Buy now or wait for 2016 iMac?

[Erdbeertorte]

I want at least as an option a 34" widescreen iMac. It would be perfect for people who are using two displays now. Also you could run the full resolution without everything being too small. And there should be a new thunderbolt display with the same design, resolution and size of each iMac.

There should be buttons and slots on the left, right an upper side for pulling out the graphic board to replace a defective one or upgrade it, same for the fast PCIe blade SSD if it is damaged or getting too small and also an option to put in a second one, also the same for one or two SATA drives if you like to have cheaper more storage and backups.

The RAM shouldn't be SO-DIMM, what will never be available at highest frequency and GB per module. And to make it perfect next to the RAM hatch on the back there might be another one for exchanging/upgrading the CPU or inserting a second CPU (no need for a Mac Pro anymore).

There could even be the possibility to pull the whole mainboard out on the down side, when everything else has been pulled out before.

It's really a shame that you can't upgrade a computer with such a brilliant and expensive display or easily do a quick repair by yourself or bringing it to a local Apple Store and could take it home after a few minutes.

And who really wants external drives if they buy an All-in-One computer?

I even don't mind if they use special connectors or sizes that only fit in if you buy it for a much higher price directly from Apple. But the external connectors have to stay, so you have at least a choice to buy cheaper storage.

4 x USB-C 3.1 with TB 3.0 support
4 x standard USB 3.0
2 x card reader, one of them with the option to put in a LTE SIM card for people without DSL or cable TV Internet
2 x Firewire 800 for backwards compatibility
2 x fastest available LAN
2 x (optical) Audio out
2 x (optical) Audio in
HDMI
newest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
webcam (4K)
microphone
good speakers
wireless backlit keyboard
mouse with scroll wheel, buttons and the charging port on the front side
build in UKW, DAB+, DVB-T/C/S-Receiver and remote control

Did I forgot anything important?

Oh I think I am dreaming...

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I want at least as an option a 34" widescreen iMac. It would be perfect for people who are using two displays now. Also you could run the full resolution without everything being too small. And there should be a new thunderbolt display with the same design, resolution and size of each iMac.

There should be buttons and slots on the left, right an upper side for pulling out the graphic board to replace a defective one or upgrade it, same for the fast PCIe blade SSD if it is damaged or getting too small and also an option to put in a second one, also the same for one or two SATA drives if you like to have cheaper more storage and backups.

The RAM shouldn't be SO-DIMM, what will never be available at highest frequency and GB per module. And to make it perfect next to the RAM hatch on the back there might be another one for exchanging/upgrading the CPU or inserting a second CPU (no need for a Mac Pro anymore).

There could even be the possibility to pull the whole mainboard out on the down side, when everything else has been pulled out before.

It's really a shame that you can't upgrade a computer with such a brilliant and expensive display or easily do a quick repair by yourself or bringing it to a local Apple Store and could take it home after a few minutes.

And who really wants external drives if they buy an All-in-One computer?

I even don't mind if they use special connectors or sizes that only fit in if you buy it for a much higher price directly from Apple. But the external connectors have to stay, so you have at least a choice to buy cheaper storage.

4 x USB-C 3.1 with TB 3.0 support
4 x standard USB 3.0
2 x card reader, one of them with the option to put in a LTE SIM card for people without DSL or cable TV Internet
2 x Firewire 800 for backwards compatibility
2 x fastest available LAN
2 x (optical) Audio out
2 x (optical) Audio in
HDMI
newest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
webcam (4K)
microphone
good speakers
wireless backlit keyboard
mouse with scroll wheel, buttons and the charging port on the front side
build in UKW, DAB+, DVB-T/C/S-Receiver and remote control

Did I forgot anything important?

Oh I think I am dreaming...

What you are descrobing is a desktop PC you can configure that how you like, upgrade every part and connect it to any screen and use any peripherals you like, just buy that as you'll never get any of this out of apple.

 

[Erdbeertorte]

What you are descrobing is a desktop PC you can configure that how you like, upgrade every part and connect it to any screen and use any peripherals you like, just buy that as you'll never get any of this out of apple.

Just a dream as I said... I don't even need most of that. Also I was talking about an All-in-One computer with only one power cable, running OS X.

 

[joema2]

...I'm really not keen on 27" - it's just too big for my needs on a single screen, would much rather a dual screen setup...

The 27" fits in to many areas and decors better than you'd think. I agonized over this before my wife got a 2012 iMac 27 for her little desk, which is only 39" wide and 24" deep. The iMac 27 fits in perfectly, both physically and visually. It does not look outsized.

 

[jetjaguar]

I plan on waiting for the 2016 refresh .. mainly because of USB-C and TB3 .. but I'm really considering building a pc for the first time in like 7 years

 

[Buerkletucson]

 

[Sirmausalot]

I plan on waiting for the 2016 refresh .. mainly because of USB-C and TB3 .. but I'm really considering building a pc for the first time in like 7 years

you are wasting your time. there is no tb3 peripherial or even usb3.1 peripheral that can jstify waiting a year.

