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Will there ever be a new large iMac (Pro)?
- Thread starter krazzix
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That's crazy. Thanks for sharing some info on what you do, I really appreciate it. Fascinating stuff indeed.
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Oh they will. If it really is a completely new design, with SSDs as standard, etc, the price will rise.
'iPad Pro design language" does not necessarily mean it has to be wafer-thin since it still needs to be thick enough to support fans and memory modules. We could see something with thin bezels and minimal (or no) chin and then thick(er) slab sides like the iPad Pro.
Thats what everyone said about the 16" MBP starting at $3K as well. Apple has gotten to the point where they try to keep the same pricing on the consumer end devices. Now if this new iMac is really a new iMac Pro then you can throw that all out. But I personally don't expect pricing to be a huge jump.
Maybe Mr. Cook has finally learned something from Steve J: A happy customer over profits. Or at least if there's a profit to be made, the customer had better get his or her money's worth. Happy customers = loyal, returning customers that are willing to part ways with their $£¥€.
I am SOOOO ready for the announcement of the new iMac!!! My old mid-2011 27" box needs a new roommate.
Tim Cook has been fixated on "Customer Satisfaction" far more than Steve Jobs ever was. And that shows in how much more $£¥€ people are willing to part ways with under Tim's leadership than Steve's.
I must admit I'm more confused than ever with this mornings rumours.
So my take away is that if the rumours are correct we'll see a new iMac that may or may not be ARM. BUT that Intel is being dumped with Mac being ARM at some point in the near future, which would render an Intel iMac obsolete not long after launch (6-18 months).
Plus, iPad Pro design language WTF? So thinner with even less scope for cooling if they do put Intel 10th gen in there?
Must admit the idea of a 'giant iPad' is actually really unappealing. iPad is portable, a desktop isn't (duh) so why make it a thoroughly compromised design?
Of course if they go all in ARM then to a degree the giant iPad makes sense but do we really want to be in on a 1st gen of a completely new transition? Or get a last generation of the old?
Confused.
So my take away is that if the rumours are correct we'll see a new iMac that may or may not be ARM. BUT that Intel is being dumped with Mac being ARM at some point in the near future, which would render an Intel iMac obsolete not long after launch (6-18 months).
Plus, iPad Pro design language WTF? So thinner with even less scope for cooling if they do put Intel 10th gen in there?
Must admit the idea of a 'giant iPad' is actually really unappealing. iPad is portable, a desktop isn't (duh) so why make it a thoroughly compromised design?
Of course if they go all in ARM then to a degree the giant iPad makes sense but do we really want to be in on a 1st gen of a completely new transition? Or get a last generation of the old?
Confused.
As @CWallace points out, that doesn’t necessarily mean thinner. But I think we can expect a flat, uniform look, rather than the tapered, bulge look of the current design. Also think XDR.
Calm down.
Do any of you that bought the 2019 iMac several months ago plan on selling and buying this new upcoming 2020 iMac?
I personally bought a 27 inch 2019 iMac like 6 months ago and kinda regret it at this time but I needed a new computer back then so I had no other option. Not sure if selling this fairly new machine and taking a loss (money wise) is worth it though
I personally bought a 27 inch 2019 iMac like 6 months ago and kinda regret it at this time but I needed a new computer back then so I had no other option. Not sure if selling this fairly new machine and taking a loss (money wise) is worth it though
After digesting this a bit, I very much assume the redesigned iMac is ARM and does not ship for several months. Why redesign right before ARM, why redesign right before miniLED, etc? I can also believe there will be a spec bump for the Intel model at the same time, since there are models rumored to be sitting ready to go.
I personally don’t care either way, I need a notebook before I replace my iMac anyway... but it’s the only way it makes sense to me.
There is no way that it will be as thin as an iPad....or anywhere near that for that matter. I'd assume that it will be flat on the edges, with rounded corners, and probably about the thickness of the ProDisplay XDR. The only iPad anything coming to the iMac is the overall look from the front of it, just the display IMO. I could be wrong, but unless Apple actually put an A series chip in it, or they figured out how to get around the laws of heat and cooling, then its probably going to be just as thick as it is now. It will just be uniform in that thickness instead of the tapered edges.
I'm skeptical Apple is going to ship ARM in a consumer iMac to start. I know iMac (and MacBook Pro) were the first two models to move from PowerPC to Intel, but Intel was powerful enough to emulate PowerPC with effectively no performance hit. So unless the "A14" chips can run the majority of x86 code in emulation as well as, say, an 8th generation Core i5 can native, I don't see it, because Catalyst is still way too new and the apps are not yet there.
Plus all the rumors are pointing to Comet Lake-S and RDNA 1.0 in this refresh along with improved cooling to deal with them. You don't need improved cooling for an ARM SoC because it's going to be a heck of a lot cooler than an Intel CPU and AMD GPU even with significantly more cores.
But what if Apple is confident that within a few years ARM can emulate close to native? And that there will be a decent collection of native ARM macOS applications covering a number of general use cases? Then making it look like "a desktop iPad Pro" makes some sense from a marketing standpoint to "set the brand" for future ARM models. The Intel models will be "thick" to handle the cooling and such and when it moves to ARM, it will "slim down". Kind of like the 2009-2011 iMac had thick sides to accommodate an optical drive and when that was removed, Apple slimmed the sides down to the thin tapered edge we have had since 2012.
And almost to our 3000th post in this thread!
