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Who else is holding out for a new 27 inch iMac?

Add me to the list of folks that are wanting a 27" iMac. I have a 2017 that really still works perfectly. I planned to buy a new one when it was updated with the M-Series processor and am still in shock that they abandoned this market. Seems that they really do want to push us into a much higher price tier. I still consider the 27" the perfect size because I can have a large 24" window with my central task at the time and still keep an eye on other things with a glance. I have a 24" 4k monitor on a MacBook Air with a docking station. And it's "ok" but it gives me the feel of a 24" iMac and honestly, not interested in replacing the 27 with something that small. It's hard to downgrade from the 5K.

Just price checked again. For a nicely specced Mini and Studio with keyboard and trackpad it's over $3300. I currently have 40GB in my iMac. This would drop me to 16GB with no chance of upgrade. And 1TB SSD is what I have today. Just not a good value compared to my 5 year old iMac which I paid $2,579.00 for in June 2017. And if I bought a Mac Studio instead of the Mini with 1TB of storage you can add almost a grand more. So about $4300. Crazy!
 
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I have been holding out for what Apple considers the higher end iMac (not interested in the current iMac). My old late 2013 iMac 27" is working fine but it is time for an upgrade. I have priced out a mid tier M1 Max Mac Studio and monitor but it seems to expensive to me. I guess I'll wait a little longer and see what happens before purchasing the Mac Studio. Heres to a larger M2 iMac.
 
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Black Diesel said:
I have money burning a hole in my pocket for a new 27" iMac. I'm calling Apple's bluff that they actually discontinued this line. I believe Apple said it was discontinued so people would buy the new Studio and their expensive 27" display....otherwise most iMac owners would just continue to wait for the new iMac.

I know so many people who love their 27" iMac and want nothing more than a new one with Apple silicon. We are all going to hold out as long as we possibly can with our current iMacs, and if Apple doesn't eventually release one we'll be forced to buy something else. But for now, even though I want something new I will continue to hold out and use my current 2019 iMac until I can't use it any longer. Apple will be missing out on my cash for as long as I can wait.

Is anyone else doing the same?
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At first I thought you have an old iMac model and couldn't wait any longer but you definitively don't need a new computer for another 2-3 years at the earliest unless you bought a low end config and it no longer work for your needs.

In my case before the Studio was announced a really needed a new 27' iMac. I had a middle-entry config late 2015 one with a low fusion drive so my computer was slow and I knew it wouldn't receive the next major macOS update so after the huge let down of the mac studio event I searched for a good iMac 2020 refurb config. Luckly I could pick up a nice high end config at a good price (i7, 5700XT, 2TB SSD and 16 of RAM). I'm very happy with it and I don't care anymore for a new silicon 27' iMac for another ~3 years from now at the earliest.
 
I was a dedicated 27" fan. I had the late 2015 model. One thing I have learned over the years is that change is inevitable. People screamed when floppy disks went away, same with CD drives, etc. We move on. It took a while to get used to the Mac Studio, but now that I have it and have used it for a few months, I am happy with it. Price was steep, but going with a 24" and limited RAM was not an option. For all who are waiting I hope it happens for you and a new 27" appears, but I would not hold out forever.
 
webbga said:
I was a dedicated 27" fan. I had the late 2015 model. One thing I have learned over the years is that change is inevitable. People screamed when floppy disks went away, same with CD drives, etc. We move on. It took a while to get used to the Mac Studio, but now that I have it and have used it for a few months, I am happy with it. Price was steep, but going with a 24" and limited RAM was not an option. For all who are waiting I hope it happens for you and a new 27" appears, but I would not hold out forever.
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I have a late 2015 model. It has a great screen, but is too high for good ergonomics for me. The Mac Studio is a bit steep in price, but the Mac Pro is much steeper, and the Mini not powerful enough. So it will be a Studio for me.

I'm hoping there will be new 5K monitors coming as BOE have appropriate panels in their development plans. I don't plan on the Studio Display as it is expensive and won't look anything special with a VESA stand (the adjustable stand is higher at the lowest position than the fixed stand, which is crazy). If no suitable 5K monitor, Huawei's 3:2 4K+ monitor will be paired with the Mac Studio (although a monitor using the 28" 3:2 4500x3000 panel as used in the Microsoft Surface Studio would trump them all).
 
Moonjumper said:
I have a late 2015 model. It has a great screen, but is too high for good ergonomics for me. The Mac Studio is a bit steep in price, but the Mac Pro is much steeper, and the Mini not powerful enough. So it will be a Studio for me.

