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

[NewUsername]

Then buy the 2019 one. Price/quality wise it's not a great deal right now, but in my opinion the 2019 is still a very capable computer. If you really want the 2021 one, sell the 2019 one next year and buy it.

Or get a second hand one, use it a while and then sell it again when you get the new model (that's what I have done).

 

[cudifying]

Then buy the 2019 one. Price/quality wise it's not a great deal right now, but in my opinion the 2019 is still a very capable computer. If you really want the 2021 one, sell the 2019 one next year and buy it.

If they do not release a new model until the day of WWDC this is what I'll most likely end up doing

 

[AlexGraphicD]

Slipping shipping times might only be component shortages though, which would make sense in the current situation

This may be a stupid question but wouldn't Apple make some kind of announcement to address these component shortages due to the coronavirus thing? I mean, these are some long delays you would think apple would let the buyers know why is this happening.

 

[meddow]

This may be a stupid question but wouldn't Apple make some kind of announcement to address these component shortages due to the coronavirus thing? I mean, these are some long delays you would think apple would let the buyers know why is this happening.

also dont they have to be transparent to their share holders?

 

[askunk]

Why is everyone silent about the more important: about the leak of new top GPU RX 5950 XT (probably XTA/XLA) and other options on the new architecture including for Mac?

We have been discussing RDNA1 and RDNA2 cards. Go a few posts back.

One option could be a refreshed iMac with ....refreshed RDNA1 cards and a later iMP with RDNA2. I'm not enthusiast about the idea, but it makes sense unless Apple wants to get rid of the iMP.

 

[Azrael9]

Don’t get a distorted view of the world by being on forums. Most people don’t care.

'Most people don't care.'

People obviously do care about price, value and with the advent of digital shopping on the internet...comparison. More than ever by an order of magnitude.

There were those tales of customers going into Apple stores with clippings of PC configs and making those very comparisons to Apple sales staff and / or managers.

There's all those people who don't buy Apple for various reasons, amongst them are laptop and tower buyers that want a fair shake.

Apple may well be 'happy' with their profits and to occupy the market position of out of date computers for premium prices (or last year's specs at this year's prices...) but we can't say for sure that most people 'don't care' about that.

I think quite the opposite, it's quite 'distorted' to day that 'most people' 'don't care' about specs and value.

We see that level of competition and awareness in phones. And consoles. Consumers will buy the PS5 because it will be an order of magnitude better. That will be self evident in the games it will present.

In the context of the iMac. Sooner or later sales (which Apple don't seem to break out by Mac product these days...?) will wither. Customers will eventually wise up to the Apple way of doing way of doing things.

But for me, as aside to those value considerations and that Apple no longer exists in a vaccum with the competition catch up and in some ways eclipsing them...(they're behind in the Mac Pro, eg. no PCIE 4...as an example...no 64 core Mac thread ripper based computer...) its...

Pride. Where is their sense of pride in the iMac as the mainstream desktop. The innovation. The design swagger. The value computer for the rest of us? The bang for buck performance? I don't know what some are looking at.

But I see stale. Tired. Out of date. Under specced. Over priced.

And worse of all for Apple, the iMac has got boring.

Azrael.

 

[yellow_lupine]

It seems the "new" iMac will be a spec-bump only.
Then I wonder why it's not been announced yet... and then I remember that almost every new Mac computer iteration comes after an interminable awaiting.

 

[Azrael9]

The point was:

I think the link between Fraggle Rock getting an update on ATV and the iMac is still waiting for one is quite amusing.

Azrael.
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Apple make computers? I thought they were that expensive phone company...

'Well....uhhh...I don't know, T.C...' Brains from Top Cat.

I thought they were an expensive computer company with out of date desktops.

Azrael.
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It seems the "new" iMac will be a spec-bump only.
Then I wonder why it's not been announced yet... and then I remember that almost every new Mac computer iteration comes after an interminable awaiting.

That's a good word. Interminable.

I guess we forget. It's like that for every Mac computer. The Mac Pro (6 years...8 and counting if you want a Mainstream Mac Tower computer... ) and Mac Mini (4 years...)

True. No strong suggestion yet that the 'new' iMac will be anything other than a spec bump. Even the rumoured 23 incher could be housed in the 21 inch chassis with a bezel trim. A bezel trim isn't a design revolution. Not in the context of an iMac's colourful design past.

Azrael.
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iPhones and Apple watches are computers too.

