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When will the iMac be refreshed?

  • September/October Event

  • November/December Event

  • March/April Event

  • WWDC 2019


Results are only viewable after voting.

EugW

macrumors G5
Jun 18, 2017
14,995
12,954
Ironically, all the laptops have HyperThreading, including my 12" MacBook which doesn't even get an "i" designation with its Core m3.
 

BigBoy2018

Suspended
Oct 23, 2018
964
1,822
Ironically, all the laptops have HyperThreading, including my 12" MacBook which doesn't even get an "i" designation with its Core m3.

Yea, but thats a pretty weak processor, so even hyperthreading cant overheat it in that thin case.
 

Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
1,794
I know most of you don't like this concept lol but I spent a bit more time on it anyways. One little thing that I like about it is that it has a 16:10 display. Small change that isn't immediately noticeable, but I think 16:10 is a better aspect ratio this and the rounded corners result in a display resolution of 5232 x 3270.
 

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SecuritySteve

macrumors 6502a
Jul 6, 2017
951
1,086
California
I know most of you don't like this concept lol but I spent a bit more time on it anyways. One little thing that I like about it is that it has a 16:10 display. Small change that isn't immediately noticeable, but I think 16:10 is a better aspect ratio. Also, the display's resolution is now 5232 x 3270 because of the rounded corners.
Go fullscreen app mode and add a scrollbar. You will quickly find out that rounded corners are horribly dysfunctional.
 
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Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
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Go fullscreen app mode and add a scrollbar. You will quickly find out that rounded corners are horribly dysfunctional.

Yeah, when I was thinking about this I realized there were a few things that would need to be figured out for this to work (such as the menu bar, which was an easy fix as you can see) and fullscreen mode is definitely one of them. I haven't really committed to solving this problem lol but I think it's definitely doable. I suppose the big question is why? and to that I say—just look at it. It's cool. At least, I think so. And I don't think it's necessarily that large of an engineering hurdle. If apple really wanted to carry this aesthetic across to Mac, I bet they could totally do it.
 
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Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,344
3,394
I know most of you don't like this concept lol but I spent a bit more time on it anyways. One little thing that I like about it is that it has a 16:10 display. Small change that isn't immediately noticeable, but I think 16:10 is a better aspect ratio. Also, the display's resolution is now 5232 x 3270 because of the rounded corners.

Count me as one in the minority then, as I LOVE that concept. Great work. However I am one to agree that this design won’t actually see the light of day until we see an ARM Mac. But I do hope we see this design one day.

Go fullscreen app mode and add a scrollbar. You will quickly find out that rounded corners are horribly dysfunctional.

And yet I still want a Mac with rounded corners. I think it looks damned right beautiful. And the scroll bar dilemma is a bit dramatic if you ask me. Why not simply shrink and adjust scroll values based on the smaller vertical space? You’re doing it all the time when you resize windows. I think the scroll bar dilemma would be the least of Apple’s worries here.
 

Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
1,794
Count me as one in the minority then, as I LOVE that concept. Great work. However I am one to agree that this design won’t actually see the light of day until we see an ARM Mac. But I do hope we see this design one day.



And yet I still want a Mac with rounded corners. I think it looks damned right beautiful. And the scroll bar dilemma is a bit dramatic if you ask me. Why not simply shrink and adjust scroll values based on the smaller vertical space? You’re doing it all the time when you resize windows. I think the scroll bar dilemma would be the least of Apple’s worries here.

Well it's nice that someone likes it! But really I could see something like this be released possibly even this year. I think it's very likely that 2019 is the year of the iMac redesign
 

krazzix

macrumors 6502
Jun 15, 2010
268
364
Netherlands
Well it's nice that someone likes it! But really I could see something like this be released possibly even this year. I think it's very likely that 2019 is the year of the iMac redesign

I also like it. And I think also it's very plausible for 2019, after 2 years of no upgrades + that the iMac is over 20 years old + the fact that all other products bezels have shrunk
 

Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
1,794
I also like it. And I think also it's very plausible for 2019, after 2 years of no upgrades + that the iMac is over 20 years old + the fact that all other products bezels have shrunk

However i do need to note that, not having intimate knowledge with the iMac’s engineering topology, that perhaps there’s a reason the bezels and chin are so big—perhaps there is simply not enough space for all of the internals with such thin bezels. I think the iMac is unique with this challenge—making the bezels on a Macbook thinner would be comparably easier. This design is significantly smaller then previous iMacs, so perhaps its just not feasible to fit an entire computer inside this compact of an area. However this could just solved by just increasing the size of the display to around 30” and keeping the body the same size, following the 12.9 inch iPad Pro model's redesign strategy.

