According to the tweet, the leakster claims that the computer could use a chipset that goes “beyond” the M1 Max and that it could end up featuring 12-cores. For those unfamiliar, Apple’s base M1 features a 7-8 core CPU, while the higher-end M1 Pro has 8-10 core options. The M1 Max has 10-cores but features support for more memory and also a GPU with more cores compared to the Pro.
I have received confirmation that there will be an additional configuration for the upcoming iMac Pro beyond M1 Max. A 12 Core CPU configuration was tied to a snippet of code referencing the iMac. The internal naming candidate is iMac Pro for a reason. It is targeted towards pros
— Dylan (@dylandkt) January 23, 2022
This means that the iMac Pro could end up being a variant of the M1 Max with support for additional cores, making it a potentially even more powerful machine. This seems to be similar to a report we heard back in November 2021, where it was suggested that the upcoming Mac Pro refresh could also feature hardware based on the M1 Max rather than the M2, which is also expected to debut this year.
It will be interesting to see what kind of performance gains we can look forward to from the new iMac Pro and Mac Pros, all of which have been rumored to make their debut later this fall, so if you do need to upgrade your Mac, you might want to hold off until then if possible.