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Those waiting for a large iMac: It's time...

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Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
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Just get a Mac Mini

You can spec an M4 Pro with up to 64GB or RAM and 8 TB of storage
Small footprint
Hook it up to a 32" or larger monitor, or multiple monitors
Will last you five to eight years, maybe more

It's clear Apple isn't making a 27" iMac, and a 30"+ iMac will likely cost you more than a similar Mac mini setup

iMac is a great product (I have owned two in the M series), but is made for more general productivity / casual usage at this point. There are other options for you
 
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pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,145
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New Hampshire
I was expecting something different.

I have an M1 Max Studio and that meets my needs at this time. I suspect that I would go with another Studio when it's time to upgrade unless they do a big iMac next year.
 
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Kendo

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2011
2,339
856
Not an easy decision. $1,500 iMac and $600 Mac mini have the same CPU specs, and assuming you buy a Magic keyboard and mouse for $200, that leaves you with a $700 budget to buy a 27" or 32" display that rivals the iMac's 4.5k display. And buying a 27" Studio Display makes it a $2,400 iMac. I'd rather sacrifice 3 inches and save $900.

Edit - Had my math wrong on a 27" iMac.
 
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pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,145
14,571
New Hampshire
Kendo said:
Not an easy decision. $1,500 iMac and $600 Mac mini have the same CPU specs, and assuming you buy a Magic keyboard and mouse for $200, that leaves you with a $700 budget to buy a 27" or 32" display that rivals the iMac's 4.5k display. And buying a 27" Studio Display makes it a $2,600 iMac. I'd rather sacrifice 3 inches and save $1,100.
Click to expand...

I can't believe that they put the power button on the bottom of the mini.
 
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ninethirty

macrumors 68000
Mar 1, 2006
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1,673
pshufd said:
I can't believe that they put the power button on the bottom of the mini.
Click to expand...

I can. Arguably it's the least used physical feature on the device itself. You'll be accessing connectivity far more frequently than you'll be turning the machine on or off. Considering its size, lifting it a half inch to touch a power button that's saved room for other features, doesn't really seem like that big of a deal.
 
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pshufd

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2013
10,145
14,571
New Hampshire
ninethirty said:
I can. Arguably it's the least used physical feature on the device itself. You'll be accessing connectivity far more frequently than you'll be turning the machine on or off. Considering its size, lifting it a half inch to touch a power button that's saved room for other features, doesn't really seem like that big of a deal.
Click to expand...

I only turn my Studio on once every 1-2 months so I don't mind going back to the corner of my desk but I have to get by my weight set to turn it back on. My Studio has almost a cable in every port, both front and back, so lifting it up would mean lifting up all of the attached cables.

There are some that boot and shut down every day too. I don't think that's necessary anymore but some are in the habit.
 
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MacPowerLvr

macrumors newbie
Jan 25, 2023
17
7
Michigan
Adelphos33 said:
Just get a Mac Mini

You can spec an M4 Pro with up to 64GB or RAM and 8 TB of storage
Small footprint
Hook it up to a 32" or larger monitor, or multiple monitors
Will last you five to eight years, maybe more

It's clear Apple isn't making a 27" iMac, and a 30"+ iMac will likely cost you more than a similar Mac mini setup

iMac is a great product (I have owned two in the M series), but is made for more general productivity / casual usage at this point. There are other options for you
Click to expand...
Those other options are not positive for me at all, since I had a 2011Quad-Core 27” iMac with 32 GB of RAM and a 2TB SSDS. It couldn’t be upgraded anymore, of course, so I ordered a 2020 27” iMac with the i9, Nano-texture Screen, 8TB SSD, 5700XT w/16GB of VRAM, and Gigabit Ethernet, and it is wonderful and fast. I could not wait on Apple to say what they were going to do, especially after Apple hung us out to dry with the Defective Graphics Cards in the 27” iMacs, and the 17” Mac Book Pro, causing many of us to fix them repeatedly out of our own pockets. If I didn’t love the Mac OS and the Elegance of Apple Hardware, I would have jumped to P.C’s years ago. I bought the 2020, 27” iMac in December 2022 from Apple’s Refurbished Store, along with the M1 Max Mac Book Pro, and I couldn’t be happier, without being in limbo about being able to get what I want.
 
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Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
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stoster38

macrumors member
Jul 10, 2008
86
7
North Hollywood
Currently I have a 2020 27inch intel iMac. I’m thinking with this new Mac mini it’s a good time to upgrade. I don’t want a smaller monitor & actually was hoping to get a larger one like 32 inch. What monitors would be good to pair with the mini?
 
gadgetgirl85

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Mar 24, 2006
3,797
365
I’m having a tough decision too - I only really use Logic on my iMac so I don’t really have a need for such a high spec machine
 
G

ger19

macrumors regular
Sep 30, 2022
154
204
Kendo said:
Not an easy decision. $1,500 iMac and $600 Mac mini have the same CPU specs, and assuming you buy a Magic keyboard and mouse for $200, that leaves you with a $700 budget to buy a 27" or 32" display that rivals the iMac's 4.5k display. And buying a 27" Studio Display makes it a $2,400 iMac. I'd rather sacrifice 3 inches and save $900.

Edit - Had my math wrong on a 27" iMac.
Click to expand...
It’s not an easy decision, and to make it a bit harder, you have to find a monitor that has some decent integrated speakers and a camera. To get that and a monitor that has the resolution the iMac has for $700 isn’t really realistic. Otherwise, you’re also giving up a significant attribute of the iMac, the all in one clean look.
 
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Adelphos33

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
1,712
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The obvious monitor solution is the Studio Display if you want seamless integration with the Apple computers, retina pixel density, and integrated webcam/speakers.

Everything you need is all available on the Apple website for sale today
 
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pedregosa

macrumors regular
Mar 31, 2010
246
221
Adelphos33 said:
The obvious monitor solution is the Studio Display if you want seamless integration with the Apple computers, retina pixel density, and integrated webcam/speakers.

Everything you need is all available on the Apple website for sale today
Click to expand...
Yes, but for those — such as me — for whom the webcam is a key feature, the one on the Studio Display just isn't that good. Even if it has improved over time with software updates, I don't think anyone would say it is as good as, say, the one on the 24-inch iMac. But the problem is that there really isn't any other 27-inch 5K monitor with both a webcam and excellent speakers. Using an external webcam is an option, of course, but messier.
 
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DerKommissar

macrumors member
Dec 1, 2007
82
70
I came to the same conclusion and just sold my 2017 27 in. iMac and picked up an M4 pro mini and a Dell 4k monitor. I was holding out hope that they would at least put a pro processor in the 24 inch iMac revision. When I lost hope of both the bigger monitor and the better processor, I jumped. The monitor is good enough and the computer is amazing. Having to find better speakers and a web cam again has been a bit of work, but I like that I can upgrade everything again when needed. The difference in speed is amazing, and I had the 512 gb SSD and i7 model. I can't believe how fast it boots.
 
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