Random other news in Tech. Sony just send me a E-Mail that the PS5 will be presented next Thursday 22:00 german time. Thats a big news story. I don't think apple cares because it's a completely different direction/groups of customers, but it's going to be a big news story a day after i expect the iMac specs bump. But IF i am right and they pushed back WWDC to free up time for iMac next week i doubt they would push the release back to WWDC to avoid PS5. But obviously PS5 is a huge news story in tech and consumer electronics.
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Will there ever be a new large iMac (Pro)?
- Thread starter krazzix
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I'd argue for more, not less desktops. So I wouldn't want the iMac Pro go away. I'd rather a prosumer Mac Pro in it's place in the £2500-£3500 area with a 5k iMac style monitor as a £1k option. Don't see it happening. Apple have decided if you want a tower in Mac land? You're not paying the pricey £1500-£3k anymore. You're paying the ludicrous £6k for a most 'modest' spec.
As machines get more powerful (at least in PC land...) they always adopt and consume the roles of the previous generation that were 'above' them. Power (at least in computer terms...) trickles down and the workstations of yesteryear are the consumer machines of today.
if the iMac Pro stays static for 3 years then of course the top end iMac will overwhelm the imac Pro entry model in many areas if not them all. And that will be magnified by the 'new' iMac when launched if the iMac Pro isn't updated at the same time.
Apple aren't renowned for updating everything in lock step ergo the speculative discrepancy and that will increase with the iMac launch. ie less reasons to buy the iMac Pro.
Nothing wrong with the iMac Pro at launch. And for anyone that has one right now? Still a most impressive machine.
But over those 3 years, things are out of date, the gpu, the amount of cores you can get for that kind of money, the size of SSD etc. The additional refinements don't weight heavily enough when it comes down to the meat and potatoes of it.
Azrael.
What could that be?
There is the Apple Glass tease as well. With the glasses on one of the MiiMojies having a notification icon on it. But i would be shocked if they actually announced the glasses at WWDC 2020.
Good catch, Dr.
That is massive(!) news. It's a seismic move by Sony. The PS5 is going to be a most innovative machine. Whilst they're slightly behind on Tflops compared to the XBox. The PS5 clocks higher and has a fascinating glimpse into the future of IO throughput with the SSD/Io system they have which (on paper) is warp speed compared to what we have now and has implications for loading huge open worlds. Add to that the Ray Tracing? At 4k? With the power of eg. a 2080+ish at what? £399-499? As opposed to paying for the 2080Ti? Smooth as butter world loading...with Raytracing and 4k with 2080+ performance sounds breathtaking. True 4k gaming on your home tv.
The PS5 has huge implications for hardware for PCs and Macs over the next two years....as the PS5 acts as the tug boat to pull performance through put into a new era with 4k gaming democratised for the masses. You won't need a £2-£3k water cooled rig to do that anymore.
Apple doesn't move for anyone. I suspect the WWDC move was based around the current 'crisis.' And re: the Mac ARM idea? Maybe there's further room for speculation in that regard. Ie. the more time to prepare for that, the better.
The iMac either drops next week as per your seasoned (and makes sense) prediction. Last chance saloon for that 'spec' boost idea to drop..? Though?
But with the 'Hello' message at the WWDC invites...
...it could be more likely that a juicy new iMac is upon us in 23-27 (30?) inches with a nuanced design flourish.
Azrael.
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There is that. Some have it shipping next year, rumour wise?
So again, a preview of that would be quite illuminating.
There are clearly a few significant things brewing.
Sony are releasing a PS5.
Apple are down for Mac ARM and Glasses shipping next year. These things have been rumour swirling for years.
And a new iMac design has been deafening by it's absence (many expected it last year...)
The fact that (all things considered) WWDC was pushed back could be a nod to it's significance.
Azrael.
And Apple may not care. But the PS5 will be that significant a hardware release, who's going to buy outdated junk entry level iMac models or £2k-£3k water cooled PCs with the PS5 tactical nuke landing at Ground Zero.
It has a knock on effect. Even if not directly seeming so.
We get tech' waves with super high crests and periods of lull (as per the last 5+ years...)
I recall the PS3 making the PCs at the time seem very 'dated' all of a sudden. The PS4 'less so.'
But the PS5? We're at another high tide point.
Azrael.
Need Apple to launch a new iMac or Mac mini next month real bad with a good gpu. I get my bonus next month. Have money burning a hole in my pocket!
