Apple's $4,999 all-in-one iMac Pro launches Thursday, Dec. 14

AppleInsider

After being announced in June, the premium iMac Pro is finally ready to begin shipping to consumers this week, as Apple has announced that the new desktop will be available this Thursday, Dec. 14.

As expected, the iMac Pro carries a hefty starting price of $4,999. Pricing for optional upgrades to the machine is not yet available.

The entry-level model features an 8-core processor with 32 gigabytes of RAM and a 1-terabyte solid-state hard drive. With a 27-inch Retina 5K display, the chassis boasts four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, four full-size USB 3 ports, an SDXC card slot, and 10Gb Ethernet.

With a unique space gray design exclusive to the pro model, the iMac Pro ships with a matching space gray Magic Keyboard with numeric keypad and Magic Mouse 2. Users can optionally swap the mouse for a space gray Magic Trackpad 2.

In terms of graphics, the iMac Pro has a Radeon Pro Vega 56 GPU with 8 gigabytes of HBM2 memory. Optional upgrades allow it to be configured to Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16GB of HBM2 memory.

The processor can also be expanded to 10- and 18-core options, while RAM can be upgraded to 64 or 128 gigabytes. And the SSD is also configurable to 2 or 4 terabytes of storage.

AppleInsider first received word on Monday that Apple's enterprise channels were gearing up for business sales of the iMac Pro. Though Apple representatives were inquiring with clients about custom configurations of the desktop, pricing information beyond the $4,999 starting point was not given.

The iMac Pro was unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, aiming to satisfy professional-grade Mac users who have felt neglected by the company's desktop offerings in recent years. The update marks the first time that the iMac, typically a consumer-focused machine, has been given the "Pro" distinction.

The company is also working on a new, modular Mac Pro desktop that may arrive in 2018, but details on the machine, its capabilities and the launch date have been limited. Apple has also said it will begin manufacturing its own displays once again, bringing a successor to the Thunderbolt Display at some point in the future.

king editor the grate

"Pricing for optional upgrades to the machine is not yet available."

I used to jack G5 towers up to 10 grand or so before closing browser. Hopefully this machine will break that record and tide me over until the Mac Pro is released. It's been a long time ...

macpro

king editor the grate said:

"Pricing for optional upgrades to the machine is not yet available."

I used to jack G5 towers up to 10 grand or so before closing browser. Hopefully this machine will break that record and tide me over until the Mac Pro is released. It's been a long time ...

Yes, when you think the Mac II FX loaded was >$12,000 it's not all that bad.  Personally I just can't pull the trigger on an iMac Pro, however powerful, until I know what the Mac Pro 2018 will offer. Not that I'm not tempted.

d_2

From Apple.com it appears that the keyboard is sans Touch Bar.

I like using TB, even though there’s plenty of room for improvement. IMO this is/was an optimal time to introduce Touch Bar to the desktop market, and not doing so means that Touch Bar is not the “better than touchscreens” solution as Apple first pitched.

rogifan_new

Still blows my mind that this is a pro machine but you can’t get inside of it. I can understand most of Apple’s portable products being sealed but professional workstations? Why? Even the 27” iMac allows upgrades to the RAM. 

lkrupp

For me personally it would be like buying a fully loaded Ford Shelby GT just to go to the grocery store. Not that I wouldn’t like that but for home use it would be a bit overkill. I’m hoping this machine finds a home with professionals, not the faux professionals who blather on here about ports and towers and such but real professionals who would put the machine to good use.

maciekskontakt

What's the purpose? Just mac Mac Pro with processing power like this. No Apple displays is even near to EIZO or NEC professional graphic design monitors. That is top shelf above average pocket. We need processing unit with solid system - nothing else. That is not prosumer or regular consumer.

maciekskontakt

lkrupp said:

For me personally it would be like buying a fully loaded Ford Shelby GT just to go to the grocery store. Not that I wouldn’t like that but for home use it would be a bit overkill. I’m hoping this machine finds a home with professionals, not the faux professionals who blather on here about ports and towers and such but real professionals who would put the machine to good use.

