In addition to refurbished MacBook Pros that run the Touch Bar and revive MagSafe, Apple also plans to announce its long-awaited iMac redesign this year – and some Mac Pro upgrades are also on the way. This is all according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who says that the iMac will undergo the most important overhaul since 2012: Apple will allegedly swing the chin under the screen, cut off the screen skins and move back to a flat design. The overall look is probably similar to the Pro Display XDR.
The new iMac will replace the Intel-powered 27-inch and 21.5-inch versions currently available and move the all-in-one desktop to Apple silicone. According to the report, this will be one of the most important visual looks of any Apple product. The existing iMac features top specs and a beautiful screen in a design that has felt particularly outdated over the past few years, so this change would be welcome. The latest review focused on increased speed, an improved webcam, and also an option for a matte / nano-texture display layer.
As for the Mac Pro, it looks like Apple has a two-pronged plan: it will refresh the current upgradeable tower design – Gurman says the company is considering sticking with Intel processors for this machine. But that does not mean that Apple is working on a Mac Pro that works on its own chips. The company is apparently also working on a completely new form factor that, according to Gurman, is less than half the total size of the current Mac Pro. “The design has a mostly aluminum exterior and can evoke nostalgia for the Power Mac G4 Cube,” he says.
All of these features include the next-generation Apple’s own Mac processors, which first appeared in last year’s M1 MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. Finally, Apple is reportedly planning to release a new external monitor that deviates from the professional display specifications of the Pro Display XDR to reach a larger audience. The Pro Display XDR starts at $ 5,000 and Apple is currently selling third-party monitors from LG as a cheaper option. But it sounds like a spiritual successor to the Thunderbolt Display may be on the way in 2021.