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The iMac Pro supposedly has an iPhone processor, too

The "most powerful Mac ever" could have a Siri surprise.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
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Tucked inside the upcoming iMac Pro  -- alongside 18 cores of Intel Xeon processors  -- could be a stowaway chip that comes straight from the iPhone.

The A10 Fusion processor belonged to last year's  iPhone 7  and 7 Plus, and it's reportedly bringing always-on Siri voice search functionality -- aka "Hey, Siri" -- to the workhorse rig that Apple has called its "most powerful Mac ever." Over the weekend, iOS developer Guilherme Rambo tweeted a "confirmation" of Siri's presence on the iMac Pro, as spotted by The Verge and 9to5Mac. 

For the record, Rambo has a pretty good track record; he and fellow developer Steven Troughton-Smith are credited for unearthing a goldmine of information about the iPhone X from an accidental firmware update. 

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment. 

In addition to always-on Siri, the borrowed iPhone chip could help the iMac Pro securely boot up before the other processors take over the heavy lifting, as engineer and Mac fan Pepijn Bruienne tweeted. The take-away? It could make the iMac Pro encryption faster, and make the whole platform more secure.

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