27” IMac owners looking to upgrade: What will you do now that the 27” didn’t get an upgrade?

[Zapranoth7]

I have a late 2014 27" iMac, and pondering the specs (i'm not very savvy), I'm trying to decide: how does the quality of the screen on the new model iMac just released compare to the monitor that I have?

I'd like to have a 27" or maybe 30" screen, not go down to a 24"... but from what I can see of the specs, it looks like the monitor I'm staring at now is in ways better than the one coming out on the new machines. Appreciate the community's thoughts on this.

 

[petvas]

I have a late 2014 27" iMac, and pondering the specs (i'm not very savvy), I'm trying to decide: how does the quality of the screen on the new model iMac just released compare to the monitor that I have?

I'd like to have a 27" or maybe 30" screen, not go down to a 24"... but from what I can see of the specs, it looks like the monitor I'm staring at now is in ways better than the one coming out on the new machines. Appreciate the community's thoughts on this.

The 27" iMac has better resolution and has a perfect retina scaling. We don't know exactly if the retina scaling on the 24" iMac will also be as good. The 27" iMac has a bigger display, and more space to use...It's also an IPS panel with wide viewing angle (176 degrees). We don't know how good the 24" display is.

 

[Deadeyeshark]

2017 27“ owner… the new design bothers me, the chin I’m fine with, without it’s just a monitor…. My problem are those white bezels.. hoping the larger new iMac has thin black bezels.

 

[Phil77354]

2017 27“ owner… the new design bothers me, the chin I’m fine with, without it’s just a monitor…. My problem are those white bezels.. hoping the larger new iMac has thin black bezels.

I'm not sure if black would be more compatible, or if it would be more disruptive to the new color themes. The main impact of the colors is on the back of the computer, of course, where it is more intense and uninterrupted (other than the Apple logo).

I think that these new iMacs have to be seen in person to really decide how they look. I'm looking forward to having that chance in the near future when the Apple stores start having them on display.

 

[jm31828]

I'm on a 2017 27" iMac 5k with upgraded RAM and a repaired fusion drive (which "split" trying to install Catalina) and the machine still feels new to me! So even if a 27 - 30 inch version does appear, I'll be sticking with this one. It also looks nicer than the new ones (in my opinion).
Plus my wife won't let me have one for at least another year or two!

My 27” 2017 with fusion drive and 16gb ram seems so slow after the upgrade to Big Sur. I just bought it new a year and a half ago. It was lightning fast on Catalina, huge mistake upgrading.

I’m debating an upgrade to the 2021 to get the fast m1 chip and ssd drive, or maybe just backload to Catalina.

 

[jm31828]

Merrily enjoying my 2017 iMac 27", which does everything I need and does it brilliantly. I will only upgrade if the new iMac is 6k or some other size larger than 27" 5k.

Do you have ssd, or fusion drive? And which OS are you running?

 

[blairh]

What resolution would the screen be if they go 30"?

 

[slappyfrog]

I have A 2017 27” fusion drive iMac. I was looking forward to upgrading but love the big screen and not sure if I should get the 24” one or not. I could get a 2020 27” but I don‘t really think it’s a good idea to buy anymore Intel macs this late. What are you 27” iMac owners who were looking forward to upgrading doing now?

Wait until it does. I'm not sure why this is even a question? If you require the real estate and storage, etc. you either wait or you buy a mini, a docking station, an external drive and a 30" display.

 

[Mac47]

Do you have ssd, or fusion drive? And which OS are you running?

1 tb SSD, Catalina.

 

[haddy]

I bought the 2020 27"iMac when that came out. I wanted one I could run BootCamp on. I topped it out with the i9 and the Radeon Pro 5700XT, then did a RAM upgrade myself to 64GB. It is running great. My old one was a 2015 27" and was getting a little long in the tooth.

Same here........all these posters wanting a new iMac......I am pretty sure the 2020 iMac would completely satisfy their needs........in fact they would love it..... as I do

 

[960design]

What are you 27” iMac owners who were looking forward to upgrading doing now?

Purchasing an M2 iMac later this year.

 

[Deadeyeshark]

.

I'm not sure if black would be more compatible, or if it would be more disruptive to the new color themes. The main impact of the colors is on the back of the computer, of course, where it is more intense and uninterrupted (other than the Apple logo).

I think that these new iMacs have to be seen in person to really decide how they look. I'm looking forward to having that chance in the near future when the Apple stores start having them on display.

Looks ok with the colours, but for day to day usage I’d find the white distracting. I’m hoping they aim the larger screens at the pro market and stick with the silver or space grey.

 

[svish]

I'm waiting for the 32" model to come out later, with the M1X.

I have a late 2013 iMac, which will surely be the best computer I've ever owned, and it's still going great (upgraded with a 512gb SSD and 16GB RAM). Really, I'm not sure whether to wait another year or two to upgrade, especially since I'd love to have a Mac with Face ID.

But, after 12 long years of waiting for a new iMac design, I can finally buy a new one without it being the same one I've been looking at for 7 years.

Yes. 24” iMac is really refreshing to look at.

Back in 2018, I finally bought the 2017 model as I could not wait anymore.

The problem is we still don’t know when the bigger iMac will get a redesign. Hope it gets all the great new colours and it comes really soon.

 

[zerofour]

I wonder if Apple’s strategy is to target the 24” iMacs at more of a ‘consumer’ (for want of a better word) and a newer, larger more powerful
iMac at more of a ‘pro’ (whatever that means!) level. I’m personally still unsure what to do, coming from a 2013 failing iMac.

 

[ZebedeeG]

The new 24" iMac looks like the perfect computer to live in the corner of my living room, and my 27" 2015 iMac will move to a new desk in the spare room along with the printer and pile of paperwork next to it.

