Role of iMac in the Age of Powerful MacBook Pro

[CWallace]

Does anyone have both iMac and MBP? How do you set your workflow with these 2 devices?

Ny 2020 iMac 5K is my primary computer I use day to day and my 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro is my portable I take with me when I travel.

The problem I have with the Retina iMacs (and I considered an Intel 27 iMac), is having to rescale images. Not a problem on an external monitor running at native resolution.

One reason I am hoping the Apple Silicon "iMac Pro" has a 5K 27" display is that they are easy to pair with a 27" QHD (2560x1440) display since both have identical usable resolutions so no window resizing necessary (my 2020 iMac 5K is connected to an ASUS 27" QHD gaming display). If it was a 32" 6K display as many presumed would be the case, then there would have been issues with window resizing with another display unless you dropped $5K on the Pro Display XDR.

 

[MacRazySwe]

I honestly think the iMacs need a complete rethink. With the new 24“ iMac, it’s essentially just a MBA on a stick. It hardly adds any value in terms of performance or connectivity.

I would have liked Apple to focus more on the iMac as a home hub. Maybe with Google Home-like features, controlling HomeKit? Maybe more like a Media Center, with Front Row? Or finally allowing video inputs to connect the video console of choice? Or something for the creatives in us, like the Surface Studio? Imagine the iMac G4 swivel design with Apple Pencil input.

Maybe the new iMac Pro will bring something new to the table…

 

[ZebedeeG]

I honestly think the iMacs need a complete rethink. With the new 24“ iMac, it’s essentially just a MBA on a stick. It hardly adds any value in terms of performance or connectivity.

I would have liked Apple to focus more on the iMac as a home hub. Maybe with Google Home-like features, controlling HomeKit? Maybe more like a Media Center, with Front Row? Or finally allowing video inputs to connect the video console of choice? Or something for the creatives in us, like the Surface Studio? Imagine the iMac G4 swivel design with Apple Pencil input.

Maybe the new iMac Pro will bring something new to the table…

For some of us though a "MBA on a stick!" is exactly the computer we need! ?

The M1 CPU is more than enough for browsing the web, email, word processing, a couple of basic spreadsheets, and the occasional game of Angry Birds!

It looks great (in orange!) in the corner of my living room, the 24" screen is a nice size and the speakers aren't bad...

Like I'm sure many of Apple's customers - I'm a consumer with modest needs, not a creative professional!

As long as it works I couldn't give a fig about performance or connectivity. ?

 

[Hunter5117]

The M1 CPU is more than enough for browsing the web, email, word processing, a couple of basic spreadsheets, and the occasional game of Angry Birds!

LOL. The M1 machines are at the top of the Mac geekbench single core scores and only beat out by the Xeon pros in multi core. I think they can handle a bit more than web and email.

 

[ZebedeeG]

LOL. The M1 machines are at the top of the Mac geekbench single core scores and only beat out by the Xeon pros in multi core. I think they can handle a bit more than web and email.

Exactly!

As Apple's "modest" consumer option it still gives me loads of headroom to do more with it if I wish, and should still be a pleasure to use for years to come before I start to get frequent beachballs in everyday use...

 

[xgman]

Guys, I have been talking to my friends about this and wanted to get where the MacRumours crowd think regarding this.

Given how powerful MacBook Pro's are and the ease of accessing external displays, where do you see the future in iMac? I definitely see Mac Pros playing a role for the extreme requirements of some of the high end developers, but I'm not sure what market iMac would attract above MacBook Pros.

Does anyone have both iMac and MBP? How do you set your workflow with these 2 devices?

sold the imac pro and now max 16" and LG 5K screen together. So far pretty good. was going to wait for the imac pro 27, but I think this is fine for a while, especially if the imac has the same max chips.

 

[Spankey]

This video effectively shows the power of the M1. More power than most of us will ever need to tap at once. If you are not making your living making videos daily or truly consider yourself a "pro", the M1 is going to last a very long time for the majority of people.

 

[iPadified]

I prefer the iMac+iPad combo but as teaching is going hybrid, I need a portable studio to bring to auditoriums. Zoom is better in Mac than iPad. The MBP will be matched with a 27 inch (or 42.5) inch 4k screen that will double as conference screen in my office. Some do come with presentations on win PC...

 

[coso]

I sold my old MBP when I got my iMac. I don't see a MacBook as a professional machine. Bulging and degrading batteries due to desktop use, mess of cables every time, external screen etc. An iMac is so. much.more.comfortable. A Mac mini too. And the nuisance of using two computers. Give me a M1 Pro/Max iMac and I'm set for life. I don't mean to say that MacBooks pros are toys but... which professional really needs that much portability? I don't understand

 

[pshufd]

I sold my old MBP when I got my iMac. I don't see a MacBook as a professional machine. Bulging and degrading batteries due to desktop use, mess of cables every time, external screen etc. An iMac is so. much.more.comfortable. A Mac mini too. And the nuisance of using two computers. Give me a M1 Pro/Max iMac and I'm set for life. I don't mean to say that MacBooks pros are toys but... which professional really needs that much portability? I don't understand

Dell makes a line of computers for professionals out in the field. These may be engineers, architects, that need to go on site to do an analysis of infrastructure.

