Personally think the iMacs and most Apple stuff is very modern looking and has been for years. Some are catching up in looks but most stuff on the PC side is ugly as crap and does not fit in with my styling tastes. Though I really like neo futuristic style and am a big fan of Nordic/Scandinavian styling. That stuff people either love or hate.
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Any educated guesses on the 2018 iMac (not pro)
- Thread starter badlydrawnboy
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It’s hard to envision a style change for the iMac as Apple prepares to re-enter the display market with a line of Apple branded displays that they’ll want to sell to both iMac and iMac Pro users. If they make the iMac different then they’ll be forced to “pick a side” for matching (appearance, chin height, etc) with the displays.
Historically Apple has never done a very good job making their Apple branded displays match the iMac. The Thunderbolt Display looked silly next to the iMac, and the panel only matched for a short period of time until the 5K iMac was released.
If Apple does make a design update it will be subtle and make the iMac look more like the iMac Pro. Hopefully the iMac adopts the thermal design of the iMac Pro, I’d even be willing to give up upgradeable RAM.
I expect their new display to compliment the new Mac Pro and likely MacBook Pro before they put any effort into making it look good with an iMac.
The Intel integrated with Vega is more than highly likely targeted at mobile solutions. It is a substitute for the Intel "Iris Pro" + eDRAM solution that most system vendors (except Apple to some extent) want to pay for. Perhaps in some the entry-economy iMac 21.5" models (which has backslid into mobile offerings), but more than likely not in the 27" iMac space.
I suspect Apple doesn't want to do it, but I think the mid-upper 21.5" go back to having dGPUs. (rebadges of previous stuff that is more affordable now. )
there is an even more chopped down Vega that seems to be coming down the pipeline. Some report as Vega 28 and 32. (there is suppose to be low-mid range class coming. What that is a bit murky. ). If AMD planned in advance for a GDDR5X or GDDR6 variant of Vega then maybe they are on track. If not whether that is viable or not coupled to HBMv2 is murky. If AMD has "nothing" they may have to bite the bullet on those.
if they wait long enough for the 14nm+ optimization of Vega to roll out and bump the iMac Pros to that then perhaps they could "hand me down" the "older" Vegas and entry/economy rebadged 500 Pro option.
[ or there is a break in the feud with Nvidia. ]
I think this is probably accurate. I imagine they care more about paring it with a headless Mac and laptop than fitting it to an iMac. Which kind of sucks---I will be looking to buy the next Apple branded display to go with my 5K.
It really isn't a Thunderbolt Display. It is really a TB Display Docking station. You can happen to use it as a Display. Apple still uses the terminology. However, its primary use is as a docking station.
I think there are also some design specifics. The docking station version weights a bit different so will hang off the pedestal arm different. If trying to balance them "just right" at the end of the arm I think you end up at different arm heights.
The additional vents would be fine. The double fan kicking out the HDD and the RAM door probably aren't necessary.
At least one of those should stay. I suspect though Apple might do both. ( T2 SSDs rolled out broader and same "authorized technician" for RAM upgrades for regular iMac also. ). The problem is that in the regular iMac price zone folks are far more price sensitive.
Very good chance it is another docking station. The "display modular" Mac Pro really don't necessarily need a monitor ( there are 3+ very high quality 3rd party options). Much of the Mac Pro user market has sunk costs already in display. Most of those folks aren't going to want to give them up because anchored on that sunk cost. Of the ones that have resisted buying an iMac 27" for last 3-4 years more than a few are in the "i'll never buy that iMac display, I have one". Same thing is true when swap out the headless Mac Pro.
It would be a complete 180 for Apple to get back into the display business. The left that business in 2010 and last made a new primary display in 2004. Since 2010, a primary design objective has been to power laptops. 7-14 years out of the business.... it isn't something they want to do.
I’d personally be thrilled if they kicked out the HD again. I know I won’t ever order an iMac again with a HD. I think there are quite a few like me. So it is just wasted space that could be used to make the system run cooler and quieter in my mind. You are right about the price point though. They are able to hit pretty low price points on their MBA with an all flash design though. At this point I don’t think you can claim to only care about making “good” computer if you include a HD as the boot volume. Removing the HD is the number 1 change I’d love to see.
So there's nothing sure about a 2018 iMac ... I'd like to change my late 2012 iMac (maxed specs), but I took my decision only now : I could wait some more months as my machine still works quite fine and as I feel 2017 iMacs could already be at their mid-cycle (especially after Intel october announcements) ... it would only piss me off if Apple took an entire year from now to upgrade the iMac line ...
