No new iMac form factor.

[satchmo]

So much for all the wish list thread and thinking outside the box... It's still the same iMac flat screen on a hinge.

I suppose Apple couldn't go the same route as the Studio surface, and they've made it clear, no touch screen on iMacs.

Maybe I was hoping for something G4 iMac revolutionary instead of evolutionary. Also perhaps some limited modularity. But perhaps there's not much more one can do. It's just that we've had this same form factor for how many years? Ten or eleven?

 

[MacDevil7334]

I mean...it's a desktop. It's already thin and doesn't take much space on a desk beyond the footprint of the screen. I guess I'm not understanding what everyone clamoring for a redesign is looking for. We got a better screen, a more modern GPU options, a speed bump, and the USB-A ports and SD card reader are still there. Why would I care that it still looks the same as the last model? The screen and the CPU drive the work I do and that's where the improvements were made.

 

[pat500000]

question is: even if they do release a new form factor, could you afford 5k?

So much for all the wish list thread and thinking outside the box... It's still the same iMac flat screen on a hinge.

I suppose Apple couldn't go the same route as the Studio surface, and they've made it clear, no touch screen on iMacs.

Maybe I was hoping for something G4 iMac revolutionary instead of evolutionary. Also perhaps some limited modularity. But perhaps there's not much more one can do. It's just that we've had this same form factor for how many years? Ten or eleven?

 

[Jimmdean]

I've just always kind of wondered what they would do if they did, but I certainly would rather they didn't than do it badly. Once SSD completely takes over for spinning disks I think they will.

The Surface doesn't even belong in the same category IMO. It's barely an all-in-one (most would say it isn't) and even with having the "base" its GPU tops out lower than the least expensive new 27" imac.

 

[trsblader]

I don't see this going any better than in the other thread on the exact same issue (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/no-new-design.2048485/). Would much rather have new specs over a new design.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Boy what a bunch of insufferable whiners some of you are. You get a big ol' spec bump, apparently what you've been pining for all along, yet still find something to complain about.

Had they completely redesigned the form with a more modest hardware bump to fit the thermal constraints, you'd be the same toilet brushes pining after an 18 core Xeon and 128GB RAM iMac in the same form factor... "waah Tim they're Pro machines, who cares about how it looks. Just give me more power".

And if you want a touchscreen desktop, just move to Windows already. Apple have said time and again that they're not going to do it, so why keep crying about a lost cause.

 

[theluggage]

I guess I'm not understanding what everyone clamoring for a redesign is looking for.

• Better stand with height adjustment.
• Maybe some front- side- or base- mounted ports to make it easier to plug in USB sticks and SD cards
• and (I know this goes against Apple's religion) upgradeable SSDs.

The SSD is the main annoyance for me: I don't want spinning rust in a sealed, quiet machine like the iMac but I'm pretty sure that we'll see bigger affordable SSD drives - and maybe improved technologies like Optane (or competitors) during the lifetime of this machine (or what would have been the lifetime of this machine if it were upgradeable...)

...but then, how many of us have been failing to hand over our cash to Apple for the last 5 years because our ageing macs were too easily upgradeable with SSDs that made them feel like a new machine?

You get a big ol' spec bump, apparently what you've been pining for all along,

...actually, what a lot of us are pining for is the iMac innards without the screen in a neat little box so we can choose our own displays. And what we're celebrating is, mainly, that they didn't make the iMac 20% thinner, remove all the useful ports, take away what little upgradeability the 27" model still had, and jack the price up by 20%.

 

[keysofanxiety]

...actually, what a lot of us are pining for is the iMac innards without the screen in a neat little box so we can choose our own displays.

And you'll get it. They said they'll release a modular Mac Pro, with all the screen-free, upgradeable glory you want. They also said they'll release an iMac Pro far before it appeared at WWDC. I don't see the problem; it's confirmed, so you needn't worry.

 

[fathergll]

So much for all the wish list thread and thinking outside the box... It's still the same iMac flat screen on a hinge.

I suppose Apple couldn't go the same route as the Studio surface, and they've made it clear, no touch screen on iMacs.

Maybe I was hoping for something G4 iMac revolutionary instead of evolutionary. Also perhaps some limited modularity. But perhaps there's not much more one can do. It's just that we've had this same form factor for how many years? Ten or eleven?

It will be 10 years this august. It's a good design and it's tough to improve on them so Apple has been using things like making it slimmer and retina displays to keep it relevant; The iMac Pro is yet another way for Apple to buy themselves a lot more time for both a new iMac design and Mac Pro release.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Boy what a bunch of insufferable whiners some of you are...

Sorry that this is a FORUM (if you know what that means) and we have all different opinions, which you call "whining" because you are unable to show the proper respect for other forum members.

Your "whiners" comment helped exactly no one.

 

[nerdynerdynerdy]

He's right though.

There's a lot of whining.

A super-powerful iMac, and people are whining about the lack of a new design.

The rest of the time there's whining about how all Jonny Ive thinks about is aesthetics.

Pathetic.

 

[Andres Cantu]

Next generation iMac will reduce the black borders around the display, much like the iPad Air did over the iPad 4.

I would consider one now, but I would hate to buy one if the next generation would offer a redesign.

 

[satchmo]

Sorry that this is a FORUM (if you know what that means) and we have all different opinions, which you call "whining" because you are unable to show the proper respect for other forum members.

Your "whiners" comment helped exactly no one.

Precisely. Forums are about having discussion, and debate. Not blindly accepting the status quo but sometimes challenge Apple when they get complacent.

The iMac Pro and the upcoming modular Mac Pro would have never come to light, had people simply said nothing.
But these days, anyone criticizing Apple is considered a whiner.

