The iMac Pro may be returning in a big way.
According to leak posts on Chinese social media websites Weibo and Bilibili over the past week, Apple is thought to be developing a high-end iMac featuring the M5 Max chip. The finding comes from leaked kernel debug kit files used by Apple engineers. These kits, which are used for kernel debugging, enumerate unreleased Apple hardware by internal identifiers, such as codenames and platform names, and can also include separate references that map the products to chip codenames and marketing names.
The software contains references to an iMac with the identifier J833c running on platform H17C. H17C is associated with the codename “Sotra C,” which relates to the expected marketing name “M5 Max.” This suggests that an iMac with the M5 Max chip is in active testing.
The leaks refer to several devices believed to be used exclusively for internal testing, such as iPad minis running tvOS and MacBooks with the A15 chip, so there is a chance that the M5 Max iMac is used for testing only. Apple is expected to be introducing its M5 Max Chip in 2026, and there have been rumors about Apple reintroducing the high-end “Pro” iMac for several years now. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has posited that Apple was still “working on a larger-screened iMac aimed at the professional market” following the launch of the Apple silicon iMac. This rumor was also supported by noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
The kernel debug kit has also mentioned several additional Mac configurations, such as 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro notebooks with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M6 chip, and 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M6 Pro and M6 Max chips. Other products mentioned include 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, Mac mini models with the M5 and M5 Pro chips, and new Mac Studio models with the M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips. Finally, the leak also lists a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, which is thought to be an all-new, budget model.
As always, stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors