First look: Apple's powerful iMac Pro

AppleInsider

Apple at WWDC 2017 offered a sneak peek of its upcoming iMac Pro, an all-in-one desktop packed with cutting edge components -- and a sexy Space Gray finish -- worthy of imaging professionals.

While the pictures don't do it justice, the iMac Pro is a beautiful machine in person. The Space Gray aluminum and matching matte wireless keyboard mate well with the special black Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2.

Along with the dark finish, iMac Pro differentiates itself from the regular iMac series with expanded port options. Along with the usual SD card reader and four USB 3.0 ports, the iMac Pro comes with four Thunderbolt 3 ports and 10Gb Ethernet.

While the chassis remains largely unchanged, Apple did incorporate a long vent on the bottom portion of the rear casing. The slot facilitates airflow from iMac Pro's twin centrifugal fans, which allows for an 80 percent increase in system thermal capacity from past iMac models. This means iMac Pro can handle more power, 500 watts to be exact.

Audio vents aligned along iMac Pro's bottom ledge are identical to past models, providing ample output for new "enhanced" speakers that lie within the computer chassis.

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Hidden beneath its aluminum skin iMac Pro boasts Intel Xeon processors with configuration options reaching up to 18 cores. In addition, Radeon Pro Vega GPUs promise to deliver number crunching performance matched only by the fastest dedicated imaging desktops.

Apple expects iMac Pro to go on sale in December for a starting price of $4,999.

calebbenbekke

As a pro user i am sold. Want one!
Thank you Apple.

thresher-the-shark

Perfect, now I just need a spare $5K for a new 5K iMac Pro.

macxpress

I wonder if the keys are backlit on that keyboard? That would just be awesome!

Overall...I only hope we can get a regular 27" iMac in space gray at some point. I would take today's config in the regular 27" iMac in space gray today. 

bryanus

I want that keyboard in space gray with the black keys! Only the white one in the Store.

notoakie

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

bookspyder

notoakie said:

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

I saw that too. That's a deal-killer for me. I'll pass on this one.

sockrolid

Argggh.  No Touch Bar on the Apple Keyboard.
Love the black keys though!

macxpress

notoakie said:

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

Bookspyder said:

notoakie said:

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

I saw that too. That's a deal-killer for me. I'll pass on this one.

Thats why you buy as much RAM as you can afford just like on other models with non-upgradable RAM. I suspect that any serious Professional will pack this thing with RAM. This isn't a consumer Mac remember. Professionals are willing to spend money to get their work done. 

robin huber

I guess Apple has made their decision on upgradable pro machines. Buy a maxed out machine and when it's cutting edge components get long in the tooth, buy a new one. One thing seems clear, no major redesign of the consumer iMac for a while. No way they'd give them an updated look in the fall while selling a pro machine that is shaped like the old consumer ones. Also, what about Mac Mini?

vukasika

iMac Pro ..... I think I have wood

rob53

This is a proof of concept model. Until Apple actually releases this model, I wouldn't get too worried about how easy or difficult it will be to get inside. Their visuals on their website show a pretty sparse interior but do show non-soldered (removable) RAM. The RAM isn't under the stand and Apple "might" alter how the iMac comes apart, especially for servicing, which I assume might be often if the cooling system doesn't work as planned. When I look at this photo, it almost looks fake as if it's CGI instead of an actual photo. Maybe some who's attending WWDC can get close enough to see if there's any obvious way to open the section where the RAM is. 

jsnively

rob53 said:

Can't unsee.

spamsandwich

Oh, baby.

strangedays

Bookspyder said:

notoakie said:

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

I saw that too. That's a deal-killer for me. I'll pass on this one.

While I don't know if that's true or not, why would you pass on the machine instead of simply ordering the max ram? Seems like a more compelling option if you're actually a pro in need of a workstation to get work done with a very powerful tool. 

ronmg

robin huber said:

I guess Apple has made their decision on upgradable pro machines. Buy a maxed out machine and when it's cutting edge components get long in the tooth, buy a new one. One thing seems clear, no major redesign of the consumer iMac for a while. No way they'd give them an updated look in the fall while selling a pro machine that is shaped like the old consumer ones. Also, what about Mac Mini?

Nice thing about iMac is when it comes time to selling the one that is long in the tooth, they actually hold their value pretty well. Unlike Windows PCs...

misterkit

It looks like the design and decisions have been made. I wonder why it won't be available until December.

tenthousandthings

rob53 said:

This is a proof of concept model. Until Apple actually releases this model, I wouldn't get too worried about how easy or difficult it will be to get inside. Their visuals on their website show a pretty sparse interior but do show non-soldered (removable) RAM. [...]

This seems right. The way into the current iMacs is through the front. You remove the display to get at everything but the RAM, which is accessed through a panel on the back. Since the RAM is clearly shown to be accessed from the back, then I think we can conclude that production models will have a panel for access to the RAM. They didn't need it for the purposes of this event, so it's not there, but it's likely it will be.

What I don't see is access to much of anything else -- seems pretty clear that will still be accessed from the front, like the current models. So that also argues for an access panel for that RAM.

EDIT: Derp -- apparently not. See comment below.

edited June 2017

kevin kee

Bookspyder said:

notoakie said:

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

I saw that too. That's a deal-killer for me. I'll pass on this one.

I am not sure why you need more than 128GB EEC RAM. Unless you are running a thousand apps at the same time.

edited June 2017

christopher126

Wow! Looks wonderful. 

macxpress

Bookspyder said:

notoakie said:

i notice there's no door to upgrade RAM.

I saw that too. That's a deal-killer for me. I'll pass on this one.

You weren't going to buy it anyways...I like how you signed up just to say you'll pass. Troll much? Every time Apple has a Keynote for something the trollers come out of the woodwork on Apple forums. 

edited June 2017