Spec wise, there's honestly no point in me waiting for more powerful processors to come along as I've never stretched the i5 Skylake chip in my current computer so the M1 will more than meet my needs for the foreseeable future.

 

[Jamacfer]

The "problem" of the new iMac for myself are not the specs but just the 23,3" monitor, since I would like at least 27"...

 

[CWallace]

I wonder if Apple’s strategy is to target the 24” iMacs at more of a ‘consumer’ (for want of a better word) and a newer, larger more powerful
iMac at more of a ‘pro’ (whatever that means!) level. I’m personally still unsure what to do, coming from a 2013 failing iMac.

That has been my thinking. But if it is true and the next Mac model is a new "iMac Pro", I do believe it is not going to start at $4999 or even $3999. But I do believe it could start at $2499-2999.

 

[petvas]

The "problem" of the new iMac for myself are not the specs but just the 23,3" monitor, since I would like at least 27"...

I need 32GB of RAM (at least) and a big display. 27“ is good enough for me, but 24“ would be too small.

 

[Bodhitree]

Every time I think I have made up my mind I come across a video which talks in glowing terms about one of the other setups, and I end up doubting my choices and going back over previous ground. It’s infuriating.

I think I am clear that i won’t need more than 16 GB of ram, so that’s one thing. Also it is clear that other people are doing comparable workloads on M1, so M1X is nice-to-have, not a necessity.

 

[familychoice]

Every time I think I have made up my mind I come across a video which talks in glowing terms about one of the other setups, and I end up doubting my choices and going back over previous ground. It’s infuriating.

I think I am clear that i won’t need more than 16 GB of ram, so that’s one thing. Also it is clear that other people are doing comparable workloads on M1, so M1X is nice-to-have, not a necessity.

I know how you feel! I seem to change my mind between a 24" iMac, an 8gb Mini and 16gb Mini on a daily basis!

I'd pretty much decided on the iMac a couple of days ago, but the screen size seems to shrink with every comment I read (just over 23" now), and my current (full) 24" HP monitor doesn't exactly feel huge.

27" would really have been a sweet spot for me, so common sense tells me to wait until the bigger iMac is released, but then if it's a 30 or 32", that'll be too big (and probably out of my budget).

So I swing back to the Mini, but half the recommendations are for a 16gb minimum, and the other half say 8gb will be fine.

I think the best option for me is to wait until June at least, and see if the bigger iMac is released, and if it's too big/pricey, throw my lot in with a decent 16gb Mini spec and 27" external monitor.

 

[Bodhitree]

Yeah... I’ve been seeing some people doing comparable work with Ultrawide monitors, so that’s something to look at. Those screens are not much more than 4K, so the resolution will suffer, but then I am mostly going to be looking at text while coding so a Retina display would have been nice but is not essential.

I am currently leaning towards getting a MacBook Air 16/512, and then buying the rest of the setup around that. It would have a lot of benefits in terms of moving around the house, and I can foresee some occasions where I will be on the road. Probably at least a 32” monitor, which will drive the price up.

 

[blairh]

That has been my thinking. But if it is true and the next Mac model is a new "iMac Pro", I do believe it is not going to start at $4999 or even $3999. But I do believe it could start at $2499-2999.

I really don't see such a massive price gap between entry level iMacs of the new 24" and 27" update. I think it will start at $2000.

 

[Bodhitree]

I really don't see such a massive price gap between entry level iMacs of the new 24" and 27" update. I think it will start at $2000.

A 27” 4K monitor is 329 euro’s, a 32” 4K monitor is 629 euro’s. And a 32” 6K even without backlights will be considerably more, so I think it will be at least 600 euro’s more than the 24” iMac. Factor in higher chip manufacturing costs, and I think 2300 euro’s will be the lowest price we can expect.

 

[blairh]

I know how you feel! I seem to change my mind between a 24" iMac, an 8gb Mini and 16gb Mini on a daily basis!

I'd pretty much decided on the iMac a couple of days ago, but the screen size seems to shrink with every comment I read (just over 23" now), and my current (full) 24" HP monitor doesn't exactly feel huge.

27" would really have been a sweet spot for me, so common sense tells me to wait until the bigger iMac is released, but then if it's a 30 or 32", that'll be too big (and probably out of my budget).

So I swing back to the Mini, but half the recommendations are for a 16gb minimum, and the other half say 8gb will be fine.

I think the best option for me is to wait until June at least, and see if the bigger iMac is released, and if it's too big/pricey, throw my lot in with a decent 16gb Mini spec and 27" external monitor.

Problem with the Mini IMO is that you will not want to go with a display that is less than retina in resolution. And such a monitor will be costly as it would have to be 5K in the 27" size.

I would wait until WWDC just to be safe. If we don't get the new bigger iMac at the event, and you don't want to wait until the fall, then I would get a refurbished 27" iMac which right now is $1,439. You can manually add more RAM if needed.

 

[familychoice]

Yeah... I’ve been seeing some people doing comparable work with Ultrawide monitors, so that’s something to look at. Those screens are not much more than 4K, so the resolution will suffer, but then I am mostly going to be looking at text while coding so a Retina display would have been nice but is not essential.

I am currently leaning towards getting a MacBook Air 16/512, and then buying the rest of the setup around that. It would have a lot of benefits in terms of moving around the house, and I can foresee some occasions where I will be on the road. Probably at least a 32” monitor, which will drive the price up.

If I didn’t have a 16” MacBook Pro, I’d get the new M1 13” Pro and a new monitor. In fact if I still can’t decide on an iMac or Mini in June, I might just get a decent monitor for the 16” and forget about desktops for a while.