Apple has basically replaced the SMC architecture with a new architecture that is the equivalent of an Apple watch. From an integration perspective, it makes sense. Apple no longer has to source an SMC/arm chip from another supplier, they use their own.
All Mac users have at some point had to reset the SMC on a Mac. The MacWorld comment that the iMac pro because of the T2 chip is unlike another Mac, is only half the story. The Functionality that was handled by the SMC (which was an arm based architecture), is now handled by a more beefier arm chip T2.
It's a cost savings for Apple, and allows for more advanced functionality. In the Interim , the T2 is doing exactly what the SMC used to do.
All Mac users have at some point had to reset the SMC on a Mac. The MacWorld comment that the iMac pro because of the T2 chip is unlike another Mac, is only half the story. The Functionality that was handled by the SMC (which was an arm based architecture), is now handled by a more beefier arm chip T2.
It's a cost savings for Apple, and allows for more advanced functionality. In the Interim , the T2 is doing exactly what the SMC used to do.