iMac Pro: Apple to release its most powerful product ever this week

YouTube videos show the new computer at work

Members of the media photograph a prototype iMac Pro during the annual Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California, U.S. June 5, 2017 (REUTERS/Stephen Lam)

Apple is going to release its hugely powerful iMac Pro this week, it has confirmed.

The new computer will come out on Thursday, 14 December, according to the company's website. It is the first confirmation or new information about the new desktop since it was unveiled in June.

The company still didn't announce how much the iMac Pro – which looks like a normal iMac but comes in a dark grey – will cost, though it said in June that prices start at $4,999. But it did unveil a whole range of market-leading technologies that can be found inside, including an 18-core processor and a powerful Vega graphics chip.

Together it is intended to be far and away the most powerful computer that Apple has ever released. It hopes that by doing so it can overcome professionals' fears about the Mac Pro – which was praised on its release in 2013 but hasn't been updated since, and left them worrying that Apple would not longer make a computer suitable for work like video editing.

It's thought that iMac Pro was once intended to entirely replace the bin-shaped Mac Pro. But it held an event in April that recognised people still wanted the modular, separate design and said it would bring out a new version of the computer next year.

The new details appeared on a special part of the Apple site that details the various tech specs and features of the brand new computer. It also confirmed the release date, though gave little information on availability.

At the same time, a number of early reviews from YouTubers who had access to the computer went live. Apple has been giving vloggers early access to its recent products, including allowing them to be among the first to review the iPhone X.

Popular vlogger Marques Brownlee, who said he has had the computer for about a week, said he was impressed by the new computer. "It feels like the ideal high end YouTuber, Final Cut Pro machine," he said, though noted that the important question will be whether it is worth spending so much more on the powerful computer.

The video also revealed some unexpected details about the new computer, including the fact that it ships with a black Lightning charging cable. That product isn't going to be available elsewhere for now, and marks the first time that Apple has sold a cable in a colour other than white.

Previously, Apple had only said that the new computer would be released in December. (It said the same of its HomePod, but announced a couple of weeks ago that the smart speaker would be delayed into the new year – at which time it didn't mention any change of release date for the iMac Pro.)

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