Malcolm Owen
Apple may not be completely done with its M1 generation of Apple Silicon chips, with a leaker claiming one more configuration is on the way in an "iMac Pro"
Apple currently offers its M1 chip in three general configurations, with the M1 followed by the improved M1 Pro and the M1 Pro Max. If a rumor is to be believed, a fourth M1 chip could be introduced by Apple.
According to reputable leaker @Dylandkt in a Sunday tweet, they had "received confirmation that there will be an additional configuration for the upcoming iMac Pro beyond M1 Max." The tweet goes on to say that a 12-core CPU configuration was referenced in a code snippet that also mentioned the iMac.
The original M1 uses an 8-core CPU with either a 7-core or 8-core onboard GPU. The upgraded M1 Pro uses an 8-core or 10-core CPU while the top-end M1 Max has a 10-core CPU, but the Max does differentiate itself with higher levels of memory support and more GPU cores than the Pro.
I have received confirmation that there will be an additional configuration for the upcoming iMac Pro beyond M1 Max. A 12 Core CPU configuration was tied to a snippet of code referencing the iMac. The internal naming candidate is iMac Pro for a reason. It is targeted towards pros
— Dylan (@dylandkt) January 23, 2022
There is no suggestion as to how the cores would be configured in the new chip, but given the 10-core CPUs combine a pair of high-efficiency cores with eight high-performance cores, it's plausible that the inbound chip could have a two-ten core split.
Dylandkt goes on to say the "internal naming candidate is iMac Pro for a reason. It is targeted towards pros." This seems likely, as reports from December put forward the idea that an iMac Pro with a 27-inch mini-LED ProMotion display could launch in the spring.
Earlier on Sunday, the leaker said that an iPad Pro with an M2 chip was inbound, with a potential launch in the fall.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
20 Comments
All my money is going on “Super M1 Max Plus Extra” as the name on the next chip.
Gonna go out on a nomenclature limb here.
Since M1Pro has 8 and 10 core config, the M1 Max will have 10 and 12 core config. No name change.
We shall see.
It really should be an M1 Max Duo on the top end for the "iMac Pro". The Intel iMac Pro had options for an 18 core Xeon, a Radeon Pro 64X, and it's been about 4 years since the machine debuted. A 12-core is not much of a CPU perf increase over the 18c Xeon, and it really needs 64 g-cores to have a nice GPU perf increase over the Radeon Pro 64X.
This rumor isn't great unless is it referencing a binned M1 Pro Duo with each chip being a 4+2+14, for a total of 8+4+28. So 12 CPU cores across 2 dies, with 8 p-cores and 4 e-cores. An M1 Max would be more cost effective. Odd rumor. If it was 12 p-cores, than a binned M1 Pro Duo with each chip at 6+2+14, what's in the base model MBP14, would make for a 12+4+28. This would have a nice bump over the M1 Max, and with room to grow with the M1 Max config, but why do this as well? Why have two dual-chip MCMs?