My take on iMac update time and spec.

[faithkev]

my take on the questions..

1) Is there gonna be an iMac update soon ??

for me, I believe there will be an update on iMac very soon...

reason for such is...

Since Sep. 2005 when there was update of 'Mac mini'
there was an iMac update... or vice versa (except 2008)

looking at the 'buyer's guide', it goes as below..

Mac Mini - iMac
------------------------------------
09 '05 - 10 '05
02 '06 - 01 '06
09 '06 - 09 '06
08 '07 - 08 '07
xxx - 04 '08
03 '09 - 03 '09
10 '09 - 10 '09
=============================
06 '10 - ???

....so i expect...
either the update is gonna happen within days.. or within a month...


2) How much difference of an update will it be??

I doubt on any major apperance change...
as many of the forum members suggests... only minor spec. update.

such as.. internal vga chip 9400M to 320M, R4xxx to 5xxx

....nothing so big you'd regret for not waiting...

internal gpu chip is an internal gpu chip... you can't expect much from it.
same goes for R4XXX to R5XXX discrete gpu.. not much in
performance wise.


3) Should you wait for a update?

If ur current computer (pc or mac) is outdated long time..
-> unless ur willing to wait till 2011.. for any major significent difference.
I would say don't wait buy it quickly and enjoy~

If u already have a capable computer (pc or mac) to do daily tasks...
-> and have the patience to wait, I would suggest wait just a bit longer.


.... well its only my thinking..
__________________________
15" MBP 2.4G (early '08)
Time capsule 500G
iphone3GS 32G

 

[aki]

Yeah, coz of a hardware failure I have to buy a new one soon, and I've come to a similar conclusion, I imagine the most I'd be missing if I have to buy "too early" is a slightly better video card.

I can wait at most till end of July (SC2 ), so see if I can hold out that long I guess. ... Probably can't.

But probably the changes aren't going to be anything major.

 

[Nickb]

I like your logic, seems to be a good guess.

I agree though, anyone who has bought an i5/i7 shouldnt worry to much as they are great.

the only thing that would be important to me is the yellow screen issue (which im having and returning my computer today)

BUT

that said, if my replacement has a good screen, im going to stick with that instead of waiting.

 

[peakchua]

i think the tint issue has to do with the radeon mobility 4850, in that case, wait for the next update because porbably a 5850 will include a more reliable manufacture

 

[Hellhammer]

i think the tint issue has to do with the radeon mobility 4850, in that case, wait for the next update because porbably a 5850 will include a more reliable manufacture

It's the backlight, not the 4850. 24" with it had no yellowing and it's very unlikely that it would cause partial yellowing or no yellowing at all. Every display would have pretty much the same amount of yellowing and that would be fixed by calibrating or updating drivers. All iMacs have had yellowing, no matter is it 9400M, ATI 4670 or 4850

 

[Zelnaga]

Having said that now, and knowing my luck. They probably wont refresh the imacs for a while now. But im gonna hold strong and wait for a refresh.

 

[2005CTS]

my take on the questions..

1) Is there gonna be an iMac update soon ??

for me, I believe there will be an update on iMac very soon...

reason for such is...

Since Sep. 2005 when there was update of 'Mac mini'
there was an iMac update... or vice versa (except 2008)

looking at the 'buyer's guide', it goes as below..

Mac Mini - iMac
------------------------------------
09 '05 - 10 '05
02 '06 - 01 '06
09 '06 - 09 '06
08 '07 - 08 '07
xxx - 04 '08
03 '09 - 03 '09
10 '09 - 10 '09
=============================
06 '10 - ???

....so i expect...
either the update is gonna happen within days.. or within a month...


2) How much difference of an update will it be??

I doubt on any major apperance change...
as many of the forum members suggests... only minor spec. update.

such as.. internal vga chip 9400M to 320M, R4xxx to 5xxx

....nothing so big you'd regret for not waiting...

internal gpu chip is an internal gpu chip... you can't expect much from it.
same goes for R4XXX to R5XXX discrete gpu.. not much in
performance wise.


3) Should you wait for a update?

If ur current computer (pc or mac) is outdated long time..
-> unless ur willing to wait till 2011.. for any major significent difference.
I would say don't wait buy it quickly and enjoy~

If u already have a capable computer (pc or mac) to do daily tasks...
-> and have the patience to wait, I would suggest wait just a bit longer.


