iMac 2016 upgrade?

[kontrast]

I know the latest models were refreshed in October 2015. Is the overall consensus that they'll be refreshed again in October of this year or is it possible that the Apple event this month will have some new iMacs?

Also, in general what is the consensus on the next series of upgrades to the iMac? Are people holding out for anything good? Trying to decide whether to buy now or later.

 

[garirry]

My guess is that the 27" iMacs will not be updated this month. However, there is a slight chance Apple will update the 21.5" iMac due to the poor reception, but I doubt that will happen. Most likely, you'll have to wait until october for the next update.

 

[Adam552]

I'm guessing they will be using Pascal GPU's in the next refresh, which will probably rollout between April and June, so I'd think a refresh would follow a few months after that, so yea Sep/Oct.

 

[ehmr]

I'm guessing they will be using Pascal GPU's in the next refresh, which will probably rollout between April and June, so I'd think a refresh would follow a few months after that, so yea Sep/Oct.

Why would they change to Nvidia after using AMD for the last couple of versions? It is a lot more likely that they will use AMD Polaris, which will become available in the middle of the summer.

An October refresh of the iMacs could bring Kaby Lake CPUs (with native Thunderbolt 3 support) and, likely AMD Polaris GPUs.

EDIT: Kaby Lake might not appear in an October update, but perhaps in an November/December update: http://digitimes.com/news/a20160302PD204.html

 

[Adam552]

Why would they change to Nvidia after using AMD for the last couple of versions? It is a lot more likely that they will use AMD Polaris, which will become available in the middle of the summer.

An October refresh of the iMacs could bring Kaby Lake CPUs (with native Thunderbolt 3 support) and, likely AMD Polaris GPUs.

EDIT: Kaby Lake might not appear in an October update, but perhaps in an November/December update: http://digitimes.com/news/a20160302PD204.html

They usually swap between AMD and NVIDIA GPUs after a couple versions of each.

 

[maflynn]

They usually swap between AMD and NVIDIA GPUs after a couple versions of each.

I don't see apple changing gears like that. They don't switch for the sake of switching but because of some internal decisions (which I have no idea about). They were with nVidia for several years, not a couple of versions and they jus partnered with AMD like last year or something.

 

[Lankyman]

The iMac needs more than an upgrade it requires a complete and thorough redesign. The basic shape of the current iMac has been around so long I came across a picture of Noah the other day and even he was using one back in biblical times.

 

[maflynn]

The iMac needs more than an upgrade it requires a complete and thorough redesign.

I don't think that's going to happen and what type of complete and thorough design do you recommend. There's only so much you can do with an AIO setup. shrink the bezel, decrease the lower aluminum portion of the Mac?

 

[ehmr]

A shrink of the bezel/lower alu portion is not unthinkable and would change the look of the iMac quite a bit, and make it look more modern.

I terms of ports I suspect (and hope) that we will see 2-4 USB 3.1 (Gen 2.) with A-type interface and 2 USB 3.1/TB3/DP1.3 in Type-C.

Better BTO prices for SSDs and Fusion in entry level model for 21.5" would be nice.

 

[Adam552]

I don't see apple changing gears like that. They don't switch for the sake of switching but because of some internal decisions (which I have no idea about). They were with nVidia for several years, not a couple of versions and they jus partnered with AMD like last year or something.

The NVIDIA GPU's so far which would be within the iMacs thermal and power limits have not been as powerful as AMD GPU's to drive the iMacs retina display (or other 4K+ resolution displays). According to various tech sites news and NVIDIA announcements, the Pascal GPU's are expected to be better performance at higher resolutions. This is the reason why I think they'll change.

I assume the reason they change between NVIDIA and AMD is due to what is most well-suited, and I believe this upcoming refresh, from that assumption, is the reason I believe they will choose NVIDIA GPU's over AMD ones.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

The NVIDIA GPU's so far which would be within the iMacs thermal and power limits have not been as powerful as AMD GPU's to drive the iMacs retina display (or other 4K+ resolution displays). According to various tech sites news and NVIDIA announcements, the Pascal GPU's are expected to be better performance at higher resolutions. This is the reason why I think they'll change.

I assume the reason they change between NVIDIA and AMD is due to what is most well-suited, and I believe this upcoming refresh, from that assumption, is the reason I believe they will choose NVIDIA GPU's over AMD ones.

Can't see it happening, AMD also have new cards with new architecture coming with far better thermals and just as good for high res. Apple have accepted a gaming hit and a lack of CUDA support for 2 years in order to get to this stage they won't drop AMD now they finally look like producing something competitive.

 

[Adam552]

Can't see it happening, AMD also have new cards with new architecture coming with far better thermals and just as good for high res. Apple have accepted a gaming hit and a lack of CUDA support for 2 years in order to get to this stage they won't drop AMD now they finally look like producing something competitive.

Well they've done it a few times before, you could be right though. I'm probably just too hopeful of another NVIDIA GPU because I prefer them /biased

 

[russofris]

Regardless of whether it is this next refresh, or the one after... I'm holding onto my late 2012 27" Ivy Bridge iMac till Apple releases their Optane + Pascal/Polaris machine. The soonest that this could possibly happen is around Dec of 2016 with Kaby Lake. I'm going to be realistic and guess mid 2017.

 

[Lankyman]

I don't think that's going to happen and what type of complete and thorough design do you recommend. There's only so much you can do with an AIO setup. shrink the bezel, decrease the lower aluminum portion of the Mac?

If I could provide you with the answer to that question then Apple would be employing me not Jonny Ive.

