Will there ever be a new large iMac (Pro)?

[Azrael9]

I expect Apple desires the Apple Silicon Macs to have new designs and new features (like MiniLED displays), but MiniLED display production is either lagging behind or the people claiming MiniLED would be coming in 2020 were too aggressive in their initial predictions. A number of them have since re-trenched, now claiming new MiniLED Apple Silicon models (14" and 16" MacBook Pros and 24" iMac) are now expected to ship in 2021. And I now wonder if the 27" MiniLED display that MCK originally said would be for a new iMac Pro is in fact for a new 27" Apple Silicon iMac coming in 2021?

But Apple will want Apple Silicon Macs out before the MiniLED models are ready in 2021, which is why we are now hearing that Apple will offer a model of the current 13.3" MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon along with a possible Apple Silicon model of the current 13" MacBook Air.

This would mean 2021 is planned to be the "Official Transition Year" when the following are launched:

• A new design of MacBook Pro with 14" and 16" MiniLED displays and Apple Silicon
• A new design of iMac with 24" and 27+" displays (the 27+" being MiniLED) and Apple Silicon

So if we have, in theory, new Apple Silicon iMacs coming in 2021, where does that leave us with new Intel iMacs and iMac Pro in 2020?

If Apple plans to stick with the current design(s), why the delay? Is it component issues? Is it problems with the assembly facilities? (Ireland is evidently online and making machines for the UK, EU and US.) Is it shipping issues?

If Apple plans to move Intel to the same new design as Apple Silicon, that could explain the delay as Apple Silicon requires macOS 11. However, that also implies that at least one Apple Silicon iMac would ship alongside macOS 11. The 24" seems the most logical as there have been no rumors about it going to MiniLED and therefore that delay would not impact it.

But again, if they are dropping the 21.5" Intel model in favor of a 24" Apple Silicon model and will only offer 27" Intel models (iMac and iMac Pro) going forward, why the delay? Even if it adopts the same design as the 2021 27" Apple Silicon model, it would not need macOS 11. If they are waiting for a 27" MiniLED, they could drop it and make that an Apple Silicon exclusive.




I now believe the sources of those rumors were wrong and models were not ready.

The Apple rumour mongers got took behind the cow shed and given the bullet, you mean?

I think consumer AS laptop is the most likely candidate for this year. Tim Cook said an ARM Mac was coming this year. Laptops are their cash cow in Mac terms. But it also makes the most sense in terms of demonstrating what the Mac ARM move is all about and thus receive the most dramatic marketing and consumer statement if you can buy an Intel Macbook Air. That won't be difficult.

That doesn't rule out the AS14 powered iMac 24. Both on roughly the same guts. But it seems that it may be given the early 2021. Apple likes to focus on one release at the time. So it will be Intel iMac. Then Mac ARM laptop. With the iPhone 12 inbetween. If we're lucky...we may get a proper iPad update with the A14 as well...in the fall.

Tim also stressed Intel Mac products this year. eg. The 27 inch iMac. It's the only Mac product we're waiting on, update wise. And design wise. And the timing may be related to the custom Navi 2 part. See link.

I don't see any more Intel releases for Mac. On the Mac Pro and iMac Pro's release schedule, that takes us to the back end of fall 2021. Possibly they may squeeze out another iMac Pro release with the custom Nav 2 part.

So we get the last Intel iMac. And the 1st Mac ARM laptop.

And then, like you say. 2021 becomes teh official transition year.

Hmm.

NAVI 12

RDNA 1.0

PRO 5600M (MAC)

NAVI 22

Navy Flounder

RDNA 2.0

PRO 6600 (MAC) TBC

Big Hmm.

Azrael.
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Agreed on the iMac Pro line.

But I have a question regarding your statement about early 2020 models: If Apple had models in the pipeline, but then cancelled them due to COVID, BLM, etc., then what happened to all the systems they had sitting on the shelf, ready to ship post-announcement? I'm not saying you're wrong, Frieda. And maybe I'm not understanding your whole point (sorry!). But I just have a hard time believing that Bottom Line Tim would agree to trash a bunch of hardware that they had already spent money on manufacturing, just because they were going to be late out of the gate. It's bad enough that Apple had to pay Samsung BIG BUCKS ($900million plus?) for not ordering enough OLED screens.

So if there WERE systems sitting on the shelves, waiting to be announced/sold in Spring 2020, why not make some $$$ by selling them cheap? Maybe on the Outlet page? It would be a win for both Apple and the consumer!

