Apple is rumored to use their latest ARM-based A10 fusion processors on the upcoming iMac Pro. The news comes from the trusted Apple developer Steve Troughton-Smith who found the evidence in BridgeOS 2.0 firmware. The device is expected to go on sale next month and it seems Apple might have hidden this information at the time of announcement at WWDC.
Looks like the iMac Pro's ARM coprocessor is arm64 ? Seems to handle the macOS boot & security process, as expected; iMac Pro lets Apple experiment with tighter control without the rest of the userbase freaking out. More info & download here: https://t.co/wmbNeVSEZX
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) November 18, 2017
The A10 chip will be handling the low powered tasks, which, according to Steve is powering Hey Siri, MacOS boot, and security handling. Smith adds that Apple’s custom chipset runs on the new iMac Pro even when it is completely shut down.
If I had to guess, I would say that the A10 in the iMac Pro could be capable of always-on 'Hey Siri'. In theory. The ramdisk is plugged into audio, and the A10 supports it
— Steve Troughton-Smith (@stroughtonsmith) November 18, 2017
Earlier this year, there were rumours suggesting Apple might be working on a custom ARM chip for MacBook Pro that will be responsible for handling low-powered tasks currently handled by Intel processors. The latest MacBook Pro with touch bar comes with a customized T1 ARM chip to handle Touch ID and Touch Bar.
These steps are more evidence that Apple is trying hard to make sure that its A-series processors work perfectly with iMac Pro with regard to decreasing the load on the primary processor. It still remains to be seen whether Apple is planning to expand its ARM business to more traditional PCs meet the challenge of Windows on ARM. Giving the firm’s position on PCs at the moment, it would be unwise to hold your breath.