Apple's Crowded Late 2012 Product Introduction Schedule Forced by Delays to iMac and iPad Mini

[shanmugam]

Very aggressive time line.

Either Apple is ambitious or botched some of the launch plans (parts/screen delays)

every model launches in different date? it is going to be confusing!

guess what, very little money too many products!

but i am in for 21.5" iMac (or the current MBP 13" not the retina model) and mostly iPad mini.

I will wait for iPhone 5S, iPhone 4S is rocking well here.

[Tankmaze]

Originally Posted by forty2j

Given that the "New iPad" was a compromise device with heat & thickness issues, giving it a 7 month lifespan would be less surprising than normal. They may use this opportunity to make sure their big mass consumer products launch just before the holidays, rather than just after them.

I agree, this new ipad could fill in the sept-oct release so in time for holiday.
releasing them in march every year really wouldn't make sense, especially when people would buy gifts of the previous gen ipad on nov-dec.

Originally Posted by forty2j

I find it extremely unlikely they'd make an iMac sandwich though. They'll either let the new 21" sit in China or launch the 27" with limited supply.

I don't know, its a possibility... I remember when the redesign unibody mbp in 2008, apple launched the 15" pro and 13" macbook (all unibody), but there was no 17" unibody and they still sell the old 17" with the all aluminum keyboard (old design). and on april/march 2009 (forgot which is it) apple launched the 17 unibody with non removable 1000 cycles battery.

So it is a possibility that Apple would not launch the imac's at the same time.

[Macclone]

I bet they come out with a new laptop that has a removal screen that becomes a iPad.

[Swordylove]

I seriously doubt 21.5" and 27" iMac will be released separately. That would be extremely awkward. Unless it's a true redesign.

[Candunc]

Looks interesting, but where is the mac mini? And why is the iMac in two different spots, if the supply of 27 inch iMacs are dwindling already?

[Mad-B-One]

Originally Posted by damir00

That level of paying attention to other posters on a chat board is...

...not normal.

Weird.

Unhealthy.

In the real world, it's called stalking.

Stalking? Maybe you want to read up on the definition of that.

[redirector]

Originally Posted by Ryth

I'd like to see Retina and as for the GPU...2GB and Nvidia chipset and the GTX chipset, not the GT (and I think the iMac uses the notebook chipsets so it would have to be the 660M-680M).

I was disappointed with the MBP-R GPU only having a 1GB Nvidia 650GT. That was a deal breaker for me....otherwise I would have bought as soon as that thing went live...but for Graphics/AE/PSD, etc...no way can I just use a 1GB card..especially with that resolution it offers. Hopefully we have 2GB GPUs on it soon.

What kind of performance bump would your GPU provide vs the AMD Radeons? Actually vs what I have on my 2009 Mac, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB?

[mgipe]

I could really use a 13" rMBP Today!

Seriously.

[basesloaded190]

Originally Posted by dampfnudel

Do you own a 3rd gen iPad because then I would understand your apprehension.

No, and even if I did I would still think that would be a foolish idea. All those ideas that you listed can wait until the next iPad. I think the iPad 3 is selling just fine as is.

[lbjsong]

Release mac mini now !

[Katanae]

Originally Posted by mgipe

I could really use a 13" rMBP Today!

Seriously.

Me, too. And I think it was kind of dickish by apple not to say they were gonna release one later at WWDC, the last months consisted of debating whether to get an air or to wait for a possible 13" for me.

[wallysb01]

Originally Posted by Swordylove

I seriously doubt 21.5" and 27" iMac will be released separately. That would be extremely awkward. Unless it's a true redesign.

There is just no way that both aren't announced together. If it takes an extra 2-4 weeks to start shipping the 27", so be it. But there is no way the "select an iMac" web page includes a 2012 21" and a 2011 27". There is just no point. Everyone will know the 27" is around the corner and won't want to buy the old product at new prices when compared to the 21". Might as well just feed off the excitement and start taking pre-orders.

[twoodcc]

not sure if i believe all of this. but looking forward to a great september and october though

[iMcLovin]

Originally Posted by wallysb01

There is just no way that both aren't announced together. If it takes an extra 2-4 weeks to start shipping the 27", so be it. But there is no way the "select an iMac" web page includes a 2012 21" and a 2011 27". There is just no point. Everyone will know the 27" is around the corner and won't want to buy the old product at new prices when compared to the 21". Might as well just feed off the excitement and start taking pre-orders.

Yeah I guess its not the first time availability is slim in the beginning of a product launch. retina macbook pro had problems delivering too...though that I guess was because of the extreme demand. So, I agre either they wait releaseing the 21,5" until 27 is ready or the release both with a longer delivery date on the 27. Doesn´t matter though, as long as I know I´ll get one

[ymmit]

Originally Posted by forty2j

Given that the "New iPad" was a compromise device with heat & thickness issues, giving it a 7 month lifespan would be less surprising than normal. They may use this opportunity to make sure their big mass consumer products launch just before the holidays, rather than just after them...

