Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
New iMac this fall?
- Thread starter Appleaker
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
There's plenty they can do to make the iMac a more modern, attractive device:
1.) Bezels - Thin bezel displays provide even more focus on your content, and the bezels on the current iMac are oddly thick. In fact, while the 2012 redesign changed the thinness of the back side, the front face of the iMac remains unchanged from the 2009 introduction of the 27" and 21.5" display sizes. It's 2016 and 7 years is a long time in tech.
2.) "The chin" - The chin of the iMac had been shrunken down with each iteration up until 2009, but is likely a lot taller than it needs to be given the advancement of other technologies. I personally would love to see an iMac with no chin - basically make it look like the Thunderbolt Display but with a computer in it.
3.) Colors - Apple would have to be really motivated to add color options to the iMac line since they'd also have to add additional SKUs to the Magic accessories to match. I think the latter is probably why they won't bother, but the early days of the iMac was all about color options. I hope they offer space gray and gold options with a redesign. I'm typing this on a gold MacBook and it is a very attractive look.
4.) USB-Type C/Thunderbolt 3 - This is the future of I/O and Thunderbolt 3 is desirable for professionals who are a large part of the target market - especially for the 27" model. Apple has been the primary driver of Thunderbolt technology since its inception in 2011, so it's only natural they continue to push the standard on their flagship Mac.
In short, when Apple releases a redesigned 27" 5K iMac that hits some (or all) of these bullet points, my wallet is ready.
Last edited:
Although I agree with all these points and it would be great to see it all happen in a refresh, it is only 1 & 4 I would be really bothered about to get my wallet open.
I'm in a holding pattern for a new iMac as well. Unfortunately, I purchased my current 27" prior to the 5k version. Tragic! Other than the screen, I love my iMac. Core i7, 32GB RAM, SSD, 4GB video card. I really can't think of anything that it's lacking other than TB3 ports.
- I would love to see smaller bezels around the screen, but I don't really care that much.
- I actually like "the chin" on the iMac. It's the perfect spot for me to put sticky notes.
- I would love to have at least 2 more USB 3 ports. It's funny, I used to need more USB ports for all the devices (scanners, printer, microphones, etc.). Now all those devices are wireless, but I need more ports for all the god d@mn charging cables!
4 would be nice. Especially since it means more versatile ports that support USB as well. I only need one thunderbolt port myself, but it'd be nice to be able to use the second one as USB 3.
You might simply get a 4-port USB charger to plug into the wall for your charging cables.
Ha, I'm in the same boat as you. My 2009 iMac just effectively gave up the ghost (dead/dying GPU), so I'm trying to hedge my bets whether the summer price discount (i.e. getting the beats & selling them) is worth it, versus waiting for a possible upgrade the iMacs might get in October.
Techradar just wrote a piece on the future of the iMac and talks in length of the prospects of an iMac Pro:
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/co...to-see-from-apple-s-next-imac-desktop-1326153
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/co...to-see-from-apple-s-next-imac-desktop-1326153
Yeah, 4 is the most likely to happen. You could even use the second one as multiple full bandwidth USB 3.1 ports.
I think Apple will release a new iMac with Kaby Lake CPU, Polaris GPU and Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C. No re-design, which is not needed IMO - and this will happen Q4 this year. A 32" 8K with pure desktop components would be awesome but i dont think we will see that happen.
They could surprise us though with an iMac Pro line, which wouldn't be completely unlikely. It could be Apple discontinues the Mac Pro because of low sales and because its becoming less relevant and replace it with a iMac Pro line instead. It seems they are creating more pro series in their lineup these days and the iMac could really need one, one that is yet another notch more powerful and more expensive than what you can currently get.
They could surprise us though with an iMac Pro line, which wouldn't be completely unlikely. It could be Apple discontinues the Mac Pro because of low sales and because its becoming less relevant and replace it with a iMac Pro line instead. It seems they are creating more pro series in their lineup these days and the iMac could really need one, one that is yet another notch more powerful and more expensive than what you can currently get.
So are Apple's design team.
If you read the initial post you would see that the suitable Kaby Lake processors won't be out until next year, and while the 400-series AMD cards may be announced around the end of August, that's just speculation. Upgrading AMD i likely while CPU is somewhat unlikely.
I could be wrong in the sense that they may have a deal with both companies or they may be released before the refresh.
While we are due a redesign this year, it could also happen next year.
32" would be really cool and I have a feeling if they were to do an iMac Pro it would be that size, but wouldn't seem so large due to smaller bezels and a smaller chin.
I to am in a holding pattern, but not just on the iMac, but on ALL Apple products. Until they make something worth buying, I'd rather spend my money elsewhere.
FWIW: #4 and more internal storage ( like at least 2 TB flash ) options would get my attention. Having USB 3.1 ( i.e. superspeed gen II ) on Type C connectors in addition to TB3 would be welcome.
Yeah, the 1TB max capacity (along with the price) is what stops me from going all flash. It's 3rd on my list beneath a better GPU and TB 3.
You could always use TB 3 for storage expansion without speed compromises. And if you wanted, you could get a Fusion Drive and swap out the hdd with a 2TB ssd.
What do you mean, regarding iOS and macOS? We already know the features there's really not too much to talk about this fall (with those)
The 27" iMac is already on Skylake, and other then a newer dGPU and TB3, there's not much else you can do. The 21" iMac is on broadwell, and I do think its better for Apple to update that sooner then later, not that they will
I don't know if you remember back in ...say I think it was Yosemite days ..but anyway they did another keynote as a review and took another....I think it was an hr.
I'm not quite ready to jump ship, but the serious lack of attention to Macs by Apple has more or less forced me to look closely at what I use them for. I have a 2014 15" Retina MacBook Pro that I'll likely not be replacing with an Apple product. I'm thinking a cheap Chromebook will do the trick.
Because Apple has dragged-ass on upgrades, I've adapted my workflow accordingly and no longer use a laptop as a serious workhorse. It's more of a writing and web-surfing tool now, and I certainly don't need a $2K+ MBP for that.
I just jumped ship and bought the mid-tier stock 27'' iMac after my 2009 one's GPU died. The guaranteed discount I get from selling the Beats for a purchase before 5 September personally outweighs the possibility of getting a GPU update (which I'd use) and TB3/USB3.1 (which I wouldn't) before Christmas. I'm sure I'll have some minor regrets if they do a bump in Oct/Nov, but I'd be super surprised if they do a case redesign now just to add USB-C, which Apple seems pretty half-hearted about adding into any of their computers besides the MacBook which was a full year and a half ago.
Methinks pat500000 interjects a little irony( i.e. having only iOS and macOS for a keynote discussion is the same as having nothing ) but my irony detector is often unreliable.
I'm only saying This because Apple had a keynote twice about Yosemite . And no I don't mean excluvise keynote but being talked about it during keynote along with some other stuff.
Anyway..I'm just assuming rrriiigghhtt?
Anyway..I'm just assuming rrriiigghhtt?
Last edited: