Mashable: According to Mark Gurman, Apple is still working on a professional-grade iMac with a larger display and a more powerful CPU.

For his monthly Power On newsletter, Gurman speculated that at least two iMac models will use the "M3" processor series. A new 24-inch iMac with the standard M3 CPU is expected from Apple in 2023, according to Gurman, and the company is also working on a high-end iMac model.

The iMac Pro was discontinued in March 2021, and the 27-inch Intel-based iMac was withdrawn in March 2022, leaving the 24-inch iMac with the M1 chip as the only iMac model. The 27-inch iMac was practically superseded by the Mac Studio and its matching Studio Display, although Gurman is one of the commentators who claim that a more powerful and larger iMac is still in the works.

For the first time, a 24-inch iMac with the M2 chip has not been included in Gurman's forecast of Apple's next M2 iMacs, which include a new Mac Mini, a new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, and a new Mac Pro tower with the new M2 Ultra and "M2 Extreme" chips, according to AppleInsider. For Gurman, an improved 24-inch iMac will be among the first products in the M3 series of Macs, which would also include a new 15-inch MacBook Air and a 12-inch laptop "still in early development."

As Gurman has already stated, the new high-end iMac "won't be anytime soon," and the inclusion of M3 processors would indicate that it may not come until 2023 at the earliest. The M3 family of chips is planned to be manufactured on TSMC's 3nm technology, unlike the M1 and M2, which are built on a 5nm process. Improved performance and efficiency are anticipated as a result of a more modern manufacturing method.

Prioritizing the Mac’s Silicon over iPhone and Apple Watch

According to Gurman, Apple has launched five major varieties of Mac CPUs in the last 18 months and estimates that at least four more are coming in the next year or so. It takes a tremendous lot of work to create so many chipsets so quickly, and it appears that Apple has shifted much of its development resources to these chipsets, which include the M1, the M1 Ultra, the M2, and others.

Because of this, Gurman says, the A15 Bionic has been used by Apple two years in a row. However, he also adds that this is due to the lack of resources available to work on other chipsets.

Employing the M1 chip in the iPad Pro 2021 and iPad Air (2022) would also explain why Apple is rumored to be using a similar chipset in the Apple Watch 8 as it does in the Apple Watch 7, which would save the firm time and money.