Apple aren't going to do 'cheap.'

They used to do 'affordable' though...in Mac terms.

Azrael.

 

[Freida]

Yep, I think its happening. I think RDNA2 in Sept/Oct 27" iMac update. Unless they update next week then we are just getting the Navi 22 it seems. It all makes sense and it would be substantial. Early 2020 got cancelled so Late 2020 is the beef. (sorry vegans)

 

[Azrael9]

Yep, I think its happening. I think RDNA2 in Sept/Oct 27" iMac update. Unless they update next week then we are just getting the Navi 22 it seems. It all makes sense and it would be substantial. Early 2020 got cancelled so Late 2020 is the beef. (sorry vegans)

Fillet.

With a nice bottle of Merlot.

Be a nice way to toast a 'substantial' and yes, 'sensible' iMac update.

Azrael.

 

[DrRadon]

[automerge]1594821651[/automerge]
This is a render by someone, found this posted on 9gag April 24th 2020. Thought it's pretty cool and something we have not seen before. Fun to see something like this from way before "iPad Pro Design Language" was mentioned.

 

[Rbfinch570]

Yep, I think its happening. I think RDNA2 in Sept/Oct 27" iMac update. Unless they update next week then we are just getting the Navi 22 it seems. It all makes sense and it would be substantial. Early 2020 got cancelled so Late 2020 is the beef. (sorry vegans)

If this is the case I would love to punch Tim Apple in his stupid face.

 

[DrRadon]

And here is why iMac is currently delayed. Boxes are all in use.

 

[teetoo]

View attachment 934027
[automerge]1594821651[/automerge]
This is a render by someone, found this posted on 9gag April 24th 2020. Thought it's pretty cool and something we have not seen before. Fun to see something like this from way before "iPad Pro Design Language" was mentioned.

Nice magnetic/modular snap keyboard/trackpad on it too

 

[Azrael9]

View attachment 934027
[automerge]1594821651[/automerge]
This is a render by someone, found this posted on 9gag April 24th 2020. Thought it's pretty cool and something we have not seen before. Fun to see something like this from way before "iPad Pro Design Language" was mentioned.

Good catch, DrRadon.

That would be my dream 'Mac.'

AS iMac 24. With Apple Pencil. iPad design language. Yes please.

Not seen that one before.

Good stuff.

Azrael.
[automerge]1594823529[/automerge]

And here is why iMac is currently delayed. Boxes are all in use.

Instead of messin' about with boxes in Cupertino...

...

Azrael.

 

[DrRadon]

To few ports for my dream iMac, but it dos look mighty cool.

 

[fokmik]

Based on the kit....i can say the performance per watt is amazing....and that is not on 5nm cpu/igpu
For imacs, is also great, but for the laptops....is amazing...i bet Apple, will not go for 1 full direction but for an overall great device....so instead of very powerful macbook with 4-5 hours battery life, i bet apple will balance power with battery and they will delivery better cpu performance than todays 10nm/14nm Intel cpu but with around 10-11 hours battery life.....
PS: remember, today, you dont get 10 hours battery life under heavy load....just under light usage, so im expecting an macbook air 13" to get around 13-14 hours light usage battery, and the 16" mbp has 2 options
1) Keeping the same battery life by lowering the watt from 99 down to around 70 and make it lighter (this way the battery life will be around the same as it is now, but with less heat and fan noise)
2) Keeping the battery at 99, the same weight but with around 10 hours battery life under heavy load, and around 17-18 hours of light usage

 

[Freida]

Why?

If this is the case I would love to punch Tim Apple in his stupid face.

 

[pldelisle]

Keeping the battery at 99, the same weight but with around 10 hours battery life under heavy load, and around 17-18 hours of light usage

I'd rather like this one ! Anyway, it's a SoC, so requires a lot less motherboard space and logic to achieve to the same results. They will likely keep the battery at 99 because it's the max allowed by authorities and the rest of the computer will be the SoC with lower fabrication cost.

