Apple Phasing Out iMac Pro, Is This Sign Of What’s To Come?

March 7, 2021 Off By Naveen Victor

Apple may be gearing up to release a new generation of high-end iMac computers in the not so distant future. According to a report by 9to5mac, Cupertino’s most powerful desktop computer, the iMac Pro is no longer available to order with the exception of the base model. This could signal a paradigm shift toward ARM based processors.

Visiting Apple.com online store confirms this. The iMac Pro was released in 2017 with extremely powerful hardware that was usually reserved for the Mac Pro. Aimed at creators, these dark grey computers packed quite a punch despite being as slender as a regular iMac. It could be ordered with either a 10, 14 or 18-core Xeon processor and Radeon Pro Vega graphics.

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This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but Apple is moving away from Intel based computers for mobile processors that utilize ARM architecture. We witnessed the power of the M1 last year, the company’s home baked chip that powers the new Mac Mini, MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro.

It’s capable of crunching through tasks at an incredible rate. The M1 has exceeded expectations, by allowing low end models like the MacBook Air to tackle 4K video editing and encoding quickly and without detriment to performance. And despite being this powerful, it is still able to offer 18-21 hours of battery life.

Take a look at what Apple had to say about its M1 chip at last year’s event:

But the M1 is considered a lower end chip. The ones that will make their way into higher-end computers such as the larger MacBook Pro laptops and the iMac Pros, will be very different beasts. That’s why its only fitting that Apple discontinues the current line as it prepares to turn the computing world upside down with its plethora of mobile chips.