One can never be 100% sure but it’s a pretty good bet it will be WWDC or else a bit later in the summer.
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iMac Redesign for 2018?
- Thread starter Solo2392
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Entry level just has a hard drive (not even a Fusion drive) and 1080p display.
IMO prospective buyers should strongly consider buying a Mac with an SSD and Retina.
Planned on using external USB 3.1 SSD. 4K iMac is way too expensive in Canada. Current monitor is 1440x900 @ 19". 1920x1080 @ 21.5" would be a nice upgrade. IPS, laminated display, etc. makes it even better.
External USB 3.1 SSD is not ideal either, but can be usable. I ran a FireWire 800 SSD for over a year with acceptable results with a 2010 iMac, with some obvious and not-so-obvious tradeoffs.
Depends, does it do what you need? What do you use it for?
At this point we are not guaranteed updates in June it is the World Wide Developer Conference (software not hardware which means they dont have to update hardware) and from apples update history they dont update them at the same time every year so it could be October.
If you hadn't bought it i would have said just wait a couple of weeks but as you have... if your not happy with it return it, if you are then keep it.
Problem is they are big and a hassle to move around and depending where your nearest apple store is... etc etc
At the end of the day even the base is a very capable machine, I bought my dad the base with the upgraded 2tb fusion for the 128gb SSD so he can keep his photo library all internally.
Im used to much higher end machines, that being said its very snappy and quick in all aspects. Its not really fast enough for me to do the work I do but for the majority of things it is great and I could do the work if I needed to.
I photographed a pre wedding shoot up where they live and thought I would give it a go editing the images. Its not the fastest experience in Lightroom but it certainly handled it even with the smart previews being at high res and at max resolution, it only has 8gbs of ram too and i didnt see any slow downs.
The nice thing about the i5s is they work well in the iMac and dont seem to spin the fan up at all or overheat like the i7. I was editing 50mp raw files importing, editing and exporting and I didnt hear the fan spin up at all.
I think the only downside with the base model is you get very little flash storage with the 1TB fusion I think its only 32gbs. It literally only gives you enough for the operating system so its the limiting factor. The 2TB and 3tb on the other hand give you the 128gb so its a decent amount.
I have a raid 0 2x 256 PCI SSDs in my mac pro running about 1000mb/s and in operation the iMac did not feel any different. Its a decent solution really although many will tell you otherwise. The ssd part is certainly fast its just a small amount.
Infact i ran a Black magic speed test and the 2tb fusion ran 760mb/s read and 2300mb/s write which I think is fast enough for the majority of workflows. Obviously its testing the SSD here not the spinner. Seems strange so many people say it doesn't give a fast or positive experience.
It depends on your needs, the small SSDs is a bit of a scrimp tbh especially for the money you pay for the upgrades. If your a heavy user its not ideal but as a casual user its a decent experience. If you can afford to buy SSD only then I would suggest the 512 as a minimum and the benefit is that everything feels super fast all the time, 512 is not a lot of space but you can add other drives externally.
I think the main differences for this years update come from a value perspective. I have a feeling they will get rid of the fusion drives and go all flash storage with 256 to start. They will also get 6 core processors and fingers crossed the cooling situation will be resolved.
For the same price you will probably get pure SSD storage and 50% more processor power. It will be the best update in the iMac in terms of performance in years.
Only time will tell, unfortunately nobody has the answer. The problem with tech is that its old as soon as you buy it... With apple buying at the right time certainly has advantages.
The current iMacs and macbooks/pros are on sale everywhere but at apple if not on sale there are 12 month 0% deals in most of the big retailers... So depends how you look at it, if you can bag one for a good price now I probably would, if you need the extra speed then wait.
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I would say there will be a bottom end machine with a spinner like the 21" with the 1080 panel but im not sure if it makes sense for apple to have this machine around either.
Its only been in recent years apple have sold low end budget friendly models, these are gimped and really dont offer the high end use experience apple is known for. If it were me I would be ditching all the budget options. Focus on a sucsynced product line with all technologies inline.
Otherwise I dont see why not, 256gb is not expensive to implement anymore as a base line. It would also save apple money servicing products with failed hard drives.
The iMac is the only product in the whole apple ecosystem that still uses them, apart from the mac mini but they haven't been updated since 2014.
The iMac is the only consumer computer remaining that apple sell that has a standard hdd, everything else has an SSD (if you discount the mac mini which is older than the bible).
It's also not a stretch to expect a $1500 - $2000 machine to come with SSD in 2018!!!