From that perspective, it does make a bit more sense for them to release an update to iron out some of those issues.

However, while it would be good for a holiday season, would it be better for year-round profits? Apple tends to use yearly update cycles for their iPad/iPhone line, and if they move the iPad update to the fall time-frame, they would likely continue to keep it there - just like they did for the iPhone. That would put their largest profit devices debuting during the fall, rather than being about 1/2 year apart. (Don't forget we might also see an iPad mini) I think having them in different quarters would yield higher profits for Apple during the year and make profits more stable throughout the year, which is good for investors.

[poldidak]

Originally Posted by Rocketman

I think we have to wait for October for the iPad Mini and I have no idea why the iMac27" would have to wait that long. So I think the release schedule stated may be closer to:

iMac21.5"
13"rMBP
iPodTouch4"
iPodNano2"
Mac-Mini
iMac27"
iPhone5
NewiPadUpdate
iPadMini

That's my guess. All by 10-20-12

Rocketman

Don't you think Apple would introduce the iPad Mini FIRST, since those who are still stuck (including myself) between the form factor of the iPhone/Touch and the iPad will want to wait to see how this new 7" size tablet will feel in our hands and decide if it's too big/small/just right?

I can't imagine Apple introducing an updated iPod Touch until after we've all had a chance to "yay" or "nay" the iPad Mini (I also can't imagine that the Mini is going to be anything less than a huge home run for Apple). Who would buy a Touch right now, unless they are going to substantially drop the price of the iPod in light of a lower competitive price point ($200?) for the iPad Mini and hope that parents buy the cheap Touches by the stocking full for their kids for the holidays.

[shanmugam]

Originally Posted by lbjsong

Release mac mini now !

mac mini with SSD will rock!

[Peter Harrison]

I don't think Apple would stagger the two iMac models. Releasing them at different times, but within a month of each other is overly complicated for advertising, website and store layout, and promotional materials in retail stand reseller's stores. I'd love for the 21.5" to appear in September (I'm after a refresh) but surely both iMac models would be released at once.

I know that a 13" retina MBP might be released, therefore after the 15" was, but there was more time between them. The ordinary 13" MPB was updated and refreshed too. If the 21.5" iMac is a refresh, and the 27" isn't (at first) then they'd look odd together on the website.

[wallysb01]

Originally Posted by poldidak

Don't you think Apple would introduce the iPad Mini FIRST, since those who are still stuck (including myself) between the form factor of the iPhone/Touch and the iPad will want to wait to see how this new 7" size tablet will feel in our hands and decide if it's too big/small/just right?

I can't imagine Apple introducing an updated iPod Touch until after we've all had a chance to "yay" or "nay" the iPad Mini (I also can't imagine that the Mini is going to be anything less than a huge home run for Apple). Who would buy a Touch right now, unless they are going to substantially drop the price of the iPod in light of a lower competitive price point ($200?) for the iPad Mini and hope that parents buy the cheap Touches by the stocking full for their kids for the holidays.

Another possibility is that they may simply want to get the iPad and iPad mini on the same schedule. A modest spec-bump (or unmentioned bug-fix) type improvement to the iPad would allow them to do that.

[fertilized-egg]

Originally Posted by MacRumors

Apple's work on the iPad mini has reportedly been slowed by the adoption of a thinner and lighter "GF Ditto" touch structure. Apple is said to be the first company in the world to commercialize and mass produce the technology, but equipment transitions and yield issues have reportdly forced Apple into its October launch for the device.]

At this rate it wouldn't surprise me if iPad Mini doesn't get released this year. We'll get a ton of threads wondering if iPad Mini was just an elaborate vaporware invented by media.

[BC2009]

Originally Posted by KnightWRX

I also don't understand where this rumor of updated dock connectors being done accross the range comes from. Apple never retrofits old models when introducing a new inter-connect. They keep selling the old one until those products get updated at the proper time.

And they provide an adaptor.

[Confuzzzed]

At last some solid supply chain led rumours on the iMac

[KnightWRX]

Originally Posted by BC2009

And they provide an adaptor.

For the new devices to connect to the old port on accessories, not the other way around.

[knemonic]

Originally Posted by ymmit

Agreed. It doesn't make any sense for Apple to release an update only 7 months later. I don't think we've ever seen that short of an update cycle from Apple (regarding the iDevices), with maybe the exception of the Verizon iPhone?

But if you think about it, Apple has never had a reason to retrofit current products, the dock connector has been around for nearly 9 years.

If I was new to the Apple ecosystem, bought an iphone 5 and ipad, if the ipad didn't have the new connector, I could see that really bothering people, and a big hoopla, like the antennagate coming about.

[Ryth]

Originally Posted by redirector

What kind of performance bump would your GPU provide vs the AMD Radeons? Actually vs what I have on my 2009 Mac, the ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB?

Well considering that the iMac uses a notebook/mobile chip, they switched back over to Nvidia supposedly late last year.

Here's a few comparison sites

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=566&card2=667

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html