Apple today gave a sneak peek of iMac Pro, an entirely new workstation-class product line designed for pro users with the most demanding workflows. The all-new iMac Pro, with its gorgeous 27-inch Retina 5K display, up to 18-core Xeon processors and up to 22 Teraflops of graphics computation, is the most powerful Mac ever made. Featuring a stunning new space gray enclosure, iMac Pro packs incredible performance for advanced graphics editing, virtual reality content creation and real-time 3D rendering. iMac Pro is scheduled to ship in December starting at $4,999.
In addition to the new iMac Pro, Apple is working on a completely redesigned, next-generation Mac Pro architected for pro customers who need the highest-end, high-throughput system in a modular design, as well as a new high-end pro display.
“We’re thrilled to give developers and customers a sneak peek at iMac Pro. This will be our fastest and most powerful Mac ever, which brings workstation-class computing to iMac for the first time,” said John Ternus, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering, in a statement. “We reengineered the whole system and designed an entirely new thermal architecture to pack extraordinary performance into the elegant, quiet iMac enclosure our customers love — iMac Pro is a huge step forward and there’s never been anything like it.”
Workstation-Class Performance in an iMac Design
Featuring next-generation Intel Xeon processors up to 18 cores, iMac Pro is designed to handle the most demanding pro workflows. With an all-flash architecture and all-new thermal design, iMac Pro delivers up to 80 percent more cooling capacity in the same thin and seamless iMac design. And with a new space gray enclosure and gorgeous 27-inch Retina 5K display with support for 1 billion colors, iMac Pro is as stunning as it is powerful.
The Most Advanced Graphics Ever in a Mac
iMac Pro comes with the new Radeon Pro Vega GPU, the most advanced graphics ever in a Mac. Featuring a new, next-generation compute core and up to 16GB of on-package high-bandwidth memory (HBM2), iMac Pro with the Vega GPU delivers up to an amazing 11 Teraflops of single-precision compute power for real-time 3D rendering and immersive, high frame rate VR. And for half-precision computation, ideal for machine learning, iMac Pro delivers up to an incredible 22 Teraflops of performance.
Fast Storage & Advanced I/O
iMac Pro also supports up to 4TB of SSD and up to 128GB of ECC memory, and with four Thunderbolt 3 ports can connect to up to two high-performance RAID arrays and two 5K displays at the same time. For the first time ever on a Mac, iMac Pro features 10Gb Ethernet for up to 10 times faster networking.
Pricing & Availability
iMac Pro is scheduled to ship in December starting at $4,999 (US). More details can be found at apple.com/imac-pro.
Source: Apple Inc.
oh, it’s a long, long time, from June until December…
But the days grow short when you reach November
And the pro users anger burst into flame
And I haven’t got time for the waiting game.
“real artists ship.”
What would you need this much computer for anyway?
Come on, it was a dumb question, Mike. Unless, perhaps you are asking specifically whether botty is a professional or not?
Too bad botty, as usual, went to asinine politics.
I’ve been a professional illustrator/designer for 45+ years, you goddamned punk.
Are you really that ignorant & stupid? Obviously NOT a power user in the entertainment industry.
You and I know this. I was asking what botty would need this much computer for, since all he produces is xenophoic sexist partisan haterade.
Thankfully someone at MDN deleted his usual misanthropic reply.
…”real-time 3D rendering and immersive, high frame rate VR. And for half-precision computation, ideal for machine learning…”
I don’t need that much computer, BUT, I’d get the lowest spec model just to have that iMac color scheme!
You clearly don’t know the history of some of our most pre-eminent ‘real artists’ then. Art History has its uses I guess. It is amusing though that from the critics Apple gets endlessly criticised for not telling us what it has planned (you know they say, like its rivals do, helps planning and all that stuff) and then when it does it gets criticised for not shipping the products immediately. Do make your minds up fellas if you want to be taken seriously. But then that isn’t your priority is it.
Steve Jobs said that, didn’t he? And he was right. We all know Tim Cook is not an artist, and more’s the pity. If only Steve had anointed charismatic engineer extraordinaire Scott Forstall instead of Cook to succeed him as Apple CEO, we could be happily talking today about a competely different set of grievances. For one, Scott would have exiled designer Jony Ive and we’d be bitching about how heavy and clunky our laptops and phones were, compared to the sveldte offerings of Microsoft.
