2021 M1 iMac: Peak iMac design?

[Serban55]

Unlikely a redesign will occur with the first iMac with Apple Silicon. It will likely occur in 2022.

A redesign may diminish the change made from Intel to Apple Silicon chip.

Apple did this back in 2006 when the PowerPC's white polycarbonate body had the first Intel chip. The following year in 2007 the first aluminum iMac came out.

We already have our latest Intel iMac with the 27"
2022 will be already too late...in that year in late 2022 we expect the transition to be over with the Mac pro

 

[Serban55]

What proportion of 21.5" iMac users do you think ever connect any external displays, let alone 2 or 3? It will be a tiny, tiny fraction. IMHO Apple wouldn't hesitate to degrade that capability in the interest of simplification and efficiency.

And as I understand it the M1 already outperforms the Vega 20, so Apple is already done there.

Is not about that literally , is about bandwidth of the ports/bus and so on that M1 cannot drive...you literally dont have but just 1 full 40gb/s port
Again, M1 will not be in the iMac, a desktop, large enclosure. M1 is on par with Vega 20, maybe a little bit better in some cases, but Apple will never place in 2021 in a brand new mac an old M1 chip that has the gpu power of an 3 years old dGpu !
Apple always after 6 months or after 1 year place in a brand new iOS or mac a new more powerful chip

 

[Hexley]

We already have our latest Intel iMac with the 27"
2022 will be already too late...in that year in late 2022 we expect the transition to be over with the Mac pro

Blame marketing.

Mac Pro with Apple Silicon will debut during WWDC 2021 in June.

At both WWDC 2005 and WWDC 2020 Apple stated that the transition will take 2 years. PowerPC to Intel instead took 210 days only.

Apple makes more money having a quick transition that is less than 7 months vs 24 months.

 

[Serban55]

Blame marketing.

Mac Pro with Apple Silicon will debut during WWDC 2021 in June.

At both WWDC 2005 and WWDC 2020 Apple stated that the transition will take 2 years. PowerPC to Intel instead took 210 days only.

Apple makes more money having a quick transition that is less than 7 months than 24 months.

Yes, Apple makes more money having a quick tran...but NOT with the Mac pro
Don;t get high hopes for the Mac Pro for the WWDC in 7 months from now
We barely have 3 macs....we need another mac mini, another 14" Mbp, an 16" mbp, both the imacs....and i dont see apple to release 6 macs in half a year...they dont have the chip...TSMC doesnt have the power to manufacture the ios chips and the mac chips for the whole line up (and , i bet the chip and the cusom gpu for the mac pro arent ready)

Remember in 2005, appld did not have the iphone or ipad...just intel to manufacture and delivery the chip for just few macs, so even if the chips will be ready, to announce all of those macs at WWDC but to be ready to ship 6-7-8 months after....is not a good marketing from Apple point of view

 

[Hexley]

Yes, Apple makes more money having a quick tran...but NOT with the Mac pro
Don;t get high hopes for the Mac Pro for the WWDC in 7 months from now

I'm not spending more than $2,400 on any Mac so whether the Mac Pro comes out or not is inconsequential to me and over 99% of all Mac users.

Macs I expect to see a redesign by 2022 or 2023.

• iMac 21.5" and 27"
• Mac mini
• iMac Pro 27"

 

[Serban55]

By the 2023 all the macs will have some sort of redesign
We will start see next year
Rumours already started to say even the Mac Pro will get a redesign (IF it will not be an "Mac Pro mini" )
Yes, i bet the 16" Mbp or the bigger imac 30" will be even faster than the current Mac pro , and that will allow the current Mac Pro users spend a lot less for more perf. I cant even imagine what the new Mac Pro can do....and i bet the max out will never be over 50k again...because no more money to Intel and amd
So im expecting the next Mac Pro to be around 25k-30k tops and that will allow even greater market for it
Ffkking exiting times for the mac users, and even for some windows users

 

[Puonti]

I was on the fence which way Apple would go with redesigns when transitioning to their own silicon. I could think of valid reasons for both options. Apple chose the most Apple-like reason: make sure there's something people are left wanting in a future update.

Looks like the iMac line redesign will come in 2022 earliest.

