any solid info on when the new imac is coming?

[dwishbone]

see topic title.
im wanting to go ahead and sell my G5 tower while it still has some value and get an iMac. i was looking at the $1999 24" model.
but there are rumblings of a new iMac design coming soon. does anyone have any reliable information of when these are coming?

 

[skinnylegs]

I have no doubt that the iMac will be redesigned.....eventually. Nobody actuallly knows when.

You have presented a question that gets asked quite frequently. Should you buy or should you wait? Personally, I think it might not be a bad idea to wait for Leopard 'cause it appears to be just around the corner but I'm not so sure I'd wait for an actual redesign.

While we're on the topic of redesign, take a look at this. There is some speculation that a futue iMac might look like this.....

 

[dwishbone]

yeah i have a macbook pro and a PC i can fall back on temporarily for a desktop machine. yeah i'd probably wait for Leopard before i buy, since all things are pointing to that shipping in April (or may at the latest).
that new iMac is pretty sweet if it looks anything even close to that.
i know the rumors said the iMac was going to look much different, but personally i like the current iMac and i invision it basically just being a much slimmer version of what we currently have offered...and much less unused frontage.
like i said i'd just like to get rid of my G5 while it still has some value. surprisingly they are going for about $1500 on eBay.
i have a dual 2ghz G5, Superdrive, 160GB HD, and 2GB ram

 

[Mr. Burns]

I'm not in any position to know anything about Apple's plans. I'm also not qualified to talk authoritatively about anything technical, but would it not make sense for Apple to wait for Santa Rosa in May to upgrade the iMac? Even with a redesign? Are they going redesign away from mobile platforms in the iMac? Is there really anything hardware-wise between now and then to justify a new iMac? If Santa Rosa is their chosen hardware upgrade, I've gathered from the great folks here at MR that iMacs won't be coming out until WWDC at the earliest (and that may be a stretch-maybe an announcement) due to production limitations. It would also conveniently coincide with more and more speculation here (at least what I've read) that Leopard will be released then, with (maybe) an annoucement before WWDC. Unless there are alot of developers working under very strict secrecy agreements or Leopard will be released without extensive developer seeds, I'm gonna guess June (mid/late) at the earliest for both, hope I'm wrong.

BTW, that futuristic design is killer. But... come on, all the hardware in that tiny space? Translucent screen? I'd need new shorts if that actually came out, even if it were marginally close!

 

[dwishbone]

i went ahead and got the iMac. i couldnt pass it up.
it was a refurb from apple.
24", 2.16ghz Core 2 Duo,1GB RAM, 250GB HD, Nvidia 7300 128MB, Superdrive, Airport, Bluetooth
only $1699. after tax/shipping and all it came out to be about $1850
the way i figured it the new iMac's innards wouldnt be that much more powerful. it would be a slight upgrade in a newer case. also i want to sell my G5 while is has some value. i cant believe how much they are still selling for on ebay.
also the only reason i can afford the iMac is because of the $300 price reduction + the money for my G5. i probably couldnt afford a newer machine when they came out anyway, because i'd want the top of the line one

 

[Captain Planet]

I was in the same position as you, wanting to buy a new iMac but with all the speculations running around about a re-design being released, I wasn't sure if I should wait or not. Well, today I've made a purchase of a 20" 2.16 GHz iMac, with 2 GB Ram and the upgraded video card (forgot the exact name). Can't wait to get it! It's also my first ever Mac so it should be refreshingly good.

 

[Mr. Burns]

I don't think you made a bad choice. In fact, I've been thinking about doing the same thing. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones and get a 'little something extra" from your refurb purchase in the way of processor speed, HD upgrade, maybe even an updated graphics card! Which, btw, is what is keeping me from buying. I want the 24" at refurb prices (especially this close to possible upgrades), but want one with the updated graphics card for longevity reasons. Kind of a crap shoot if you buy a refurb. But I've read the graphics card is upgradeable in the 24", as long as it is the same socket type and is supported by Apple. I believe the 7600 is the only supported one right now other than the 7300. Anyone know if I got the refurb, would I be able to change it out to the 7600 with 256mb (assuming it came with the 7300)? How difficult would that be for an amateur to do? Otherwise I'll wait and buy new at the next upgrade cycle 3-4 months from now.

