No 2018 iMac?!

[sublunar]

The adequate Intel chips are 6 core, not 8. They were released a few months ago already and a lot of OEMs are already using them so it's not far-fetched to think Apple will put them in the iMac in 2018. It would actually be quite surprising if they skip this generation.

Every Intel desktop CPU likely to be used in the iMac is available on the open market now, only the delay in getting cheaper Intel motherboard chipsets out will have slowed up Apple and their engineering 'A-Team' will have been hard at work on the MacBook Pro keyboard and next year's modular Mac Pro.

The only question I could see is over the possible use of alternative CPUs in future iMacs (such as i5-8305G) if they want to consolidate parts lists but it would be truly perverse to update the iMac without using Coffee Lake 6 core CPUs.

 

[EightyTwenty]

I still don't understand why they can't have a new wired keyboard. The keyboard is already thin and unobtrusive; so what if it has a wire? I understand wanting a wireless mouse; the wire can get in the way of finer movement, but I have no problem using a wired keyboard.

The current keyboard is wired and wireless - whichever you prefer. You don’t have to unplug the USB cable if you don’t want to.

 

[EugW]

@EugW has been arguing for months an 8 core iMac will be released this year, but I doubt it. I think we won't see a refresh on the iMac lineup until 2019.

Apple has bigger fish to fry with their laptops and the upcoming Mac Pro.

Of course we all desire more performance, but in truth the current iMac lineup is in great shape in its current state for its intended use. And if one needs more performance there is the iMac Pro.

No, I have never claimed Apple will release an 8-core iMac this year.

I have been saying a 6-core iMac will be released this year. Several in fact, probably four different 6-core CPUs in the 27" models in 2018.

 

[pier]

No, I have never claimed Apple will release an 8-core iMac this year.

I have been saying a 6-core iMac will be released this year. Several in fact, probably four different 6-core CPUs in the 27" models in 2018.

Ahh ooops sorry, yeah I meant 6 core.

 

[Abazigal]

If there were to be an event in July or August we would know about it by now. Invites would have been sent out.

It makes perfect sense to launch all before Christmas... higher sales to show higher statistics. There are very few who will buy all the releases.

I have never really understood this logic of doing all your shopping before Christmas. Say I were in the market for a new iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and iMac. Wouldn’t it make more sense to stagger the product releases throughout the year, then lump them all together? Personally, I would be much less inclined to spend so much at one go. But it would be more palatable if I bought an iPad in April, an Apple Watch in September and maybe a new Mac at the end of the year. The pinch doesn’t feel as hard because I am spending modest amounts at any one time.

 

[kwikdeth]

No, I have never claimed Apple will release an 8-core iMac this year.

I have been saying a 6-core iMac will be released this year. Several in fact, probably four different 6-core CPUs in the 27" models in 2018.

exactly this. six-core has finally made it to the regular desktop lineup for Intel, so its a no-brainer to think these will be appearing in an imac at some point or another.

 

[tomscott1988]

I have never really understood this logic of doing all your shopping before Christmas. Say I were in the market for a new iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch and iMac. Wouldn’t it make more sense to stagger the product releases throughout the year, then lump them all together? Personally, I would be much less inclined to spend so much at one go. But it would be more palatable if I bought an iPad in April, an Apple Watch in September and maybe a new Mac at the end of the year. The pinch doesn’t feel as hard because I am spending modest amounts at any one time.

Like I said a person who buys every product isn’t really important it’s the fact all are fresh and new on the run up to the holiday season. Updates aren’t always a reason to upgrade for many people but other products are perfect for gift giving and you can’t pigeon hole everyone.

I agree that it would make the year more interesting but it doesn’t happen.

 

[Hater]

Although ready for a refresh you can hardly call it a bad design... still the best looking computer you can buy.

None of the windows machines can touch it unless you think this look good

All of the counter/customer facing receptionist machines at work are now HP's (work has a large HP contract for all of the business laptops etc) and they've replaced 2008 era iMacs.

They just look like AIO's.

The iMac.... just looks like an AIO.

Both are absolutely nothing to get excited over. The G4's were, and maaaaaaybe in 2005 with the release of the G5... maybe? But now? Nah.

 

[dumastudetto]

I'm thinking Apple will do a silent refresh of iMac much sooner than October - maybe this month or next. The store will go down unexpectedly one day, a bunch of Apple writers will have prepared stories they hit publish on, and the store will re-appear with a bunch of updated modes now carrying the "New" identifier, and a press release will also be circulated. I don't think Apple is going to do anything compelling enough that would require a media event, or to wait for such an event later in the year.

The new MacBook/MacBook Pros may wait until later in the year if Apple is going to address the keyboard issues. Talking about improvements to the keyboard does give Apple a compelling story to tell during a media gathering.

 

[TallManNY]

The next iMac HAS to be a redesigned one, or the iMac non-pro line is dead to me, and most likely many others. It is already rocking a 10 year old design and urgently needs updating, as does the cooling so a real GPU can be used, and the CPU without dangerously high temperatures. Am I asking to much? For Apple, yes.

