Apple’s eagerly anticipated iMac Pro finally has a release date — and it’s this week.
Landing this Thursday, the new all-in-one desktop Mac will come in 8-, 10- and 18-core variants. It’s by far the most powerful Macintosh ever sold by Apple.
iMac Pro: It’s finally (well, nearly) here!
Apple first showed off the iMac Pro at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, although the company did not reveal much beyond its starting price: a rather hefty $5,000 for the baseline model. As we noted at time, however, that’s actually not too expensive, even by PC standards. According to rough calculations, a comparable PC would cost around $4,686.71.
In a press release, Apple says:
“Pros love iMac. So when they asked us to build them a killer iMac, we went all in. And then we went way, way beyond, creating an iMac packed with the most staggeringly powerful collection of workstation-class graphics, processors, storage, memory, and I/O of any Mac ever. And we did it without adding a millimeter to its iconic all-in-one design. So everyone from video editors to 3D animators to musicians to software developers to scientists can do what they do like they’ve never done before. Introducing iMac Pro. A lean, mean dream machine.”
In terms of spec, the new iMac Pro offers 32GB of 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory, which you can upgrade to either 64GB or 128GB of storage. On top of that, there’s 1 terabyte of solid state storage, a Radeon Vega Pro graphics chipset with 8GB of RAM, a gorgeous 27-inch Retina 5K display, and all the usual things you’d expect from a top-of-the-line Mac.
The actual machine looks a whole lot like a regular iMac, but comes in space gray instead of silver (including both the keyboard and trackpad). Plus, it packs a snazzy black Lightning cable that’s not available to buy separately.
Oh, and you get four Thunderbolt 3 ports for powering two 5K displays or four 4K displays at once, a 10-gigabit Ethernet port, four USB-A 3.0 ports, an SD card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. That makes it Apple’s most port-friendly Mac in years.
A new thermal design means the iMac Pro runs 80 percent cooler than a regular Mac. And a special T2 chip, which stores encrypted passwords and acts as a hardware encryption engine, brings a welcome security boost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38_qR-S8Yo
iMac Pro: YouTubers’ previews
In keeping with its unorthodox approach to marketing the iPhone X, Apple again courted high-profile YouTubers to hype the iMac Pro.
Cupertino gave several YouTubers early access to the powerful computer and apparently authorized them to reveal their thoughts on the machine. Their first impressions? The iMac Pro looks gorgeous and runs insanely fast.
Check out popular tech vlogger Marques Brownlee’s initial impressions below. The TL;DR version? The iMac Pro is an impressive machine — although it is impossible to upgrade, which is less than ideal for a pro computer.
Are you excited about the iMac Pro? Has Apple made a mistake by not allowing users to upgrade a $5,000-plus machine? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated to add more details on iMac Pro specs. In addition, it looks like only the 8- and 10-core models will be available Thursday. If you want an 18-core model (or a rumored 14-core version supposedly in the works), you’ll be waiting until 2018 to get your hands on it.
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
9 responses to “Apple’s ridiculously powerful iMac Pro is coming this week”
Not upgradable how? I have to assume (hope?) that the memory is at least upgradable, and from the photos I’ve seen on Apple’s own site, it looks like they’re traditional DIMMs so they should be. Beyond that, it’s not unlike a regular iMac.
Me, I want the 8-core version… and then a couple of those LG 5k displays to put on either side of it, since Apple won’t make us their own 5k display (grrr).
Nope. Not even a RAM door like the old iMac.
Since its using ECC DDR4 RAM this isn’t standard SODIMMs like the regular 27″ iMac uses. The RAM is not placed in the same place as the regular 27″ iMac because the thermal core of the iMac Pro runs down the center of the iMac. So, you will not be able to upgrade the RAM. What you buy is what you get. There is no place for the RAM door to be and it would have to be a huge door to make the RAM accessible.
For the market this is aimed at, I don’t see this is a huge issue. Most places never open their computers anyways. There’s just this small crowd of tinkerers who want to be able to open the computer up whenever they feel like it.
Apple is working on their own displays. They even said they were when they announced they were redesigning the Mac Pro. When those would be available though…who knows! Just like the Mac Pro. There’s no guarantee it will be released this year.
What kind of pros do you know? Obviously not many. Upgrading is key to cutting costs and customizing for your needs. We upgraded our production line machines rather then buy new. It’s easier to replace a processor and get a couple more years out of the hardware.
Apple sure rushed this out the door after years of neglecting the mac. A “pro” machine and you can’t upgrade it. Who screwed the pooch at Apple? Are they really that deaf to the consumer?
32 GB of ram standard is more than enough for anything you throw at it. If you think you will need more Ram while the CPU and GPU will still be relevant in years to come you can get a little bit more out of the pocket to get more ram beferehand, especially if you can afford that 5k+ price tag. I don’t defend Apple, but nowadays seems like everybody is a crybaby over everything someone does. If you think you can do better don’t expect to buy it from Apple and do it yourself you crybaby.
It’s idiots like you that Apple counts on. Give me an Apple OS that I can put on computer hardware of my choice and I would not be buying machines that are locked down like fort knox from Apple. Go ahead and factor in Just the cost of replacing hard drives in a few of these WHEN the hard drives die along with down time, because they all do. Especially when you push them as hard as Pro’s do. Clearly you’re not a PRO and have no concern with bottom lines. Pro’s factor in initial cost (with added apple astronomical prices for upgrades a $5k machine quickly becomes a $6k or $7k machine), repair costs and maintenance. Since, many of us have locked ourselves into an Apple infrastructure, changing becomes even more expensive. But, NO 32GB is not enough for “everything” we’d throw at it. That’s why Apple left room to add memory. But, memory costs 3 or 4 times then normal from Apple. So go back to playing video games in your mom’s basement with your 32 gigs of ram in your sealed up machine. This is just bandaid to appease some pro’s until the modular Mac comes out later in 2018 with an even higher price tag.
No, its idiots like you, because you wanna buy it, I don’t need such a thing. I just pointed out some aspects regarding it. If you can afford it and you should if you really are a PRO (making money from using it) then you can make a top config to serve you well and allow you to make money with it. I don’t think maintenance is that costly, this isn’t a car after all. Besides if you are so disappointed in it consider it never exists in first place and choose a better, suitable alternative and stop the fricking whine. I don’t know whats wrong with people that have to whine on every little “sheet” that happens.
You really are stupid aren’t you. No I don’t “wanna” buy it. I’d rather Apple give me and upgradable, modular computer I can set up the way that works for me, upgrade to get a better return on my dollar and not be stuck with what apple thinks Pro’s want and force an upgrade in a few years. Clearly you’re dumb as dirt, because you just don’t know how the cost of equipment affects the bottom line, especially WHEN you can’t upgrade it in the future. You’re too dumb to discuss the problem apples invents to hurt pros.