Credit: Samuel Axon

Apple doesn’t like to talk about its upcoming products before it’s ready, but sometimes the company’s software does the talking for it. So far this week we’ve had a couple of software-related leaks that have outed products Apple is currently testing—one a pre-release build of iOS 26, and the other some leaked files from a kernel debug kit (both via MacRumors).

Most of the new devices referenced in these leaks are straightforward updates to products that already exist: a new Apple TV, a HomePod mini 2, new AirTags and AirPods, an M4 iPad Air, a 12th-generation iPad to replace the current A16 version, next-generation iPhones (including the 17e, 18, and the rumored foldable model), a new Studio Display model, some new smart home products we’ve already heard about elsewhere, and M5 updates for the MacBook Air, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and the other MacBook Pros. There’s also yet another reference to the lower-cost MacBook that Apple is apparently planning to replace the M1 MacBook Air it still sells via Walmart for $599.

For power users, though, the most interesting revelation might be that Apple is working on a higher-end Apple Silicon iMac powered by an M5 Max chip. The kernel debug kit references an iMac with the internal identifier J833c, based on a platform identified as H17C—and H17C is apparently based on the M5 Max, rather than a lower-end M5 chip. (For those who don’t have Apple’s branding memorized, “Max” is associated with Apple’s second-fastest chips; the M5 Max would be faster than the M5 or M5 Pro, but slower than the rumored M5 Ultra.)

This device could be the long-awaited, occasionally-rumored-but-never-launched replacement to Apple’s 27-inch iMac, which was discontinued in 2022 with no direct replacement. An M5 Max chip would also make this machine the closest thing we’ve seen to a direct replacement for the iMac Pro, a 27-inch iMac variant that was launched in late 2017 but likewise discontinued without an update or replacement.

The current M4 Max chip includes 14 or 16 CPU cores, 32 or 40 GPU cores, and between 36GB and 128GB of unified memory, specs we’d expect an M5 Max to match or beat. And because the Max chips already fit into the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, it should be no problem to fit one into an all-in-one desktop PC.

The only Intel Mac with no replacement

For most of the Intel era, the 27-inch iMac was Apple’s main workhorse desktop, situated in between the underpowered Mac mini and the expensive, oft-ignored Mac Pro. It used high-end multi-core CPUs and midrange dedicated GPUs, and combined them with a high-end color-accurate 5K screen that was good enough for all kinds of professional photo and video editing and design work.

But the Apple Silicon era saw the iMac revert to its roots as a less-powerful, colorful, consumer-friendly system aimed at less-demanding users. The current Apple M4 iMac is pleasant to use and plenty fast for everyday computing tasks, but it can’t stack up to desktops like the M4 Pro Mac mini or the Mac Studio.

For several years, rumors persisted that Apple was working on an upgraded iMac—Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in 2023 that a 32-inch version of the iMac could possibly launch at some point in 2024 or 2025. That timeline ended up being optimistic, but the presence of an M5 Max in this testing model suggests that a 2026 launch could be a real possibility.

Apple offers products that can replace a 27-inch iMac in its lineup today—either a Mac mini or Mac Studio, connected to a 27-inch 5K Studio Display or the 32-inch 6K Pro Display XDR. But that combination can’t replace an iMac for the people who enjoy the all-in-one’s clean look or its lack of cable clutter, and both of those aging standalone displays are missing support for the kinds of technologies offered in modern high-end screens, including mini LED or OLED panels or ProMotion refresh rates.

That this iMac and these other devices are present in these internal software builds doesn’t mean that they’re things Apple intends to release—just that Apple is testing some version of them in its headquarters somewhere, and that work has progressed to the point where Apple is supporting them with internal software releases. They could see the light of day soon, or years from now, or never at all. But for anyone who’s still keeping hope alive about a 27-inch iMac replacement, this is another piece of kindling you can use to try and keep that fire burning.