I don't think they are ever putting a full power GPU in the iMac. That is what the iMac Pro is for. Also with E-GPUs coming out I don't know if matters what GPU you have in your iMac since the external one is going to be the one you really use and the one you replace from time to time.

 

[gusping]

I don't think they are ever putting a full power GPU in the iMac. That is what the iMac Pro is for. Also with E-GPUs coming out I don't know if matters what GPU you have in your iMac since the external one is going to be the one you really use and the one you replace from time to time.

If i'm paying £2,300, I want a good GPU. The cooling in the iMac is so bad, a full power GPU would melt the whole machine. E-GPUs are a partial answer. £2300 for the top iMac plus £500-800 on an enclosure plus a full sized powerful GPU. Forget it.

 

[galactic orange]

I'm thinking Apple will do a silent refresh of iMac much sooner than October - maybe this month or next. The store will go down unexpectedly one day, a bunch of Apple writers will have prepared stories they hit publish on, and the store will re-appear with a bunch of updated modes now carrying the "New" identifier, and a press release will also be circulated. I don't think Apple is going to do anything compelling enough that would require a media event, or to wait for such an event later in the year.

The new MacBook/MacBook Pros may wait until later in the year if Apple is going to address the keyboard issues. Talking about improvements to the keyboard does give Apple a compelling story to tell during a media gathering.

I really hope you’re right about a silent refresh for the iMac. I’m more interested in the modular Mac Pro, but if Apple offers a six-core iMac with 64GB RAM possible (still user upgradable) then I’ll put aside my reservations about buying an all-in-one and bite... as long as the thing doesn’t melt with heavy use.

 

[majestice]

Haha, I've never seen Apple have a sale, unless you are counting Best Buy's $50-200 discounts on certain base models.

Maybe you should check the post that I was replying to said
[doublepost=1528744096][/doublepost]

Also a good way to lose a ton sales on students who realize they'd pay extra for older hardware if they went with Apple. They don't even need to be tech-savvy, just look at the core count right there in the product description and they'll wonder why they can't get those 2 extra cores found in similar products.

Most of the people are not very tech savvy and this applies probably even more to Apple users than PC. Most people seem to also have no idea when Apple is releasing what, or aware of when the last model was released, or what the release cycle on average is. Like an editor friend who was considering buying a new Mac Pro now without understanding that it is already years old model.

 

[ranho]

I was eager for a new iMac but I could just live with a spec bump or a lowering of the original price. It's just stupid to pay the same amount of money for the computer as a year ago (or wtv date it was released). The problem is that Apple never lowers the price of anything with the exception (sometimes) of a product that is being replaced by a newly version, but then you want to buy the new product anyway.

The reasoning that apple is fine tuning the MacOs for a better experience with the hardware seems quite thin. The upgrades nowadays are not a huge leap of tech anymore and recently MacOs as not been the most stellar OS anyway.

Spec bump/lower prices, that's it. There's no need for a huge shift. The pre touchbar macbook pros were basically spec bumps the years before, like haswell or broadwell and a better SSD, is that so hard even if the market is smaller? It's just profit profit profit.

 

[sublunar]

I'm thinking Apple will do a silent refresh of iMac much sooner than October - maybe this month or next. The store will go down unexpectedly one day, a bunch of Apple writers will have prepared stories they hit publish on, and the store will re-appear with a bunch of updated modes now carrying the "New" identifier, and a press release will also be circulated. I don't think Apple is going to do anything compelling enough that would require a media event, or to wait for such an event later in the year.

The new MacBook/MacBook Pros may wait until later in the year if Apple is going to address the keyboard issues. Talking about improvements to the keyboard does give Apple a compelling story to tell during a media gathering.

I really don't think Apple would silently upgrade with 6 core CPUs despite AMD only coming up with 500X series GPUs unless Apple decide to go with a Vega variant. Imagine the numbers in terms of compute power that Phil Schiller will be extolling. It's going to be something they make a big song and dance about for sure, especially if they choose to offer a lower SKU iMac Pro which takes the place of the 8th generation i7 CPUs.

I've mentioned elsewhere that it might even be a reason for offering Xeon E CPUs (with 6 cores, 12 threads) in an iMac Pro style SKU while the i7 option is quietly dropped from the regular iMac range in return for a (currently fictional) Vega 28 GPU for example.

I don't think Apple would be drawing undue attention to the MacBook Pro keyboard other than saying it's 'improved'. I think they might even be delaying it because they're going a different way altogether with the keyboard - we'll see.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

Why couldn't they put FaceID into a second generation iMac Pro? Especially if FaceID appears in the iPad Pro in September as is being heavily mooted. Apple wouldn't even have to update the existing upper SKUs of the Mac Pro until they are ready.

