The iMac at the end of 2006.

[Bengt77]

Some time ago I decided this will be the year I will finally buy a new iMac. My last one is an 800MHz G4 model from 2002, so an upgrade is long overdue, if you ask me. My girlfriend always thought I was crazy when I discussed the possibility of buying a new iMac, though. Well, in a way, I'm quite happy to have waited, since I now don't own a (quite) new and yet (quite) obsolete G5 model.

It may sound really weird to discuss this now, since basically it's still just the beginning of 2006, but I've decided to go and buy an iMac at the end of the year. What I'm curious about, though, is what are everybody's thoughts about the state of the iMac in about eight months...

Will it...
- be at the second or already the third generation by then?
- still have a Core Duo or will it have a Merom or even a Conroe?
- still have an ATI Radeon X1600 or will there be a new card in it?
- be a 20" and 23" line-up by then?
- have a Bluetooth remote instead of the infrared one?
- come standard with wireless keyboard and Mighty Mouse?
- be wise to buy an iMac in November or December, so close to MWSF'07?

Lots of questions, and many of them quite possibly unanswerable, but I'm just getting all warmed up at the idea of finally buying myself a new Mac again...

Thanks for sharing any thoughts.

 

[cr2sh]

By the end of the year Apple will release a revision B intel iMac, I don't think the specs will be vastly different than the current ones... but the enclosure will be.

These intel chips run cooler and require less space for heatsinks and fans... by the end of the year, the iMac will look a lot more like a cinema display. (Read: No 4" thick chunk at the bottom.)

IMHO.

A lot of the other stuff is too far out to tell. With all the new patentsw, hell.. the new iMac maybe touch screen by the end of the year.

 

[virus1]

Some time ago I decided this will be the year I will finally buy a new iMac. My last one is an 800MHz G4 model from 2002, so an upgrade is long overdue, if you ask me. My girlfriend always thought I was crazy when I discussed the possibility of buying a new iMac, though. Well, in a way, I'm quite happy to have waited, since I now don't own a (quite) new and yet (quite) obsolete G5 model.

It may sound really weird to discuss this now, since basically it's still just the beginning of 2006, but I've decided to go and buy an iMac at the end of the year. What I'm curious about, though, is what are everybody's thoughts about the state of the iMac in about eight months...

Will it...
- be at the second or already the third generation by then?

prob second, if second, upgrade, if not wait till mw07

- still have a Core Duo or will it have a Merom or even a Conroe?

probably still a core

- still have an ATI Radeon X1600 or will there be a new card in it?

most likely

- be a 20" and 23" line-up by then?

not likely

- have a Bluetooth remote instead of the infrared one?

I highly doubt it. they have decided to go with ir, and that is what they set up in almost all of thier products. i don't see them achangin it in the near future

- come standard with wireless keyboard and Mighty Mouse?

i personally don't think that they would, because most people wouldn't need wireless, but that is more of an opinion.

- be wise to buy an iMac in November or December, so close to MWSF'07?

depends if there has been recent upgrades, and if you are sure you want an imac, as opposed to whatever might come out then.

Lots of questions, and many of them quite possibly unanswerable, but I'm just getting all warmed up at the idea of finally buying myself a new Mac again...

Thanks for sharing any thoughts.

 

[robbieduncan]

Will it...
- be at the second or already the third generation by then?
- still have a Core Duo or will it have a Merom or even a Conroe?
- still have an ATI Radeon X1600 or will there be a new card in it?
- be a 20" and 23" line-up by then?
- have a Bluetooth remote instead of the infrared one?
- come standard with wireless keyboard and Mighty Mouse?
- be wise to buy an iMac in November or December, so close to MWSF'07?

I think there is no chance of 2 revisions being released between now and the end of year.

Core (Duo/Solo/Quad possibly) will be a brand name built in by Intel for the next few years, just like Pentium was. Merom and Conroe will be Core processors too.

I'd hope for a more up-to-date GPU by then.

I'm not sure that a 23" will be affordable enough.

The remote will remain IR to ensure that it its compatible with things like the iPod HiFi.

As there is currently no wireless mighty mouse I'd say that it's unlikely. Also as the iMac is a desktop I think Apple will continue shipping wired keyboards/mice.

 

[mdavey]

Will [the Intel iMac]...
- be at the second or already the third generation by then?

My guesses...

Nope, but it will have received at least one processor bump and perhaps some BTO options might be standard.

- still have a Core Duo or will it have a Merom or even a Conroe?

It won't have Conroe as that will require a different logic board. It may well have Merom, but probably just faster Yonah.

- still have an ATI Radeon X1600?

Yes

- be a 20" and 23" line-up by then?

There might be a 23". Others have said that the displays are the same between ACD and iMac, so they might well introduce a 23" iMac.

- have a Bluetooth remote instead of the infrared one?

Apple are rumored to be working on a Bluetooth remote, but I think it will be an accessory, not standard.

- come standard with wireless bluetooth keyboard and Mighty Mouse?

There seems to be enough people who don't like the wireless peripherals that it'll probably reamin an option.

- be wise to buy an iMac in November or December, so close to MWSF?

Probably not. I think we'll see innovative replacements for the transition Intel range in 2007. For the iMac, that might mean an iMac that looks exactly like the current Apple Cinema Displays. As always, though, new models could be announced in January at MWSF or at WWDC in August 2007 or perhaps there won't be a major rev. of the iMac at all in 2007.

As always, I think the best advice is to wait until you need a new computer, then get the best deal available at the time. Whenever you buy, it is likely that the computer you get will be superceded in just a few months. Remember that the computer you purchase will continue to be just as able to perform.

 

[Bengt77]

As always, I think the best advice is to wait until you need a new computer, then get the best deal available at the time. Whenever you buy, it is likely that the computer you get will be superceded in just a few months. Remember that the computer you purchase will continue to be just as able to perform.

Yeah, I know. I bought my 15" 800MHz G4 iMac right when it came out. Boy, was I disappointed when a few months later (I believe it was only two or three months after the G4 iMacs first came out) the 17" model was introduced. It had tv-out via an optional cable, a better video card and, of course, a bigger and wider display. But even though mine was only the first generation of the G4 iMacs, it has served me very well all these years. It's really starting to show it's age when doing some heavy Photoshop work, but it's chugging along quite nicely. I'm really glad I opted for the top model back then, though, since I don't know how I could have made it with no external speakers (the internal speaker sounds horrible) and no dvd-burner.

So yeah, I know the game of better and faster machines coming out (as it seems) way too fast after you just bought your new machine. I'm not too concerned about that, really. As long as the iMac that'll be available then will be the great machine it is now, I'll be happy. Great, of course, in respect to the hardware available by then. I do hope it gets the Mac mini's optical sound in support, though. And it would be great if there will indeed be a 23" model by the end of the year.

 

[mdavey]

I do hope it gets the Mac mini's optical sound in support, though.

I think that is pretty unlikely all the time they keep essentially the same design. Once the entire transitional range is in place, I think they'll come up with completely new designs to supercede the rev.A. range and it is then that we'll see things like digital optical in/out on the iMac.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

For Rev B/C they could go X1600 Pro for low-end, and X1600 XT for the high-end, like they did with the Rev.C iMac G5. Processor should be Merom by the end of 2007, if not shortly after.

I doubt they would drop the 17" completely (yet). 23" is a possibility but I would prefer a higher-resolution screen, (similar to 17" PB and 15" MBP):

17" - 1680 x 1050
20" - 1920 x 1200

Perfect!

Wireless keyboard + mouse would be a great bonus, and selling point.