Another year without the iMac Pro in action

This week Apple announced new M4 iMac. It has received some upgrades that make it more attractive to creatives and professionals, such as a more powerful M4 chip, Thunderbolt 4, an updated camera, and a nano-texture display.

But this is not an iMac Pro.

The larger, more powerful iMac was missing from the lineup even before the transition to Apple Silicon. Despite Apple’s insistence that the transition to Apple Silicon will be completed in 2022, there is still no 27-inch iMac. Is there hope?

Has it been replaced?

Conspicuous by its absence, however, was the absence of any larger iMac equipped M4 chip. Almost four years after iMac Pro discontinuedwe’re still wondering what (if anything) Apple has planned for its large all-in-one.

And because of this, I can’t help but feel like there’s a noticeable gap in Apple’s desktop Mac lineup, whether we’re talking about the powerful iMac Pro or just a larger iMac with the same striking design as Apple’s base model. But will Apple do anything about this situation?

For its part, Apple said it believes the combination Mac Studio and Studio Display are a great combination for professional users. And in this regard, that may be right: Together, the Mac Studio and Studio Display start at $3,598, which is much cheaper than the iMac Pro’s old $4,999 starting price. Sure, the result isn’t as slick, but it gets the job done for almost $1,500 less. Who can argue with that?

In this regard, I’m inclined to agree that the real iMac Pro probably doesn’t need to be brought back, and that Apple was right to keep it out of recent Mac announcements. It’s more of a “nice to have” than an absolute necessity, and I doubt that’s a good enough excuse for Apple.

What about a larger desktop iMac with M4 Pro? Apple used to sell both 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs, but now your only choice is 24″ iMac. For people who want a larger all-in-one computer without the need for the more powerful components (or high price) of the Mac Studio and Studio Display, Apple has several options.

Missing in action

Over the past few months, the idea that Apple was planning to release a larger iMac in the fall simply wasn’t on the agenda. In fact, there have been very few rumors surrounding this mooted device over the past year or so. In my opinion, this means that either a larger iMac is still a long way off, or that it won’t happen at all.

Even updates to the existing iMac are minor at this point. Sure, we’ve had a few new colors this year, a Thunderbolt 4 update, and, yes, an M4 chip, but it’s not exactly a radical overhaul of the iMac. Is this computer simply not selling well enough for Apple to devote significant resources to it? If that’s the case, it could explain why we haven’t seen a larger model – perhaps Apple just doesn’t think such an upgrade is worth anyone’s time.

If so, it’s a sad state of affairs for such an iconic computer, but such is the world of technology. Things are moving so quickly that some once-popular devices will inevitably be left behind.

Another possibility is that Apple is simply waiting until it feels the larger iMac is ready before releasing it. The iMac doesn’t sell in large numbers like the iPhone and MacBook, so it’s less important for Apple to release new updates every year. We’ve already heard that Apple is still ‘exploring’ the idea of ​​a larger iMacand Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman previously stated that Apple still working on the product. When deadlines are longer, Apple can afford to move more slowly.

I can’t tell you for sure whether Apple is ever going to bring back the larger-screen iMac or what form it will take if it does. But what’s for sure is that we have at least another year before we see the next iMac update. Let’s hope there is good news for fans of large displays.