Well, they are. The are just smaller screened Macs. Whether some like that distinction of not. But it's clearly where Apple's priorities are right now. eg. They can update the iPhone every year. Like a swiss clock in terms of predictability.

Their 'computers' in the traditional Mac sense are on a different time scale. Clearly. That is partly down to Intel CPU availability but also down to the way Apple designs their own computers and the 'choices' it offers the Mac community.

Azrael.
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The media is not reality. I realised this on a deep emotional level when the press was ******** all over "evil male gamers" when Fifa first introduced women's soccer and "everyone" was so mad about that. Back than i looked at a comments war of maybe 10.000 comments, not all of them fighting, not all of them on the site of hate... and than it hit me, this game is one of the biggest selling games consistently each year and the angry hateful gamers represented in all the media are like 0,00000001% of the player base. - "Everyone" also hates Ultimate Team and wants it's loot box monetisation disalowed, yet still Fifa generates over a billion with that game mode seeing increases of 40% this/last year. Over a billion generated with a game mode that is getting bad reviews.

Media is not reality.

Media is putting stuff down that gets clicks from the few that care at this second, in a way were they hopefully return to view some more next month and next year. Have you ever noticed that pretty much every tech reviewer on youtube gives exactly the same review on product x?
I can already script out the exact review of the new iMac "OMG rellzys Apple? Same 720p webcam? Lol Fusiondrive! OMG so taim 4 redisinnn! But tis is reelz good value actually compared to last year and iMac pro! Plz invite me to events Apple!!!" stretched to 15 Minutes. It's so fake and predictable, it's hard to take serious sometimes even if you end up looking at them to find some nuggets to make a somewhat informed decision. But essentially all they do is give you something to talk about, something to make you feel ok to stick with your old machine and something to make you happy with your new machine if you got one. It's all just User retention for the Chanel, blog, magazine. Thats how they build and maintain an audience.

The mainstream media are not our friends. They're owned by rich people who have their own agendas.

Azrael.

 

[Azrael9]

Omg, I went away for 2 days and again 5 pages of: bezels, design, bezels, design, bezels, design ...

Why is everyone silent about the more important: about the leak of new top GPU RX 5950 XT (probably XTA/XLA) and other options on the new architecture including for Mac?

We've seen all that.

It's on quite a few sites including...

www.videocardz.com.

So it looks like RDNA2 stack (September) and a die shrink RDNA1 stack. With clear 'Mac' variations for the iMac, iMac Pro and Mac Pro.

How the timing of iMac and RDNA1/RDNA2 lines up is a matter of conjecture based on limited leaks so far which haven't got a definite lock on eg. the iMac coming out before WWDC with a spec boost or at WWDC with a design boost or later on in the year to coincide with the RDNA2 launch (that in an iMac would be a true triumph.)

The general quiet regarding it could be a 'good thing' as not a lot is really being said bar hints at a 23 incher later this year...and...it being 'substantial...'...yet at the same time 'ready.'

There's alot of guessing inbetween those cow stool pegs.

Azrael.
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Which model is the best seller for Apple? I bet it is the 27 inch iMac. Strange that it would get the least love if it is the 27 inch model is the best seller. Also, if iMac Pro is mostly for work, who in their right mind bothers about bezel size in a work computer?

However I think a slim 23-24 inch screen driven by low power components (no HDD) and an appealing price point would sell really well for home/office use. It all depends how many models Apple want in the lineup later. I could see a 24 inch office/home iMac taking over both the 21.5 and and low end 27 inch configs (=the prebuilt iMac) while the iMP will be for the heavy lifters.

My gut feeling is that this is a bad move as essentially all those that BTO their 27 inch are pushed to the pricier iMac Pro. The latter is nice, but cost 30% more than an iMac and uses workstation class components which are of no use for the people using BTO 27 (= high end iMac).

Which computer that get the first design change is up in the air. A new 23-24 inch is obvious but between the iMac Pro and iMac27 is less sure.
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It either shows that a critical component is in limited supply or a refresh with or without a redesign is here. We hope for the latter of course. I think the 65W Comet lake chips have not been released yet (tomorrow?) and these are one of the CPU options in the new lineup. Would not do to release a refresh unless all CPU options were available.

I think that's an interesting post.

We can't rule out Apple taking the 24 inch iMac all the way up to £1900 (like the did with the Macbook Pro...)

...the only way you get the 'bigger' screen is by paying over £2k(!).

So you get the iMac (an 'Air' iMac?) from £999-£1999 and the iMac Pro from £2200 to £5k.