Also, I'm curious—if they were to implement this rounded corner design, would they do the whole 'liquid retina' thing or would they transition to OLED? ****, an iMac with a 120 Hz ProMotion OLED display pushing 17 megapixels would be absolutely worth whatever asinine price premium they're inevitably going to apply with an iMac redesign. I'm not holding my breath on the 120 Hz thing tho
 
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Zdigital2015

macrumors 601
Jul 14, 2015
4,144
5,624
East Coast, United States
However i do need to note that, not having intimate knowledge with the iMac’s engineering topology, that perhaps there’s a reason the bezels and chin are so big—perhaps their is simply not enough space for all of the internals otherwise. This design has a significantly smaller surface area then previous iMacs, so perhaps its not feasible to fit the computer inside this compact area, however this could just solved by just increasing the size of the display to around 30” and keeping the body the same size.

As someone who works with designers every day, those bezels help the user to focus on the content they are working on while having a buffer between the edge of the display and whatever is in the background, because not everyone can have their iMac set against a non-moving neutral grey cubicle wall as they work.

The bezels have never bothered me, but I may be in the minority here.

I would rather not have a rounded corner screen as I think that there is no real end user benefit, but that is just my opinion.
 

Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
1,794
As someone who works with designers every day, those bezels help the user to focus on the content they are working on while having a buffer between the edge of the display and whatever is in the background, because not everyone can have their iMac set against a non-moving neutral grey cubicle wall as they work.

The bezels have never bothered me, but I may be in the minority here.

I would rather not have a rounded corner screen as I think that there is no real end user benefit, but that is just my opinion.

I'm not sure that makes sense. I mean if we're arguing that large bezels help in cutting out background noise, surely a half inch bezel reduction doesn't really expose the user's field of view to cruft by more than like a degree or something. I doubt cutting down on bezels in an already busy environment would really make anything worse. But I do see your point that bezels are necessary not only for engineering, but for design—that's why my concept has as much bezel as it does. I agree, bezels are nice—they create a sort pleasant picture frame or window aesthetic. Most bezel-less concepts I see usually look like cold contrived reference designs—that's what I tried to avoid.

And the argument for thin bezels is similar to the argument for the super thin, tapered unibody design and the rounded corner aesthetic: I've always thought the imac to be Apple's grandest and most premium design statement. Since it's so large and sits so permanently in one spot, it commands attention—it becomes a futuristic fixture of design in your space, and it definitely needs to evolve so that it stays looking the part. Sure, the large bezels are fine, but they also just don't hold up to modern design axiom that Apple itself has furthered with iPhone X and iPad Pro. Also, having thinner bezels does make a multi monitor setup far nicer, too.

Also I recently made a very slight change to the concept by adding an aluminum space grey border around the display similar to the iPad Pro aesthetic and making the Apple logo the same color.
 

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Zdigital2015

macrumors 601
Jul 14, 2015
4,144
5,624
East Coast, United States
I'm not sure that makes sense. I mean if we're arguing that large bezels help in cutting out background noise, surely a half inch bezel reduction doesn't really expose the user's field of view to cruft by more than like a degree or something. I doubt cutting down on bezels in an already busy environment would really make anything worse. But I do see your point that bezels are necessary not only for engineering, but for design—that's why my concept has as much bezel as it does. I agree, bezels are nice—they create a sort pleasant picture frame or window aesthetic. Most bezel-less concepts I see usually look like cold contrived reference designs—that's what I tried to avoid.

And the argument for thin bezels is similar to the argument for the super thin, tapered unibody design and the rounded corner aesthetic: I've always thought the imac to be Apple's grandest and most premium design statement. Since it's so large and sits so permanently in one spot, it commands attention—it becomes a futuristic fixture of design in your space, and it definitely needs to evolve so that it stays looking the part. Sure, the large bezels are fine, but they also just don't hold up to modern design axiom that Apple itself has furthered with iPhone X and iPad Pro. Also, having thinner bezels does make a multi monitor setup far nicer, too.