I don’t deal in fantasy hypotheses, maybe baby like were the ’99 Yanks better than ’27 Yanks…
As Dandy Don Meredith’s mom once said: “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts what a wonderful world it would be.” 🙂
The ’99 Yankees had the designated hitter, and the ’27 Yankees didn’t. They also had bullpens, a lower pitcher’s mound, and paid their players 150 times more. Truly, comparing different eras is problematic, yet we can’t resist doing it.
Macintosh, the computer for the wealthiest of us
It’s always been more expensive. The original Mac would be 6,000 adjusted for inflation.
But then the Mac was a revolutionary product. Times have changed. MacOS is no longer the miles ahead, in fact APFS is a catch up step long overdue. 3rd party developers are not prioritizing the Mac.
So regardless of your personal taste in OS, most pros just use the most powerful hardware they can get. Thanks to economies of scale, other computers offer more value in their hardware at prices that Apple cannot match even if Timbo wanted to (which he doesn’t, as evidenced by the emphasis on fashion over all else).
Timbo obviously put all emphasis on ios for the last several years and only now realizes that pros cannot all get by with thin client computing. It may be too late as Apple has already lost too many Mac developers. The announcements today only reinforce the reality that Apple has no leader pushing Apple to make cost effective Macs, or any user repairable hardware. Education and beginners are priced out, as are most businesses that have no choice but to use Windows software. Artists and beginners are supposed to buy ipads plus accessories plus iCloud plus 3rd party routers. False economy indeed.
We can only hope that the hardware geniuses at Apple get a clue and deliver a new cost effective Mini and a real Mac Pro workstation soon.
Hang on you just said that they can’t make a product that can compete on cost v power with their rivals so how then could they do so at the top end with a modular Mac Pro which is the one area where they have struggled to meet the prices of the ‘self build’ element of the PC brigade over the years. You seem to have as little faith in your core argument as I do even if you make some valid points.
Yeah, many points well taken, but until the MacOS is portable, I just feel like we’re screwed. Hardware is interchangeable, the OS, for me, is not. I just LOATHE working in Windows. And this is probably the reason that Apple will never license the MacOS.
Yay! An expensive all-in-one… with inaccessible yet proprietary storage…. and a screen… and… What is so damned hard about making a new box-like Mac Pro that we can do what we want with?
right on theo,
this is what lack of vision gets you.
i think the boys at the top have totally lost the thread
Yes, Apple is late delivering a new, functional Mac Pro. Yes, the trashcan was a failed experiment that Apple did not even bother to update over the past few years. But Apple has said that it will rectify that situation…better late than never. But Apple did deliver on upgrades to MBPs and iMacs and iPads — all good stuff.
Try to look on the positive side. The specifications on the new iMac Pro appear to be rather impressive, especially for an all-in-one. So, it follows that the new desktop Mac Pro will be even more impressive when it is released, with accessible RAM and storage and expansion slots and ports and…no built-in display!
In other words, quit griping about the bird in the hand just because you want the other one. You knew that it was not going to be released at WWDC. Quit yer incessant bellyaching.
I’m not so sure. You know this for a fact? seems to me this iMac pro just ate up a huge % of potential market for a new Mac Pro. Thus making a new Mac Pro even more niche.
well, maybe, but….. i have a sneaking hunch that mr. apple may have outfoxed himself.
this imac is MASSIVELY expensive with , as theo observes, all the undesirable limitations inherent in an all in one design.
my money is on people, with real pro needs, stiffing this model in favor of the more open, expandable and upgradable design we are expecting and hoping for from the mac pro.
if however they do not deliver on that expectation then folks might fall back to the new imac – or else move on to a mackintosh or another brand altogether that gives them what they need.
whoops meant to type Hackintosh
or maybe i did and autocorrect screwed me again. sorry
As I mentioned elsewhere, Apple may intend for this to be the new “Mac Pro.”
Let us hope not.
Incessant bellyaching? I see little to be pleased about the new iMac Pro. No upgradable RAM. Starts at $5k. How much do you want to guess that the 128GB upgrade will set you back? This is a bad joke no matter how impressive the specs are today. Its a massively expensive and essentially disposable machine. Totally normal for Apple nowadays.
But what makes you think a new Mac Pro is coming after this announcement? I hope I’m wrong but I’m betting this iMac is the new “Mac Pro.” Now the board can congratulate themselves and take the rest of the year off having “addressed the needs” of the Pro users.
Apple has already said they’re building a completely new Mac Pro, but it would not be out this year.
Apple says a lot of things.