 

[jetjaguar]

you are wasting your time. there is no tb3 peripherial or even usb3.1 peripheral that can jstify waiting a year.

im in no rush so waiting is not really a big deal

 

[NMSUballa]

First, if you are fine on a 10 year old machine running XP with 1GB of RAM, you should stay on that Machine until it breaks.

Second, the reason why the standard HDD doesn't seem like a big deal to you is because you've never experienced SSD. It's not simply just the boot times; an HDD can make getting around the OS a chore. SSDs have gotten much cheaper in recent years(including PCIe SSDs) thus there is no excuse for Apple to not be offering an SSD component in a $1500-$2000 machine, period.

I'm also not sure why everyone is obsessed with redesigns. There isn't much Apple could do to the design except make it even thinner or reduce the bezels. Then people would still be complaining that it's same basic design from 2009.

I don't get the whole redesign thing either. It's like they want to show off they have something new and a redesign would make it easier for people to notice. All I want is for the dang power button to be on the front. haha

 

[Thermonuclear]

Wait until the next model is announced before making a purchase decision. My take on the 2014 27" Retina iMac is that there were too many serious design compromises which were repeated on this year's model: an under-powered over-worked mobile GPU, no target display mode, thermal issues, throttling, excessive fan noise (and wear), and lackluster CPU throughput on the high end. All of these drawbacks just to get that 5K display.

In the real world, video pros do not use a 5K display. What they use is a separate 4K display which exactly replicates what their target audience will experience visually. The video editing tools are shown on a different, 1920x1080 (or so) display which may have a downscaled image of the 4K output in a window. And when these guys do audio, the sound comes from a pro speaker system and not from a pair of glorified kazoos. These pros do not worry about throttling or fan noise, because the workstation is in a big box sitting on the floor, and is not constrained by an unneeded thinness. Further, that workstation is not limited to a single GPU; it's got space and power for two or three of them. And the mainboard has an eight core CPU (e.g., i7-5960) and can be loaded with 128 GiB RAM. Price? Half the cost of an equivalent 2013 Mac Pro.

What Apple should have done in 2014 was to offer a 4K 27" iMac and then a 2560x1440 21" iMac. These would ave avoided many compromises and could be sold at lower prices. Instead we get 5400 RPM spinners and an 80+% cut on fusion flash. NO SALE.

 

[Buerkletucson]

In the real world, video pros do not use a 5K display.....NO SALE.

I can respond pretty easily.......
You honestly believe the major bulk of the Apple 27" 5K iMac sales are for video pros?

The audience here on this forum probably represents the more technical oriented customer..........and even then, most members/owners here are far from video pros.

Like any other manufacturer, Apple will design and build what sells the most units.
Sorry, but I think Apple has been pretty successful at doing just that.

I probably represent the average customer.......and to be honest I couldn't be happier with my new 27" iMac 5K.

.....and I ain't no video pro.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Wait until the next model is announced before making a purchase decision. My take on the 2014 27" Retina iMac is that there were too many serious design compromises which were repeated on this year's model: an under-powered over-worked mobile GPU, no target display mode, thermal issues, throttling, excessive fan noise (and wear), and lackluster CPU throughput on the high end. All of these drawbacks just to get that 5K display.

In the real world, video pros do not use a 5K display. What they use is a separate 4K display which exactly replicates what their target audience will experience visually. The video editing tools are shown on a different, 1920x1080 (or so) display which may have a downscaled image of the 4K output in a window. And when these guys do audio, the sound comes from a pro speaker system and not from a pair of glorified kazoos. These pros do not worry about throttling or fan noise, because the workstation is in a big box sitting on the floor, and is not constrained by an unneeded thinness. Further, that workstation is not limited to a single GPU; it's got space and power for two or three of them. And the mainboard has an eight core CPU (e.g., i7-5960) and can be loaded with 128 GiB RAM. Price? Half the cost of an equivalent 2013 Mac Pro.

What Apple should have done in 2014 was to offer a 4K 27" iMac and then a 2560x1440 21" iMac. These would ave avoided many compromises and could be sold at lower prices. Instead we get 5400 RPM spinners and an 80+% cut on fusion flash. NO SALE.

Video pro's love a 5K display because they can have the video at one to one pixels but still have all their widgets and controllers etc from their editing software visible and usable. That is the reason why apple went with the 5k instead of a 4K screen and went to a lot of trouble to get it to work as well.

For a professional making movies or TV shows their are the mac pro's with dual graphics cards and EEC RAM and up to 12 core processors.

Even if you pay for the upgrades in an iMa,c they are still a bargain with that 5K screen, compared to anything else on the market where 5K screenscost $2000 on their own and are a pain to get working.

 

[joema2]

...My take on the 2014 27" Retina iMac is that there were too many serious design compromises which were repeated on this year's model: an under-powered over-worked mobile GPU, no target display mode, thermal issues, throttling, excessive fan noise (and wear), and lackluster CPU throughput on the high end. All of these drawbacks just to get that 5K display...In the real world, video pros do not use a 5K display. ...

