You guys are sure are dreaming. Realistic . . . years away from any major redesign in all likelihood.
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iMac Redesign for 2018?
- Thread starter Solo2392
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Really... It has been 5 1/2 years since this thin design was launched, November 2012. Thats more than average for a design revamp.
Here is a little history of iMac design releases
- PowerPC-based
- August 15, 1998; 19 years ago(G3)
- January 7, 2002; 16 years ago(G4)
- August 31, 2004; 13 years ago(G5)
- Intel-based
- January 10, 2006; 12 years ago (plastic)
- August 7, 2007; 10 years ago (aluminum)
- October 20, 2009; 8 years ago (unibody)
- November 30, 2012; 5 years ago (slim unibody)
- October 16, 2014; 3 years ago (slim unibody with Retina 5K display)
- December 14, 2017; 4 months ago (iMac Pro)
Smaller bezels & "chin" would be quite nice. A little lighter weight would be somewhat helpful for VESA mounting on arms, which is actually pretty important to get the ergonomics right. Extra thickness doesn't seem like a problem to me (holding weight fixed).
Still, I'll take (and did take) the current form factor to get all the power and extra cooling of the IMac Pro. But, its not hard for me to imagine a user with a different set of needs.
Still, I'll take (and did take) the current form factor to get all the power and extra cooling of the IMac Pro. But, its not hard for me to imagine a user with a different set of needs.
Like others have said, I would welcome a redesign but there's really no need for it from Apple's perspective.
- It still looks great
- People are willing to pay an arm and a leg for old tech
- The longer the design stays in production, the more profitable it is
Exactly right, in my view. I don’t believe Apple would waste time and money redesigning the iMac and retooling the manufacturing process when it doesn’t need it. Are customers looking at the iMac, comparing it to All-in-Ones from other manufacturers, and buying one of those instead because the iMac looks dated? I don’t think so.
Except that they are not only competing against AIOs, the iMac is currently their only up to date desktop machine and with no headless Mac they are competing against every desktop and monitors released since 2012 with more modern designs.
A redesign is also possibly the only way to make most current non-techy iMac and MacBook owners think about purchasing one before their device is dead. A new CPU doesn’t make them think about the iMac at all but a gorgeous design will. It’s always been a major strength for all Apple devices.
I used to think that too, but the iMac Pro is such a different device and aimed at a different market that it doesn’t make much sense to think that way. It’s like saying there shouldn’t be a thin and fanless MacBook because the MacBook Pro doesn’t have those features.
Also, it’s the 20th anniversary of the iMac and Apple loves to celebrate those things with special product launches. Anyway I’m not saying there will absolutely be a redesign but I think it’s a possibility.
Not necessarily. I think their goal with the iMac Pro was to get a high-end Mac to market quickly to help address increasing unrest from the “pro” community, and to buy time before launching a new Mac Pro product. So it makes sense that they would use the existing iMac chassis rather than take the time to design a new one.
That said, I do think the iMac Pro is evidence that Apple can’t be too ashamed of the current iMac chassis design.
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Well they do have a headless Mac - the Mac mini - that presumably still sells in enough volume to justify keeping it in the line-up. But in any case, the average consumer today has no interest in separate desktop and monitors. And I can’t imagine someone looking at an iMac and then deciding that actually a separate desktop and monitor, with cables running between them, plus a power cable each, plus maybe a separate webcam with cable, and so forth, is somehow a better design than the all-in-one iMac. That doesn’t make sense.
So again, I’m not sure that there is a material population of people who would not buy the iMac because of its current design.
Again, I think the vast majority of consumers would say that the current iMac design is already gorgeous. But I think your broader point that a redesign would trigger an upgrade cycle for older machines probably has some truth to it - question is to what extent and is it worthwhile.
Since Apple is already in the game of getting rid of big bezels...10.5" ipad pro, 2018 probably even smaller bezels, 2016 macbook pro, 2017 iphoneX, even rumours about 15% more display to the upcoming apple watch (i guess by shrinking the bezels) i think there are 80% chances that the upcoming imacs to have a redesign that will help even more in sales
The same thing could be said of the pre-2016 Retina MacBook Pro - switching the two TB2 ports with TB3 and leaving everything else would have been an elegant sufficiency... but current Apple policy seems to be that you can never be too thin or too reliant on a single type of port. That user-upgradeable RAM must be keeping them awake at night, too.