 

[William Payne]

Apple have said that while talking to full time professional Mac users about what they want in a Mac. A touch screen never ever made it to the list. They said that no professional users has demanded a touch screen Mac.

That's me just stating what they have said. I have no opinion.

 

[Sirmausalot]

Apple have said that while talking to full time professional Mac users about what they want in a Mac. A touch screen never ever made it to the list. They said that no professional users has demanded a touch screen Mac.

That's me just stating what they have said. I have no opinion.

Filmmaker, photographer here. No touch screen needed. However, they ticked every box, and more, with the iMac Pro. Gotta get a few more years of of the current one and then have a 4K RAW feature I step up.

 

[CatherineVeraGat]

Precisely. Forums are about having discussion, and debate. Not blindly accepting the status quo but sometimes challenge Apple when they get complacent.

The iMac Pro and the upcoming modular Mac Pro would have never come to light, had people simply said nothing.
But these days, anyone criticizing Apple is considered a whiner.

Exactly!! Power to the people.

 

[trifid]

Precisely. Forums are about having discussion, and debate. Not blindly accepting the status quo but sometimes challenge Apple when they get complacent.

The iMac Pro and the upcoming modular Mac Pro would have never come to light, had people simply said nothing.
But these days, anyone criticizing Apple is considered a whiner.

Preach brother.

 

[theluggage]

And you'll get it. They said they'll release a modular Mac Pro

I believe the phrase was "not this year". The doesn't necessarily mean "next year" although "announced at WWDC 2018, available December 2018" would be par for the course... and we've been waiting since the last powerful Mac Mini was dumped in 2014 and the classic Mac Pro in, what, 2011/2012?

Also, the "iMac Pro" gives us an idea of the minimum spec and price of a likely Mac Pro: 8-core Xeon, 32GB ECC, super-high-end graphics... beautiful - good value even - if you need it but expensive overkill if you just want a decent quad i7 that can drive a couple of 4ks of your choice. I'm guessing that they're not gonna price it so that a Mac Pro + 5k Ultrafine costs less than a $5k Imac Pro.

 

[xgman]

Also, I doubt they would plan so much around a new inside for the imac pro, in the same form factor as is now, just to abandon the chassis a few months after it's release. Maybe 2018 will see space grey for the regular imacs? Or not...

 

[theluggage]

They said that no professional users has demanded a touch screen Mac.

...the limitations of a touchscreen on a vertical, desktop display are pretty obvious.

However, the MS Surface Studio concept of (A) having the display tilt down into "drawing board" mode and (B) including a high-res, pressure sensitive pen digitiser is a rather different proposition. I wonder if they asked their "pros" about that (and if their "pros" included illustrators etc. and not just video pros and 3d animators...).

Of course, even the old iMac whipped the MS Studio on bangs-per-buck... unless you factored in the cost of a high-end Wacom Cintiq LCD graphics tablet.

Maybe 2018 will see space grey for the regular imacs?

Making the iMac Pro a "space grey" exclusive was a winning move for a pre-announcement where the pundits couldn't even touch the screen (gosh, people are such an easy mark)... maybe they'll wait until the iMP is actually available and offer regular iMacs in grey.

However, if iMacs have lower turnover than laptops, having multiple colours does complicate the logistics...

 

[MistrSynistr]

The thing that's bizarre to me is the iMac Pro is in the same chassis as the outdated iMac one.

And the iMac is overdue for a new re-design of it's "look". Can you imagine spending $5k+ on a "Pro" and then next year the full iMac line gets a chassis re-design? lol. So dumb. Should of been this year.

 

[MacDevil7334]

The thing that's bizarre to me is the iMac Pro is in the same chassis as the outdated iMac one.

And the iMac is overdue for a new re-design of it's "look". Can you imagine spending $5k+ on a "Pro" and then next year the full iMac line gets a chassis re-design? lol. So dumb. Should of been this year.

I keep seeing people say it is "overdue" for a redesign without offering any specifics. So, what would you change? Make it thinner? It's a desktop that already doesn't take up my space aside from its screen footprint. Making it thinner just means room for components. Thinner bezels around the screen? Ok but is that really a huge deal for something that just sits on a desk?

For me, my only real wish is for Apple to put some decent speakers in the bar below the screen. But, since I run most of my music through external speakers, that's a want more than a need. What exactly "needs" to be changed about the iMac design that it is now "overdue"?

 

[BigBoyBmw760li]

I think we reached the point that it can't get any thinner. Only thing they can change is the bezel's but I think the dock will be to low. I like how it's almost close to the center of my eyes.

 

[Takuro]

The age of the current design depends on your definition of "form factor." If you're talking about the general shape and design, then yes, the current iMac is basically the same as the iMac G5 which was released back in 2004, 13 years ago.

In that time, we've seen:

2007 - Switch to aluminum, thinner chin.
2009 - Even thinner chin, change to widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, edge-to-edge glass design on top and sides
2012 - Slimmer rear design that narrows toward the edges of the display

I think in large part, the evolution of iMac's "form factor" has largely surrounded the display technology of its era, granted the integrated screen is the main feature of the device. What you're really seeing here is the fact that displays haven't really changed a whole heck of a lot in the last 10 years.

In the 90s, it was a CRT. In 2002, the change was extremely dramatic due to the proliferation of LCDs, but perhaps this was a bit of a design experiment. Just 2 years later, we end up with the "form factor" of the present day. All Apple could really do to change things up would be to offload the motherboard and internals to the stand like the iMac G4 and as the Microsoft Surface Pro Studio does today, but I doubt they will do that. You're more likely going to continue to see iterative redesigns of the current form factor.

Wikipedia has a great illustration that shows some of this: