Roger Fingas
Signalling that the iMac Pro will likely meet its December ship date, Apple suppliers are reportedly preparing the AMD Radeon Pro Vega cards that will power the computer's graphics.
Apple orders have been picking up since September, according to sources for Taiwan's DigiTimes, which noted that local firm SPIL is packaging the GPUs, with testing helping from King Yuan Electronics. The firms will are expected to be busy "through the end of 2017" in tandem with the iMac Pro's rollout.
General fabrication of the Vegas is reportedly being done by U.S.-based firm GlobalFoundries, using a 14-nanometer process.
iMac Pro buyers will have an option to choose between the Vega 56 or 64, which have 8 and 16 gigabytes of HBM2 memory, respectively. The GPUs are likely a major contributor to the cost of the iMac Pro, which will start at $4,999.
The machine will sport a 5K display however, as well as an 8-core Intel Xeon processor, scalable up to 10 or 18 cores. By default it will also come with 32 gigabytes of RAM and a 1 terabyte SSD, with options to push those specifications still higher.
The iMac Pro is the first half of Apple's response to complaints it has neglected professional-level Macs. The second is a modular Mac Pro, as well as a matching first-party display, both due in 2018.
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24 Comments
I hope that everyone that takes to the forums to bemoan the lack of professional mac will step up and buy this iMac Pro.
I just wish I could have the dark iMac, I don't care about the GPU.
I think Apple is in a moment of decision here. They botched the (then new) Mac Pro in 2013. If they get it right this time, and coupled with this new beast of an iMac Pro, I believe it will be a stellar year for Apple's shipments of pro-level hardware again. I'm crossing fingers.
I had an 2009 iMac (for the office) and a 2015 iMac 5K. It was my hope that I would retire my 2009 machine, demote my 2015 to the office and get the new iMac Pro. Unfortunately, my 2009 died a few weeks ago and as it was costing me lost revenue, I ended up buying a new MacBook Pro (along with my TB2 LED display). So no (x)Mac Pro for me for a while.
I will be watching closely though at how this segment plays out. I'd love to get the MacPro, but just don't have that business-need (yet) for it. Looks like an incredible machine though.