Next iMac Form....6 months or a year?

[Finnxeon]

So i was recently thinking about how the current iMac has had the same form during both powerpc g5 and now intel......i was just wondering when people though the next change in form would appear.......will it be a few months, or does this form still have another year to go before being updated? I have no clue...but its interesting to think about....

what are everyone's thoughts?

finnxeon

 

[Xander562]

No one really knows, it's a pretty good design, they'll most likely et rid of the "chin" at the bottom. but other than that? It's anyones guess.

 

[fivetoadsloth]

im guessing half a year. Seeing apples lineup i was guessing theyd add a black one but they didnt. im guessingt heyll slim them,as they love to do and add a black 20 and 24 incher. im also guessing theyll get a new feature like isght or front row when those came out.

 

[spencecb]

im guessing half a year. Seeing apples lineup i was guessing theyd add a black one but they didnt. im guessingt heyll slim them,as they love to do and add a black 20 and 24 incher. im also guessing theyll get a new feature like isght or front row when those came out.

Huh?? iSight and Front Row have been a part of the iMac since the iMac used the G5 (aside from the first Rev of the current iMac form).

 

[fivetoadsloth]

i just meant them as examples, add something new to them. They added isight and frint row. im just guessing theyll add something

 

[Jovian9]

I predict a new iMac design next fall. That will give the current design 3 years. I think Apple wanted to do a "seamless" switch to Intel and that is why they are using similar/same designs for all their current computers. Familiar but different. I'd guess that within the next 2 years we will see different designs on them all.

 

[OnceUGoMac]

I think that they'll have a new design to complement the Kentsfield chips. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

 

[Finnxeon]

I predict a new iMac design next fall. That will give the current design 3 years. I think Apple wanted to do a "seamless" switch to Intel and that is why they are using similar/same designs for all their current computers. Familiar but different. I'd guess that within the next 2 years we will see different designs on them all.

i was thinking the same thing....i don't think they wanted to change the form when they switched to intel, because they didn't want their customers to think they had changed completely and scare people away...."familiar but different"...yeah....i like that!

 

[amin]

If they simply get rid of the chin, it's hardly an original design anymore. it will be interesting to see what they come up with next.

 

[bousozoku]

I like the way it looks. If I had a choice, it would come in several colours but white is nice enough.

I'd think that it would last at least a year without a change.

 

[dmw007]

I like the way it looks. If I had a choice, it would come in several colours but white is nice enough.

I'd think that it would last at least a year without a change.

More color choices would be nice- kinda a blast from the iMac G3 past.

 

[fistful]

I honestly can't see them changing it too much besides adding new colours, changing the material of the enclosure, making it thinner, removing the chin or a redesigned stand.

If they could find someway to make it hover over a small magnetic base that would be really neat. That obviously won't be happening anytime soon but that would be pretty revolutionary I'd think. Of course the biggest problem with this being electronics generally don't play nice with magnets unless they're specifically designed to do so.

 

[ddrueckhammer]

I honestly can't see them changing it too much besides adding new colours, changing the material of the enclosure, making it thinner, removing the chin or a redesigned stand.

If they could find someway to make it hover over a small magnetic base that would be really neat. That obviously won't be happening anytime soon but that would be pretty revolutionary I'd think. Of course the biggest problem with this being electronics generally don't play nice with magnets unless they're specifically designed to do so.

In all reality, I think you are rignt on track. A good redesign would be to make it thinner, remove or make the chin smaller, change the material to anodized aluminum (available in 4 colors! iPod mini style), and possibly change the stand to an iMac G4 style ajustable lamp type.

Of course, the next iteration of the iMac could be to completely remove the foodprint from the desk and have the monitor hover above it. Or even better, much like the movie "Paycheck" (Phillip K Dick?), remove the monitor altogether in favor of a holograph! That would make a whole new meaning of "Where did the computer go?" Haha...