Also I recently made a very slight change to the concept by adding an aluminum space grey border around the display similar to the iPad Pro aesthetic and making the Apple logo the same color.

Not that it really matters, but I think the bezels you proposed are just fine. My comment was not meant as a criticism, more as an observation. I have a Dell U2414H with super thin bezels which are a bit too thin for me, while my Dell P2415Q seems just about right, even if they are pedestrian in their looks.

I have never been a fan of Apple's tapered unibody used with the current iMacs. Having owned a mid-2010 27" iMac, I certainly welcome the reduction in weight, although for a stationary desktop like the iMac, I am not exactly certain what the point was other than to reduce Apple's shipping costs. While I do not particularly miss the DVD-ROM drive, I do miss the SD Card slot being on the side as having it on the rear is just a pain in the *cough* rear.

What would have been nice to see would have been a mashup between the older, thicker unibody chassis, revised cooling, no DVD-ROM slot, a side SD Card slot placed lower on the right side, wedded to the more refined motherboard layout and internals found in the current 2017 model, along with bottom DRAM access and a laminated display that could be held in place with magnets allowing easy access to the internal for storage upgrades. Alas, that is probably not in the cards for the next iMac.
 
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Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,344
3,394
Well it's nice that someone likes it! But really I could see something like this be released possibly even this year. I think it's very likely that 2019 is the year of the iMac redesign

I also like it. And I think also it's very plausible for 2019, after 2 years of no upgrades + that the iMac is over 20 years old + the fact that all other products bezels have shrunk

Yes, I do like it indeed! I can agree 2019 will be the year of a redesign, with 2020 the latest. Although I have a really hard time seeing the iMac adopting a Liquid Retina display so soon because I honestly think that Apple is only able to do rounded corners easily and effectively due to iOS being powered by ARM. I don’t really have hope for Apple being effective at making Intel powered macOS play nicely with Liquid Retina.

Also, I'm curious—if they were to implement this rounded corner design, would they do the whole 'liquid retina' thing or would they transition to OLED? ****, an iMac with a 120 Hz ProMotion OLED display pushing 17 megapixels would be absolutely worth whatever asinine price premium they're inevitably going to apply with an iMac redesign. I'm not holding my breath on the 120 Hz thing tho

If they did do rounded corners, my bet is on Liquid Retina, because that alone in itself is expensive to produce. Both the iPhone XR and iPad Pro raised in price by $100 and $150, respectively.

And the OLED with 120 Hz you just described (which also let’s assume supports Dolby Vision as well)? I want what you’re smoking lol. If you want the iMac to hit stratosphere prices, anything is possible, but I think they’d do it on the iMac Pro. It would definitely further distance itself from the consumer model (both feature wise and price wise...) and make the “Pro” moniker more meaningful.
 
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Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
1,794
Not that it really matters, but I think the bezels you proposed are just fine. My comment was not meant as a criticism, more as an observation. I have a Dell U2414H with super thin bezels which are a bit too thin for me, while my Dell P2415Q seems just about right, even if they are pedestrian in their looks.

I have never been a fan of Apple's tapered unibody used with the current iMacs. Having owned a mid-2010 27" iMac, I certainly welcome the reduction in weight, although for a stationary desktop like the iMac, I am not exactly certain what the point was other than to reduce Apple's shipping costs. While I do not particularly miss the DVD-ROM drive, I do miss the SD Card slot being on the side as having it on the rear is just a pain in the *cough* rear.

What would have been nice to see would have been a mashup between the older, thicker unibody chassis, revised cooling, no DVD-ROM slot, a side SD Card slot placed lower on the right side, wedded to the more refined motherboard layout and internals found in the current 2017 model, along with bottom DRAM access and a laminated display that could be held in place with magnets allowing easy access to the internal for storage upgrades. Alas, that is probably not in the cards for the next iMac.

