[Update: June?] Apple Silicon iMac Pro with mini-LED rumored to launch sometime this summer

Update February 14, 2022: DSCC analyst Ross Young has taken to Twitter to double down on this claim. Young says that the iMac Pro with mini-LED could launch as soon as June with around 1000 zones and over 4000 mini-LEDs.

While some rumors had indicated that Apple could release a new iMac Pro with mini-LED technology as soon as this spring, it appears that this product has been delayed. Analyst Ross Young with Display Supply Chain Consultants reports today that the new iMac Pro is now likely to launch sometime in the summer at the earliest.

For those unfamiliar, Ross Young is an analyst for Display Supply Chain Consultants. As such, his reporting is usually based on indications from the supply chain similar to analysts such as Ming-Chi Kuo. He’s proven to be extremely reliable over the past year, including being the sole analyst to report that the 2021 MacBook Pros would feature mini-LED displays with ProMotion.

In a post on Twitter today, Young detailed that DSCC is no longer expecting the new iMac Pro to launch this spring. Instead, the product is now expected to launch in the summer. It’s still expected to feature mini-LED technology, but with “fewer zones” than what’s used in the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro.

In this week’s DSCC Weekly report shared with analysts, Young elaborated:

At the end of last year, we indicated a new MiniLED iMac Pro was coming in 2022. We thought it was coming in the spring, but we now hear it may be summer. Of course, it could be delayed further into the fall. One of the supply challenges Apple has with this product is obtaining more MiniLEDs.

In terms of the display, we hear it may not have as many MiniLED zones and MiniLEDs as what can be found on the iPad Pro and MacBook Pros. We are also questioning whether it will be IGZO or not. I wouldn’t think so since power consumption is less of a concern and there would be little benefit to throttling refresh on a monitor down to 24Hz as IGZO can do. The higher mobilities of IGZO vs. a-Si could also help achieve desired resolution at higher brightness, but brightness shouldn’t be an issue with MiniLEDs. So, we would expect to see an a-Si panel, we will see if we are right.

DSCC reported last month that the new iMac Pro will feature mini-LED and ProMotion 120Hz technology, just like the new MacBook Pro and iPad Pro devices. DSCC has also reported that the redesigned iMac will still feature a 27-inch display, similar to the current-generation models.

This comes after Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported over the weekend that Apple is likely to bring back the “iMac Pro” branding for its new Apple Silicon-powered iMac. The machine is said to feature chips similar to the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors used in the MacBook Pro. The design will reportedly be similar to the current 24-inch M1 iMac.

9to5Mac’s Take

While some had speculated that the new iMac Pro could be announced at a spring event in March or April, it now seems that the machine is more likely to be announced at WWDC 2022 in June.

Young’s reasoning in DSCC weekly makes sense. The analyst explains that the new mini-LED MacBook Pro and iPad Pro are seeing “strong demand and out-performing” expectations. This is eating into Apple’s supply chain availability for mini-LED panels.