 

[savar]

what are everyone's thoughts?

Tough question...the current iMac form factor seems to be the endgame for sleek, desktop PCs. There's nowhere else to put it where it will be less obtrusive.

The only changes I see are changes in materials, changes in dimensions (larger screen, thinner front-to-back), removing the chin, and slight tweaks to the geometry of the case (like how the first intel imac introduced the slightly curved back).

 

[extraextra]

I honestly can't see them changing it too much besides adding new colours, changing the material of the enclosure, making it thinner, removing the chin or a redesigned stand.

If they could find someway to make it hover over a small magnetic base that would be really neat. That obviously won't be happening anytime soon but that would be pretty revolutionary I'd think. Of course the biggest problem with this being electronics generally don't play nice with magnets unless they're specifically designed to do so.

Agreed. A thinner enclosure and smaller chin would be great!

 

[Le Big Mac]

Agreed. A thinner enclosure and smaller chin would be great!

&1. I could see a smaller enclosure. get it down to the size of an actual flat panel, but that doesn't change the look that much.

As for the chin--it's not exactly innovation they need there, it's rewriting the laws of gravity. Absent smaller, lighter components, it will need a stand of a certain size to keep it stable. They could use some other stand, but then it would create other issues.

I don't see how there's much room for change, other than sleekness, unless they want to go back to the G4, except make the monitor detachable/plug and play (i.e., the headless iMac with a head--choose your CPU; choose your monitor size-->plug them together and go).

 

[Bibulous]

Maybe after the holiday, but more likely the end of next summer. The power supply and speakers are most troublesome parts, I hope they keep the brick inside the case and not on the floor.

 

[Macky-Mac]

the basic form of the G3 iMac was around for almost 5 years and the G4 lasted about 3.5 years........the current form of the iMac is just barely 2 years old so I 'm guessing they'll keep the current design another year or two at least.

They might do minor modifications to the current form as well as offer different colors but I suspect that's it

 

[miloblithe]

the basic form of the G3 iMac was around for almost 5 years and the G4 lasted about 3.5 years........the current form of the iMac is just barely 2 years old so I 'm guessing they'll keep the current design another year or two at least.

They might do minor modifications to the current form as well as offer different colors but I suspect that's it

The G4 lasted January 2002 to July 2004 (~2.5 years), and the G3 August 1998 to January 2002 (~3.5 years). The current model just celebrated 2 years. 6 months to a year sounds pretty plausible based on past patterns, but I don't think you can draw too much of a conclusion from them.

 

[mrgreen4242]

I personally don't care for the iMac G5/Duo design. I mean, it's nice, and better looking that 99% of other computers out there, but it's nothing spectacular, imo. I prefered the "iLamp" G4 iMac, from an asthetics point of view.

I was thinking that they could do an L-shaped design, sort of like the old ACDs, put the logic board (now that they're Intels, can we call them motherboards? ) on the base pard, and the optical and HDD in the 'chin' area, with the LCD where'd you'd expect it. Make them out of aluminum, have 20", 24", and 30" models.

Not sure if that would be an improvement or just a lateral move, though. Perhaps they could, *gasp*, drop the stupid all-in-one design and just offer a Mac mini, Mac cube (headless iMac) and Mac pro. :/

 

[aswitcher]

I am sure they will drop black on us sometime in 2007. Maybe just for the 24" because its the most likely TV substitute.

 

[Macky-Mac]

The G4 lasted January 2002 to July 2004 (~2.5 years), and the G3 August 1998 to January 2002 (~3.5 years). The current model just celebrated 2 years. 6 months to a year sounds pretty plausible based on past patterns, but I don't think you can draw too much of a conclusion from them.

well, we have different dates for the G3 then......Lowendmac.com says Apple continued to sell the G3 imacs until march of 2003 after being introduced in may of 1998 which is almost 5 years....however, it was my bad math that turned the 2.5 years of the G4 into 3.5 years