If they do want a thin'n'crispy re-design then the new 6-core i5 chip probably packs enough power to let them drop the hot-running high-end i7 option so they can slim down the case.
Also, given the lack of effort to produce a desktop equivalent of TouchID, I guess Apple's next step would be to add Face ID to the iMac. Not personally a priority, but I can see the argument.
What the iMac could do with is a better stand - with height & swivel options (I guess the iMac Pro's aftermarket VESA mount option is an alternative solution to that) - and some front-accessible ports.
My bet is on a all soldered motherboard like an Ipad. Super thin. You buy it the way you need it and toss it when it breaks. Just like an 27" Ipad with out the touch screen. May be even a magnetic VESA mount.
Thinner bezels would be nice. I could see them ditching the Chin, and just dropping black glass all the way to the bottom, with the Apple logo opaque, sandblasted, or dimly illuminated through it. It'd probably save them a few cents in MFG and assembly time per unit, so...
Whatever they do, they're now in the risky business of increasing revenue by removing components, features, complexity, and mfg cost, not adding. So, look for features they can eliminate, & charge you the same or more $ for, like the notebook lines.
In a room somewhere, the appropriate year they can go down to a single usb-c port is being considered.
Whatever they do, they're now in the risky business of increasing revenue by removing components, features, complexity, and mfg cost, not adding. So, look for features they can eliminate, & charge you the same or more $ for, like the notebook lines.
In a room somewhere, the appropriate year they can go down to a single usb-c port is being considered.
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In the current world of Apple, a 20th anniversary edition non-pro iMac will just be something like a new colorway, such as space gray. Don’t expect any actual innovation.
The difference is that the pre-2016 MacBook Pro design was no longer competitive in the laptop market, and was looking increasingly dated compared to laptops from other manufacturers. I don’t believe the same can be said for the iMac.
I would expect Face ID is in the works - indeed Face ID combined with new CPUs etc would likely be enough to trigger an upgrade cycle without a chassis redesign.
I think front accessible ports are extremely unlikely.
The current cooling isnt adequate for the current processors, adding another 2 cores isnt going to make it any better if they dont sort the internal cooling fans will be louder quicker and they will throttle even faster.
It would make sense for them to upgrade it to the iMac Pro cooling system which would mean loosing the ram door...
You arent going to get everything with apple...
I imagine that the proportion of iMac buyers that VESA-mount their iMacs is so tiny that Apple wouldn’t bother engineering something like a magnetic VESA mount. There would be no business case for it.
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Do we know that those two necessarily go hand-in-hand, and that the loss of the RAM door isn’t just a business decision?
Sorry, by design change I was only referring to the exterior. But yes, the iMAC Pro cooling system would be the obvious choice. Then again, this is Apple we are talking about...... lol
The main board on the iMac Pro is different in design for obvious reasons, the ram modules are desktop size not traditionally the iMac has used laptop sized modules. I Think this may have been a consideration with the iMac pro, it would have essentially made the door twice the width and would mean a significant redesign of the chassis to implement without adding weakness to the structure.
If you look at the images below (although the wrong way round) the heatsinks seems to be in a similar place meaning the exit vent didnt need to be redesigned on the pro, so it could be possible that the ram door could continue to exists. Im no expert and the actual imac tear downs dont explain much in this regard and without comparing one directly to the other you wouldnt know. I would say there are lots of little changes that add up to a more complex comparison.
On the other hand apple could just remove it entirely as a business decision to make more money from ram upgrades and reduce production costs and remove user error.
Every other product has soldiered ram and it doesn't look like it will go away.
If they dont upgrade the chassis design or change the cooling system then its likely it will be a recycled 2017 model. I think the thermal properties of chips like the 8700k mean that it will run hotter and throttle faster than the 7700k in the current iMac design which like the 2017 means your better off buying the lower end chips.
Seems stupid there is nearly 50% space waste in the 2017 imac. On the other hand this is probably because of design constraints with the 21" having far less volume and the parts needing to be universal between the two, meaning that each can be made on the same production line using the same parts.
