What are the Chances the 2020 IMac Redesign Does Not Have 3.5mm Headphone Jack?

[Market_Shifter]

Been waiting for the new redesign IMac to come out later this year or early next year and looking for some speakers for it now. The speakers im not looking for anything super loud or expensive and had my eyes on the Razor Nommo Chroma 2.0 but im hesitant on the purchase due to the only connectivity being a 3.5mm jack.

I know the 2019 IMac has the jack but with the Iphone going through jack changes over the last couple years im wondering with the IPAD design they would follow suite and do away with the 3.5mm jack altogether. Would love to hear some feed back on what you guys might think whether or not the new redesign will have the 3.5mm jack or not.

 

[TwoH]

Not unless they are looking for a slimmer design than what they currently have.

I doubt they'll remove the 3.5mm headphone jack at all. I won't be surprised if the SD card reader is gone, it's pretty outdated imo, but the 3.5mm jack is still very relevant to desktops.

 

[Market_Shifter]

That what i was thinking but then again Apple will throw a curveball that will annoy everyone at first then we all realize how much better it is.

The beauty of Apple.

 

[Allyance]

Hope not, I used an isolation transformer to patch the iMac into my home theater system for great music playback from iTunes.

 

[Grohowiak]

Get a focusrite audio card and not only it solves the issue it also sounds amazing.

 

[velocityg4]

Hope not, I used an isolation transformer to patch the iMac into my home theater system for great music playback from iTunes.

Although I have nothing that fancy. I've been doing that with my stereo receiver and tower speakers since my IIvx.

 

[iindigo]

The chances are slim, in my opinion. Unlike phones and tablets, AIOs (especially 27" and larger) don't need to scrounge for space. Where a headphone jack takes up a significant chunk of phone enclosures, it's barely even noticeable in an AIO. Even the most tightly packed iMac models have empty unused space in them.

This is doubly true if they're pulling the "unapologetically thick slab" design aesthetic from the Pro Display XDR and applying to the iMac redesign — in that situation, the iMac's case would lose its taper, instead making it as thick as it is at its midpoint across its entire width and height. It'd be a lot like an aluminum version of the original 20" iMac G5, minus bezels, chin, and optical drive.

 

[pldelisle]

Totally useless. So much better with an external DAC/AMP. Wouldn’t care if not present. Check out https://schiit.com/ for high quality audio playback hardware. hard to beat for the price.
And you better with Sennheiser. These gaming headsets/things are never really good.

 

[zorinlynx]

I sure as hell hope not. I don't want to have to get another USB device just to have an audio output.

Right now I have TOSlink from my iMac to my sound system in my office and I love it. You will never beat the low latency of on-board audio devices.

 

[pldelisle]

I sure as hell hope not. I don't want to have to get another USB device just to have an audio output.

Right now I have TOSlink from my iMac to my sound system in my office and I love it. You will never beat the low latency of on-board audio devices.

I don’t think low latency is crucial for audio ’’playback’’.

But fiber optic to the amp is sure a great thing. It generally has a lot better DAC than what’s built into computers. The idea to have DAC outside the computer is still here. It’s not the Mac that processes audio, it’s the integrated AMP/receiver.

 

[Allyance]

Get a focusrite audio card and not only it solves the issue it also sounds amazing.

If new iMac doesn't have one, I will check it out. Right now mine already sound amazing.

 

[kohlson]

Unlikely. On the iPhone, a 3.5mm hole caused issues with structural integrity - the metal surrounding it was too thin. I don't see that as an issue iMac.