Editor's note (April 25, 9am ET): A previous version of this article misstated Gurman's claim, saying that the M3 iMac would arrive at the end of 2022, not 2023. This has been corrected.
The next Apple iMac is apparently in development sporting an Apple M3 chip, says Bloomberg's Mark Gurman for Bloomberg in his latest Power On newsletter. And it may be arriving next year.
Gurman writes that the next iMac will come equipped with a third-gen Apple Silicon chip, seemingly skipping the expected Apple M2 chip that's thought to be debuting soon. As for a release date, Gurman reckons the earliest we'd see this new iMac would be the end of 2023.
An iMac Pro is also under development according to Gurman, although he doesn't offer any hardware details for it. He also says it's not coming any time soon, which is unfortunate news for anyone waiting for a more powerful Apple-made all-in-one desktop.
We've heard before that Apple's looking to start trial production for the M3 chips at the end of 2022, and Gurman himself has said that the M3 will arrive in Apple devices from 2023. If we take the possibility of a 2023 debut for the M3 iMac as true, then we could see it debut in either Apple's spring or fall product showcases. Equally Apple could always hold it for spring 2024, when the current 24-inch iMac would turn three years old.
Currently, the iMac offers an Apple M1 chip, with M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra variants on offer in other Mac products. We're waiting for Apple to unveil the M2 series of chips that are expected to run its next-gen devices, but it is no surprise that Apple's maybe looking even further ahead and considering the third revision of its Apple Silicon.
Speaking of the M2 series, Gurman has claimed previously there are several devices on the way using these chips. The base M2 will supposedly be appearing in upcoming MacBook Air, Mac mini and entry-level MacBook Pro models, the M2 Pro and M2 Max in the next set of premium MacBook Pros, and a new "dual M2 Ultra chip" for the Mac Pro.
It's possible that the M2 will also appear in the next iPad Pro, after Apple introduced the M1 to the current 2021 iPad Pro. The next iPad Pro will need to put this power to better use than the current one though, which offers high potential performance but lacks the apps to make use of it.
The first of these M2 chips could appear around June, at Apple's WWDC 2022 conference. While this is primarily an event for software announcements, which this year will almost certainly include iOS 16, macOS 13 and more, it was the 2020 edition of WWDC where Apple first announced its Apple Silicon Mac/iPad chips. It would make sense that this would be the event where Apple would talk about the next generation too.