I'm hoping there will be new 5K monitors coming as BOE have appropriate panels in their development plans. I don't plan on the Studio Display as it is expensive and won't look anything special with a VESA stand (the adjustable stand is higher at the lowest position than the fixed stand, which is crazy). If no suitable 5K monitor, Huawei's 3:2 4K+ monitor will be paired with the Mac Studio (although a monitor using the 28" 3:2 4500x3000 panel as used in the Microsoft Surface Studio would trump them all).
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I went with the standard stand and use a desk stand I bought from Amazon. It was little high so turned it upside down and it works just fine. I felt the Studio scree was also expensive, but I wanted to stay with all MAC on this. I read about too many issues from people who use third party monitors. I am certain there are good ones out there, but I did not wanton invite potential compatibility problems into the equation. Good luck and I hope you get the system you want!
 
I would’ve liked a 27” M1 Pro iMac, but decided to be content with a cheaper 24” M1 iMac. Its been a very good purchase, loving my computer so far.
 
I used a 27” from time to time at work, but I’ve worked mostly on laptops at home for about a decade. So in a way having a desktop with a proper screen again has been a pleasure.
 
I am still chugging along with a late 2014 27" i5 iMac (upgraded Fusion to SSD) and have been waiting for a new 27" iMac for a long time. Being that this iMac has at most one more year or security updates (Big Sur), fall 2023 is the longest I would go before upgrading. If no iMac 27" replacement comes out in the next 12 months, I will either get a Mac Studio + Studio Display or possibly an M3 iMac 24" (assuming that is released in 2023).
 
My 2011 27” is still running perfectly fine - including the stock HDD (although now a data drive) - but my interests in video work and updating software overcame my holdout hope for a big M series AIO. I got a 16” Pro MBP which is an amazing machine, unfortunately with much less screen real estate than I want. For the time being, I can allay my screen envy with the advantage of mobility. I don’t imagine that will last long though, and I’m quite sure the MBP will be up for sale the moment a true 27” imac replacement goes on the market.
 
My best guesses:
  • iMac "bigger" will return sooner or later
  • it will be (re)branded "PRO"
  • it will probably have a "starting at" price of about $2999 or higher... and desirably configured will probably be towards $4K-$5K.
I think just about every one of these threads pre-assume that it will return at the relative (to Apple anyway) bargain pricing of $1X99. I heavily doubt that pricing returns. Why?

Look no further than the screen part of the iMac that did launch. It starts in the range of what was formally a screen plus Mac. Apple has now seen that Apple buyers will pay as much for an iMac "bigger" screen as they used to pay for mostly that same screen that also came with a whole Mac inside too.

So, take the price of the Studio monitor, drop in the guts of a MBpro and how will Apple price that combination? We know the price of each of those pieces, so we only have to imagine the subtraction of that second screen and MBpro speakers. Studio monitor starting at $1599. 14" MBpro starting at $1999 minus some value for the MBpro monitor & speakers. Assume some wash of keyboards and trackpad>mouse. $1599 + maybe $1500, rounded down to hit a "starting at" (minimal spec) of $2999. If anything, I'm probably being too optimistic and "starting at" may be $3499 instead.

If it does return... when it does return... I'd fully expect it to be as just described than as we remember it and its better value pricing. I'll be happy to be proven wrong but- for me anyway- that ship has already sailed: Mac Studio plus the size of monitor I consider best for me now sits on my desk. And when this Mac is made obsolete by macOS upgrades, the monitor will continue to be just as useful with the next one. No more "throwing baby out with the bathwater."
 
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The noise my late 2015 iMac makes sometimes is ridiculous and rather worrying

I’m definitely up for a big iMac with a nice cool running apple silicon chip
 
joshuabeg said:
I held out for an updated iMac Pro for some time. Tracked rumors prior to March's event, and after the event I started hearing that it may not release until in Spring 2023. Didn't want to wait that long, or find a temporary solution, so I actually ended up purchasing a Studio Display and M1 Mac mini.

I mounted the Mac mini under my desk to save space, and get the iMac feel. I've loved it so far, and hope to upgrade to a MacBook in the future for some flexibility. Just thought I'd share as an alternative for those still holding out!
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What brand of adjustable height desk is that? I really like that it has a drawer, not a lot of them seem to!

Good solution btw. I had considered going the Mini/SD route in the future if the 27” is truly dead. Hoping they work out some of the issues with SD I’ve heard about though—for $1600 just for a base model it better be flawless.
 
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Makisupa Policeman said:
What brand of adjustable height desk is that? I really like that it has a drawer, not a lot of them seem to!

Good solution btw. I had considered going the Mini/SD route in the future if the 27” is truly dead. Hoping they work out some of the issues with SD I’ve heard about though—for $1600 just for a base model it better be flawless.
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Hey there! The desk is from a company called Fully. I purchased the legs and mechanism only, and bought a separate solid wood butcher block top from Home Depot to mount on top. The drawer is also from Fully, and I mounted it myself underneath.

