Nope. We can expect Coffee Lake hex-cores replacing the Kaby Lake quad-cores at the top end and maybe a "mainstream" Vega GPU if AMD has them ready.
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iMac Redesign for 2018?
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Nope. We can expect Coffee Lake hex-cores replacing the Kaby Lake quad-cores at the top end and maybe a "mainstream" Vega GPU if AMD has them ready.
I don't believe there will be a redesign of the case. They would have done it first with the iMac Pro and they did not.
That makes two of us, but that's not gonna happen. EVER.
And have wires hanging from the front?
That wouldnt look good, and with the apple logo.
Placing it in the base of the stand somehow... or just get an extension
Any educated guesses at the actual processors that might be in the iMac?
I looked over the Intel roadmap/news and their predicted or expected lineup is so confusing now. Refresh this, refresh that, Ice Lake later this year, but no 10nm chips yet...I think... what in the world is going on over there? Intel must be panicking about Ryzen. Tiger Lake next year...?? And now the releases are so cross-funky that I'm not sure what is being done to which line and when and how.
I'd love to see how 6-core chips boost up the iMac. Also, if it is possible this year, HDDR5 RAM.
I looked over the Intel roadmap/news and their predicted or expected lineup is so confusing now. Refresh this, refresh that, Ice Lake later this year, but no 10nm chips yet...I think... what in the world is going on over there? Intel must be panicking about Ryzen. Tiger Lake next year...?? And now the releases are so cross-funky that I'm not sure what is being done to which line and when and how.
I'd love to see how 6-core chips boost up the iMac. Also, if it is possible this year, HDDR5 RAM.
Whatever the best-available ~90W Core i7 / Core i5 and ~65W Core i5 are. Assuming Coffee Lake is shipping in volume this summer, that would be the i7-9700K and i5-8600k hex-cores and the i5-8400 quad-core.
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How do you know they would have done it first with the iMac Pro? The iMac Pro's selling point was better cooling and workstation grade specs.
Because they could have used a new case as part of the differentiation from the "standard" iMac in addition to the Xeon CPU, Vega GPU, additional TB3/USB-C ports and Space Grey color. Instead, they keep the same case and changed the color from Silver to Space Grey.
To now come out with a significantly re-designed case for the iMac at WWDC while keeping the iMac Pro on the "old" case doesn't make any sense. Apple gets enough s**t from people about their lack of focus on the "Pro" market as-is. Updating the basic iMac design while leaving the iMac Pro on the "legacy" design would just incite people even more.
Unless that new design is too small to fit and keep cool all that workstation hardware. Then it'd make sense, a smaller fancy looking iMac for the crowds and a bulkier more powerful machine for the pros. Just like the MB and MBP.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: people really focused on an aesthetic redesign should remember the new MBPs and trash can MP and be careful what they wish for.
The current iMac chassis is already at the limits of cooling a ~90W CPU and ~150W GPU. The only way to make it thinner or smaller would be to abandon spinning drives for SSD-only to allow for more cooling room like was done in the iMac Pro. And that would mean consumers either have to settle for less internal capacity at the same price (assuming Apple decides to charge the same with the 256GB SSD as they do for the 1TB Fusion) or spent hundreds more for larger SSDs.
They could also drop the 90W ***K CPUs and only use the non K which are 65W.
Redesign or not, dropping the platter based disks would be a great thing to do, even if they have to raise the prices a little. When you're already spending 1-3k on a machine it should include an SSD. Of all the internals changes we've seen in the past few years it's the one that improves day-to-day computing the most.
Massive assumption that from an engineering standpoint they could use the new case to cool iMac Pro internals.