.... well its only my thinking..
__________________________
15" MBP 2.4G (early '08)
Time capsule 500G
iphone3GS 32G

Your logic sounds good. Based on my review of Apple's pattern this summer and your logic...then I would say July 13th will be the update day for the iMac. They have updated a Mac product in each of the last three months on a Tuesday that falls in the middle of the month. The only reason I see the iMac getting updated on August 17th rather than July 13th is that the MacBook Air is so long over due for a refresh.

Either way - based on yours and my logic...I think an iMac update is less than two months away...so I am waiting.

 

[hedgehogmac]

Don’t we at least have to wait until there are reports of iMac supply shortages and expect an update no sooner than a couple of weeks after that? I am seriously agonising over when to by. My problem is that sales tax goes up by 2% in my country in July, but I want a better GPU!! Luckily I have a macbook and will be traveling in Europe for 6 weeks until mid-Sept so it will be easier to wait!!

 

[2005CTS]

Don’t we at least have to wait until there are reports of iMac supply shortages and expect an update no sooner than a couple of weeks after that? I

Potentially yes. But based on the last several months...the next most likely update of a Mac product would be July 13th...and we have plenty of time for those "shortages" to appear depending on the product. If the form factor of the iMac is not changing (I doubt it is) then Apple could potentially manage their inventory such that shortages wouldn't show up until a week or less prior to an update.

As many others have stated...I strongly suspect that any update will be small and include a GPU or other internal upgrade like memory or such. Also - I suspect the next iMac refresh will include the new rumored touch pad to replace or give an option at purchase to the magic mouse.

 

[Yinmay]

OP: I hope you're right about the imminence of the update.

To follow-up on your spot-on wait/don't wait advice, I'd say if you find a good used or refurbished deal go for it. New iMacs are currently overpriced for what you get. The more people hold-off buying one, the more hard-pressed Apple will be to update them.

 

[Fallenman]

I want you to be right.

I'm getting a 27" i7, I just cant justify getting one right now with a potential update round the corner... I gather that unless they change the architecture substantially, the GPU upgrade we're all craving wont be major - but even a small bump will increase the life-span of the machine for me.

 

[NyArtboy]

OP: I hope you're right about the imminence of the update.

To follow-up on your spot-on wait/don't wait advice, I'd say if you find a good used or refurbished deal go for it. New iMacs are currently overpriced for what you get. The more people hold-off buying one, the more hard-pressed Apple will be to update them.

Exactly what I did. I couldn't wait any longer. My MBP is getting bogged down with Snow Leapord and CS5. I found a refurb with lots of extra software for a good deal less then new so I went for it. The i7 is nice, everything is smooth, fast and the monitor is light years better then my 24" Dell2405FPW. I am pretty happy, but I can't get that feeling "I bought too soon" out of my head. Hopefully the update comes soon and its not anything to worry about so I can get some sleep!

 

[Starship77]

iPhone is in the front page now...

I'm also waiting for an update and I think the logic is right. To add to that, I think Apple would wait for the iPhone 4 to come out and then update the iMac.
Just like they waited for the iPad to come out to update the macbooks. The mac mini came before because it's not so important, so they can quietly update it while keeping the front page with the iPhone. But the iMac, in the other hand, deserves a front page at least for a few days!

 

[mrmarts]

Exactly what I did. I couldn't wait any longer. My MBP is getting bogged down with Snow Leapord and CS5. I found a refurb with lots of extra software for a good deal less then new so I went for it. The i7 is nice, everything is smooth, fast and the monitor is light years better then my 24" Dell2405FPW. I am pretty happy, but I can't get that feeling "I bought too soon" out of my head. Hopefully the update comes soon and its not anything to worry about so I can get some sleep!

I got an imac 27" on order for about a week now, i come on and off this forum to hate to think what if they add blu ray or radically change the design untill i get my imac and hopefully see a minor changes like the iphone 3g and 3gs i also can get some sleep.

 

[dexthageek]

I got an imac 27" on order for about a week now, i come on and off this forum to hate to think what if they add blu ray or radically change the design untill i get my imac and hopefully see a minor changes like the iphone 3g and 3gs i also can get some sleep.

The general census around the forum believes that "WHEN" the iMac is updated, it will only be a minor upgrade in CPU speed and a slighter better GPU.

 

[Pachang]

If the update comes soon it probably won't be much. With a reasonable chance of lightpeak, sandy bridge procs and southern island gpus and Next year's one will be killer though.