Apple publicly stated its commitment to develop a new Mac Pro. I see no reason to doubt Apple on this issue. But you toss out nebulous FUD, as if *your* word on the subject somehow carries more weight than Apple’s. lol
Imagine a year from now, the hardware spec will be obsolete and you can’t upgrade. You will have to stuck with it for couple years just like those with the Mac Pro trash-can…
Exactly. The Vega GPU is pretty spiffy right now. In a couple of years, having it soldered to your motherboard is not going to seem quite so spiffy if you’re the kind of user who relies on a bleeding-edge GPU to shave a few minutes off rendering time.
I’m more impressed that Apple is finally paying some attention to external GPUs. Something like a Bizon box is a much more flexible option.
Wow, some guys are are in the dust now.
You must not know what AR and VR are requesting from the dev side; stability and right of the shelve velocity. Go play with you hard drive and memory bump in your mom’s basement. Poor soul, get out of the boat before losing dignity.
LOL. AR and VR are toys. Few people really need them to get everyday work done. If anything, the “need” for AR and VR are firmly in the realm of basement-dwelling gamers.
$4,999 is used car pricing.
It is, that is absurdly expensive. I shudder to think what actual Mac Pro pricing will be. What’s with the continuing use of all the proprietary, non-swappable crap? This is NOT what we wanted.
It’s expensive, fer sure, but I’m pretty sure that:
(1) RAM will be easy to swap out– it always has been on the iMacs.
(2) Prolly will be able swap out the HD–but you will have to lift off the screen to do so–I have done this and it is a bit scary.
(3) No GPU swap.
I still say Apple could bulk up this machine a bit, add a 2nd HD option and make it easy to swap out the HD and GPU. No one would care if is a 1/2 inch thicker behind the screen.
And give me one USB port and the SD slot on the front or side where I can see what I’m doing!
Agreed…RAM slots will likely remain at the bottom.
Agreed…should still be able to swap out HDD/SSD by removing cover and display, if the current design is used. I have done this twice without any problems. But it *should* be easier and Apple *should* include at least two drive bays accessible from panels on the back side.
You are also likely correct on the GPU situation. Apple continues to integrate its logic boards and electronics more and more, and the iMac has always been at the forefront of Apple’s integrated designs. So I seriously doubt that the new iMac will include a PCIe slot for a replaceable graphics card.
I also agree on the slots.
look at the internal photos.. this will NOT be user upgradable.
Unless you want to peal the glass off (they glue those on now)..
Good Luck
The RAM on my late-2013 iMac is NOT user-upgradeable. You’d have to pretty much disassemble the thing to get access to the RAM.
Look at the pics on their info page ram is in the middle of the logic board (next to the arm on the back, no panel for entry).
AppleWorldToday is reporting that the RAM in all of the new iMacs, including the 27″, is not upgradeable. The drives in the iMacs from the last 5 years or so are proprietary and/or extremely difficult to access.
The Pros this is made for won’t blink at the price. They see getting the same work done faster meaning more time for themselves OR more time to do more work! Plus, they likely made $5000 in the time it took me to write this sentence.
And big entertainment projects usually just lease all their gear anyway. When the project is over, the gear is gone — upgrades, etc. are not even a concern. New project, lease the newest, most powerful model.
If you are a *real* pro who needs *real* power, then shelling out $5K for the top of the line iMac Pro with an 18-core Xeon is a no-brainer if it speeds up your workflow, makes you more competitive, and expands your range of capabilities.
If you are scared of paying $5K, then you are not a *real* pro.
Besides, who are you to say that the new iMac is “used car pricing” (Mongo) or “absurdly expensive” (James)?! Have you priced the components? Have you considered that this type of computer will not enjoy the economies of scale of the lower cost consumer models?
I searched for pricing information for an 18-core Xeon. I found a 10-core Haswell for $2354 retail on Amazon. Granted, Apple will receive wholesale pricing on Intel processors, but an 18-core Xeon might still represent 40% or more of the cost of the high-end iMac. And the terrific 5K display is not a cheap component, either. So get some freaking perspective. The iMac Pro is not necessarily “absurdly expensive” just because it costs more than you want to spend.
Yes, but remember that Apple runs an average of 40% margins on everything and some components way, way higher than that. With all of the pros ordering larger HDs, more RAM, and better graphics cards, Apple is probably making close to 60% margins on the build-to-order units. I’m just guessing (and the raw data will come out later, I’m sure) but I’d guess that this off-the-shelf iMac Pro probably is costing Apple around $2k, but even that seems high when I type it.
