To anyone who follows upgrade cycles more closer than myself: What are the chances there will be another small tweak or spec bump to the 27" iMac before first Apple Silicon iMac is announced?
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LAST? Intel iMac - How Confident Are We?
- Thread starter bobdobalina
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Nobody knows, and everyone would just be making wild guesses.
It would be hard to make predictions based off of historical data, due to big switches like the AS not happening very often.
I would guess that most would think that there will be no more new Intel iMacs introduced, but if you go strictly by historical record, Apple released the final iMac G5 3 months (Oct 2005) prior to the first Intel iMac (Jan 2006).
It would be hard to make predictions based off of historical data, due to big switches like the AS not happening very often.
I would guess that most would think that there will be no more new Intel iMacs introduced, but if you go strictly by historical record, Apple released the final iMac G5 3 months (Oct 2005) prior to the first Intel iMac (Jan 2006).
I would not be surprised if this is the last Intel-powered iMac family. Intel is stuck on 14nm (11th Generation desktop CPUs will still be on 14nm) and at least one fellow is extrapolating from Geekbench scores that the A14X going into the iPad Pro (2021) can run with the Intel i9-9980HK in the 2019 16" MacBook Pro.
I think Apple are deliberately sandbagging (limiting the performance of) the 21.5" iMac and the lower-end Macbooks, so that when the Apple Silicon versions come out (soon) they can claim "50% faster processing!"
The 2020 27" iMac has just been updated. I suspect they will do exactly the same: deliberately not improve the performance of the 27" iMac any further, so that when the Apple Silicon version comes out (eventually) it shows a big performance boost. It would be a marketing disaster if the AS version was only a "meh" improvement.
The 2020 27" iMac has just been updated. I suspect they will do exactly the same: deliberately not improve the performance of the 27" iMac any further, so that when the Apple Silicon version comes out (eventually) it shows a big performance boost. It would be a marketing disaster if the AS version was only a "meh" improvement.
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I personally think they have been doing this to all the macs since the 2019 MBP 16 with both hardware and MacOS, with focus being on the new direction.
Hopefully for all of us I am right and both Big Sur and AS sort out all the current issues [heat being a big culprit].
I think it could well be the end of me buying macs at all if the AS version is 'meh'. But we also need 3rd party developers to come to the party too and make some great apps that utilise metal and the AS as much as possible. I can imagine there will be kinks for at least a year.
Apple will be starting with the current A14 processor at a higher clock rate, then introduce ARM chips with twice the number of cores, then with three or four times the number of cores etc. Each time another processor is ready, one Intel processor bytes the dust. But that takes time. During that time, it would be daft if Apple didn't use newer Intel chips that become available, as long as the changes that are needed in the Mac are not too big.
Remember Apple announced it would take two years until the transition is complete (when Apple has an ARM processor that beats an 28 core Intel processor), so there will likely be more Intel processors used.
Remember Apple announced it would take two years until the transition is complete (when Apple has an ARM processor that beats an 28 core Intel processor), so there will likely be more Intel processors used.
Well the 21.5" is still on 8th Generation Intel CPUs so there are faster CPUs available, but in general tasks, most folks likely wouldn't notice a difference as we're talking a few seconds difference. Intel has discontinued production of the 8th Generation so Apple would have to move to the 9th Generation if they intended to keep the 21.5" in production.
The MacBook Pro 13" is on 8th Generation for the 2-port model, but is on the current 10th generation for the 4-port model.
I am nearly certain that the 27" is the last one. I really cannot see them spending the time on the 21.5" model this close to the transition. They did say the first Apple silicon Mac would come this year (although this could change, I think it will still be this year.) so I can't see them releasing an Intel Mac, especially such an obscure one this close to that. Most likely the new 23" or 24" iMac will be the next one, then a 30" or 32".
On the screen sizes, I've said it so many times and I'll say it again, I'm crossing my fingers that they are 16:10 but probably will not be.
On the screen sizes, I've said it so many times and I'll say it again, I'm crossing my fingers that they are 16:10 but probably will not be.
I don't quite get why people are so sure the 2020 iMac is the last Intel one. Isn't the usual schedule for new iMacs about once a year? And if they have two years before all Macs are on AS, then it could definitely make sense that they release a new Intel iMac in about a year.
Just my 5 cents of speculation.
Just my 5 cents of speculation.
Comparing Geekbench across architectures is about as useful as comparing apples and oranges.
I believe the reason for the 2-year timeframe is because they will take some time to release an Apple silicon Mac Pro, or perhaps the oft-updated Mac mini. I expect the consumer line and the MBP will be the first ones, as these dominate the Mac marketshare.I don't quite get why people are so sure the 2020 iMac is the last Intel one. Isn't the usual schedule for new iMacs about once a year? And if they have two years before all Macs are on AS, then it could definitely make sense that they release a new Intel iMac in about a year.
Just my 5 cents of speculation.
They could, but chances are the Intel and AMD options will not be much better than what we have now. As such, I would expect if ASi is not ready yet, they will just extend the 2020 model's sales life.
True, but considering the iPad Pro can handle most general tasks a lower-end Mac can and do some tasks (like 4K video editing) better, a more powerful Mac-task-focused ASi SoC should be comfortably up to the task(s).