For me, I'd see an entry level iMac Pro emerging as a second (entry level) SKU with a Xeon E CPU sporting 6 cores, and 12 threads. 16Gb RAM, 512Gb SSD and VEGA 56. FaceID might be the cherry on top for many and could drive adoption. The trade-off would be just 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports due to the reduced number of PCIe lanes on the Xeon E CPU used.

Apple could put this into a 24" DCI-P3 4k size screen which finally gets rid of the chin (in a similar style to the 10.5" iPad Pro coming on to the scene). They could also use this platform to test HDR screens with 1000 nits brightness using MiniLED technology, for example.

With a starting price of $3000 pls

 

[HowardEv]

With a starting price of $3000 pls

The new MacPro and Mini need a 24 hour battery! Since it doesn’t have to power a screen, 24 hours should be doable. And under $1000 pls

 

[galactic orange]

I've mentioned elsewhere that it might even be a reason for offering Xeon E CPUs (with 6 cores, 12 threads) in an iMac Pro style SKU while the i7 option is quietly dropped from the regular iMac range in return for a (currently fictional) Vega 28 GPU for example.

Now you’re scaring me. This is quad-core Mac Mini going away so you will be upsold to a more powerful system (an iMac in that case). If the top current iMac is removed so that I have to buy an iMac Pro to get equivalent or better power then Apple is pulling the rug out from under me. Refurb iMacs aren’t sold in the Apple Store of the country where I live.

 

[Icy1007]

I hope they don’t update the iMac anytime soon. I just bought a 27” 5K iMac. lol

 

[yunuzzz]

I hope they don’t update the iMac anytime soon. I just bought a 27” 5K iMac. lol

Ahaha same here. I just bought i7, radeon pro 580 with 512 ssd option.

 

[Ifti]

The longer I wait for an updated iMAC (just an update I'm after, don't care for a redesign), the more I think I may as well wait for the Mac Pro now!

 

[fathergll]

The longer I wait for an updated iMAC (just an update I'm after, don't care for a redesign), the more I think I may as well wait for the Mac Pro now!

You might be waiting a year and a half by the time that thing actually ships. Probably late 2019. It sounds like Apple had a lot of work on it and the iMac Pro buys them a lot of time for this release.

 

[sublunar]

Now you’re scaring me. This is quad-core Mac Mini going away so you will be upsold to a more powerful system (an iMac in that case). If the top current iMac is removed so that I have to buy an iMac Pro to get equivalent or better power then Apple is pulling the rug out from under me. Refurb iMacs aren’t sold in the Apple Store of the country where I live.

Being upsold was always the plan with Apple but I think there's legs in the iMac Pro concept in general and later on down the line Apple could go with Xeon CPUs if there is a suitable range at decent discounts to fit the 'professional' lineup they might have if ARM CPUs for consumer grade Macs are the plan going forward.

Launching the 2018 iMac closer to the 1 year anniversary of the iMac Pro makes it possible but unlikely that the iMac Pro gets a refresh at the same time (to get FaceID if nothing else).

The iMac Pro came out in December though and there's no other hardware that could fit into the first generation unless they are bringing out a lower priced SKU which is why I would have said that Apple could go a different way with the non-Pro iMac.

Xeon E CPUs in an iMac Pro would largely mimic the 8th generation Coffee Lake i7 so why offer an i7 option in the cheaper machine? Especially one which people would just add their own memory to?

My idea would be i5 CPU with 6 cores - which would be a horsepower increase on most 7th generation i7s doing multi threaded work - and bring in a Vega SKU to help fill the other 30w TDP which removing K series CPUs from the consumer iMac might offer.

Apple would create a lower priced iMac Pro SKU by introducing a 24" 4k panel but not 21.5" professional spec which seals the RAM in and introduces FaceID as a party trick (to be added to the second generation iMac Pro in due course).

So our iMac range looks like this:
21.5" iMac Retina DCI 4k starting with i5-8305g CPU (4 cores, 8 threads) and captive RAM
24" DCI 4k HDR iMac Pro with Xeon E, Vega 28/32, SSD only and captive RAM (6 cores, 12 threads)
27" iMac with i5 Coffee Lake and Vega 32/56 GPU (6 cores, 6 threads)
27" 5k iMac Pro with Xeon W, SSD only and captive RAM (8+ cores, 16+ threads)


A fully loaded low-SKU modular Mac Pro could also be offered around the price of the current 2013 Mac Pro.

The 7nm AMD Vega Instinct GPU will be with AMD partners by the end of the year - clearly that's going to be an option for modular Mac Pros.

 

[Internet Enzyme]

The new MacPro and Mini need a 24 hour battery! Since it doesn’t have to power a screen, 24 hours should be doable. And under $1000 pls

I feel like I'm being made fun of, but I don't think $3000 is unreasonable. Unrealistic, maybe.

 

[galactic orange]

I feel like I'm being made fun of, but I don't think $3000 is unreasonable. Unrealistic, maybe.

I'll happily pay $3000 for a computer that I like, runs well, and does what I need it to do for a reasonable period of time.