Apple is many things great, but “reasonable margins?” Ah,… I don’t think so. Besides, they have all of those multimillion dollar AppleChapples they need to build all over the world. 😉
Nothing on the mod Mac Pro – sad. Makes you wonder if the announcement was a slip of the tongue. But given the specs of the this iMac Pro, it will be a beast and less expensive.
See you in WWDC 2018 for the new mod Mac Pro.
If a pro user has got $5k to drop on a pro pc, they’re gonna get a specced out tower.
At least you can upgrade it yourself.
Come on Apple you could have allowed us to at least upgrade the ram.
This is exactly the iMac I was hoping to get. I will buy the top config and it should time me up for several years. Just like my 2008 Mac Pro has. I am going to get an adjustable arm so I can have it hovering over my work area.
A $5,000 sealed box throwaway computer.
No thank you.
Well exactly. What you buy is what you get and not really upgradeable as hopefully the next Mac Pro will be nor any Nvidia options (except through TB3 and a GPU box aka more expense). $4,999 too is only a starting point. This also gives us a clue as to how highly priced the next Mac Pro will be (nothing new there for Apple). You can get more in a PC Workstation for the $7,200 I expect to eventually pay.
I plan to buy one of these beasts as a Christmas present for myself, use it for a year, then give it to my goddaughter and buy the new mod Mac Pro when it comes out. Life’s too short to sit on a bench growling, waiting for Godot.
No hardware announcements- people bitch. Hardware announcements- people bitch. Politics aside (if that’s possible), this looks like a solid upgrade if you like the iMac form factor. I dont have a problem with announcing today & shipping in December-allows me to plan ahead.
I agree with you. I think it looks to be a very good workstation.
I wonder if everyone here truly believes anyone at Apple is actually reading these pages; your posts sound like customer feedback submissions.
Also, am I the only one who clearly sees that there WILL be NO more Mac Pro computers? When Cook vaguely promised a great Pro machine for the end of 2017 or early 2018, he didn’t specify a Mac Pro. What he meant was clearly this iMac Pro.
Apple will be discontinuing the high-end Bring-Your-Keyboar-Mouse-Display market as soon as stock of current trashcan Mac runs its course. For them, the market segment that barely has a million of users, is just too small to justify presence. Make no mistake, the new iMac Pro will have significantly broader market appeal. I can definitely see it in law offices, talent management and other high-end office applications, where ostentatious display of wealth doesn’t stop at mahogany wall paneling. These business by top-end iMacs in large quantities. They have never, nor will ever buy a Mac that goes under the desk and then connects to a Dell display.
No, you’re wrong. He promised an iMac Pro for the end of this year and now that is true. They have verbally committed back in April precisely to a Mac Pro model modular redesign for 2018. Go back and re-read the relevant articles.
http://appleinsider.com/articles/17/04/04/all-new-mac-pro-with-modular-design-apple-branded-pro-displays-coming-in-2018
Refer to various reports from Apple’s “Pro Mea Culpa”. VPs Phil Schiller, Craig Federighi, and John Ternus say they understand the diversity of the “Pro” market and list its segments, commenting on the suitability of an all-in-one unit (iMP) for some and the necessity of a modular unit (mMP) for others. They then state that they are already working on both, and give approximate timelines.
https://daringfireball.net/2017/04/the_mac_pro_lives
I was hoping for some mention of the Mac Pro too. But, with all due respect, it’s obviously too early to talk about. They have stated categorically that they are building a new Mac Pro that will not be available this year. I take them at face value, and don’t expect them to say more until next year at the soonest. The iMac Pro is obviously (to me anyway) the product that they had hoped would serve the Pro user. It’s probably been in development for the past two years (when they decided the trashcan was a failure) It is pretty robust, but not for everyone. If it’s not for you, there is no justification required; you know best what you need and want. For many it will be be plenty. I think it would suit my needs. Everyone else can either wait for Apple to unveil its next Mac Pro or jump ship.
I’m surprise it does come with an extra set of sjw emojis built in to a keyboard.
I have an 2012 iMAC and though it’s not simple….I replaced a HDD with a SSD and added as much RAM as it could hold. Put it back together and it’s smokin’ fast. So it can be done…..just not as simple as a under-the-desk tower used to be.
ifixit.com has all resources to help you complete the job!