Back to letsgocrazyevenmore.
iMac becomes a computer that is "fully pro". Only iMac Pro, starting at 3000€ and up, starting at 24 inch and up, sticks around.
The new Desktop will be a eGPU/eRAM/eARM stand for iPad. Possibly still with mouse and keyboard.
Sort of like the iPad Pro Keyboard Cover almost turns that thing into a Laptop.
Sort of like the Nintendo switch works, just that you keep using the iPads screen.
Think iMac G4 with a detachable screen.
Flaw? I doubt a screen Size above 16 Inch feels good in Hand when detached.
Is it Apple? It's sacrificing tons of power by being super thin, It's almost an Apple biting a chunk out of itself.
Your next computer, is not a computer.
Obviously i am just having fun here coming up with something that deserves to replace the iMac Name as a Desktop with your "hello" going on. But i suspect sooner or later something like this will happen (well, with some surface books it actually already is happening i guess, not to knowledgable about that) and it certainly fits the company line of bringing OS X (sorry, MacOS) closer to iOS.
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I have lots of Rock Band instruments to sell, haven't used them for years, only trying to protect you from getting skin burns.
iMac becomes a computer that is "fully pro". Only iMac Pro, starting at 3000€ and up, starting at 24 inch and up, sticks around.
The new Desktop will be a eGPU/eRAM/eARM stand for iPad. Possibly still with mouse and keyboard.
Sort of like the iPad Pro Keyboard Cover almost turns that thing into a Laptop.
Sort of like the Nintendo switch works, just that you keep using the iPads screen.
Think iMac G4 with a detachable screen.
Flaw? I doubt a screen Size above 16 Inch feels good in Hand when detached.
Is it Apple? It's sacrificing tons of power by being super thin, It's almost an Apple biting a chunk out of itself.
Your next computer, is not a computer.
Obviously i am just having fun here coming up with something that deserves to replace the iMac Name as a Desktop with your "hello" going on. But i suspect sooner or later something like this will happen (well, with some surface books it actually already is happening i guess, not to knowledgable about that) and it certainly fits the company line of bringing OS X (sorry, MacOS) closer to iOS.
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I have lots of Rock Band instruments to sell, haven't used them for years, only trying to protect you from getting skin burns.
The idea of the iPad and iMac fusing into a 16, 21, 24, 27 dockable screen to some sort of 'z' or ergo stand. It's not so far beyond. Looking at some Apple patents...
And the iMac is just a screen perma-docked on a stand. With Mac ARM then Macs are running touch. And size/touch options increase ala wacom and M$ desktop studio. For Apple, it's not an 'if' it's 'when.' Clearly the hardware and software eco system will unify (at some point) and you just buy the size of screen and grunt to go with your work load.
16 inch iPad will be about the limit before you're having to start using two hands and rest eg. a 21 inch iPad 'on something' and trying to get 'comfy.' See reviews of Wacom 16, 24, 32 inch 'tablet' or drawing screens. Ergo arms for the latter or 'rest on table' mode.
As for docking the iPad and iPHone in an easier way... The HP AiO has a rather clever solution. A ledge at the back of the computer's keyboard where you just slot in the iPad and iPhone. Great idea. And you don't need to spend £300 on it.
It would be worth getting the HP keyboard for that alone. Nice idea. Simple. Effective. You can keep an eye on your iPad/iPhone as you type/work/create.Remember when Apple just sold a normal iMac style keyboard but with a 'dock/plug' on the back of it and you simply put the iPad on that? I thought that was great. Then they pulled it. It was much more affordable than this 'for our shareholders' keyboard dock introduced latterly.
Azrael.
I imagine this will be port less as Apple is said to go heavily in that direction with pure the first pure Port-less iPhone entering the line-up this year already.
Like they Keyboard is.
Like the second gen Pen is loading just by being magnetically attached (i believe).
Like Prosser said that constantly charging over Wifi is the end goal of of their wireless charging development.
Maybe all the Apps are automatically downloaded to the Stand as well - so the connection between iPad and eComputer basically AirPlay (3?) with additional "User Command Input" when you are at home. You could actually move around your house and benefit from this additional power. Sort of like Playstation Remote Play is already offering. Maybe even better by, rather than just sending video, you could send the finished computing and still have the iPads GPU do the final visualization of the Data. When it's all Apple that might dance together without a cable connected.
