumors and theories began to arrive that pointed to the rebirth of the whole in a more powerful one from the Apple catalog, this time with integrated from the house. The possibility was even raised that it was the first desktop Pro to make that leap, as the Mac Pro with Apple Silicon looks like it will be a while yet.
Many signs pointed to the presentation in early March as the moment of the return of the iMac Pro, but finally its place was taken by the compact Mac Studio, a system that could also have been called Mac Mini Pro, and the Studio Display screen that, with its 27 inches, represents the closest proposal to the now defunct iMac and iMac Pro large format. The question was, at that time, if the project would continue.
Some rumors mentioned it again in the face of the last WWDC 2022, but with much less force than earlier this year. And although the introduction of the second generation of Apple Silicon would have been a great moment for the debut of a new desktop Pro, finally there was no iMac Pro, only new MacBook Air and Pro.
At this point, of course, is when questions began to arise about Apple’s desktop Pro options, will we actually see a new M2-based iMac Pro? And answer could depend, very directly, on the life cycle planned by Cupertino for this generation. Two years, like in the jump between M1 and M2, or one year, like other manufacturers, and also Apple itself so far with its Apple A Bionic.
Thus, the last thing we can read about in Wccftech is that Apple is indeed working on a 24-inch iMac Pro, as well as a larger modelbut that would also skip this generation, debuting directly with an Apple M3 chipa prediction that would be signed by Marc Gurman, who states the following:
“I also think Apple is working on a larger-screen iMac aimed at the professional market. I imagine it will use a variation of the M3 chip, probably an M3 Pro and M3 Max. That would match the chips in the MacBook Pro. I don’t think combining a Mac Studio or Mac mini with an Apple Studio display will be enough for many professional users who want more screen real estate.”
Of course, Gurman’s approach points to 2023 at the earliest, although when talking about the M3 Pro and M3 Max, he points to the change he mentioned earlier in terms of the life cycle of the M2 and, potentially, of its successors. Only in that case, if the Pro, Max and Ultra versions of the M2 see the light between the end of this year and the beginning of 2023, it makes sense to wait for the arrival of an M3 in the middle of next year, and its Pro, Max and Ultra also at that time. On the contrary, and if Gurman succeeds in the plans of the iMac Pro, it seems more likely that we will have to wait until at least 2024which seems to me a somewhat excessive period.
