A recent internal software leak revealed the codenames of numerous Apple devices, both proposed and future, including several iPhones, Macs and other products. Now, official kernel data published by MacRumors claims Apple is developing an iMac Pro equipped with the company’s most powerful SoC, the M5 Max.
If the launch is confirmed, it would be the company’s first all-in-one AIO format workstation since 2017 and the first iMac Pro to use ‘Silicon’ architecture with its own ARM chips to which Apple has migrated all its personal computers.
New iMac Pro with M5 Max chip?
The finding comes from leaked kernel debugging kit files used by Apple engineers. These files list unreleased Apple hardware using internal identifiers, such as code and platform names, and may also include standalone references that assign identifiers to commercial products. Secondary summaries and screenshots referencing the same internal code have also circulated in the Chinese tech community over the past week, including posts on Weibo.
The software contains references to an iMac with the identifier J833c running the H17C platform. It is associated with the code name “Sotra C”, which relates to the trade name of the M5 Max chipset. This suggests that an iMac with this chip is in active testing.
Although it is not confirmed by Apple and not all the models that engineers test end up on the production ramp, trusted analysts such as Bloomberg’s Ming-Chi Kuo and Mark Gurman have been reporting on it for several years. return of an AIO aimed at the professional market and with a larger screen than the current consumer one.
On the other hand, Apple has already launched the M5 SoC in the new MacBook Pro, iPad Pro and in the updated Vision Pro headset. But they all use the base version of the chipset. If the company follows the strategy of previous launches, there will be two other versions (Max and Ultra) for launch in 2026. Hence the possibility of that iMac Pro with M5 Max chip that has been released to the media.
Twelve years have passed since the launch of Apple’s latest professional ‘all-in-one’ and everything indicates that there is a new version on the way.