 

[Hexley]

By the 2023 all the macs will have some sort of redesign
We will start see next year
Rumours already started to say even the Mac Pro will get a redesign (IF it will not be an "Mac Pro mini" )
Yes, i bet the 16" Mbp or the bigger imac 30" will be even faster than the current Mac pro , and that will allow the current Mac Pro users spend a lot less for more perf. I cant even imagine what the new Mac Pro can do....and i bet the max out will never be over 50k again...because no more money to Intel and amd
So im expecting the next Mac Pro to be around 25k-30k tops and that will allow even greater market for it
Ffkking exiting times for the mac users, and even for some windows users

It's unlikely that all Macs will get a redesign by 2023.

These Macs received a redesign from latest to oldest in the past 2 years

• 2020 Macbook Pro 13" Intel
• 2019 Macbook Pro 16"
• 2019 Mac Pro
• 2018 Macbook Air

Years that the Intel Macs used the PowerPC case design

• 2006 iMac
• 2006-early 2008 Macbook Pro 15"
• 2006-2009 Macbook
• 2006-2009 Mac mini
• 2006-2012 Mac Pro

 

[IowaLynn]

Anyone read the A16 chip would be out on fall 2022, makes me think a successor to the current 7,1 Mac Pro would not arrive until afterwards.

 

[iPadified]

If you’re expecting the rendered to be real then you’ll probably be disappointed. It will probably look like the XDR but with a chin about half the size of the current one. I don’t see that going away, that’s where the vents and speakers are and it’s a branding thing. They want an Apple logo on the front.

And no it wont be as thick as an iPad and no it won’t be fanless. Even the Mini had a fan. It would be a very poor choice if it didn’t. The hump will surely be smaller but you still need thickness to house a heat sink and fan. I hope it has a large heat sink so it can stay as silent as possible.

Considering the Air is fan less, the iMac24 could be the "Air" of iMacs. Both are entry level. Even an M1 is sufficient in such an entry level machine but I expect is to be equipped with M1X, 8P+4E, 12-16 core GPU and a TDP of about 20-25W. That can be cooled passively if the case is cleverly designed.

I also only referring to discussion of leaks during the summer and most leaks talked about an iPP like design, no dimensions was discussed more than such a iMac would need to be very thick to hold 10900K plus 5700X (this was pre WWDC leks/discussion). Yes, the XDR like design was also discussed and is for sure a possibility.

If the iMac will be thinner than an iPad, the ASi need to go into the base/stand, fan or no fan, which is a possibility.

 

[neinjohn]

Considering the Air is fan less, the iMac24 could be the "Air" of iMacs. Both are entry level. Even an M1 is sufficient in such an entry level machine but I expect is to be equipped with M1X, 8P+4E, 12-16 core GPU and a TDP of about 20-25W. That can be cooled passively if the case is cleverly designed.

I also only referring to discussion of leaks during the summer and most leaks talked about an iPP like design, no dimensions was discussed more than such a iMac would need to be very thick to hold 10900K plus 5700X (this was pre WWDC leks/discussion). Yes, the XDR like design was also discussed and is for sure a possibility.

If the iMac will be thinner than an iPad, the ASi need to go into the base/stand, fan or no fan, which is a possibility.

I kinda agree. It seems to fit Apple's idea for the iMac 21'5 which had a lower TDP. Mainly the non-4K models

A passively cooled 35W SoC 8P+4E on a desktop system getting near a Ryzen 7 5800X which uses 200W (you want a water cooling to push it) would be fun.

 

[Lammers]

Yes, and important to consider that price point is a critical factor for the 21.5”/low-end iMac given its target markets. Apple is going to want to maintain the right positioning.

 

[jazz1]

I think the 2021 iMac will be the most beautiful desktop computer ever made. If it is anything like the renders I’ve seen, we will be entering an era of peak iMac design.

What does everyone hope to see in the new iMac?

I like your anticipation/posting! I think there is some great potential here. As an owner of a 2015 27” iMac I have to admit that the sort of “all in one” form factor is something I appreciate.

I say this as I’m about to receive an M1 MacMini today that I plan to use as a second workstation/PlayStation. All I can see are dongles/docks, and a cabled monitor in my near future, opposed to the ”all in one” kind of form factor of the iMacs.

If the next iMac has the second generation AS, and plenty of ports I am going to be very interested!

 

[Kierkegaarden]

I like your anticipation/posting! I think there is some great potential here. As an owner of a 2015 27” iMac I have to admit that the sort of “all in one” form factor is something I appreciate.

I say this as I’m about to receive an M1 MacMini today that I plan to use as a second workstation/PlayStation. All I can see are dongles/docks, and a cabled monitor in my near future, opposed to the ”all in one” kind of form factor of the iMacs.