I would just have it attach magnetically somehow. In that second you could also start charging via Magnetic attachment like the Pen dos. Maybe it's a electronic magnet, so you have to move it in a specific way so it dos not fall of. Also comes with a battery, so if you accidentally unplug it sets it self down without breaking or is at least able to stillhold the device.
I'll call this iPad Home.
Obviously it's replacing MacMini. Further iterating that we will just get spec bumps on current hardware.
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A Mac mini with a dGPU would be ideal for me. I'm stuck with the ****** iGPU and can't justify £400 at the minimum for an enclosure and entry-level GPU.
I don't see this at all. The functionality doesn't change because there is a different processor. Touching a monitor in front of you is still not good ergonomically. Your arm still gets tired. It is the hardware form factor and the OS that differentiates iOS/iPadOS from macOS, not the difference between Arm and Intel.
I'd recommend anyone that thinks touch is coming to a Mac try and pretend to use one like it has touch for a while and see how you feel. It's not a good design, and there is very little reason for it be present on Mac to begin with. The most I could see happening would be support to use the iPad Pro as a wired/wireless drawing tablet accessory for the Mac.
Guys, can you help me out, please?
I know what might be coming to iMac in terms of GPU (5700 or 5700XT hopefully) which is RDNA1 - I get that. I also know that RDNA2 which is much better is coming around september.
Now, my question is - I'm starting to consider iMac Pro instead of iMac (pending comparision when out) and I wonder - what are the successors to Vega 64, please?
I'm trying to see what the iMac Pro can get as I'm sure it will be different to iMac and to be honest, the naming is all over the place for me.
I used to be up to date with these things years ago but now I'm a bit out on details.
Maybe my buddy @Azrael9 might know, please? Or anyone else?
Of course it will depends on what Apple shows us but looking at the specs now the iMac Pro is only about $1500CAD more expensive +- if I consider what I want to get so that might not be that much and in return I get server grade CPUs, better cooling etc.
I don't know, I'm debating as I'm bored and iMac is still far away
I know what might be coming to iMac in terms of GPU (5700 or 5700XT hopefully) which is RDNA1 - I get that. I also know that RDNA2 which is much better is coming around september.
Now, my question is - I'm starting to consider iMac Pro instead of iMac (pending comparision when out) and I wonder - what are the successors to Vega 64, please?
I'm trying to see what the iMac Pro can get as I'm sure it will be different to iMac and to be honest, the naming is all over the place for me.
I used to be up to date with these things years ago but now I'm a bit out on details.
Maybe my buddy @Azrael9 might know, please? Or anyone else?
Of course it will depends on what Apple shows us but looking at the specs now the iMac Pro is only about $1500CAD more expensive +- if I consider what I want to get so that might not be that much and in return I get server grade CPUs, better cooling etc.
I don't know, I'm debating as I'm bored and iMac is still far away
As much as I think this coming Wednesday is when we’d see some announcement based on shipping dates, I reckon for Apple to choose to push the release of new macs was strategic to offload more of its existing mac stock. I think when the pandemic hit Apple expected a bump in sales for certain devices (i.e. iPad’s have been selling relatively well) and I’d imagine Mac Mini + iMacs were selling better than before as well as more people are moving towards home office and upgrading home office setups.
Equally, I still can’t imagine a major ground breaking redesign given a lot of factors, and as much as I’d want to see things like FaceID added to the iMac I can’t imagine that happening based on the range of current FaceID tech on iPhones.
and tbf I’d be happy with Apple Pencil compatible trackpads + Touch ID enabled keyboards
Equally, I still can’t imagine a major ground breaking redesign given a lot of factors, and as much as I’d want to see things like FaceID added to the iMac I can’t imagine that happening based on the range of current FaceID tech on iPhones.
and tbf I’d be happy with Apple Pencil compatible trackpads + Touch ID enabled keyboards
Apple can still differentiate the iMac Pro by offering more CPU cores, more RAM, more (and faster) SSD storage, faster Ethernet (wired and perhaps wireless), more ports (TB3), better GPUs, better displays (MiniLED), better sound, etc.
To be fair, better CPUs did not launch until very late last year and might not yet be shipping in high volumes. And if Apple does allow the better/best Radeon 5000 parts in the 2020 iMac, then they have to wait for RDNA2 and AMD is not yet shipping that.