 

[briloronmacrumo]

My guess is:

• Late 2016 at the earliest
• Thunderbolt 3 ( and this is dreaming a little because it implies other changes which probably won't happen )
  
• USB-C and hopefully at least DisplayPort 1.3 ( although they might try to do 1.4 now that a spec is finalized )
  
• Possibly AMD Polaris GPUs
• More BTO options such as larger ( 2 TB ) flash drives
• Kaby Lake CPU if available ( not a significant change IMO )

 

[Icaras]

I don't think that's going to happen and what type of complete and thorough design do you recommend. There's only so much you can do with an AIO setup. shrink the bezel, decrease the lower aluminum portion of the Mac?

That's exactly what I'd like to see in the next iMac redesign. Thinner bezels, smaller hump, smaller dimensions and lighter weight. Add to that, possible additional aluminum color finishes like iOS devices.

A "redesign" doesn't necessarily have to be dramatic. For example, the MacBook Air redesign in 2010 was subtle yet still progressive. And again, I'll mention those bezels. Boy, do those have to go.

Anyway, going back to the OP, a redesign is what I'm personally holding out for myself.

 

[toddzrx]

My guess is:

• Late 2016 at the earliest
• Thunderbolt 3 ( and this is dreaming a little because it implies other changes which probably won't happen )
  
• USB-C and hopefully at least DisplayPort 1.3 ( although they might try to do 1.4 now that a spec is finalized )
  
• Possibly AMD Polaris GPUs
• More BTO options such as larger ( 2 TB ) flash drives
• Kaby Lake CPU if available ( not a significant change IMO )

Apple will not release an updated or redesigned iMac without a processor update, so Kabylake is a given. Thunderbolt 3 is already available on windows machines (see Dell) so not including it on an updated iMac would be mystifying.

 

[ehmr]

Apple will not release an updated or redesigned iMac without a processor update, so Kabylake is a given. Thunderbolt 3 is already available on windows machines (see Dell) so not including it on an updated iMac would be mystifying.

Well, TB3 and USB 3.1 is pretty much given as these are fully supported by Kaby Lake, and sticking obsolete USB 3.0 on a late 2016 / early 2017 iMac would be silly.

Also interesting to see is whether Apple will shift to DDR4 in the next version, Kaby will support UniDIMM.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Likely the 2016 imac will be just a processor bump and port spec bumps. There will be an improvement in graphics processor by about 10% though we could get lucky and see a more significant jump. It will be released in October of this year. The 4k imac will see the most dramatic improvement as it was a compromise due to lack of skyline chips.

 

[ehmr]

Likely the 2016 imac will be just a processor bump and port spec bumps. There will be an improvement in graphics processor by about 10% though we could get lucky and see a more significant jump. It will be released in October of this year. The 4k imac will see the most dramatic improvement as it was a compromise due to lack of skyline chips.

AMD Polaris should allow for a significantly greater bump than just 10% in GPU performance. If Kaby Lake will have early 2017 availability, then the a possible October refresh would probably just come with slightly higher clocked Skylake chips and Polaris.

 

[blurfonz04]

Its mid life cycle now right??

Never able to keep up with Technology unless my wallet is thick, which is not the case ... Lol

 

[AFITgrad86]

Dear Apple ... if you intend to upgrade the 27-inch iMac I'm down with that. My wish list is kind of short. More CPU/GPU power is always welcome so maybe a six or eight core CPU to chop transcoding would be good. I know there will be inevitable upgrades to memory speed and SSDd so I wont bother you with what you already know. But here's my big wish .. a cooler running system. My iMac throws off a boatload of BTUs. So a switch to lower power (wattage) components would be nice. As it is my office (when closed off) is always several degrees warmer than the rest of my house. I can literally feel the heat rolling of that gorgeous monitor (x two). I can afford the power bill fortunately but a decrease in wasted power (heat) would certainly go a long way to making my iMac perfect!

 

[joema2]

AMD Polaris should allow for a significantly greater bump than just 10% in GPU performance...

That seems likely. Unlike the CPU side, Both AMD and nVidia GPUs have been stuck at 28nm fabrication for a long time. Polaris (and maybe similar nVidia parts) will be using 14nm or similar. This is a major change -- so great that any past trends about AMD vs nVidia may not be predictive.

AMD believes going to 14nm will *double* the performance per watt, in fact they claim Polaris samples already have achieved this vs Maxwell GTX 900 series:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/can-amd-outperform-nvidia-with-14nm-polaris-gpu-tech/
http://wccftech.com/amd-unveils-polaris-11-10-gpu/

 

[varian55zx]

Why would they change to Nvidia after using AMD for the last couple of versions? It is a lot more likely that they will use AMD Polaris, which will become available in the middle of the summer.

This. That was my prediction.

The iMac needs more than an upgrade it requires a complete and thorough redesign.

No it doesn't.

would change the look of the iMac quite a bit, and make it look more modern.

Nah, the iMac is already really modern looking, far more than other gross (in my opinion), plastic machine out there. I'm open to any improvement but to say the iMac isn't modern looking is, in my opinion, simply not correct.


Look what they really need to do is bring in a 2 tb or even 3tb flash drive, lower the price of the 1tb, and make fusion standard on all models. Get with the times. Stop disgracing yourselves.

 

[maflynn]

The NVIDIA GPU's so far which would be within the iMacs thermal and power limits have not been as powerful as AMD GPU's to drive the iMacs retina display (or other 4K+ resolution displays). According to various tech sites news and NVIDIA announcements, the Pascal GPU's are expected to be better performance at higher resolutions. This is the reason why I think they'll change.

I assume the reason they change between NVIDIA and AMD is due to what is most well-suited, and I believe this upcoming refresh, from that assumption, is the reason I believe they will choose NVIDIA GPU's over AMD ones.

I know it possible for them to do it, but I don't think its going to happen. I think they've moved on to AMD for specific reasons. I didn't like the move mind you, but I don't think they're going to reverse direction so soon.