I think having the sd card on side is a bit ugly looking, and for me at least its not inconvenient at all to just go to the back and slot it in there. But i do get your usability gripe—i think the headphone jack is problematic
[doublepost=1547863646][/doublepost]
Yes, I do like it indeed! I can agree 2019 will be the year of a redesign, with 2020 the latest. Although I have a really hard time seeing the iMac adopting a Liquid Retina display so soon because I honestly think that Apple is only able to do rounded corners easily and effectively due to iOS being powered by ARM. I don’t really have hope for Apple being effective at making Intel powered macOS play nicely with Liquid Retina.



If they did do rounded corners, my bet is on Liquid Retina, because that alone in itself is expensive to produce. Both the iPhone XR and iPad Pro raised in price by $100 and $150, respectively.

And the OLED with 120 Hz you just described (which also let’s assume supports Dolby Vision as well)? I want what you’re smoking lol. If you want the iMac to hit stratosphere prices, anything is possible, but I think they’d do it on the iMac Pro. It would definitely further distance itself from the consumer model (both feature wise and price wise...) and make the “Pro” moniker more meaningful.

Yeah the 120hz oled thing would be like something we’s see in like 5 years on a pro device. I think refresh rate is a natural branch of improvement that they might eventually have no choice but go down
 
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fokmik

Suspended
Oct 28, 2016
4,909
4,688
USA
I dont want in a long time work display an oled tech...maybe microled since microled has no burn-in issues
on oled, after 2-3 months i bet that our mac dock will get "replicated"
Better 120hz lcd, its far mature tech, at least until microled can get in....probably in 2025-2030
 

Internet Enzyme

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 21, 2016
999
1,794
I dont want in a long time work display an oled tech...maybe microled since microled has no burn-in issues
on oled, after 2-3 months i bet that our mac dock will get "replicated"
Better 120hz lcd, its far mature tech, at least until microled can get in....probably in 2025-2030

Well, if im being pedantic—the dock is hardly a static element. Also, the iphone x does have screen burn in software mitigations so an imac with oled is not infeasible. But yeah they will probably stick with led for the forseeable future, simply due to cost and r&d
 

johannnn

macrumors 68020
Nov 20, 2009
2,315
2,603
Sweden
I do think Apple have plans for the iMac since there was not even a spec bump last year! A redesign would be nice.
Two years between 2015 and 2017 model as well without any external differences.
For the iMac, Apple has just been waiting for new chips from Intel. No one should hold their breath for anything more.
 

Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,863
8,084
Two years between 2015 and 2017 model as well without any external differences.
For the iMac, Apple has just been waiting for new chips from Intel. No one should hold their breath for anything more.

If that is the case what are we talking bout here in terms if performance boots an graphics? The 2018 MacBook Pro’s got quad core for 13” and hexicore for the 15”

Even if it is just a spec bump and the rumoured “significant display” upgrade that Ming Chi Kuo had said, it will still be a big upgrade from my late 2012 iMac, right?
 

CWallace

macrumors G5
Aug 17, 2007
12,539
11,565
Seattle, WA
The update for the 7700K is the 8700K, so that is only one generation - and the base clock of the 8700K is slower than that of the 7700K (3.7 vs 4.2) and the turbo speed is only slightly higher (4.7 vs 4.5) and considering the iMac's thermal constraints, I wonder if it could even hit that speed.

I am of the opinion Apple is waiting until Mid-to-Late 2019 for the next update when Intel will (finally) have the 10nm Ice Lake desktop CPUs ready and AMD will have their 7nm Navi GPUs ready. Together, that should really help with the thermals and hopefully we will see 120Hz 5K displays (Samsung showed their CRG9 120Hz 49" 5120x1440 display at CES).
 

Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,344
3,394
The update for the 7700K is the 8700K, so that is only one generation - and the base clock of the 8700K is slower than that of the 7700K (3.7 vs 4.2) and the turbo speed is only slightly higher (4.7 vs 4.5) and considering the iMac's thermal constraints, I wonder if it could even hit that speed.

I am of the opinion Apple is waiting until Mid-to-Late 2019 for the next update when Intel will (finally) have the 10nm Ice Lake desktop CPUs ready and AMD will have their 7nm Navi GPUs ready. Together, that should really help with the thermals and hopefully we will see 120Hz 5K displays (Samsung showed their CRG9 120Hz 49" 5120x1440 display at CES).

Don’t you think 120Hz should have been on the iPhone first though? iOS devices and Apple Watch always get the latest display techs first before any Macs.
 
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