If the next iMac has the second generation AS, and plenty of ports I am going to be very interested!

Thanks for your comment, and congrats on your new M1MM!

There is no reason why the new iMac couldn’t have at least as many ports as the current models. And I think there is no reason why there has to be a chin either. And there is no reason why is can’t have FaceID built in, but maybe they put this into just the higher end models.

Maybe it will be easier and seamless to use the iMac as a monitor for another Mac — that would nice for your new Mini.

 

[jazz1]

Thanks for your comment, and congrats on your new M1MM!

There is no reason why the new iMac couldn’t have at least as many ports as the current models. And I think there is no reason why there has to be a chin either. And there is no reason why is can’t have FaceID built in, but maybe they put this into just the higher end models.

Maybe it will be easier and seamless to use the iMac as a monitor for another Mac — that would nice for your new Mini.

I like your description of the future iMac. I've seen mock-ups of a "cheese grater" design with now "chin". I love the look. FaceID would be a boon per your description of its availability. I suppose we are going to lose do it yourself memory upgrades just like the M1 MacMini.

 

[dmccloud]

I like your description of the future iMac. I've seen mock-ups of a "cheese grater" design with now "chin". I love the look. FaceID would be a boon per your description of its availability. I suppose we are going to lose do it yourself memory upgrades just like the M1 MacMini.

I think DIY RAM upgrades as we know it will be gone industry wide outside of gaming and enthusiast builds. Even on the Windows side, more and more machines are coning with non-upgradeable RAM and storage, in part because it helps either make the laptop thinner or accommodates a slightly larger battery and/or cooling system. Given Intel's penchant for boosting clock speeds and power requirements lately, that becomes a bigger concern with each new generation CPU Intel fails to shrink the process for.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

I think DIY RAM upgrades as we know it will be gone industry wide outside of gaming and enthusiast builds. Even on the Windows side, more and more machines are coning with non-upgradeable RAM and storage, in part because it helps either make the laptop thinner or accommodates a slightly larger battery and/or cooling system. Given Intel's penchant for boosting clock speeds and power requirements lately, that becomes a bigger concern with each new generation CPU Intel fails to shrink the process for.

I agree — user upgradable memory will be extinct. I’m fine with non-upgradable components if it means a better build, more efficiency, etc. The iMac had a pretty neat little system with memory upgrades though.

 

[quarkysg]

user upgradable memory will be extinct

I would think this is true for consumer and low end 'professional' product lines. Apple's customers in this demographic are not going to care about upgradability and will buy whatever is there on offer as long as it meets their needs and can afford it.

For the high-end more expensive models using premium parts, my guess is that Apple would not want a large inventory of 'fixed' models they cannot move. The targeted customers (although smaller in scale) for such models have more diverse needs (at least for RAM, storage, and maybe GPU?). So from a product inventory perspective, most likely Apple will engineer some form of 'upgradability' for higher end models.

It'll be interesting to see how Apple will be moving forward with their SoCs.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

I would think this is true for consumer and low end 'professional' product lines. Apple's customers in this demographic are not going to care about upgradability and will buy whatever is there on offer as long as it meets their needs and can afford it.

For the high-end more expensive models using premium parts, my guess is that Apple would not want a large inventory of 'fixed' models they cannot move. The targeted customers (although smaller in scale) for such models have more diverse needs (at least for RAM, storage, and maybe GPU?). So from a product inventory perspective, most likely Apple will engineer some form of 'upgradability' for higher end models.

It'll be interesting to see how Apple will be moving forward with their SoCs.

Very good points, and well stated. It does make sense to me that they would have this option in higher end systems vs their mainstream/consumer products.

 

[andyr77]

I really hope they will have something bigger than 24". I am looking to update my 2015 iMac 27" and would hate to step down a size or have to wait another year... the horror

 

[Serban55]

I really hope they will have something bigger than 24". I am looking to update my 2015 iMac 27" and would hate to step down a size or have to wait another year... the horror

Yes, the 24" imac is suppose to be the current 21.5" redesign imac and not the 27"
The 27" will go for 30-32"

 

[andyr77]

Yes, the 24" imac is suppose to be the current 21.5" redesign imac and not the 27"
The 27" will go for 30-32"

Oh, that will be nice. Let's hope it won't take a year to get the larger one

 

[Hexley]

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