Personally, I do believe the iMac Pro will not come until later this year unless MiniLED is ready now and Apple goes with either Radeon VII (Vega 20) or mobile Radeon RX 5000 (Navi 10) parts for the Mid-2020 iMac which would leave the desktop Navi 10 parts for a Mid-2020 iMac Pro.
But as I am in the market for a 2020 iMac Pro, I am willing to wait for a Late 2020 Model if that is what it takes to get MiniLED and RDNA2 GPUs.
The iMac Pro uses W-Series Xeons and the upgrades for those did not announce until very late 2019 and might still be in constrained supply so there was no CPU upgrade for Apple to even announce until last Fall and chances are there were no actual shipping CPUs available to put into a Late 2019 iMac Pro refresh. Also, changing CPUs and GPUs usually requires a new systemboard (since sockets almost always change) so Apple would have had to make a new iMac Pro systemboard to change the GPU in mid-2019 and then do it again to change the CPU in late-2019 so that is why they have waited until now when they can do one new systemboard that supports the new CPU, the new GPU, the new memory and whatever else changes (like WiFi 6).
Agreed, which might explain why we are seeing such large deals on the current model (up to $1500 off list for the base model).
Hopefully either Intel launches a compatible 10th Generation CPU (they did not do a 9th Gen CPU) or Apple pays them to make one, but then Apple would have to add that cost into the Mac Mini and that would make people even more mad.
The Radeon VII (Vega 20) is the direct successors to the Vega 64 (Vega 10). The Radeon Pro Vega II cards used in the 2019 Mac Pro are Vega 20 parts, however they have massive TDPs approaching 475W which is almost 50% more than the Vega 64 desktop TDP (the iMac Pro Vega 64 is down-clocked around 10% from the desktop model to reduce it's TDP).
So no way a Radeon Pro Vega II could work in an iMac Pro unless they like halved it's clock speed, but a Radeon VII with a 10-15% down clock could work. However, the Radeon VII was available in early-to-mid 2019 so Apple could have used it as an upgrade if it was feasible. My guess is it needs a different socket than Vega 10 so Apple didn't want to commit to a new systemboard for a GPU to only have to do it again within 12 months (or less) for a new Intel CPU.
But by now the specifications of all of the components that would change on the systemboard should be known so Apple can design one new systemboard to last them the next few years.
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Thank you,
so if we assume that Radeon VII is not happening then what is being released in september from the RDNA2 that we could put inside the iMac Pro? Its called "bigNavi", right? So what is the workstation GPU from that line as I assume it won't be the 5700, right?
so if we assume that Radeon VII is not happening then what is being released in september from the RDNA2 that we could put inside the iMac Pro? Its called "bigNavi", right? So what is the workstation GPU from that line as I assume it won't be the 5700, right?
Thanks for that......I guess I won't get one and just wait and see what new machine comes along.
The i5's have always been considered to be much quieter than the i7's and i9's, though in general reports say the 2019 i9 is quieter then earlier i7 models.
Also, some people are more sensitive to fan RPMs. There are reports where people are surprised at how loud they feel the 1200RPM default speed is while most folks probably don't even notice it. For me, the fans have to be around 2000RPM for me to hear them, which is only when I have all four cores / eight threads pegged on my i7-7700K.
iMacs only get loud when pushed, which isn't a problem for most basic computing/office tasks, but if you want to play a demanding game or application such as 3D rendering then, yeah, they get loud. And it makes sense, there's really not a lot of scope to cool the internals in the current design. Especially with higher-end Intel chipsets like the i9. It's only by throttling the chip back and sacrificing ultimate performance that Apple can get away with it at all really.
With all due respect, I sincerely hope you are wrong about no redesign. The mini-LED rumors all point to the iMac Pro, not the consumer iMac, so I don’t see the correlation here. I am inclined to believe that the ”alleged” March keynote was meant to unveil that new design, but instead COVID has pushed Apple’s time tables back a bit. WWDC now seems like the perfect opportunity to revisit that unveil, and with more fanfare.
I get that all the rumors from various leakers and tech news sites are all corroborating around the same notion that the new iMac is near, but unfortunately Prosser’s words gave people false hope. “Ready to ship” can mean literally anything based on interpretation. It could mean tomorrow, or it could mean in December. I have always felt that Gurman’s initial “second half of 2020” comment (or very near that anyway) was the most realistic scenario to begin with because it at least gave us a rough time frame, rather than “any day now”.