27" iMac is dead 😟

[CWallace]

Gurman says the iMac Pro is still coming. ?

Guess we'll find out next year. ?‍♂️?‍♀️

 

[EugW]

Yeah, we have Apple saying the iMac 27" is dead, and we have a new 27" Studio Display.

But we have two pundits saying 27" something is coming, one saying an iMac Pro, and one saying something with mini-LED.

Hmmm...

I don't care either way personally though, since I'm not buying another 5K 27" screen.

 

[profets]

Yeah, we have Apple saying the iMac 27" is dead, and we have a new 27" Studio Display.

But we have two pundits saying 27" something is coming, one saying an iMac Pro, and one saying something with mini-LED.

Hmmm...

I don't care either way personally though, since I'm not buying another 5K 27" screen.

Yeah, the rumours over the past year or so about new 27” displays has been confusing. Kind of sounded like one might be an iMac and the other an external display, but I guess one is the Studio Display and the other might be a higher end display of some sort with mini LED and 120hz?

I personally am hoping for a large iMac of some sort as I have several I need to replace in an office, but not holding my breath.

 

[richest]

So been listening to all the post-Event podcasts with the various hosts discussing the demise of the 27" iMac and what the future may or may not hold.

At the moment, I tend to think we will not see an iMac Pro. I just don't see the market for it when we have Mac Studio and an Apple silicon Mac Pro coming now that Apple is back in the display business (and now beyond just the absolute top end).

Jason Snell thinks that Apple will take a page from the PowerPC days and just offer the same configuration in two sizes - 24" and 27". And before people complain those sizes are two close, Apple used to sell iMacs in 17" and 20" and 20" and 24" models.

I believe Apple is waiting for the launch of M2 before they start updating the existing line-up and offering new models. Offering the M2 Pro on both the Mac mini and a new 27" iMac model would offer a lower entry-point to the Mac Studio (with or without an Apple-branded display) while still leaving M2 Max and 64+GB exclusive to the Studio.

Fair warning though - an M2 27" iMac is going to start north of $2000 (my guess is $2200-2500).

That would be ok. Better than the current options.

 

[blairh]

Guess we'll find out next year. ?‍♂️?‍♀️

When do you think we will get the M2 Pro and M2 Max?

 

[CWallace]

When do you think we will get the M2 Pro and M2 Max?

Apple has multiple options:

• WWDC 2022 (presuming the Apple silicon Mac Pro is revealed at WWDC and it will offer SoCs based on M2)
• Fall 2022 (at a dedicated M2 family Mac launch event - so M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max all launched together)
• Spring 2023 (so a year from now - this would be if only the base M2 SoC is announced at WWDC or the Fall 2022 event)
• WWDC 2023

My guess as to the likeliest are WWDC 2022 or Spring 2023.

 

[blairh]

Apple has multiple options:

• WWDC 2021 (presuming the Apple silicon Mac Pro is revealed at WWDC and it will offer SoCs based on M2)
• Fall 2021 (at a dedicated M2 family Mac launch event - so M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max all launched together)
• Spring 2022 (so a year from now - this would be if only the base M2 SoC is announced at WWDC or the Fall 2021 event)
• WWDC 2022

My guess as to the likeliest are WWDC 2021 or Spring 2022.

I feel like the mini-LED panel is a lock for WWDC. Just a question of when the iMac Pro will be announced.

 

[profets]

When do you think we will get the M2 Pro and M2 Max?

Apple has multiple options:

• WWDC 2021 (presuming the Apple silicon Mac Pro is revealed at WWDC and it will offer SoCs based on M2)
• Fall 2021 (at a dedicated M2 family Mac launch event - so M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max all launched together)
• Spring 2022 (so a year from now - this would be if only the base M2 SoC is announced at WWDC or the Fall 2021 event)
• WWDC 2022

My guess as to the likeliest are WWDC 2021 or Spring 2022.

I assume you meant 2022 and 2023?

How’s the timeline been for M1 so far -

Fall 2020 we first saw M1 in a MacBook Pro and MacBook Air
Spring 2020 M1 in the iMac
Fall 2021 M1 Pro and M1 Max in the MacBook Pro
Spring 2022 M1 Ultra in the Mac Studio

So ~18 months so far. And maybe WWDC 2022 we get the M1 “Extreme” (2xUltra) for the new Mac Pro. Brings it close to a 2 year cycle for all of the M1 variations.

I wonder if that means in fall 2022 we first see the M2 introduction, and then a year or so rolling out updates to the Pro/Max/Ultra/Extreme variations.

 

[Abazigal]

Apple has multiple options:

• WWDC 2022 (presuming the Apple silicon Mac Pro is revealed at WWDC and it will offer SoCs based on M2)
• Fall 2022 (at a dedicated M2 family Mac launch event - so M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max all launched together)
• Spring 2023 (so a year from now - this would be if only the base M2 SoC is announced at WWDC or the Fall 2022 event)
• WWDC 2023

My guess as to the likeliest are WWDC 2022 or Spring 2023.

My guess is that these M1 chips are on a multi-year refresh cycle. We likely won't see the M2 chip before the Mac Pro, so I am thinking a end-2022 reveal for the M2 Macs (ie: MBA, Mac mini, iMac, maybe iPad Pro?). This effectively puts the M2 chip on a 2-year refresh cycle.

The M1 Pro / Max / Ultra could similarly be on a 2-3 year refresh cycle, since I don't really see the the competition catching up to Apple in terms of performance efficiency. It would also allow Apple to spread out their product refresh cycles and manufacturing capacity, so you don't run into a scenario where they end up updating their entire Mac line all at one go and supply can't keep up with demand.