No support for late 2015 iMac. Why Apple??!?!

[coolerkid]

Annoyed that Apple discontinued support for late 2105 27" iMacs but still hasn't given us a new Apple silicon chip 27" iMac to upgrade too. Now running an unsupported iMac, which still runs amazingly well with an incredible display, but am SOL for OS updates. Yet they still support the 2019 iMac. Doesn't even look like a very significant OS update either. Is there any good reason for this? I wouldn't complain if there was a reasonable hardware upgrade other than the Mac Studio combo, which I definitely don't want.

 

[fisherking]

what's wrong with the mac mini, or the studio? both viable machines.

i too would like to see a new imac; am guessing we'll see one early 2023 (but just a guess). until then, there are options... besides, your mac is running 'amazingly well'. so, what is it you're after?

 

[dictoresno]

im running Ventura on my late 2015 iMac using OCLP. why dont you give it a try if you are adamant of using Ventura?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I don’t know why Apple chose to support the 2017 iMac but not the 2015 - they’re fairly similar overall. Could be some component that they didn’t want to support; could be an arbitrary decision since all the 2015s are “Vintage” at this point. But yeah, the iMac isn’t getting a lot of love as a product line; just the M1 model, it’s 18 months old now and the 24” size… well, it works for some people and not for others.

The Mac Studio option, either with the Studio Display or a 3rd party display, is terrific - but pricey. If you’re just looking at a basic iMac (not iMac Pro) then the Studio is probably outside of your price range. It’s a terrific option for those who need it though.

Mac mini is a very viable solution. I have a Mac mini M1 connected to a LG 5K display, which is a great combo! The biggest drawback to the mini vs. iMac is additional display support; the mini is limited to 2 displays and one must be HDMI. But if that’s a limitation you can live with… the mini would be an AMAZING upgrade to your Intel iMac.

 

[coolerkid]

I've looked at the Studio combo and don't want to pay more for more clutter and wires on my desk, plus it's really overkill for me. I'd be open to a Mini, but that also hasn't been updated in a while, so I at least want to wait for the newest model. I looked at every other display and none come close to the Apple display, so I would want the Studio display, but why is it so much more expensive than an actual iMac, which has basically the same display.

Overall I just want an updated iMac 27". It's the best computer Apple has ever made IMHO so I'm not sure that's the one they actually killed off. I'm fine waiting if one is eventually going to be released since mine is running perfectly fine, just annoyed that I'm not going to be able to get any more OS updates.

 

[chevyboy60013]

Use OCLP and you will get Ventura.

 

[DaKKs]

Follow the path of OCLP and you shall be blessed, child.

Runs great on my 2015 13" and 15". I would hesitate to run it as a daily.

PS: Its even okay on something as old as my 2012 cMBP w/i5/16gb/SSD. But the age is getting noticable in Ventura. The 2012 was still blazing fast in Monterey.

 

[Makisupa Policeman]

How is OCLP as far as security goes? Is it getting the same patches and updates despite there maybe being some issues with older hardware compatibility?

 

[AL2TEACH]

Apple discontinued support for late 2105 27" iMacs

Agree and I have been looking for reasons why other than Apple has said so. I seen on reddit that it can run Ventura with some tweaking. I'm not complaining, just curious.

 

[Jack Neill]

Use OCLP and you will get Ventura.

This. I have OCLP running on 4 different Macs and all have been perfect.

 

[EugW]

I don’t know why Apple chose to support the 2017 iMac but not the 2015 - they’re fairly similar overall.

Agree and I have been looking for reasons why other than Apple has said so. I seen on reddit that it can run Ventura with some tweaking. I'm not complaining, just curious.

It's mainly because of the age. The 2015 was discontinued in 2017.

However, one significant difference is that the 2015 does not support hardware 10-bit 4K HEVC decode acceleration.

On my 2017 iMac Core i5-7600 I can decode the Sony Nature 10-bit HEVC demo video with 10% CPU usage. My 2017 MacBook Core m3 can do the same with 25% CPU usage. The 2015 Core i7-6700K can't decode it cleanly at 100% CPU usage.

For several years now, iPhones have been able to record HEVC in 10-bit 4K. (The 2015 should be able to decode those fine, but with heavy CPU usage.)