And thank you! Not sure if it means anything to you, but in my experience I have had absolutely no issues with the Studio Display. I know many people are upset about the price, but it’s been a total joy to use and I would buy it 3 times over. The build quality and feel are unlike anything else. I see the articles about issues all the time… yet to experience any of them 🖥
 
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George Dawes said:
The noise my late 2015 iMac makes sometimes is ridiculous and rather worrying

I’m definitely up for a big iMac with a nice cool running apple silicon chip
Click to expand...

I have the same problem on my 2015 iMac, plus the 12.6.1 update failed on my machine. I want to replace it now.
I am very hesitant between the studio (stretches my budget, overkill for my needs) and the mac mini (model is now ready to be replaced and advised against). This is my private machine, I do not game and I do not do anything heavy on graphics.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
I think just about every one of these threads pre-assume that it will return at the relative (to Apple anyway) bargain pricing of $1X99. I heavily doubt that pricing returns. Why?
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...as you say, the <$2000 5k iMac was always a "bargain" for (usually) a better CPU and GPU than the $1099 Intel Mac Mini and a 5k display - c.f. the LG 5k display that cost $1200. I'm sure that Apple wasn't making a loss but they were probably accepting a lower profit margin than they're accustomed to. Or cleaning up by upselling people.

It's interesting to look at the higher-end iMacs where an i9/5700 Pro cost $3000 + $600 for an upgrade to 32GB RAM c.f. $3600 for a Mac Studio Max (32GB) + Studio Display. Spooky (You could have saved money on the iMac by using 3rd party RAM of course - but then you can save money on the Studio by getting a pair of 4k displays for less than the price of a single Studio Display and/or by re-using an existing display).

I think the iMac market has been eroded by multiple factors:
  • A general industry-wide shift from desktops to laptops
  • Within the Mac market, Apple Silicon has all but removed any price/performance advantage of iMacs over laptops, since everything is now using the same family of Systems-on-a-chip.
  • The new "4k" iMac has a substantially larger screen and more powerful processor than before & will capture some potential low-end-5k buyers.
  • The Mac Studio has likely decimated the market for the higher-end iMac - some are mourning the iMac, but others are delighted to see the return of a powerful "headless" Mac in the $2000+ price range.
  • A "low end" 5k iMac would probably have to stand on its own without high-end versions to share the development costs.
  • 5k displays haven't taken off outside the Mac world, so they're always going to be relatively expensive.
  • Apple can sell the same Studio Displays to Mac Studio owners, future Mac Pro owners, deep-pocketed Mac Mini owners and MacBook (Pro) owners who want the ultimate docking station.
Also, with miniLED, microLED and various flavours of OLED in the pipeline, no way would I spend $2000+ in 2022 on a machine with a welded-in TFT screen with slightly brighter backlighting that the 2017 version it was replacing... There's already a choice of 2 Apple displays (Studio and Pro XDR) with more rumoured to be in the pipeline, plus the whole world of 3rd party options.
 
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joshuabeg said:
Hey there! The desk is from a company called Fully. I purchased the legs and mechanism only, and bought a separate solid wood butcher block top from Home Depot to mount on top. The drawer is also from Fully, and I mounted it myself underneath.

And thank you! Not sure if it means anything to you, but in my experience I have had absolutely no issues with the Studio Display. I know many people are upset about the price, but it’s been a total joy to use and I would buy it 3 times over. The build quality and feel are unlike anything else. I see the articles about issues all the time… yet to experience any of them 🖥
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Thanks for your reply, that’s great to hear. I have had some skepticism about the SD but I’m glad to hear you’ve had a great experience, that gives me some ease.

I do think a lot of us who are AIO fans are a bit of a niche market. There’s just something really nice to me about having an AIO, I like the sleekness and simplicity of my iMac. But there are obviously disadvantages, like not being able to upgrade much in the future (I have the 2020 27” so I can at least upgrade ram for future proofing, but once I run out of storage I have to start running off of an external drive, for example.) Being able to have just the display, but swap out the CPU/Computer as newer stuff comes out, or having the versatility of connecting a Mini/Mac Studio/Laptop would actually be really nice.
 
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Boidem said:
Are we? I've seen many, many iMacs and other AIOs over the years, I don't think it's that niche. I'd say iMac Pro, Studio and Mac Pro users are far more 'niche' than AIO users.
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I'd guess that they are selling a lot of Studios right now because of the lack of more configuration options in the mini and the lack of an Apple Silicon Mac Pro and iMac Pro. The M1 and M2 base stuff are their volume markets but the stores carry the Studios as well, some even carry the Studio Ultra.
 
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