Suppliers now providing parts for 27-inch mini LED Apple Silicon iMac Pro

An updated version of the 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon and a mini-LED display is allegedly getting closer to release, with suppliers said to be preparing small shipments of parts for the model.

Apple is rumored to be working on a larger version of its 24-inch iMac, one that would include an M1-class chip as part of the company's move away from Intel over to Apple Silicon. In a Tuesday report, it appears that Apple is getting closer to making it a reality.

According to a paywalled DigiTimes article clipped by Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young, suppliers are said to "start shipments" for a "27-inch iMac."

The article snippet states that suppliers have started shipping parts for the model "in small volumes," according to "industry sources" of the article. Few details are provided by the snippet, other than it will include a mini LED display.

It's possible that Young himself could be one of the sources that led to the report. In October, he forecast a 27-inch mini LED display destined for the iMac will launch in the first quarter of 2022, using technologies first seen on the Pro Display XDR.

This will supposedly include ProMotion, which arrived on the 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro alongside mini LED. The use of the technology in the MacBook models strongly hints at Apple adding it to a future iMac.

DigiTimes is a reliable source regarding information surrounding Apple's supply chain, but less so about Apple's specific plans. The venue previously misinterpreted information about the Pro Display XDR as about an iMac, and it isn't clear if they're doing the same here.

Rumors point to a launch sometime in the first half of 2022, with one leaker claiming in October that it would have 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage in the base model, use the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, feature dark bezels around the display, and have a similar design to both the 24-inch iMac and the Pro Display XDR. Featuring a HDMI port, SD card slot, and Ethernet in the power brick, it is anticipated to be priced at or above $2,000 for the base model.

There has even been the suggestion that the larger iMac could introduce Face ID, as it as apparently tested, though not "confirmed" by leakers as being included in the shipped model.