I still think the profit is too high for them to lose the spinning hdd any time soon. It took apple years to move beyond base 16gb iPhones, and I think the same mentality applies here :-(
It's quite possible. OTOH the threats don't seem to affect much the leaks for other products lately. I really hope you're right because else the chances of seeing FaceID or a redesign at WWDC are starting to be thin.
Which is why they may come out in later on with the average being 371 days. They were probably announced at WWDC because its the longest period in recent iMac history where they weren't upgraded being 601 days.
Jun 2017
Oct 2015
May 2015
Oct 2014
Sep 2013
Nov 2012
May 2011
From the past it seems summer then fall revamps. The likelihood is that it will be a fall update. I hope its not because the hex core is a good compromise between the iMac pro and a top tier quad currently.
On the other hand the high end 6 core iMac will be very close in terms of performance to the iMac pro and bring benefits that the I series brings over the xeon platform. That may well be a reason for apple not to offer them so soon with iMac pro sales being positive.
I would like to see a design update to make the machine run cooler but also because the last design refresh was in November 2012, 5 and a half year old design now.
This argument doesn't make sense to me.
So I'm Apple, and my flagship all-in-one chassis was last redesigned in 2012. I get to 2016 or and the components have gotten smaller/better/with better thermal management.
At that point I can go in one of two directions
(1) Keep the power comparable, but shrink the chassis (what I did with IMac 2009 (?) in 2012).
(2) Beef up the power (What I just did with IMac Pro).
But why not just do both? In addition to the IMac Pro, release something weaker (that is, about as fast or a little faster than today's IMacs) in a much smaller package and call it the "IMac Air." Now you've got a structure that mirrors the laptop line -- if consumers want a beefy machine, they need to get it in a beefier package.
So I'm Apple, and my flagship all-in-one chassis was last redesigned in 2012. I get to 2016 or and the components have gotten smaller/better/with better thermal management.
At that point I can go in one of two directions
(1) Keep the power comparable, but shrink the chassis (what I did with IMac 2009 (?) in 2012).
(2) Beef up the power (What I just did with IMac Pro).
But why not just do both? In addition to the IMac Pro, release something weaker (that is, about as fast or a little faster than today's IMacs) in a much smaller package and call it the "IMac Air." Now you've got a structure that mirrors the laptop line -- if consumers want a beefy machine, they need to get it in a beefier package.
Exactly what I'm thinking! Except 1 thing: iMac Air is lame IMO
and the naming pattern today is more like foo and foo Pro (iMac - iMac Pro, MacBook - MacBook Pro, iPad - iPad Pro). The Mini and Air are dying. Particularly for a desktop, nobody cares if it's light which is what the Air meant. So I think they'll keep the plain iMac name.I'd buy something with the Air name! Late stage Air was the best g*** laptop Mac ever made. I don't know a single professional that is truly happy with the current MPB.
Exactly what I'm thinking! Except 1 thing: iMac Air is lame IMO
Does the iMac really need to be thinner though? If anybody is screaming for this, don't forget what has happened to the MBP line with unforeseen issues by pushing the thinness too far. Not to mention - once you put it on your desk it rarely moves again if ever.
Also, from a manufacturing standpoint, I would assume Apple saves money by using one form factor throughout. I don't see any benefit in splitting the line - it would likely just add costs.
Not thinner, but less bezels and chin would be nice. In fact I wouldn't mind if it was thicker but I doubt they would do it. As plenty have mentioned, we rarely look at the back of an iMac. We sure look at the front a lot and even though the current look is iconic, it is a bit dated.
Imagine these bezels with an iMac stand, make it as thick as you want to fit everything behind and cool it properly, add a glowing Apple in the back and there it is, my dream iMac!
EDIT: I have no idea how feasible this would be. If someone knows the technical limitations to this I'd love to hear them!
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I wish the imac were thicker. It was so much easier to plug SD cards into my 2010 iMac, since the slot is on the side.
The threat probably won't stop opportunistic employees from leaking secrets but Apple are obviously taking proactive steps to make it very difficult for people to do so, especially in their supply chain.
I doubt they would head in the air direction as it was to represent a small light product and a desktop doesn't move.
Im not really fussed in the direction of the naming convention. Apples marketing team are pretty random and the line hasnt really had a concrete naming focus for a while.
The main thing is they make it work the best it can not 80%, that would make me more than happy.
Im not really fussed in the direction of the naming convention. Apples marketing team are pretty random and the line hasnt really had a concrete naming focus for a while.
The main thing is they make it work the best it can not 80%, that would make me more than happy.