The iMac Pro is one a black sheep in Apple’s historical lineup – and it sounds like we might get a new version at some point this year. The professional all-in-one provides equal parts power and convenience, packing a monster machine into a small footprint. The old iMac Pro, now discontinued, held within its chassis some of the top hardware of its day, so the new one would also likely be a desktop powerhouse.
At its core is likely to be some kind of supercharged M-chip, likely one of the M2 Max or Pro chips. Hopefully this year we’ll hear more at WWDC 2023.
2023 iMac Pro: Release date
Apple introduced the 2023 MacBook Pro in January. This suggests the company might focus on Mac desktops for the rest of the year. A new Mac Pro is inevitable and will probably launch in June at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). A second-generation Mac Studio could arrive simultaneously, although that’s less certain.
If Apple reveals a new iMac Pro, I’d expect it to be announced alongside a second-generation 24-inch iMac. A fall release date sounds possible.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo noted in March 2022 a 2023 iMac Pro release was possible.
In February 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the next iMac wouldn’t launch until late 2023 at the earliest. In doing so, it will skip the M2 chip found on the latest MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The next iMac should instead have an M3 chip. Gurman made no mention of a possible iMac Pro.
In related news, display expert Ross Young said Apple’s long-rumored mini-LED display had been delayed again. Though this news doesn’t specifically address a next-generation iMac Pro, it would suggest there’s no movement on the type of display that would be included on the device.
2023 iMac Pro: Sizes and models
The old iMac Pro featured a 27-inch Retina 5K display with IPS technology. I’d suggest Apple will kick this up to 32 inches to match the size of the Pro Display XDR. That accessory offers an IPS LCD with oxide TFT technology. Apple could also keep the 2023 iMac Pro at 27 inches. In that case, much of what we see on the 27-inch Studio Display could be duplicated here. That’s a 5K Retina display.
If Apple hopes to expand the iMac Pro market, it could also decide and release 27-inch and 32-inch models.
2023 iMac Pro: Processor
The new MacBook Pro (2023) models come with an M2 Pro or M2 Max chipset, the best to date. In addition, the 2023 Mac Pro and iMac Pro could also feature an all-new M2 Ultra, building on the M1 Ultra’s 20-core CPU and up to 64-core GPU specs.
Previously, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman theorized the iMac Pro would feature an M3 chip, but that’s probably no longer the case. Instead, a possible M3 chip is expected to debut on a new MacBook Air (2023), which could launch this fall with an all-new 15-inch display.
The first iMac Pro came with 32, 64, or 128 GB PC4-21300 (2666 MHz) DDR4 ECC memory, which you could upgrade to 512GB. The new 2023 iMac Pro would offer unified memory that’s part of the Apple silicon chipset. Where these numbers fall remains to be seen. For storage on the new desktop, I’d expect it to exceed the 1, 2, or 4TB available on the first model.
2023 iMac Pro: Design
We have no idea what the next iMac Pro could look like. The last solid report came from Gurman in January 2022. At that time, he said that a new iMac Pro would look bigger and have better chips. He suggested the 2023 iMac Pro would take a few design cues from the 24-inch iMac (2021), and that makes a lot of sense. Think of a super thin design.
The first iMac Pro was unique in that it was offered in (only) space gray. Apple could provide more of the same and only offer the next-gen model in one color. It could also follow the iMac (2021)’s lead and release the 2023 iMac Pro in multiple colors.
Don’t get too excited, however. Apple has historically kept “Pro” device colors to the minimum. So you can expect models in Space Gray, silver, and maybe one other darker, more muted tone is what we’ve seen in the past.
The original iMac Pro featured a built-in 1080p FaceTime HD. Similar specs are found on the current-generation MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. I would expect something better on a new iMac Pro.
What probably won’t change? The 2023 iMac will almost certainly come with matching accessories, such as a keyboard, mouse, or trackpad.
2023 iMac Pro: Price
The iMac Pro (2017) started at $4,999 and became even more expensive as upgrades were added. The Mac Studio (2022) starts at $1,999, but that price can climb to $8,000 with upgrades. Expect similar, or even bigger, prices on the next iMac Pro.
Time to wait
It’s entirely possible Apple will never release a 2023 iMac Pro. If it does, it could happen in just a few months. If the device does arrive, it will undoubtedly become one of the best Macs on the market.
What the next iMac Pro would look like is up to debate. It would come as a surprise if it didn’t look nearly the same as the 24-inch model, but with expanded features. A much better (and perhaps larger) monitor Inside, we know it will feature Apple silicon, most likely from the M2 series.
In the meantime, we’ll continue following any 2023 iMac Pro news. If something develops, we’ll update this post.