Lets make an assumption though they could use a redesign case in either model. From a business sense what makes more sense;
1. Release iMac Pro in 2017 like they did with workstation grade components and improved cooling then release a iMac in 2018 with redesign case
2. Release iMac Pro in 2017 like they did with workstation grade components and improved cooling but add in a redesigned case. Then release a iMac in 2018 with the same redesign case
Which scenario is going to create more headlines and sales for both years combined? In the second scenario you end up putting all your eggs into one basket and leave nothing for the following year. All of your eggs are into a computer starting at $5000
The Coffee Lake Core-i7 see such a minuscule drop (0.1 MHz) in the single and multi-core between the 8700K and 8700 I would not be surprised if Apple did not go with the 8700 for both the 4K and 5K. The 8700 is also $50 cheaper than the 8700K (the 7700K and 7700 were the same price) so Apple could drop the upgrade price from $200 to $150 and still make the same margin while possibly encouraging people to upgrade.
The i5 situation is a bit more complicated as Intel only has two CL i5 desktop SKUs at the moment. So if the 5K gets the i5-8400 as the standard CPU and the 4K gets it as the upgrade option, that means the standard CPU for the 4K would be the i3-8100 and I am not sure how well that performs against the current entry-level i5-7400. If it is worse, then there will be much howling.
Fusion should be standard across the entire 4K lineup just as it is with the 5K lineup. I understand the non-Retina model is trying to hit a price point, but the 4K is not and therefore should have the 1TB Fusion drive as standard at the $1299 price point (and drop the non-Retina HDD-only to $999 while you are at it, Apple).
It depends on what the new case entails in terms of design and cooling ability. If it can only handle a 65W CPU and 120W GPU with no HDD, then yes, it would be useless for the iMac Pro. But I would fully expect a new case design would be usable by both the iMac and iMac Pro for production efficiencies, if nothing else, just as they do now (taking into account differences in ports and internal cooling volume).
Why does the iMac Pro have a Space Grey case? To create those "headlines". So a new case on top of the Space Grey color would have created even more of these "headlines".
Plus you know that if Apple released the iMac Pro with it's current design and then came out with a "better" case design for the iMac six months later, this forum will be full of threads from outraged iMac Pro customers upset that their "$5000 computer" doesn't have the new case design and WTF was Apple thinking and it's just more proof they don't care about "Pros".
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isn't it the 20 year anniversary of the imac this year?
New design would likely coincide with this event
New design would likely coincide with this event
CPU for iMac refresh has been available for some time now: i5-8400 6 cores, 6 threads 2.8Ghz. Top of the range remains the i7-8700K with 6 cores, 12 threads 3.7GHz. There are Intel CPUs coming out to fill the gap in between but the big delay is down to the motherboard chipset which Apple are waiting for - they'll not be using the pricey Z370 but will probably wait for the B360.
Apple have to use the K series i7 option just to keep the per-core performance relatively high unless they deliberately change direction with the iMac in exchange for spending more of the heat budget on the GPU this time.
They'll also have their eye on a suitable AMD GPU to pair with the CPU but I don't think it'll create a severe delay if they intend to update sometime in May and early June - after the quarterly results call but potentially anywhere up to and including WWDC would be the next best time to release hardware prior to the 'traditional' October refresh month.
The 2017 models came out in June of last year so I don't see there being a good reason to delay past WWDC assuming components are available.
Apple have to use the K series i7 option just to keep the per-core performance relatively high unless they deliberately change direction with the iMac in exchange for spending more of the heat budget on the GPU this time.
They'll also have their eye on a suitable AMD GPU to pair with the CPU but I don't think it'll create a severe delay if they intend to update sometime in May and early June - after the quarterly results call but potentially anywhere up to and including WWDC would be the next best time to release hardware prior to the 'traditional' October refresh month.
The 2017 models came out in June of last year so I don't see there being a good reason to delay past WWDC assuming components are available.
Plus you know that if Apple released the iMac Pro with it's current design and then came out with a "better" case design for the iMac six months later, this forum will be full of threads from outraged iMac Pro customers upset that their "$5000 computer" doesn't have the new case design and WTF was Apple thinking and it's just more proof they don't care about "Pros".
Here's a litmus test.
Q: How has Apple engineering on every single one of their computer product lines over the past 5+ years trended towards?
