The new iMac Pro is set to be Apple’s most powerful computer by a long shot, with technical specifications that blow previous models out of the water. An astounding 18 CPU cores, 128 GB of RAM, and Radeon Vega graphics means that this computer will handle pretty much anything you throw at it. What’s interesting, however, is a recent discovery that the new iMac Pro may run off of the most recent iPhone chip.
Irish coder Steven Troughton-Smith recently got his hands on the BridgeOS 2.0 software, which will presumably be featured on the iMac Pro. He says the computer seems to feature a version of the A10 Fusion chip, the same technology running the iPhone 7.
Looks like the iMac Pro’s ARM coprocessor is arm64 Seems to handle the macOS boot & security process, as expected; iMac Pro lets Apple experiment with tighter control without the rest of the userbase freaking out. More info & download here: https://t.co/wmbNeVSEZX
Looks like the iMac Pro's ARM coprocessor is arm64 ? Seems to handle the macOS boot & security process, as expected; iMac Pro lets Apple experiment with tighter control without the rest of the userbase freaking out. More info & download here: https://t.co/wmbNeVSEZX
— Steve Troughton-Smith (Archived) (@stroughtonsmith) November 18, 2017
Part of the reason the iPhone line has been so successful is Apple’s proprietary technology that separates it from a crowd of luxury smartphones all using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors. While not necessarily more capable than these Android equivalents, there’s no doubt that the A10 Fusion chip has resulted in a smooth and powerful user experience that have made the iPhone one of the most popular phones worldwide.
These chips are so powerful, in fact, that the A11 Bionic chips in the iPhone 8 and X are more capable than the processors inside the recent 13-inch MacBook Pros in certain situations. This new information about the inclusion of an iPhone 7 clip may be a sign that Apple is moving away from x86 product architecture with its upcoming Mac lines.
Despite the chip’s incredible capabilities, it’s not likely that it will be the driving force behind the iMac Pro. With 18 cores and 128 GB of RAM, the computer is set to be far more capable than anything a smartphone could ever handle. Troughton-Smith theorizes that the inclusion could be a way to offer hands-free Siri support. Right now, Mac computers require users to click a button on the screen or touch bar to access Siri, and this new functionality would allow users to access the digital assistant by simply saying “Hey Siri.”
The chip may also see the usage in boot technology and system security and controlling the system’s camera. Troughton-Smith states that this usage affords Apple tighter control of their operating system in a way that manages to keep people from “freaking out.”
With a starting price of $5000, it’s clear that the iMac Pro is a luxury buy with specifications that are overkill for the vast majority of tasks. The A10 Fusion chip from the iPhone is just another performance benefit to an absolute powerhouse of a machine.
