Reliable leaker “dylandkt” says that a fourth iteration of Apple’s M1 generation of Apple Silicon chips, possibly called “M1 Extreme,” is coming in a new “iMac Pro.”
Malcolm Owen for AppleInsider:
Apple currently offers its M1 chip in three general configurations, with the M1 followed by the improved M1 Pro and the M1 Pro Max. If a rumor is to be believed, a fourth M1 chip could be introduced by Apple.
According to reputable leaker @Dylandkt in a Sunday tweet, they had “received confirmation that there will be an additional configuration for the upcoming iMac Pro beyond M1 Max.” The tweet goes on to say that a 12-core CPU configuration was referenced in a code snippet that also mentioned the iMac.
https://twitter.com/dylandkt/status/1485319903196454913
MacDailyNews Take: A little birdie has bandied about the name “M1 Extreme,” but “it may just end up being the 12-core M1 Max” when released.
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I don’t want an iMac. Can they please put this in something modular that isn’t a $20,000 Mac Pro? Apple seems to have forgotten that the iMac was originally conceived for consumers that wanted to make home movies, not pros, and that every pro out there is not making a seven figure salary from Pixar. Speaking as a pro that has been Apple for nigh on 30 years, there is still not a Mac that I would buy for my needs at present.There is a middle ground here that they seem to willfully ignore, and given how expensive the Mac Pro is, I don’t have anything to believe that Apple cares two ****s about it. I guess you are either Hollywood or a social media plebe to Apple. I hate Windows, as I have for a very long time, and Unix, even after all this development, still remains an unusable tool for most professional things – could Apple scream any louder at this point that they are a lost company, or on the flip, that they just don’t give a **** about their advanced users?
I‘ll declare first off that I love the iMac – I have three in my office at work, and I also love the MacBook Pro – I have an Apple Silicon MBP. And I think they believe Thunderbolt offers the ability to add high speed peripherals, even graphics cards. I think that’s very much the Hifi idea of a box for everything – not very neat, taking lots of space, and electric plug heavy. On the flip side it helps heat dissipation!
However, if, as rumours suggest, they are prepared to make one more Intel Mac Pro to keep a very small niche client base who have specialist apps, then surely they could create a more modular device maybe based around a Mac mini on steroids say for a larger customer base.
The “modular” ship sailed long ago. Maybe, just maybe, Apple will come out with an “entry-level” Mac Pro, but it will cost 2-3x more than people want to pay. I don’t like the increasingly locked-down design of Apple devices (the recent MacBook Pro port retreat being a welcome exception), but it’s abundantly clear by now that Apple isn’t interested in the computer hobbyist-tinkerer market, even if they are “advanced users”. The price to get a modular Mac is $6,000 to start, with Apple preferring $10,000-$50,000+ with upgrades. I don’t think they’re leaving any money on the table by not offering something that undercuts the current Mac Pro. Like it or not, MacBooks, iMacs, iPhones and iPads satisfy 99.9% of computing needs of Apple customers, Mac Pros do the rest for individuals and companies that generate more than enough revenue to justify the cost.
Unfortunately, this is the case: Apple just isn’t interested in the market niche of the old Boomer who’s been buying Prosumer Macs for the past 30 years…its just not enough of a potential market to sell in large volumes for a $2.7T Corporation to worry too much about capturing.
The rumors for the “xMac” .. oh, sorry: Mac Pro Mini (or whatever) …
… is that if it does happen, its probably going to be at the $5K MSRP (not sure if this is aggressively stripped down like the current MP, or if it will be modestly respectably equipped). The telegraphing is that it will in the same price ballpark as the 2017 iMac Pro was, but without a “free” 5K monitor. As such, its a comparatively hard sell.
Overall, this pretty much leaves the options for the old school prosumer desktop as this rumored iMac, or a mini. Plus lots of externals either way…
Calm the farm, akimbo!
Apple knows that the update cycle for pro users is much longer than for consumers. Real professionals are still making good use of their ‘cheese grater’ Mac Pros and can wait until later this year for a new M-Series Mac Pro.
Sure you’re a real pro?
Put the ‘extreme’ in the refreshed mini and I will buy
I whole-heartedly agree with the above comment. My 2009 Mac Pro (connected to three wide monitors) has had almost every component replaced and upgraded but it is definitely showing its age. I neither need or want a Pixar-quality Mac Pro. Please make a stand-alone tower that fits in the middle!
Take a breath. This article is referencing an iMac Pro, a pro-sumer machine to sit in between the iMac and the Mac Pro.
Apple has said the transition to Apple Silicon will take 2 years so criticising them for not yet releasing a machine that suits you is a little premature, based on a rumour.
Mac mini Pro/Beast, hooked up to Apple designed monitor, please. Expensive tech that is wrapped up in a singular option–iMac Pro–ends up being baby thrown out with the bath water when “tired.”