A: Slimmer, smaller, less ports, less accessibility
If you actually think for a second that a newly designed iMac body is going to upset power users who have a superior iMac Pro case in terms of ports and internal cooling then I got a bridge to sell you. Ain't happening.
This. A thousand times.
The iMacs still look great, and nobody else is shipping a 5K all-in-one. To change the case now would just be Apple competing with itself. I'd rather they redesign the Portless Pro, or update the Mac Mini to modern specs.
I really don't understand all the hype around space grey. To me the silver aluminum is iconic of Apple and looks amazing.Now when they released keyboards, mouse and trackpads in space gray for everyone to buy, can we hope for a space gray iMac now that isn't Pro?
Would be nice
The only thing that could look better IMO is a white ceramic finish like the Apple Watch. This would probably get expensive though.
Plus they seem unable to get to same tint of space grey for different products so they look weird together.
A long time ago I built a computer on a test bench stand (basically an open air shell with a lower and upper shelf) and was too lazy to transfer it to a computer case. It was actually pretty cool seeing the internal of the computer with the fans spinning and led lights on. However, I eventually did put the components in the case, for a was afraid I might be causing interference with my neighbors electronics, for I live in a neighborhood where the houses are pretty close to each other. What I'm trying to say I like Apple products for the computers themselves and the looks of the computer itself is just an added bonus.
Yeah, if there was going to be a re-design, they would have introduced it with the flagship machine.
Perhaps 2018 iMacs will also come in space gray, but who knows---they might want to keep it exclusive to the iMac Pro to differentiate.
ThatSandWyrm wrote in reply 244:
"This. A thousand times.
The iMacs still look great, and nobody else is shipping a 5K all-in-one. To change the case now would just be Apple competing with itself."
Exactly.
There seem to be some fashion queens in this forum that equate "form" to "function", or who may even prefer form OVER function.
The iMac design as it is now, is a beautiful design that remains current and stylish.
There's no need to do any major external revisions. Or even minor ones.
I care about "what's inside", that it be of good engineering design and RELIABLE.
I would prefer an UGLY iMac (that could be easily accessed if required) to one that is fashionable but cannot be serviced.
The iMac g5 was a case in point. The back cover was secured with "ugly" screws -- but the screws could be easily removed, the cover removed, and the inside of the machine was then "open for business". Of course, we know Apple wouldn't do something like that any more. Goes against their business plan, perhaps.
Aside: once you set up the iMac on your desk, how often do you look at the back, just to admire it?
So... for the 2018 iMac, give us one or two new finish coatings, such as Space Gray or Gold, for those who want it.
Perhaps refine the casing edges, a little "less sharp", or something.
But concentrate the design efforts on THE INSIDE.
That's what counts.
"This. A thousand times.
The iMacs still look great, and nobody else is shipping a 5K all-in-one. To change the case now would just be Apple competing with itself."
Exactly.
There seem to be some fashion queens in this forum that equate "form" to "function", or who may even prefer form OVER function.
The iMac design as it is now, is a beautiful design that remains current and stylish.
There's no need to do any major external revisions. Or even minor ones.
I care about "what's inside", that it be of good engineering design and RELIABLE.
I would prefer an UGLY iMac (that could be easily accessed if required) to one that is fashionable but cannot be serviced.
The iMac g5 was a case in point. The back cover was secured with "ugly" screws -- but the screws could be easily removed, the cover removed, and the inside of the machine was then "open for business". Of course, we know Apple wouldn't do something like that any more. Goes against their business plan, perhaps.
Aside: once you set up the iMac on your desk, how often do you look at the back, just to admire it?
So... for the 2018 iMac, give us one or two new finish coatings, such as Space Gray or Gold, for those who want it.
Perhaps refine the casing edges, a little "less sharp", or something.
But concentrate the design efforts on THE INSIDE.
That's what counts.
It's still a gorgeous machine--even the chin. Provide some options for the color perhaps, but that's it.