I’m a long time Apple Fan, since my first Pismo back in 2002. But it is clear now that Apple is alienating the Enthusiast segment…you know, all those folks like me who evangelized for them. Don’t have a clue now. This is ridiculous for a throw-away. If you are in the “Pro” Enthusiast segment, why WOULDN’T you better spend your money on a Tower that can grow with you and be upgraded. Apple is only further driving the Hackintosh segment.
I don’t do much but email and a little photo touchups. I must be INSANE wanting this behemoth so badly! LOL
I wondered if one would be further ahead to get a 2013 Mac Pro from the discount bin and a bigger 32″ display or two.
But no, Apple is very proud of its Trashcan Mac Pros that are no more upgradeable than an iMac. A refurbed 8-core 1TB Trashcan Mac Pro costs $4250.
That doesn’t leave much for the display budget or the mandatory dongles and adapters. One would think Apple would be blowing out old inventory by now at sane prices, but this is not the case.
Save your money for the new Macs that Apple is finally rolling out.
The other option is to buy a workstation from a company that actually gives a damn about the Pro Market and that is most definitely NOT Apple under Tim Cook.
Other than profit motivation, how difficult is it to build a Mac computer that allows for end-user RAM and HD upgrades? And I would submit, that EVEN with the Industrial Design considerations, this could be done with competent Engineering design. Heaven forbid if they even considered Graphic Card update in the design! Seriously, I guess it is about time to consider alternatives to the Apple price tax. I started thinking this a couple of years ago, and with each new “Apple Release”announcement, (and after checking competition), I move more and more towards alternatives. Right now, I have (self-upgraded) i7 Quad-Core iMac Late 2010, i7 Quad-Core MacBook Pro 2011, and an i7 Quad-Core MacMini 2012. Even after today’s announcements I can see no reason to replace these device as yet…and it is 2017. There is not enough compelling “upgrade” potential in anything announced today to make me pay Apple Premium pricing for their products, as compared to what I currently have in production. I’d like a smaller MacBook Pro…but the 13in HP Spectre X360 is looking like a WAY bettery value than 2017 13in MacBook Pro. I like OSX/MacOS…but that IS NOT enough of a driver over Windows 10 to make me pay all this extra $$$$ for what are clearly uninnovative, NON consumer friendly Apply stuff. We need a shake up at Apple, and that should start with Tim Cook.
5K is justified on specifications for these iMacs Pro. Just a true top Pro display could make up for half the asking price. Now I wonder if this iMac starts with an 8 core Xeon, where will the Mac Pro begin?
This makes me believe the Mac Pro may be from now on the more flexible, modular option, and the iMac Pro the fancy top of the line machine for those who doesn’t want or care to open or service their top beast machines ever.
So, this iMac Pro may replace the 2013 MP target professionals and curiously the next MP may cover everything else. The lower entry level and medium high budget, and the “unlimited” budget.
Anyway, another significant dilemma for graphics is the integrated GPU, and being only AMD. Remember, no matter how fast the beast could be in December 2017, it will be just me too in 3 years, so the lifespan of this machines as top dogs will be 2-3 years for those who want to stay ahead on graphic capabilities. And no Nvidia means it may be the fastest on many things but no CUDA means “0” performance on CUDA only software.
I wonder if the combination Macintosh- Toaster Over comes with a Pizza Stone?
I am willing to bet Dollars to Donuts this thing ends up a hot mess- literally. It would not be the first time Apple made a computer that ran so hot it cooked itself.
In the last six months or so, Microsoft has introduced a slightly underpowered all-in-one characterized by exquisite design and out-of-the-box thinking.
Now Apple has introduced its new all-in-one. It took the existing shell, painted it dark gray and filled it up with brute computing horsepower.
What is wrong with this picture? What happened to the company that once knew how to “thin different”?
They started listening to their customers
On the high end side of the Mac hardware I think Apple was so out of the game we have to accept this announcements are presenting competing products, a step in the right direction, but not perfect options.
I am going to give Apple the credit on the thermal redesign, assuming they are not making the same mistake they did with the 2013 MP (but lets find out). The innovation may come after this generation. Hopefully
Personally I would love to see an iMac on at least 30 inch and in wider proportion. Nvidia GPUs would make it sweet, and really a mechanic way to service these machines, not glued screens. And stands with more functionality
iMacs are completely open on the bottom edge, and I can’t find a reason why Apple doesn’t include an air filter (besides esthetic reasons), as basically dust could bring these new and old iMacs down.