Apple announced new hardware for the first time in years at its WWDC developer conference. For example, iMacs are coming with new components and various laptops also received a spec bump for this year. There will also be an iMac Pro that will serve as a temporary replacement for the outdated Mac Pro.
The iMac Pro will have a 5k screen and will come with an Intel Xeon processor with up to eighteen cores. The graphics muscle comes from an AMD Vega GPU, combined with up to 128GB of memory. The storage is up to 4TB.
With the iMac Pro, Apple wants to release a temporary successor to the Mac Pro from 2013. The desktop without a screen has not been given a successor for years, to the dismay of many people who work on Apple’s machines. Apple previously announced that a new desktop is coming, but it will have to wait at least until next year; Apple has not specified a timeframe when it will be released. The powerful all-in-one comes earlier: the iMac Pro will hit stores in December and the cheapest version will cost $ 4999.
The cheaper new iMacs will get Intel Kaby Lake processors instead of the Skylake versions used so far. The memory also has a new upper limit: the 21.5″ version can hold up to 32GB, the 27″ iMac can hold up to 64GB. In addition, two Thunderbolt 3 ports are added on the back.
The GPUs are also getting an update. That goes from an Intel Iris Plus 640 on the cheapest to an AMD R580 with 8GB of vram on the most expensive variant. According to the manufacturer, it can reach 5.5 teraflops, something that should enable development for virtual reality. Apple also says goodbye to HDDs and makes Fusion Drives standard. The screens of both iMacs can also reach up to 500 nits, a lot brighter than the current versions.
In addition, the MacBook Air will receive an update with a faster processor, but Apple did not go into the details. Three other MacBooks also get Kaby Lake processors and 50 percent faster SSDs. All Macs except the iMac Pro will be released Monday. The cheapest iMac and MacBook will cost $1299.