Apple will ship new iMacs later this year, including configurations targeted at the pro market; Phil Schiller confirms they will not feature a touchscreen
Apple's expected update to its iMac line will arrive later this year with some previously unexpected additions: pro models.
Context & Ripple Effects
In April 2017, BuzzFeed reported that Apple's next iMac refresh would include configurations aimed at pro users — an unusual positioning for a line long treated as consumer hardware — and Phil Schiller used the moment to shut down recurring speculation about touch-enabled Macs. The pro push materialized within months as the $4,999 iMac Pro, which went up for order that December in 8-core and 10-core variants with higher-core models promised later.
The no-touchscreen call proved durable: Apple's subsequent iMac generations — the Pro Display XDR-style redesign reported in 2021 and the M3-powered 24-inch models of 2023 — kept the same input model, making this report an early marker of how Apple drew the line between Mac and iPad.
First-order effects
- Pro customers get a credible all-in-one option from Apple for the first time in years, with the iMac Pro's $4,999 starting price establishing a new ceiling for the iMac line.
- Schiller's confirmation ends near-term speculation about touch iMacs, keeping touch-first workflows on iPad and leaving the Mac's input model unchanged.
Second-order effects
- A pro-tier iMac pressures the rest of Apple's desktop lineup on pricing and positioning, since buyers weighing an iMac Pro against a modular Mac Pro must choose between integrated simplicity and expandability.
- Rival desktop makers selling touch-screen all-in-ones are left defending a feature Apple explicitly rejects, framing the market around two competing input philosophies rather than one.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — and the 2021 redesign and 2023 M3 reports suggest it does — the iMac settles into a permanent two-track structure: consumer models refreshed on Apple silicon cadence plus periodic pro halo configurations, rather than being retired in favor of modular desktops alone.
- Apple's repeated refusal to merge touch into the Mac hardens into a structural product boundary, preserving the iPad as the company's dedicated touch platform instead of letting the categories converge.
The trend: The iMac is evolving from a consumer-only all-in-one into a two-tier line where periodic pro configurations coexist with regular consumer refreshes, while Apple keeps touch input confined to the iPad.