There are lots of people that do content creation that do it on the road.

I sometimes travel and want something that can run my workflow when I'm on vacation. Marqees actually packed up his iMac i9-10900 in a big plastic and foam container when he went to shows so that he could edit the evening of a show and have the content up by the next morning.

And then you have scientists that need to do their work wherever they are. And engineers that do their work wherever they want to. And that can include the beach.

 

[coso]

Dell makes a line of computers for professionals out in the field. These may be engineers, architects, that need to go on site to do an analysis of infrastructure.

There are lots of people that do content creation that do it on the road.

I sometimes travel and want something that can run my workflow when I'm on vacation. Marqees actually packed up his iMac i9-10900 in a big plastic and foam container when he went to shows so that he could edit the evening of a show and have the content up by the next morning.

And then you have scientists that need to do their work wherever they are. And engineers that do their work wherever they want to. And that can include the beach.

There are. But they're not many. I'm sure the majority of professionals just work from the desktop, be it at home or at work, and are done with it at the end of the day. I too go on vacation and as a professional I might do work on the go (graphic designer), but no way I'm buying a beefed up notebook for that. Beefed up iMac and maybe an Air for the rest, delaying real work for when I come back. If I have to work on vacation.. is it really a vacation?

I get that someone wants the luxury of having it all, but after two times that my battery has bulged on my old MBP which I used as a desktop most of the time I'm done with MacBooks for good. If I ever will be ALWAYS travelling then yeah, makes sense. For desktop use heck no.

 

[pshufd]

There are. But they're not many. I'm sure the majority of professionals just work from the desktop, be it at home or at work, and are done with it at the end of the day. I too go on vacation and as a professional I might do work on the go (graphic designer), but no way I'm buying a beefed up notebook for that. Beefed up iMac and maybe an Air for the rest, delaying real work for when I come back. If I have to work on vacation.. is it really a vacation?

I get that someone wants the luxury of having it all, but after two times that my battery has bulged on my old MBP which I used as a desktop most of the time I'm done with MacBooks for good. If I ever will be ALWAYS travelling then yeah, makes sense. For desktop use heck no.

I just have both and I really like the ability to do it at home really well and the ability to do it on the road though without all of my large monitors. I have had much better luck with laptops than you had but I have 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros which have a really good track record. I did have a bulging battery problem but I just had it replaced for $200 and it's fine now.

 

[coso]

I just have both and I really like the ability to do it at home really well and the ability to do it on the road though without all of my large monitors. I have had much better luck with laptops than you had but I have 2014 and 2015 MacBook Pros which have a really good track record. I did have a bulging battery problem but I just had it replaced for $200 and it's fine now.

If you have the money and are willing to deal with two Macs then it's fine. My life is much more easier now, and also less messy. I have such a clean desk now..

 

[WilliamG]

Interesting. I can definitely appreciate how it could be easier to carry something portable such as MBA and use iMac as the main workstation.



By the way, I use my new 2021 MBP with my old LG Ultrafine 5K display, and it is very quiet at the moment. My previous one (2016 MBP 15") definitely got quite noisy.

Same. Joyous combo.

 

[flynz4]

And the nuisance of using two computers.

With iCloud, managing two computers has become trivial. All of my data is on both my iMac and my MBP.

I don't mean to say that MacBooks pros are toys but... which professional really needs that much portability? I don't understand

Almost every professional user that I know, needs portability. Maybe a bit less during Covid, but they need portability nonetheless.

I do agree with you that having an iMac to work on in your office (home or work) is indeed a preferred solution. But for most, it is not an only solution. Personally, I use both an iMac and a MBP.

/Jim

 

[3SQ Machine]

Before trading in my iMac (and glad I did because even though it was a '19 the screen already was showing a hardware defect), it served as my home "hub" for all family photos, storage, logic pro projects, etc. It's now all on my lap--and I can spend time mindlessly organizing things while watching TV, etc. I've gotten more done in the few weeks I've had it than in the last year on my iMac. Mainly because it was always a "special trip" to another room to clean up the iMac -- so it just got messier and messier. Now, I just grab the MBP.

This is all an intensely personal decision based on your "habits" at home. I debated heavily the iMac v. MBP a couple years ago and went iMac. But this time was a no-brainer. The new MBP is even MORE portable and convenient because I don't need a bunch of dongles.

 

[throAU]

Guys, I have been talking to my friends about this and wanted to get where the MacRumours crowd think regarding this.

Given how powerful MacBook Pro's are and the ease of accessing external displays, where do you see the future in iMac? I definitely see Mac Pros playing a role for the extreme requirements of some of the high end developers, but I'm not sure what market iMac would attract above MacBook Pros.

Imac will survive for those who

• want more power
• don't need to lug their machine

As powerful as the current MacBook Pros are, I would expect a 27" iMac to have more.

Would not surprise me if M1-Max is baseline for that model and going up from there.

Sure, plenty of people won't need that, those people can buy a Mini, MBA or MBP and an external display.

Sure the M1-Pro and M1-Max are a big step in performance, but there will certainly be applications wanting more in the next few years.