Update: We wrongly interpreted the Geekbench listing as belonging to the upcoming iMac Pro. Turns out, the listing was of a Hackintosh build running on the 11th Gen Core i7. We regret the wrongful dissemination.
While Apple is pushing ahead with its own silicon on MacBooks, we’ve unearthed evidence that it hasn’t ditched Intel completely. According to a Geekbench listing, the upcoming iMac Pro will be powered by the 11th-Gen Intel Core i7, indicating that while the Mac Mini, iMac, or the MacBooks, which are still mostly used by mainstream users or small-time creators, the iMac Pro will still be aimed squarely at full-time creators. More info on the specifications of the upcoming iMac Pro is down below —
iMac Pro (2021) specifications leaked on Geekbench
Apple launched the 24-inch iMac with the Apple M1 chip earlier this year, and those come with Apple’s in-house silicon with either a 6-core or an 8-core GPU. There was also a rumor of another high-end Apple Silicon on a larger iMac slated for next year, so it makes sense for Apple to launch the iMac Pro this year with Intel chips. After all, Intel processors are still preferred by hard-core creators working in large studios and creative houses, particularly for their versatility and how well they scale.
The Geekbench listing reveals the upcoming iMac Pro will be powered by the Intel Core i7-11700K CPU, which was launched in Q1 2021. The CPU features 8 cores, 16 threads and is made on Intel’s 14nm node. It rocks a boost clock speed of 5.00GHz and a base clock speed of 3.6GHz and has a TDP of 125W. The ‘K’ in the moniker also means the processor is unlocked and can possibly be overclocked.
The iMac Pro scores 1524 on single-core performance and 8804 on multi-core performance on the Geekbench 5 CPU test. The score is incidentally lower than the 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1)’s score of 1704 and 7393 on single-core and multi-core tests respectively. However, this is likely to be one of the multiple variants that Apple would launch the iMac Pro, in. Previously, the Cupertino giant has released powerful iMac Pros with the Intel Core i9 and even Intel Xeon processors, and it’s unlikely that the company will cripple the lineup with just a Core i7 option.
The Geekbench listing also reveals 32GB RAM on the iMac Pro and that it runs on macOS Monterey. The listing appeared on July 28 on the Geekbench database.
2021 iMac Pro expected launch date
Apple has had a busy year so far launching new iPads, hosting its annual developer conference, and launching new iMacs, AirTag, and a new AppleTV 4K. The rumor calendar states the company is expected to launch new iPads sometime in September, which would be powered by the Apple M1X Silicon, particularly the iPad Mini. Next up will be the new iPhones, also in September, which would be the company’s marquee event of the year. And like last year, Apple may choose the lull after the iPhone launch to introduce the new iMac Pro, alongside a larger 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a new MacBook Air. All this is, of course, mere speculation based on how the company launched products the previous year. But the fact that Apple has still not ditched Intel, especially on its most powerful offering, probably means that Apple is not yet ready with the Apple M2 chip that’s expected to fully transition the company’s hardware to its own silicon under the hood.