 

[gusping]

Based on the kit....i can say the performance per watt is amazing....and that is not on 5nm cpu/igpu
For imacs, is also great, but for the laptops....is amazing...i bet Apple, will not go for 1 full direction but for an overall great device....so instead of very powerful macbook with 4-5 hours battery life, i bet apple will balance power with battery and they will delivery better cpu performance than todays 10nm/14nm Intel cpu but with around 10-11 hours battery life.....
PS: remember, today, you dont get 10 hours battery life under heavy load....just under light usage, so im expecting an macbook air 13" to get around 13-14 hours light usage battery, and the 16" mbp has 2 options
1) Keeping the same battery life by lowering the watt from 99 down to around 70 and make it lighter (this way the battery life will be around the same as it is now, but with less heat and fan noise)
2) Keeping the battery at 99, the same weight but with around 10 hours battery life under heavy load, and around 17-18 hours of light usage

What I am worried about, is that desktops take a back seat (again...) to MacBooks. I.e. Apple will put a spruced up laptop AS SoC into the iMac, rather than go balls to the wall with a proper SoC and a FAT fan. This will allow them to produce a lovely THIN desktop, that absolutely no one f**king cares about (except those who say their iMac faces inwards in the room. Sorry, receptionists...).

 

[pldelisle]

What I am worried about, is that desktops take a back seat (again...) to MacBooks. I.e. Apple will put a spruced up laptop AS SoC into the iMac, rather than go balls to the wall with a proper SoC and a FAT fan. This will allow them to produce a lovely THIN desktop, that absolutely no one f**king cares about (except those who say their iMac faces inwards in the room. Sorry, receptionists...).

Totally agree with this. The real market of Apple is laptops, not desktop. If they really focus on laptops CPUs and resign to throw a slightly higher clocked CPU of the mobile version in their desktop, this is not good.

 

[satchmo]

View attachment 934027
[automerge]1594821651[/automerge]
This is a render by someone, found this posted on 9gag April 24th 2020. Thought it's pretty cool and something we have not seen before. Fun to see something like this from way before "iPad Pro Design Language" was mentioned.

Nice, but perhaps a bit over exaggerated in terms of how much space is required for motherboard etc.
Double the thickness of either the display or the base. Unfortunately this is also just too Apple circa early 2000’s, when they actually had balls. Today, they‘re no longer pushing innovative form factors.

 

[yellow_lupine]

Still nothing??
That's very ridiculous... how can they keep making us struggle like that?
Neither a stupid spec bump...
I suspect many will finally look elsewhere for a new computer.

 

[gusping]

Totally agree with this. The real market of Apple is laptops, not desktop. If they really focus on laptops CPUs and resign to throw a slightly higher clocked CPU of the mobile version in their desktop, this is not good.

Thankfully, I am in a position to sit back a year or two and observe. If they do low ball desktops, then it could very well be a 'bye bye Macs' from me. Let's wait and see, however. It is certainly make or break time...

 

[Kjs100]

It’s time for a touchscreen iMac, and the iPad Pro proves it can be done

Apple’s next iMac could take some design inspiration from the iPad Pro, potentially giving us the first ever touchscreen Mac. Here’s why it would work so well.

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[gusping]

It’s time for a touchscreen iMac, and the iPad Pro proves it can be done

Apple’s next iMac could take some design inspiration from the iPad Pro, potentially giving us the first ever touchscreen Mac. Here’s why it would work so well.

www.digitaltrends.com

Ewwww, no. Leave touch screens away from Macs, especially desktop Macs.

 

[PaulD-UK]

It seems to me Apple's activities in the past months/year have put the writing on the wall.
Not knowing anything about TSMC's manufacturing capabilities, it seems that Apple's traditional release pattern of an new iPhone Ann SoC in Sept/Oct, followed by an iPad AnnX (or Z) release the following March is a significant pointer to the time it takes for Apple/TSMC to get the necessary number of SoCs with the additional GPU cores ready for mass distribution.

Therefore it would seem reasonable for a lower-GPU AS laptop be shipped this year, with the higher-rated (mid-range 24") iMac etc chips to follow early the next year.

And what did Apple do earlier in 2020?
They released a 13" MBP where the Intel CPU's heatsink isn't even connected to or placed near the airflow of the fan cooling system.... It all looks like an afterthought.
That seems like an enormous clue as to what the first AS laptop is going to be - with maybe a reduced-bezel 14" screen attached...
And an AS 27" iMac follow-up to be released 12 months later than the 24" version.

 

[pldelisle]

They released a 13" MBP where the Intel CPU's heatsink isn't even connected to or placed near the airflow of the fan cooling system.... It all looks like an afterthought.

This is in the Air. Which is not that bad because CPU is only 10w.

