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Will there ever be a new large iMac (Pro)?
- Thread starter krazzix
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Damn I hope so. My late 2013 iMac is really getting long in the tooth now. I don't want to get a 2019 and get locked in for another 6+ years if a redesigned iMac is coming in 2020.
Mainly what I'm hoping for is FaceID, better GPU, 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports, smaller bezels.
Mainly what I'm hoping for is FaceID, better GPU, 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports, smaller bezels.
Since 2015, they announced an updated version of iMac every 2 years. There is no reason to update in 2020 unless they redesign it completely. But do they have parts to update? Well no... especially CPU. Still using 14nm while AMD Ryzen already outperformed with Ryzen 2.
I've heard that they plan on making their own CPU. But it may take longer than a year to have those ready.
I think we'll only see a speed bump for the iMacPro with a new TB-chip to run the 6K monitor. New iMacs will have the new ARM CPUs and a new design in 2021.
A non-glossy option and smaller bezels would be great to have and the option to add RAM by the user.
Same here. Been buying Macs since the 90s and in my experience, the last revisions of a generation are usually the best and least problematic Macs I have bought because those were the lines that get the full benefit from Apple’s hardware tweaks.
But would you drop 2-3K on the current model if you knew a new redesign was being released next week is the question. Most people keep their iMac for at least 5 years.
I get a sense by frequenting both forums, that many are waiting for the next update of either iMac and Mac mini for their next purchase.
So which will happen first?
A redesigned iMac with smaller bezels, or a Mac mini with a beefier GPU?
While the Mac mini allows one to change displays down the road, I’m not sure it will ever have a dedicated GPU given it’s size and thermal constraints.
Both can be improved via external eGPUs, but the iMac’s built-in displays are pretty damn good. Make it look similar to the Pro XDR display to help with ventilation, and it will sell like hot cakes.
So which will happen first?
A redesigned iMac with smaller bezels, or a Mac mini with a beefier GPU?
While the Mac mini allows one to change displays down the road, I’m not sure it will ever have a dedicated GPU given it’s size and thermal constraints.
Both can be improved via external eGPUs, but the iMac’s built-in displays are pretty damn good. Make it look similar to the Pro XDR display to help with ventilation, and it will sell like hot cakes.
I bought a new 2017 iMac straight from Apple at the beginning of 2019, around three weeks before the 2019 models came out. It pissed me of a lot, since I was waiting for the update for over a year, and absolutely couldn't wait anymore, since I had to buy it for work.
I will not be buying a 2019 iMac, and I hope the new ones will come soon. I'll also upgrade my 13 inch Macbook pro to the new 16 inch, and hopefully they won't change it soon (as some people on the forum seem to suggest).
I hope it will come until March 2020, and here in Austria, they just today (or yesterday) FINALLY added the 2019 iMacs to the refurbished store on the Apple website. So, yeah, maybe that's a sign? There were basically no 2019 models up until now.
I will not be buying a 2019 iMac, and I hope the new ones will come soon. I'll also upgrade my 13 inch Macbook pro to the new 16 inch, and hopefully they won't change it soon (as some people on the forum seem to suggest).
I hope it will come until March 2020, and here in Austria, they just today (or yesterday) FINALLY added the 2019 iMacs to the refurbished store on the Apple website. So, yeah, maybe that's a sign? There were basically no 2019 models up until now.
I was looking at the LG monitors which use the same panels as the iMacs and was surprised to see that LG have replaced the 21.5" DCI-P3 4K panel with a commodity size 24" 4k panel.
So could Apple be planning ahead and considering reintroducing a 24" iMac? This could be an SSD only iMac Pro for instance.
So could Apple be planning ahead and considering reintroducing a 24" iMac? This could be an SSD only iMac Pro for instance.
30” and 24” models would be nice...but not limited just to the iMac Pro line.
I’ve always felt the 21” was too small and missed the 24” option.
But iMacs are probably very low on Apple’s list of redesigns/updates. Latest earnings report reveal how even wearables are almost surpassing Mac sales. My guess is that margins on AirPods are greater than an iMac.