As for the Intel CPUs...being in short supply. That may be behind the 'ready' (but not in volume) 'delay?'

Azrael.

 

[yunuzzz]

Looks like same design. Just spec bump.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265637072125095938

 

[Azrael9]

Yeah, you poked that particular wasp nest




A lot of factors point towards a light refresh for the 2020 iMac.

a. It was 'ready to ship' in March like the Mac mini but didn't get released - the Mac mini (which got storage doubled for no extra was such a light refresh it's not even officially a 2020 mini). This is obviously before the published launch date of Comet Lake which would struggle in the existing iMac enclosure.

b. Market conditions may have dictated a change of plan for the iMac. We don't know if Corona Virus influenced the forward planning but Apple may see sales fall this year.

c. Comet Lake is a multithreaded workload boost but runs hot when pushed. It's feasible that Apple could use the 27" iMac Pro cooling system but realistically where does that leave the 21.5" model? There's a 23" panel coming that is purportedly cheaper but we don't know where it fits into the Apple lineup - or if it's even intended for an Intel Mac.

d. Remember that Comet Lake is two generations after the majority of the 8th generation Coffee Lake CPUs in the current iMac - and given that certain Kaby Lake 7th generation desktop CPUs have been discontinued you wonder if the Coffee Lake desktop CPUs could be on the way out. Apple could catch up for 2020 with slot-in CPUs for the 9th generation Coffee Lake refresh CPUs which generally allow higher turbos - Apple currently use some CFL-R SKUs in the existing top SKU 27" iMac. Apple could therefore also add the i7-9700 to the lineup without too much extra engineering work if they felt that more than a storage bump would do.

e. 2021 may bring mini LED backlight which suggests a case redesign will be required to make enclosures thicker for display cooling fans. Why bring it in a year early? Rocket Lake in 2021 would bring PCIe 4.0 and Thunderbolt 4 which is a tangible improvement for Apple. The main advantage of this to Apple is faster SSD performance due to increased SSD bandwidth PCIe x4 lanes would be double the speed - allowing reads of 6500Mb/s and write of 5000Mb/s if you believe the Samsung 980Pro figures). It would also allow a total of 20 PCIe lanes which would in theory allow a more fully featured Mac with dGPU, 4 Thunderbolt ports, and 10 Gigabit ethernet.

Good post. The promise of PCIE 4 could add a real system boost.

We see on the PS5, IO throughput and the innovative SSD speeds are going to be seismic to the console and in due course, computer experience.

The 'waiting' for a given commodity eg. ram, platter hard drive, gpu...cpu to do its thing... There's been some head way in those things over the last few years. But the next year is set to be transformative with the consoles leading the way in terms of throughput and ray tracing.

PCIE4/TB4 for an iMac is going to be a very big deal with SSD speeds, eGPU etc.

Azrael.
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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265448944122818562

Spec bump imminent? :?

Azrael.
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Looks like same design. Just spec bump.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265637072125095938

Another minor leak. For some that 1080 Facetime will be long awaited. It's something that should be included. Hi def. Proper hi-def.

Azrael.

 

[FrankySavvy]

Looks like same design. Just spec bump.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265637072125095938

Who is this leaker, they literally have 1020 followers. If the 1080p camera upgrade is a real leak, then I would actually expect a redesign.

 

[krazzix]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265637072125095938

I don't trust that guy one bit. But still, just for fun:

The image almost exactly matches the dimensions of the current 27" iMac. That would mean no redesign, unless this is supposed to be the 23" iMac.

 

[DrRadon]

You would assume some guy with the verge has somewhat of a credible source. I would not mind being a week of and having it drop today so i can finally put down my 4k and order. (in a sense of a new machine dropping today, dunno about the webcam, but as pointed out in the past days 1080p have been a thing in the iMacPro so it would just fit.)


Today would be literally 24 hours after the MacOS Update that tells me there will be no more updates for my 2012 iMac after this one. Wich also makes sense in a sense for Apple to push something new into the marked within the next couple of hours i suppose. But i guess some non iMac models also will have gotten that message.

 

[Martius]

Looks like same design. Just spec bump.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265637072125095938

What's different on that image compared to current iMac? Current iMac webcam is also called FaceTime HD.

 

[high heaven]

16-Inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and iMac Pro With Mini-LED Displays Again Rumored to Launch in 2021

Apple plans to release several higher-end devices with Mini-LED displays in 2021, including a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro in the first quarter, a new 16-inch MacBook Pro in the second quarter, and a new 27-inch iMac in the second half of the year, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst at Chinese research...

forums.macrumors.com

Well according to the article, iMac Pro will be updated in the 2nd half of 2021 but didnt mentioned anything about design itself.

