What's Next for iMacs?

Well, currently there really isn't anything better on the horizon other than the typical new gen stuff. You'll see Ivy Bridge in the next revision (probably next spring), probably new GPUs, likely even the 6990M (or whatever is the equivalent when the next ones come out), and my guess is that's about it. Maybe an option for a 3TB drive.

Solid state drives will obviously get less expensive and more common. I'd guess it will be a couple years until they're standard, though.

Hopefully no redesigns...I am hoping to buy one for my fiancé soon, and they will be sitting on the same desk...I would like them to look the same...


Maybe I'm too picky.

Ivy Bridge and the usual "speed bumps" as far as graphics, HDD size, etc. Ivy Bridge is going to be the next major change.

Hopefully an optional matte screen for those who prefer it to glossy, but I doubt it.

I think in next generation iMac (and Mac overall) .. Apple should include different flash or NAND memory for OS, especially Lion. You know Lion has been designed to be a diskless OS, it's an internal OS, maybe works more like firmware instead of OS.

SO, a 8GB or 16GB flash memory for OS restore and installation should be exist. Current system with partition recovery on HDD is too risky. Something can go wrong, or user can accidentally format the HDD completely, make your Lion recovery partition gone. For future Macs that only ship with Lion, that's suck !! No DVD, no flash disk backup (unless you buy Lion on MAS, you can't make a backup copy of Lion, can you? :roll eyes: .. even for that you have to be aware and careful, or your downloaded Lion would be gone after installation finished) .. WTF Apple?

iSayuSay said:

I think in next generation iMac (and Mac overall) .. Apple should include different flash or NAND memory for OS, especially Lion. You know Lion has been designed to be a diskless OS, it's an internal OS, maybe works more like firmware instead of OS.

SO, a 8GB or 16GB flash memory for OS restore and installation should be exist. Current system with partition recovery on HDD is too risky. Something can go wrong, or user can accidentally format the HDD completely, make your Lion recovery partition gone. For future Macs that only ship with Lion, that's suck !! No DVD, no flash disk backup (unless you buy Lion on MAS, you can't make a backup copy of Lion, can you? :roll eyes: .. even for that you have to be aware and careful, or your downloaded Lion would be gone after installation finished) .. WTF Apple?

Click to expand...

Of course you can backup Lion. You can backup via Time Machine or other Apps. As for restoring, you could use the recovery partition or you could use a CD/DVD you used to make a bootable copy of Lion to install with.

If you have no way of reinstalling, the Internet installer with start and download/install Lion.

You can also back up using a flash drive and Disk Utility. This had to be done BEFORE you install Lion, however. Same with the Time Machine option.

The optical drive will go and we will have more solid state drive options.

The current high end imc have enough power to last for 3 to 5 years of use, except high end gaming.

The only short fall is the lack of USB 3 ports for future proofing. Apple is likely to add it on next year’s imac.

If you buy the top of the line, fastest CPU computer (Apple or other brand), it will may last you 5-8 years depending on the use. The problem is that if looking at the current iMac line-up you are looking at about $3k (us dollars).

On the other hand, if you buy the cheapest, smallest, slowest CPU, (Again Apple or other brand), sure you save some money, but that computer may be out of date in 2-3 years. So do you really save any money, buying one, when you have to turn around and buy another one so soon?

I know everyone has different budget constaints, but, I always try to buy the best and keep it a long time...

I buy computers infrequently, so when I do get one I tend to go with the highest spec model available. That way, I get *some* future proofing. So the only decision I really have to make is form factor. I've usually taken laptops for portability, but that is likely to change for a couple of reasons: I am an iPad owner, and like you I am able to accomplish nearly all of what I need to do when traveling (numbers did choke on a big spreadsheet last week...). Also, I am using a Canon 7D as a hobby photographer, and that thing produces some big files. So the iMac, with its increased processing power and screen size, would be ideal.

Because of this, I keep a close eye on iMac rumors. I figure I'll end up with a 27" (assuming there isn't a bigger screen), fully maxed out. If it had a touch screen and the screen could lie close to horizontal, I'd be happy. But I'm not holding my breath!

I figure Ivy Bridge or Haswell, with six or eight cores, a HDD in the 4 TB region, a SDD around 512GB, and 16-32 GB of RAM. Add a 2-4 GB GPU and I'll be clicking "buy" on the day of release.

stevendphoto said:

If you buy the top of the line, fastest CPU computer (Apple or other brand), it will may last you 5-8 years depending on the use. The problem is that if looking at the current iMac line-up you are looking at about $3k (us dollars).

On the other hand, if you buy the cheapest, smallest, slowest CPU, (Again Apple or other brand), sure you save some money, but that computer may be out of date in 2-3 years. So do you really save any money, buying one, when you have to turn around and buy another one so soon.

Click to expand...

This is a bit of an exaggeration, the i7 is only 20% faster than the i5 so it won't drastically extend the life of the computer. Computer speeds increase so drastically with each generation that the 20% faster i7 will pale in comparison to the processors 2 - 3 generations from now.

I think it's best to buy the middle of the road model (i5), it's not worth the upgrade to the i7.

In short, you can't really future proof your PC - I don't know why so many of you here think you can!