Didn't they just recently upgrade the iMac line though? Or are people really expecting a styling change?
The average iMac refresh is 370+ days. ( so a bit over a year). Last June isn't relatively recently with that sort of average ( pretty close to the mid cycle range).
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac
Between 2011-2017 more than half have come in the Fall though. Sliding to the Fall would not be surprising, but if they keep the revision minimal ( not try to sync up with iMac Pro changes to case ) then 365-370 days ( mid-June) should be doable. The Intel socket didn't change. The PCH chipset change is a bump. If there is no GPU to move to then kicking it to the Fall would help, but there is something ready not a good reason to squat. Almost all of the logic board layout could be reused.
More a styling merge. It is probably easier for Apple to use the same case on both iMac Pro and iMac, but differentiate on the internals and exterior paint job.
The more changes and drift from iMac Pro the longer it would probably take the iMac revision to come. Major changes through the industrial design group generally means not shipping for much longer time.
I'd be thrilled also to see the removal of the HD, and having a dual fan system (or similar) added to the regular iMac, since Intel now is offering 6 core mainstream CPUs. This would also be beneficial for combating the hotter CPUs that Intel have been producing the last couple of years. But how realistic is this? Would Apple actually be willing to drop the Fusion drive, and raise the starting price for the iMac - yet only offer small storage space, like 256-512gb? Apple might feel that the iMac is overdue for a design change (having stayed the same for several years), but compromises would then be needed - either in terms of usability or price point.
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I hope Apple reduced their ridiculous high prices for the SSDs in 2018. Besides this a 6 core iMac would be very nice. I think about getting one.
The Foxconn supply chain guys have predicted incremental updates in 2017 and a redesigned iMac in 2018: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/6ezhwm/iama_foxconn_insider_with_information_on_next_12/
I‘m hoping for WWDC, but the modular Mac Pro is more likely then. Wanting a new design just for kicks is a bit irrational, but I‘m holding out, too
I‘m hoping for WWDC, but the modular Mac Pro is more likely then. Wanting a new design just for kicks is a bit irrational, but I‘m holding out, too
? I don’t really see how you can consider them ridiculous? They charge $200 for an upgrade to 512 GB. A part who’s equivalent is on sale for $240.
Comically large bezels and that big chin both need to be addressed.
Would be nice if you could height adjust, but I know that won't be happening.
Height adjust I can understand. But I dont understand any issues with the chin/bezels. I wish more monitors looked like iMacs, they look more modern then anything out there to me. But I never really caught onto the whole borderless thing.
I loooove scandinavian design.
The redesigned iMac could simply be the iMac Pro? If there is a redesign of the iMac, which knowing Apple would include a smaller size (at least smaller front w/bezels and chin), then they'd have to drop the HD. Combining an SSD-only construction with an HDR-monitor and improved fan/heatsink-system, that would be an awesome update. The iMac has had the exact same design for 7 years now, which makes it highly likely that some kind of redesign is the works. If not 2018, then surely 2019.The Foxconn supply chain guys have predicted incremental updates in 2017 and a redesigned iMac in 2018: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/6ezhwm/iama_foxconn_insider_with_information_on_next_12/
I‘m hoping for WWDC, but the modular Mac Pro is more likely then. Wanting a new design just for kicks is a bit irrational, but I‘m holding out, too
A redesigned iMac Pro at this point makes little sense, as it's about thermals, power and stability - not adding unnecessary "unknowns". I wouldn't really use the iMac Pro as a proof that the current iMac design isn't gong anywhere in the near future. A newly designed iMac in 2018 doesn't lessen the qualities of the iMac Pro, with its Xeon CPU, EEC memory and 16gb GPU.
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Well, I work at the iMac manufacturing warehouse and no new news on the next one being released, Otherwise we would have to sign confidentiality agreements.
We will find out more in a few months
Have you considered buying a dedicated web-cam and/or microphone? If you need a good webcam you shouldn't rely on the one that comes with the mac, a dedicated one will get you much better quality.
Why are people interested so much in the 6 core i5 when the i7-8700 (non-K) is both higher performing and lower TDP, and only marginally more expensive. The i7-8700 is an ideal processor for the iMac.
The i5 has a significantly higher base clock speed.
But half the number of threads... 6/6, would that make it worse or better in multicore tasks compared to a 4/8 cpu?
What are the chances the iMacs will come with 16GB RAM as standard? They've had 8GB for quite long, since 2012.