The current iMac design hails from 2012, so it’s no big surprise that Apple is readying a new, modern iMac, but Gurman has two other interesting things in his report:
Apple is also working on a pair of new Mac Pro desktop computers, its priciest Mac machines that don’t come with a screen included, the people said. One version is a direct update to the current Mac Pro and will continue to use the same design as the version launched in 2019. Apple has discussed continuing to use Intel processors for that model rather than moving to its own chips.
The second version, however, will use Apple’s own processors and be less than half the size of the current Mac Pro. The design will feature a mostly aluminum exterior and could invoke nostalgia for the Power Mac G4 Cube, a short-lived smaller version of the Power Mac, an earlier iteration of the Mac Pro.
Updating the 2019 Mac Pro with new Intel chips would indicate to me a couple of things. First, that Apple knows not all high-end users are ready to switch to Apple silicon, and secondly, that Apple’s chips that could rival the Xeons currently in use aren’t going to be ready super soon.
I would be really surprised if Apple ships both of these concepts at the same time, so maybe the full-sized Mac Pro comes out, then is replaced with the smaller one.
Every time the company has made a small pro desktop, things have gone terribly wrong. The Cube was a real miss, and we all know how the 2013 Mac Pro turned out. Hopefully the third time is the charm.
Also in his report is a bit on a new external display geared to normal humans. I’m all for it.