Alongside a spec bump to standard iMac models, Apple today quietly added 256GB RAM and Radeon Pro Vega 64X graphics options to the iMac Pro.
Upgrading to 256GB of 2,666MHz DDR4 ECC memory will set you back a steep $5,200, more than the $4,999 price of the base iMac Pro itself. Radeon Pro Vega 64X graphics can be added for $700. Both are configure-to-order options.
Apple has also lowered the prices of some existing iMac Pro upgrade options. As examples, 64GB of RAM dropped from $800 to $400, 128GB of RAM dropped from $2,400 to $2,000, Radeon Vega Pro 64 graphics dropped from $600 to $550, and 4TB SSD storage dropped from $2,800 to $2,400 in the United States.
A maxed out iMac Pro now runs $15,699.
(Thanks, Mark Little!)
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Top Rated Comments
"Pro" to me isn't necessarily what you do with a device, but the fact that the device can be adaptable to the job. Replacable and expandable hardware are "pro" because it allows for the user to tailor the hardware to fit their needs to maximize productivity (regardless of what they deem productivity to be).
it's not necessarily about "not being able to afford RAM". Especially when Apple's upgrades for their soldered solutions are several times the cost of retail pricing (even expensive side).
it also means longer longevity of the hardware as it can be expanded to further adapt to use.
Soldering RAM and STORAGE are the two things that should be avoided in any professional grade machine. I'll give RAM a benefit of the doubt in ultra portables where SODIMM slots take up a lot of space. But in a desktop computer there is literally zero reason to solder down storage or memory except as planned obsolescence.
I just don't know where this bizarre entitlement that computers should be upgradeable came from. Actual pros who work in niche industries spend twice the price of an iMac Pro on a single piece of hardware that does ONE job well and cannot be upgrade. Audio professionals buy a two channel DAC for £8000, all it does is stereo out and you can't upgrade that, or any other audio equipment.
Being able to tinker with an upgrade a computer screams more to be consumer, hobbits and most often gamer. Actual pros value their time much more expensively per hour than to be messing around upgrading RAM when they could earn 3x more than that in their work.