Plus all the rumors are pointing to Comet Lake-S and RDNA 1.0 in this refresh along with improved cooling to deal with them. You don't need improved cooling for an ARM SoC because it's going to be a heck of a lot cooler than an Intel CPU and AMD GPU even with significantly more cores.
But what if Apple is confident that within a few years ARM can emulate close to native? And that there will be a decent collection of native ARM macOS applications covering a number of general use cases? Then making it look like "a desktop iPad Pro" makes some sense from a marketing standpoint to "set the brand" for future ARM models. The Intel models will be "thick" to handle the cooling and such and when it moves to ARM, it will "slim down". Kind of like the 2009-2011 iMac had thick sides to accommodate an optical drive and when that was removed, Apple slimmed the sides down to the thin tapered edge we have had since 2012.
And almost to our 3000th post in this thread!
The current iMac design in its original form was introduced in 2004 as the iMac G5, with various refinements in the design taking place since that time. Even the latest 'slim' unibody iMac has been a stable design (appearance wise) since 2012.
Given the very (VERY) long time since a substantial change in iMac design, I really hope that we will now see a very significant evaluation of the design. Not revolutionary, but a BIG change that will be appropriate given how long since a major change was made.
Given the very (VERY) long time since a substantial change in iMac design, I really hope that we will now see a very significant evaluation of the design. Not revolutionary, but a BIG change that will be appropriate given how long since a major change was made.
We may be surprised by what the XDR cooling modified for the iMac could do. I mean if they redesign the cooling system increasing the airflow drastically by using the same holes used on its back (or on the front panel of the MP).
Those holes from XDR and Mac Pro does not improve the cooling system dramatically. The cooler itself needs to be bigger and yet AIO desktop has limitations. I wouldn't expect too much about the cooling performance unless they use APU.
I expect a better hinge. The current iMac hinge is very limited: only tilt, no heigh adjustment. Especially after the brilliant iMac G4 hinge.
Now look at Apple’s recent hinge releases. Pro Display and Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Both fancy, floating, magnetic hinges.
Forget ARM. Forget bezels. This iMac will be all about the hinge.
Now look at Apple’s recent hinge releases. Pro Display and Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Both fancy, floating, magnetic hinges.
Forget ARM. Forget bezels. This iMac will be all about the hinge.
I also doubt that any new iMac announced in the near future will be ARM, and that it will be a sort of "gap" model (cue up the new dilemma for worriers), like the plastic 2006 Core (solo) model that shipped before the 2007 Aluminum redesign. Only this time, with the processor lagging behind.
But who knows? Much will depend on how much ARM development work Apple has completed, and the timeline it hopes to achieve, not just for itself, but for software developers.
The PPC to Intel shift was originally announced as a two-year hardware transition; Apple actually completed it in about a year, with the Mac Pro the last to switch.
Personally, my days of being an eager early adopter have long passed, and I'd be wary of the pains of being on the cutting edge of both a hardware redesign, as well as a big software change. Apple's more recent history doesn't inspire as much confidence in its abilities as it used to, and I have little doubt big changes could also bring hidden restrictions that cause consternation to veteran users who see the company further entrenching itself and exercising greater control over users.
But who knows? Much will depend on how much ARM development work Apple has completed, and the timeline it hopes to achieve, not just for itself, but for software developers.
The PPC to Intel shift was originally announced as a two-year hardware transition; Apple actually completed it in about a year, with the Mac Pro the last to switch.
Personally, my days of being an eager early adopter have long passed, and I'd be wary of the pains of being on the cutting edge of both a hardware redesign, as well as a big software change. Apple's more recent history doesn't inspire as much confidence in its abilities as it used to, and I have little doubt big changes could also bring hidden restrictions that cause consternation to veteran users who see the company further entrenching itself and exercising greater control over users.
Maybe more like the iMac G4 or the Surface Studio than the basic iMac form factor for the last 16 years.
Are you implying the new redesigned iMac won’t be an actual computer and will be something like a big iPad with a keyboard?(since you mention the surface device)
such as a device won’t be a replacement for an actual Mac computer if that’s the case
I think people are reading too much into the iPad Pro remark.
My guess is it's more of an XDR look. The leaker probably just thought the narrow stainless steel loop around the bezel was vaguely iPad Pro-ish and it was the first aesthetic likeness he thought of.
I would still expect a very XDR-ish design with a chin, and probably a bulge too.
My guess is it's more of an XDR look. The leaker probably just thought the narrow stainless steel loop around the bezel was vaguely iPad Pro-ish and it was the first aesthetic likeness he thought of.
I would still expect a very XDR-ish design with a chin, and probably a bulge too.
XDR Pro Display
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I agree that people are largely misinterpreting the iPad Pro comparison. I’m thinking a cross between XDR and iPad Pro too, but I’d like to believe that this will mark the end of the bulge. Apple is marching strongly toward flat uniform design again: iPad Pro, XDR, and next iPhone. iMac could be next to join.
The Surface Studio is a full fledged Windows 10 PC that retails for $3000 (and up).
I think Apple are more likely to switch to AMD than they are to ARM especially for iMacs. The new iMac announcement almost fits perfectly with AMD AMD brand new Zen 3 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU. Either that or they'll use Intels latest chip with upgrades to the AMD GPU only. They could also start shipping new 16" MAcbook Pro's with Ryzen 9 4900H and HS at the same time. I think all of the ARM talk is to throw investors off, otherwise AMD stocks would rise another 10-20% in a matter of hours of a leak
Too late, Apple will not switch to amd for their cpu...too late for that. They would done it by now, since Intel is on 14nm+++++