 

[iPadified]

'Most people don't care.'

I think quite the opposite, it's quite 'distorted' to day that 'most people' 'don't care' about specs and value.


Azrael.

Specs and value are two completely different things. Specs are objective while value is subjective. I think it is sound that more and more people can focus on value rather than specs. However value is quite different for different people.

To be frank, most people does not know what specs their computer has. The only visible "spec" that everyone is interested in is the size of storage and perhaps SSD vs HDD. Often choices are made by higher level differentiators like is Mac or PC, laptop or desktop, large and small screens, ugly or beautiful, cheap and expensive.

A vanishing few like us here keep track of processors, GHz, version of thunderbolt, screen tech, ECC RAM, motherboards version, AMD, Intel, ARM, RDNA1&2 and chose the computer based on that.

Even among us here we cannot agree on the optimal computer, which is totally fine because we have different values. The only think we almost agree on that is that a redesigned iMac should be released tomorrow or even better two weeks ago.

 

[DrRadon]

Another note that could point to a release today. Apple stores in many countries reopen.


I am about don with arguing with people on a forum that their (absolutely ok) geeking out about product dos not translate to tens of millions.

 

[iPadified]

Another note that could point to a release today. Apple stores in many countries reopen.

Yes, we need some iMac eye candy to celebrate reopening .

 

[stillcrazyman]

Well, the Apple online store is open for ordering current generation iMacs. As of 10 am EST. So.....

I'm doing well with my 2018 Mini and an eGpu that mostly works.

I could be tempted to a new iMac if the updates are worth it. I do not want the current design. Same as my old 2012 iMac.

 

[Homy]

Not sure about a total update but I have a friend that buys Apple overstocks and Apple is dumping the 2019's on the market at substantial discounts for wholesalers. It looks like to me they are planning for a new one fairly soon.

Very interesting! Here is a report from Sweden. I think it's better to look at other retailers' stock and delivery status and dates than Apple's. Because they're the first to run out of Macs before Apple.

I just checked around and several retailers and shops are out of both iMac 21.5" and 27". I noticed several interesting details. The situation is worst for 21.5". Many don't have it, neither in their web shop nor in their stores in different cities, despite Swedish Apple Store stating 2-9 days delivery depending on configuration.

Some have few in their web shop but none in their stores. The delivery date is either unkown, unconfirmed or preliminary on June 2nd or 9th. Both dates are a Tuesday and 2-3 weeks before WWDC!! On some web shops instead of a delivery date it strangely says "Preorder". Why would someone preorder an old product? It could indicate that the old models are about to be replaced by new ones.

The situation is a little bit better for 27" but several retailers are even out of stock of that model and the different configurations and you can see the same delivery date, unkown, unconfirmed, preliminary on June 2nd or 9th, in 3-4 weeks or "Preorder".

It all may be speculations and a pandemic effect but clearly many Swedish retailers are out of stock of all models.

 

[pldelisle]

I'm so desperate that even if Apple gives us only a spec bump with T2 chip I'm gonna buy it. It doesn't look "that" bad after all.

 

[DrRadon]

Well, the Apple online store is open for ordering current generation iMacs. As of 10 am EST. So.....

Is the usual time for apple to drop new products not two to three hours away? I feel certain with keynote they usually were starting at 7pm german time and now its 5:15pm. Don't have the exact hour on when SE, MBP13inch and all the rest dropped during covid.
Asides that next week is still a strong guess. Might as well be the verge receiving their one week early review copy... even if it would be very odd for them to hint that since apple is fairly obsessive about their NDAs.

 

[Martius]

Is the usual time for apple to drop new products not two to three hours away? I feel certain with keynote they usually were starting at 7pm german time and now its 5:15pm. Don't have the exact hour on when SE, MBP13inch and all the rest dropped during covid.
Asides that next week is still a strong guess. Might as well be the verge receiving their one week early review copy... even if it would be very odd for them to hint that since apple is fairly obsessive about their NDAs.

Yeah, I think we won't see new iMac today / this week. It's too late today. And I agree with you that is quite weird that The Verge would be hinting an upcoming Apple product, however is there another reason for posting a tweet like that? Maybe some new marketing strategy from Apple allowing that?

 

[DrRadon]

i was trying to say that it's to early, still could happen today.