- $33.36 billion: iPhone
- $12.5 billion: Services
- $6.99 billion: Mac
- $6.52 billion: Wearables, Home, and Accessories
- $4.66 billion: iPad
This is an interesting point considering likely sales of the iMac line and to reduce the cost of engineering I'd have suggested cutting down on the number of SKUs.
The introduction of the 2018 Mac Mini has clouded things up a bit but I think it's feasible that the 27" line could go all 'Pro' alongside a 24" lower end model which answers the issue of a lower end screen size which is not as small as the 21.5".
iMacs are the last Mac line without the T2 CPU and once it's available across the board it's the beginning of the end for Hackintosh as a future successive macOS within 5 years time may demand a T2 CPU to boot.
To achieve this, Apple have to ditch fusion drives and go all SSD - the storage doublings for no extra cost we have seen in the MacBook Pro 16" shows what I believe to be the likely pattern for 2020.
In 27" iMacs it's easy to forecast a 256Gb SSD minimum rather than 1Tb Fusion Drive but going from 1Tb HD to 256Gb SSD is slightly pricier but looking at the price of the 24" LG 4k which comes with Thunderbolt where the previous 21.5" version didn't I'd say that the 24" panel is cheaper.
Timing the change is where Apple would decide when the best time to upgrade is. New Ice Lake S CPUs (apparently with hyper threading in i5 SKUs) wouldn't be available until Q3 2020 (October for example). If there are B variants of the Ice Lake S CPUs on the cards then the Mac mini could get a refresh at the same time.
If the 27" goes all SSD with Ice Lake S CPUs then they may have the conditions to quietly retire the 'proper' iMac Pro and offer an i9 SKU with 10 cores, 20 threads and a decent next generation AMD GPU to boot.
maybe as a percentage of total costs, but in terms of absolute values I think that a $2000 or more iMac in a a case that the company has been making for seven years probably has extremely high margins.
If you listen to the Upgrade podcast with Jason Snell and Mike Hurley They had an interview with the iMac product manager when the 2019 refresh occur. She specifically mentioned that the iMac was one of their most far reaching products that serve everything from schools, to a family computer, to a kiosk, to a high-end workstation. I think one reason they are hesitant to redesign it is because they can’t push the iMac upward in cost the way they have with other products because of the broad market it serves. She specifically mentioned spinning disk drives offering substantial storage which a family computer needs whereas if they try to offer a $1200 SSD iMac it would likely come with 256GB.
Now obviously the biggest issue here is Apple wanting to maintain their high margins on this computer, but it’s not an easy problem to fix from a marketing perspective.
iMac, iMac [insert here marketing nonsense], iMac Pro?
The middle one, iMac "x", basically being just an iMac Pro not xeon based but with i5/7/9?
I have a 2019 i9 and don't think it needs to be "redesigned."
I could see a refresh in 2020 with updated GPUs (and CPUs if anything appropriate is available) but wouldn't hold my breath given the 2 year cycle Apple appear to have settled into.
I could see a refresh in 2020 with updated GPUs (and CPUs if anything appropriate is available) but wouldn't hold my breath given the 2 year cycle Apple appear to have settled into.
Perhaps, who knows what Phil’s team will come up with. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’ve actually been thinking they may drop the iMac Pro and introduce a new “family” of iMac that can scale via BTO to Xeon-level performance. Evennow you can spec up a 27” iMac to around the 4000s with comparable performance.
Maybe they keep a “cheap” old style 21.5” iMac around for a few years like they did with the 13” MacBook Pro with a disk drive.
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It needs to be re-designed soley because Apple has clearly been moving the Mac in a different direction. The current iMac is at the limit of its thermal envelope and it is not designed around the modern Mac technologies including SSD-based and the T2 chip.
It’s clear that Apple is incorporating their special processor into more and more parts of the operating system and the underlying security structure. Currently the iMac is the only hold out.
When I say the iMac doesn't need to be redesigned, I'm referring to the case design, not the internals. The iMP is proof that the iMac case doesn't need to be redesigned - just the internals. I certainly take your point re the T2 (and cooling, though note the iMP reference above), but the T2 is hardly something that requires a case redesign.
There are people here who want a design with narrower bezels, smaller chin, etc., but those are cosmetic.