Apple has taken the somewhat unusual step of pre-announcing some products that it's working on, which includes a refreshed iMac desktop lineup that will ship later this year. 

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Speaking at a round table discussion, Phil Schiller, Apple's Senior Vice President of marketing said the company is going to think about the pro user when designing the new computer, too. 

"We’re going to begin making configurations of iMac specifically with the pro customer in mind", he said, although just what constitutes a machine for pro users could be argued. Schiller didn't give away what features the new iMac would come with, nor did he comment on speculation of an iMac Pro name.

But if you thought the idea of an iMac Pro would include a touchscreen for the first time, Schiller is more than happy to quash those dreams right away. He said: "Touch doesn't even register on the list of things pro users are interested in talking about".

"They're interested in things like performance and storage and expandibility". 

Microsoft clearly thinks differently, as it announced its iMac rival, the Surface Studio, towards the end of 2016. The Surface Studio features a huge 28in touchscreen which is on a hinge, and is targeted at designers, drawers and content creators.

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The iMac is already a powerful machine, and has evolved from a consumer computer to one that is used by professionals worldwide. Craig Federighi, Apple's Senior Vice President of software engineering said: "The original iMac you wouldn’t have thought of as remotely touching pro uses."

"But today’s 5K iMac in its top configurations? It’s incredibly powerful. Tasks that previously would have required the Mac Pros of old are now being well addressed by today’s iMac."

But even with the power the current iMacs already hold, that clearly hasn't stopped Apple wanting to further enhance their capabilities. Apple didn't give much away about the rest of the iMac lineup, though, instead choosing to focus solely on the pro edition. 

We expect the new iMac lineup to follow a similar design language to previous models, primarily an all-in-one design and no doubt slathers of aluminium. For now we can only speculate, as Apple remained tight-lipped.