With just a few Intel Macs remaining to be turned over to Apple silicon, there are still a couple of big models left waiting to get their “M” makeover. Chief among them is the 27-inch iMac, which still has the old look and old chip.
Dylan (@dylandkt), who has accurately predicted details about the MacBook Pro, iPhone 13, and 24-inch iMac, has spilled a ton of details about the larger iMac that certainly sounds like the return of the iMac Pro that was discontinued earlier this year, right down to the space gray enclosure.
Dylan reports that the iMac will have the “same M1 Pro and M1 Max” as the MacBook Pro that launched last month. He also says the base model will come with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage like Apple’s high-end laptops. Currently, the 27-inch iMac starts at 8GB of RAM, with options to expand to 128GB.
Elsewhere, Dylan says the iMac will pick up the same ports as the MacBook Pro. While the current 27-inch iMac already has an SDXC card slot, an HDMI port, which would be the first time an iMac had a video port other than Thunderbolt/USB-C. Dylan doesn’t say whether the USB-A ports will be going away, though he does say the ethernet port will be moved to the power adapter like the 24-inch model.
As far as the display, Dylan says it will keep the same 27-inch screen, which is somewhat surprising considering the move from 21.5 inches to 24 inches with the M1 model in April. However, he does report that the panel will be getting the mini-LED and ProMotion treatment like the MacBook Pro (likely without a notch). He reveals that Face ID was “tested” but “not confirmed” for the new model. Apple has yet to bring facial recognition to a Mac.
He doesn’t mention the resolution, but the current model has a 5K panel (5120×2880). As for the look, he only says it will have “dark bezels” and have a “similar design to iMac 24.” Dylan says the new iMac will arrive in the first half of 2022. He previously reported that Apple delayed the launch of the iMac so it wouldn’t compete for attention with the MacBook Pro.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.