 

[PaulD-UK]

Thanks for the correction.
"Which is not that bad" means that could get away with releasing it in interim form while they awaited the AS announcement etc.

 

[Rbfinch570]

Why?

Guess I'm just frustrated with Apple at the moment. Finally in the market and everything is dated crap. I was hoping on a better Macbook Pro 13" but I'm def. not impressed. Mac Mini is a no go for me, iMac is a waiting game. I was thinking about building my own PC but if I buy the parts this week and a new iMac comes out next week I would kick myself in the ()(). Also, I really hate the fact everything is hush hush and Apple doesn't give its consumers a heads up for upcoming products like other companies.

 

[Azrael9]

Nice, but perhaps a bit over exaggerated in terms of how much space is required for motherboard etc.
Double the thickness of either the display or the base. Unfortunately this is also just too Apple circa early 2000’s, when they actually had balls. Today, they‘re no longer pushing innovative form factors.

Aye. Steve Jobs sized ones.

Azrael.
[automerge]1594834560[/automerge]

It seems to me Apple's activities in the past months/year have put the writing on the wall.
Not knowing anything about TSMC's manufacturing capabilities, it seems that Apple's traditional release pattern of an new iPhone Ann SoC in Sept/Oct, followed by an iPad AnnX (or Z) release the following March is a significant pointer to the time it takes for Apple/TSMC to get the necessary number of SoCs with the additional GPU cores ready for mass distribution.

Therefore it would seem reasonable for a lower-GPU AS laptop be shipped this year, with the higher-rated (mid-range 24") iMac etc chips to follow early the next year.

And what did Apple do earlier in 2020?
They released a 13" MBP where the Intel CPU's heatsink isn't even connected to or placed near the airflow of the fan cooling system.... It all looks like an afterthought.
That seems like an enormous clue as to what the first AS laptop is going to be - with maybe a reduced-bezel 14" screen attached...
And an AS 27" iMac follow-up to be released 12 months later than the 24" version.

Good post, Paul.

Azrael.
[automerge]1594835281[/automerge]

Guess I'm just frustrated with Apple at the moment. Finally in the market and everything is dated crap. I was hoping on a better Macbook Pro 13" but I'm def. not impressed. Mac Mini is a no go for me, iMac is a waiting game. I was thinking about building my own PC but if I buy the parts this week and a new iMac comes out next week I would kick myself in the ()(). Also, I really hate the fact everything is hush hush and Apple doesn't give its consumers a heads up for upcoming products like other companies.

Apple have become very frustrating under Tim Apple. Certainly.

The stretched pricing with BTO, the bad initial deal forcing you up the BTO ladder (instead of just offering you a decent deal on each tier), the lack of 'real' gpu options on anything short of £2k. The lack of top end gpu offerings on £1500-£3000. Lots of meh iG. (Especially in the iG for the Mac Mini.) Two years for an 'update' and you don't get better dGPU or better iGPU options or access to 8 core on the Mini. (It's a product that is a bit short...or reach. It's not quite the Mac Mini Powerhouse many want...) The consumer iMacs are a bit anemic and the £1050 model is a disgrace. (Under Jobs, consumer iMacs offered good bang for buck. But that was his Apple, not Tim's.) The Mac Pro is a giant pish take. £6k for a 'so-so' tower. Great engineering, though. No consumer display below £5k. The iMac Pro. The 'ultimate' iMac. Now 3 year's old. Is a £2500-3k computer. At that. It would be a buy. You can't buy a bigger screened Macbook for less than 2k.

My point? To get anything decent you have to PAY through the nose. And if you want the Mac Pro to be 'decent' you really have prostrate yourself.

Azrael.

 

[xgman]

. I was thinking about building my own PC but if I buy the parts this week and a new iMac comes out next week I would kick myself in the ()(). Also, I really hate the fact everything is hush hush and Apple doesn't give its consumers a heads up for upcoming products like other companies.

There are some real PC power houses coming out like this one:

Lenovo ThinkStation P620 Announced

Today, Lenovo announced the release of the first ever workstation powered by AMD’s brand-new Ryzen Threadripper PRO, the Lenovo ThinkStation P620.

www.storagereview.com

But they seem to be a return to the dinasaur past of big boxes and noisy fans. There was a time when a box like that would have me drooling. Raw power is nice, but not everything, especially these days that very capable machines come in such small quiet packages.