It would appear that a Google search has shown that the iMac Pro will be released on December 18th, 2017. Apple did state that the mew professional iMac would be released before the end of 2017 and if this 'leak' turns out to be true, it will also give Apple the opportunity to increase its iMac sales and improve its fourth-quarter earnings, although by how much is debatable because the proportional of Apple's revenue from computer sales is small.

However, it may be that the Google bots have put 2 and 2 together and made 5. The theory goes that the highest configured processor configuration for the iMac Pro will feature an 18-core Intel Xeon processor and so it is being suggested that the Google’s search bots might have spotted the number ‘18’ in the 18-core processor and taken that as listed the release date of the workstation as December 18, 2017. Our view is to take the December 18th date with a pinch of salt but the rumours are that Apple will release the iMac Pro in 2017 and most likely in the last week before Christmas, although Apple may only start taking orders in 2017 for shipping early in 2018.

Update Apple Confirm iMac Pro Release Date as December 14th 2017

Within a few hours of us publishing this story Apple has announced that the iMac Pro will go on sale this Thursday, December 14th. Apple didn’t offer any updates on pricing or configurations so we are still assuming that they will stick to the basic price of $4,999

What Do We Already Know About the iMac Pro

Display

• 27-inch (diagonal) Retina 5K display

• 5120‑by‑2880 resolution with support for billions of colors

• 500 nits of brightness

• Wide color (P3)

Processor

• 8-Core Xeon (base)

• 10-Core Xeon (optional)

• 18-Core Xeon (optional)

Memory

• 32GB 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory (base)

• 64GB (optional)

• 128GB (optional)

Storage

• 1TB SSD (base)

• 2TB (optional)

• 4TB (optional)

GPU

• Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8GB of HBM2 memory (base)

• Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16GB of HBM2 memory (optional)

I/O

• Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports

• Four USB 3 ports

• SDXC card slot with support for UHS‑II

• 10Gb Ethernet using RJ‑45 connector (supports Nbase-T 1Gb, 2.5Gb, and 5Gb)

Wireless

• 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking

• Bluetooth 4.2

Audio/Video

• Enhanced stereo speakers, with improved frequency response, bass, and volume

• Four microphones

• 3.5 mm headphone jack

• 1080p FaceTime HD camera

Peripherals

• Space Gray Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad

• Space Gray Magic Mouse 2

• Space Gray Magic Trackpad 2 (optional)

What Is Still Unclear About The iMac Pro

It is still not clear exactly what processor chips will be used in the iMac Pro. Some rumours suggest that the iMac Pro could feature these server grade chips...

• Intel 7980XE (18 cores/36 threads/42MB Cache)

• Intel 7900X (10 cores/20 threads/23MB Cache)

• Intel 7820X (8 cores/16 threads/19MB Cache)

Apparently based on details found in firmware files suggest that the iMac Pro may utilise the server-grade LGA3647 socket, which will support these chips. The ARM co-processor could well be an interesting little addition, regulating the amount of power going through the iMac Pro. When in idle mode, the ARM chip could reduce the overall power draw whilst refreshing key elements for the user – like emails and notifications. The presence of the ARM coprocessor would suggest that the iMac Pro will have Secure Enclave which would provide additional security as the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar already has. This could allow the addition of Touch ID capabilities for the iMac Pro, using an accessory, which hasn't been announced yet.

Apparently, there is also an option to set up a PCIe NVMe solid state drive to make the machine run more smoothly, while the ECC RAM has the potential to be configured up to 128GB.

However, we also understand that because Apple shows the iMac Pro having only four memory modules that this suggests that Apple will use the desktop LGA2066 socket in the iMac Pro, either way, we shall have to wait and see.

One of the problems in the area of which processor chips Apple will use, is that none of the current chips on Intel’s website match the specifications that Apple has laid out on its website, but it would seem that it is highly likely that Intel has developed custom chips with the thermal requirements of the iMac Pro in mind, but again we shall have to wait and see.