As a professional video editor I typically spend hours each day editing 4k material on my 2015 iMac 27 in FCP X. It works great -- very quiet and fast. The 5k screen is wonderful.

The $100 million feature film Focus was edited mostly on iMacs and MacBook Pros: http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/art...-focus-was-edited-on-final-cut-pro-x-part-two

Re "serious design compromises which were repeated on this year's model", in side-by-side video editing tests, it apparently runs cooler than last year's 2014 model and does not exhibit thermal throttling:

 

[Sirmausalot]

Wait until the next model is announced before making a purchase decision. My take on the 2014 27" Retina iMac is that there were too many serious design compromises which were repeated on this year's model: an under-powered over-worked mobile GPU, no target display mode, thermal issues, throttling, excessive fan noise (and wear), and lackluster CPU throughput on the high end. All of these drawbacks just to get that 5K display.

In the real world, video pros do not use a 5K display. What they use is a separate 4K display which exactly replicates what their target audience will experience visually. The video editing tools are shown on a different, 1920x1080 (or so) display which may have a downscaled image of the 4K output in a window. And when these guys do audio, the sound comes from a pro speaker system and not from a pair of glorified kazoos. These pros do not worry about throttling or fan noise, because the workstation is in a big box sitting on the floor, and is not constrained by an unneeded thinness. Further, that workstation is not limited to a single GPU; it's got space and power for two or three of them. And the mainboard has an eight core CPU (e.g., i7-5960) and can be loaded with 128 GiB RAM. Price? Half the cost of an equivalent 2013 Mac Pro.

What Apple should have done in 2014 was to offer a 4K 27" iMac and then a 2560x1440 21" iMac. These would ave avoided many compromises and could be sold at lower prices. Instead we get 5400 RPM spinners and an 80+% cut on fusion flash. NO SALE.

A real video pro knows that people will watch content on iMac, iPhones, tablets, TVs, whatever. It's often why audio pros will make sure their mix sounds great in 5.1 as well as the worst TV speakers they can find. Most of us pro don't rely on the built in speakers and we have a nice set of studio monitors plugged into the audio port.

The 2014 had some issues with throttling (which likely could have been easily solved with a fan control utility). I too cut professional 4K video on the 2015 iMac. Video that will ultimately go out to Universities across the country. It's a professional caliber machine that deals with 4K and effects with ease with a screen that's second to none.

 

[fathergll]

The 27" fits in to many areas and decors better than you'd think. I agonized over this before my wife got a 2012 iMac 27 for her little desk, which is only 39" wide and 24" deep. The iMac 27 fits in perfectly, both physically and visually. It does not look outsized.

Agreed. I have my 27" on a desk that is only 15 3/4" in depth and it actually still works(I wouldn't recommend as an ideal setup obviously for long periods of serious work)

 

[QCassidy352]

OP, I am in exactly the same position. Waited so long for the 4K, and it's such a disappointment.

The question is, what can we reasonably expect next year? Probably no dGPU, unfortunately. I don't see dGPU coming back to the 21" - it's not the direction Apple is moving. The only macs with dGPU left are highest end 15" MBP, 27" iMac, and Mac Pro. Apple seems to feel only the highest end users want or need more than intel's iGPUs. But at least the next 21" iMac will have Skylake, which will bring a significantly improved iGPU.

Redesign? I dunno, 50/50 on that.

Storage? At SOME point, they will have to make fusion standard. I believe next year will be that year. Of course, I said that prior to this update too, so what do I know.

Upgradable RAM or drives? Doubtful. Like the dGPU, not the way Apple is moving if you look at their products overall.

So... Skylake, probably usb-c, maybe fusion standard. That's about it.

 

[Sirmausalot]

OP, I am in exactly the same position. Waited so long for the 4K, and it's such a disappointment.

The question is, what can we reasonably expect next year? Probably no dGPU, unfortunately. I don't see dGPU coming back to the 21" - it's not the direction Apple is moving. The only macs with dGPU left are highest end 15" MBP, 27" iMac, and Mac Pro. Apple seems to feel only the highest end users want or need more than intel's iGPUs. But at least the next 21" iMac will have Skylake, which will bring a significantly improved iGPU.

Redesign? I dunno, 50/50 on that.

Storage? At SOME point, they will have to make fusion standard. I believe next year will be that year. Of course, I said that prior to this update too, so what do I know.

Upgradable RAM or drives? Doubtful. Like the dGPU, not the way Apple is moving if you look at their products overall.

So... Skylake, probably usb-c, maybe fusion standard. That's about it.

Yup. Your best bet is the 5K iMac. It's a great machine and worth every penny. If you must have the 21", I'd wait until the Skylake revision next year.

 

[QCassidy352]

Yup. Your best bet is the 5K iMac. It's a great machine and worth every penny. If you must have the 21", I'd wait until the Skylake revision next year.

Never liked the 27" version. Just too big for me, personally. Skylake will be a nice upgrade, but I'm not sure Skylake in 2016 is going to be better (relatively speaking) than Broadwell in 2015. For now, I'm just keeping my laptop and holding out hope (probably foolishly) that Apple will someday make a decent value 21" imac again.