IMO it makes sense for a redesign, its been 5 1/2 years which is the longest refesh in the iMac line to date. Ditch the 21" and go with 24" this then makes it easier for apple to make a much better thermal design for both models without gimping the 27" which obviously has space for a better cooling solution.
Also gives the user a better experience. 21" is too small IMO compared to the 27" it seems like too much of a compromise.
Then again the whole apple line up is a compromise.
How was the (external) pre-2016 MBP design no longer competitive? The only thing I remember people here clamouring for was updated CPUs and GPUs. They could have upgraded those and swapped the TB2 ports for TB3 without changing the overall design - just as they did with the iMac.
If it was just dated because it hand't changed for years, then the same is true of the iMac.
Tbh having a non upgradable iMac doesn’t bother me too much as it isnt a pro machine and doesnt pretend to be unlike the iMac pro. It’s just the cost of entry if im paying 5k for an iMac pro i expect to be able to upgrade it up the road as its a substantial investment.
With an iMac up to 3kish its not as bad.
If the ram was at the actual cost, as in decent value for money, I would buy a machine and spec it with more than I need and be done with it.
I mean, historically has been the issue and why people like the memory door... you can buy cheaper ram elsewhere. Otherwise the rest is non upgradable and has been since the G5 white iMac.
The fact is nobody actually upgrades their machines. Unless you decided to purchase 32gb after the fact to save money. Once you’ve done that the speed upgrades will probably have you yearning for new models rather than the ram being the limiting factor.
If this was the case I think the it would be a lot easier for most to swallow.
The fact you can use TB3 to add an external GPU in 3 years time it means you spend £1000 to keep a machine running possibly another 2 years instead of spending another 3k. 5 years is not a bad time frame for a machine and historically 5 years is pretty easy for a mac these days, especially a desktop with no batteries.
The idea of you get 8gbs as standard but you must pay the full 16gb instead of the price for an extra 8 and the same argument with the SSDs. Doubt this will change, It would make people more likely to buy more...
Same with the laptops 8gbs is only just enough now, even for most they should be coming with 16 as standard.
That is the limiting factor for pre built machines, if they were built with the 'idea' they could last there would be no problems. Its all placebo most people would probably upgrade anyway down the line.
If they weren’t ripping people off there would be less anger and more people would be happy with a non upgradable system. As it stands apple is pi$$ing a lot of people off.
With an iMac up to 3kish its not as bad.
If the ram was at the actual cost, as in decent value for money, I would buy a machine and spec it with more than I need and be done with it.
I mean, historically has been the issue and why people like the memory door... you can buy cheaper ram elsewhere. Otherwise the rest is non upgradable and has been since the G5 white iMac.
The fact is nobody actually upgrades their machines. Unless you decided to purchase 32gb after the fact to save money. Once you’ve done that the speed upgrades will probably have you yearning for new models rather than the ram being the limiting factor.
If this was the case I think the it would be a lot easier for most to swallow.
The fact you can use TB3 to add an external GPU in 3 years time it means you spend £1000 to keep a machine running possibly another 2 years instead of spending another 3k. 5 years is not a bad time frame for a machine and historically 5 years is pretty easy for a mac these days, especially a desktop with no batteries.
The idea of you get 8gbs as standard but you must pay the full 16gb instead of the price for an extra 8 and the same argument with the SSDs. Doubt this will change, It would make people more likely to buy more...
Same with the laptops 8gbs is only just enough now, even for most they should be coming with 16 as standard.
That is the limiting factor for pre built machines, if they were built with the 'idea' they could last there would be no problems. Its all placebo most people would probably upgrade anyway down the line.
If they weren’t ripping people off there would be less anger and more people would be happy with a non upgradable system. As it stands apple is pi$$ing a lot of people off.
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We don't know yet what Apple will use but Intel has released 8th gen CPUs that would be adequate for new iMacs. Also, AMD rebadged the RX 500 series as RX 500X. They are basically the same thing but I'm guessing that's what would be in the new iMacs if there is a refresh in June.
Things like the Dell XPS 13 were shipping in 2015 and were thinner and with far narrower bezels (Dell call it “Infinity Edge”). I expect there are others too but the Dell is the one I’m most familiar with. The laptop market is crowded, competitive and dynamic - manufacturers need to keep refreshing their designs to stay relevant. The AIO market is comparatively sedate.