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WWDC 2017: Apple iMac Pro, worth the $4,999

Apple wants to become the go-to provider for users looking for a beast of a workstation, with the new iMac Pro.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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CNET

Apple has revealed the iMac Pro, a feature-packed iMac with heavy specifications designed for the enterprise and power users.

During WWDC 2017, John Turnus, VP of hardware engineering, said the new iMac Pro has been created for users that demand high-spec processing, graphics, and display capabilities.

The device will ship with the latest macOS High Sierra operating system and a 27-inch 5k Retina display.

The executive said Apple decided to go "really nutty" by offering the iMac Pro with an 8-core Intel Xeon processor, 10-core Xeon processor, or an 18-core Xeon processor.

Together, with a completely rebuilt CPU, the device also comes with AMD's Radeon Vega graphics and up to 16GB of VRAM, alongside built-in 10GB ethernet.

The workstation will be capable of up to 11 teraflops single precision or 22 teraflops of half precision GPU performance.

The iMac Pro will utilize all-flash architecture up to 4TB of SSD and up to 128GB of ECC memory, four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and will deliver up to an 80-percent improvement in cooling capabilities.

"We aren't going to use an entry level configuration," said the executive. "With all these high-performance technologies, this iMac Pro is going to be an awesome workstation."

According to Turnus, with those specs, you could easily "hook up two 5K displays and two RAID arrays."

However, the model won't come cheap, with a starting price tag of $4999, although the executive says that to build your own comparable model, you could expect to pay upwards of $7,000.

The iMac Pro will be available in December.

"We're thrilled to give developers and customers a sneak peek at iMac Pro," Ternus said in a press release. "This will be our fastest and most powerful Mac ever, which brings workstation-class computing to iMac for the first time."

In addition, Apple announced three other additions to the iMac product family: the 21.5-inch entry-level iMac with a starting price is $1099, a 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display that will set you back $1299, and a 27-inch iMac Retina 5K which begins at $1799.

Read also: WWDC 2017: Apple reveals macOS refresh, High Sierra | WWDC 2017: iOS 11 revealed with more Siri smarts, AR support | | WWDC 2017: Apple positions Mac updates, Mac OS High Sierra for VR developers | WWDC 2017: Apple gives Siri top billing on watchOS 4, Apple Watch

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