Main benefit would be for gaming (a lot of gaming laptops/ monitors on the windows side now offer 144Hz even at the lower midrange). Is less motion blur when scrolling really something that's going to make current Macs suddenly obsolete? The main advantage on iPad that I can see was less latency with the pencil, and even that was a minor benefit unless you were really into digital art.
And gaming on Mac is clearly not a scenario that Apple seems terribly bothered about optimising - evidenced by the fact that games perform so much worse on Macs than they do on Windows under Boot Camp.
Not sure I entirely agree that the main advantage on iPad is pencil latency, although I agree that is a benefit. I think the main advantage is just how it feels when scrolling. It’s just a nicer experience. Plus the ability to match frame rate when watching video to avoid judder.
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Why is it a stretch? The current 2019 iMac is the same exact design since 2012. Isn’t it possible Apple has been working on an upcoming redesigned iMac for a few years now with updated display technology? The thing doesn’t even have HDR for crying out loud. Apple is trying to push that 5k display so hard as a strong selling point for the 27 iMac yet it lacks display technology features that have been widely available on the HDTV market for some time now such as HDR and 120hz Panels
There’s also the fact the current iMac’s display uses LED Technology, is it remotely possible Apple could switch to an OLED display for the redesigned iMac?
Firstly, you’re conflating two things. The fact that you might think that the iMac needs a physical redesign doesn’t also naturally lead to the conclusion that it will
also feature major display changes as part of that redesign. In fact, I think the opposite is more likely - spread out the physical redesign and functionality changes across TWO release generations, thereby triggering longer periods of boosted sales. This is good product management and is what Apple has been doing with the tick and tock of the non-‘S’ and ‘S’ generations of iPhone for years. Combining the physical redesign with a bunch of functionality or other tech changes just leads to a long period without change afterwards.
Also, Apple’s previous behaviour provides clues to their future behaviour, but in the opposite way that people in this forum tend to believe. There is a persistent view here that because a product hasn’t been significantly changed for a long period (to your point about the iMac having the same design since 2012) that that means Apple is likely to release a massive new upgrade with a new design and major functionality changes. But historically that view has tended to lead to disappointment - either because Apple actually does nothing (that long-running “new Mac mini” thread is a great example), or because when Apple eventually does release something, it’s a far more mundane release than people here wanted and predicted. Typically, if Apple isn’t making big changes to a product for a long-period (such as with the iMac) then the conclusion we can draw is that they don’t see the need to from a business perspective and it’s unlikely that they will sudden do something so contrary to established behaviour like release a new iMac with a new design and a whole bunch of brand new functionality.
And as I said before, from a business priorities perspective, iMac is not a priority for technology innovation - we know that from Apple’s behaviour to date, and we know that from what Apple has said about their sales numbers. MacBooks contribute far more to Apple’s revenue, and is a much more competitive market, so Apple is most likely to prioritise engineering investment there. So I don’t think it’s realistic to say that Apple will introduce ProMotion, or HDR, or OLED to iMac when
none of those things are in the Mac products most important to Apple. And the fact that you can buy HDTVs that include some of these features is simply not relevant to Apple in terms of what they should or shouldn’t do with iMac, since those products are not competing with each other.
It’s important to separate likelihood and reality from wishes and fantasy. And I’m afraid that in my view - based on all the available evidence - it’s pure fantasy to say that the next iMac will include ProMotion, or HDR, or OLED. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility, yes, but not likely, in my view.