Professionals will not use Apple display - it is below quality and precision required by professional publishing and design. We run design shop.

brucemc

Thank god!  Hopefully this means less complaining from the hard core Mac side of the house, and stalls any further "Apple can't deliver" talk on the forums.

matrix077

maciekskontakt said:

What's the purpose? Just mac Mac Pro with processing power like this. No Apple displays is even near to EIZO or NEC professional graphic design monitors. That is top shelf above average pocket. We need processing unit with solid system - nothing else. That is not prosumer or regular consumer.

Think it’s for coders (scientific & architecture too. Basically any groups that want to crunch number). Too many of them at Apple, Google, Facebook etc. what you said about monitor is irrelevant to this group. 

edited December 2017

bobolicious

rogifan_new said:

Still blows my mind that this is a pro machine but you can’t get inside of it. I can understand most of Apple’s portable products being sealed but professional workstations? Why? Even the 27” iMac allows upgrades to the RAM. 

Agreed - how does this serve pro customers...?
https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/05/imac-pro-ram-and-space-gray-accessories/

To be fair I did once read an engineer's post regarding onboard macbook pro ram,
suggesting known tight tolerance allowed for faster tuning,
and so with the decision of a 16GB limit, that may make some sense...

Everymac.com lists many older macs that have upgrade capacity beyond Apple spec,
and I've upgraded every mac I've ever owned, just recently maxing out an older iMac,
that might have been replaced by one of these...

edited December 2017

mike wuerthele

brucemc said:

Thank god!  Hopefully this means less complaining from the hard core Mac side of the house, and stalls any further "Apple can't deliver" talk on the forums.

You and me both. That said, there are already posts here, in this thread that heavily lean in that direction.

tipoo

Awaiting tests on peak load throttling. The Vega Pro 64 in there runs at 83% of a desktop ones Gflops (and working backwards from that – clock speed) and 83% of the memory bandwidth, so it should be tamped down enough to not be a heat monster with the iMac Pros 500 watts of cooling dissipation. Wondering if it hits those much tamped down speeds at least 100% consistantly.

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/2871/radeon-rx-vega-64

https://www.apple.com/ca/imac-pro/

Youtubers first eh. I hope more detailed reviewers like Anandtech and Ars got them too. 

rayz2016

brucemc said:

Thank god!  Hopefully this means less complaining from the hard core Mac side of the house, and stalls any further "Apple can't deliver" talk on the forums.

Now come on.

Do you really think this is going to happen? 

cropr

matrix077 said:

Think it’s for coders. Too many of them at Apple, Google, Facebook etc. what you said about monitor is irrelevant to this group. 

Owning a SW company, I can indeed confirm that coders just need a large monitor, not a super high quality one like designers.  A 1 TB SSD disk is not really needed for coders (256 GB seems to be sufficient).  As such the price of the machine is not compatible with my business.

rayz2016

rogifan_new said:

Still blows my mind that this is a pro machine but you can’t get inside of it. I can understand most of Apple’s portable products being sealed but professional workstations? Why? Even the 27” iMac allows upgrades to the RAM. 

Am I the only person who buys machines fully loaded?

harry wild

It took Apple a long time to finally use HBM2 memory.  2015 was for consumers and before that for superstations.

tipoo

harry wild said:

It took Apple a long time to finally use HBM2 memory.  2015 was for consumers and before that for superstations.

Fury X was pretty ehh. Vega being the first time Apple uses it makes perfect sense. 

Hoping the 2018 (hopefully early) 15" rMBP update uses the Rajachip with HBM2, Intel Core, and Radeon on a multichip package 

https://techreport.com/news/32792/intel-brings-a-core-cpu-and-radeon-gpu-together-on-one-package

racerhomie

Good job Apple.

tipoo

Giving the X to youtubers first was fine I guess, giving the iMac Pro to a bunch of youtubers first is kind of a chuckle lol. 

Here's the most detailed tests I've seen, numbers of course look good

http://hrtapps.com/blogs/20171212/

rogifan_new

Mike Wuerthele said:

brucemc said:

Thank god!  Hopefully this means less complaining from the hard core Mac side of the house, and stalls any further "Apple can't deliver" talk on the forums.

You and me both. That said, there are already posts here, in this thread that heavily lean in that direction.

I’m not a pro user. Just curious the reason for completely sealing the machine. Apple wants to force pro users to pay their upgrade pricing? If it’s an engineering reason then does that signal bad design descisions? As we saw with the trash can Mac Pro Apple sometimes gets it wrong. Why do you think Apple made this decision?