 

[roland.g]

i went ahead and got the iMac. i couldnt pass it up.
it was a refurb from apple.
24", 2.16ghz Core 2 Duo,1GB RAM, 250GB HD, Nvidia 7300 128MB, Superdrive, Airport, Bluetooth
only $1699. after tax/shipping and all it came out to be about $1850
the way i figured it the new iMac's innards wouldnt be that much more powerful. it would be a slight upgrade in a newer case. also i want to sell my G5 while is has some value. i cant believe how much they are still selling for on ebay.
also the only reason i can afford the iMac is because of the $300 price reduction + the money for my G5. i probably couldnt afford a newer machine when they came out anyway, because i'd want the top of the line one

I was in the same position as you, wanting to buy a new iMac but with all the speculations running around about a re-design being released, I wasn't sure if I should wait or not. Well, today I've made a purchase of a 20" 2.16 GHz iMac, with 2 GB Ram and the upgraded video card (forgot the exact name). Can't wait to get it! It's also my first ever Mac so it should be refreshingly good.

Congrat's to both of you on your purchases.

First off, I have seen that mock up, actually had it as my desktop wallpaper for a while. While it is a great pic, it is totally unrealistic at this point based on hardware. CPU, drive, heatsink, optical etc all take up more space than that. We are quite a ways off from something like that being realistic, but it's still fun to look at.

Really, if anything, with Penryn Macs next year, I think we might see touch-screen iMacs, like the technology in the iPhone. But I would still put that out to mid 2008 to spring 2009 introduction at the earliest. I think that is when we will see a redesign. If anything I would expect a black or silver iMac this spring. It is possible that they might slim it or make some very minor case mods like curving corners more etc, but that's about it. Maybe a slight reduction of the 'chin' but most people don't understand that the heatsink/power supply don't fit behind the screen (thinkness) and so they are below it, making that space necessary. If you look the chin is the same size on all three sizes, it's not proportional to the iMac size, which is why the 20" and 24" look better than the 17". All the speculation of a tablet docking touch-screen is unrealistic, no one wants to carry that around.

I wanted a 24" in the fall and would have bought one, but I couldn't keep waiting for my buddy at Apple to order it with his discount. So I bought a Mini to keep me held over till Leopard. Of course he called me the day my Mini shipped to tell me he could order it, but since I knew I have a buyer for my Mini waiting I decided to wait till Leopard to get it. Of course Leopard is taking longer than we expected and my buyer is getting ancy for his Mini. It's just to the point now that I can't justify jumping the gun till both Leopard and iMac revisions, especially since the Mini does me just fine for now.

 

[bfresh]

Yeah, I am switching to Mac, but I would like to wait for at least Leopard before I make the leap. I am really anticpating it. I hope it comes out before Spring ends.

 

[shikimo]

I too think the people who went ahead and bought the higher-end iMacs made good choices; even though they're chronologically ready for updates, y'all got good machines at decent prices, so why not? Only the low-end 17" iMac seems a bit spendy at this point. If the OP isn't too pressed and possesses a good quantity of patience s/he might wait for Leopard, but no good reason to wait for a redesign, IMO. It could come in June with Santa Rosa, or it could come next Christmas, who knows. And Roland.g is exactly right in that the chin, or some other area of equal volume, is completely necessary and isn't going to disappear anytime soon...and as cool as that mock-up is, the hardware would have to be either microscopic or in a remote location doing everything wirelessly . Possible? Hell yeah. This decade? Not a chance.

So yeah: BUY IT!! I will live vicariously through you while I wait for a better Mini to come out .

 

[Hls811]

I'm somewhat in the same boat.. I'm looking to replace my (ugh) Dell with a 20" iMac..

I've convinced myself to set the deadline for my purchase around Leopard... I'm quite happy with the current iMac setup, and while it would be great to have the newer version theres no telling when it'll be released. My thinking is that if its not before or alongside Leopard, then it'll be a while.. I just can't see them following up a huge launch like Leopard with an iMac refresh - i think there'll b e some time in between (if they aren't' done at the same time).

So, Leopard it is.. iMac in, Dell out!

 

[pictures]

I'm in the same position, wait or don't wait....

Can someone tell me, in a nutshell, what to expect from Leopard that makes it worth waiting for an unspecified amount of time?

And, is it likely that when Leopard comes out that it will be available immediately on refurbished units?

 

[Fantomas]

Omnia tempus habent

Same here. Waiting for Leopard and new Imac. It is like when a kid is waiting for Santa on Christmas' eve