2015 on track to have best iMac yet?

[GreatUsername]

From all of the developments in technology and rumors in the Apple-sphere, it seems to me like the iMac that comes out later this year could potentially be by-far the greatest all-in-one they've ever made. Here's a list of my best-case-scenario predictions:

• Intel Skylake chips
• Nvidia GeForce 980MX (if they decide not to stick with AMD)
• 10TB SSD for the same price as the current 1TB SSD or 1TB SSD for 1/10th the price (new V-NAND tech)
• Combined USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports - giving a total of six ports and possibility of connecting 12 external 4K displays at 60hz (if the 980 can handle it)
• thinner! (I think we can all do without this one, but it is starting to approach that time )
• Cheaper? (Apple raised the price of the 5K iMac about $500 dollars over the non-retina but they recently dropped the price by $200. So possibly a future $300 price drop? Probably not, but we can hope.)
• Force-touch Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse, maybe with built-in Touch ID.
• New backlit keyboards
• 8K display (I'm 100% sure that this was nothing but a typo on LG's part. But still worth mentioning)

So what do you think the odds are of the late-2015 or perhaps early-2016 iMac coming with all or some of these features?

I'm crossing my fingers for at least the Nvidia cards, if nothing else. I bought my current refurbished 2012 iMac in 2013, betting that within two years a retina model would come out. I was right, but as expected it is quite underpowered for all those pixels, especially for gaming. That's why Apple needs to switch back to Nvidia, especially if they integrate Thunderbolt 3 for driving external 4K displays at 60hz.

 

[QCassidy352]

10 TB SSD and 8k display are highly unlikely, IMO. Everything else seems very reasonable.

Personally, I hope they keep at least some USB ports rather than going all USB-C. I don't want to have to mess with adapters.

 

[e93to]

Those are quite a lot of updates for iMac! If all of these (plus Retina for 21.5") make into production model, I would definitely replace my late 2012 iMac.

I would be happy with:

* Retina for 21.5"
* Dedicated graphics card across the models.
* wireless numeric backlit keyboard
* Standard SSD (at least 500GB storage...)
* Smaller bezel.

Realistically, I doubt we will see Skylake in Macs this year... But you never know.

And yeah... Better have some USB 3 ports...

 

[roadkill401]

I doubt that Apple will reduce the cost of SSD drives. Face it, they make a killing off selling them to the consumer. Think about the cost of memory inside your iPhone or iPad. they still sell a model that has too little memory then fleace you to pay that extra $100 ~ 150 to get 32 or 64gb when the cost of the chips are $10~15 more in cost.

Apple is never about revolutionary upgrades.. small steps forward to maximize the profits as they are selling premium products at high profit margins and if it is selling, just do enough to keep momentum and not set yourself up for failure as if you give too much new at once, you shoot yourself for the next year. Look at Samsung.

 

[aevan]

From all of the developments in technology and rumors in the Apple-sphere, it seems to me like the iMac that comes out later this year could potentially be by-far the greatest all-in-one they've ever made. Here's a list of my best-case-scenario predictions:

Sorry for this, but what a way to set unrealistic expectations and then be disappointed. Most of these won't happen. Will it be the best iMac yet? Sure it will, but so is every generation so far.

• Intel Skylake chips

Most likely, but that's about it from your list.

• Nvidia GeForce 980MX (if they decide not to stick with AMD)

Almost certainly no

• 10TB SSD for the same price as the current 1TB SSD or 1TB SSD for 1/10th the price (new V-NAND tech)

Just no. Most likely they will continue to offer the same FDs and SSD drives, maybe at a lower price. But knowing Apple, even that is unlikely.

• Combined USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports - giving a total of six ports and possibility of connecting 12 external 4K displays at 60hz (if the 980 can handle it)

Maybe Thunderbolt 3, but if it comes in early 2016 as some reports indicate, than no.

• thinner! (I think we can all do without this one, but it is starting to approach that time )

Most likely the same design will remain.

• Cheaper? (Apple raised the price of the 5K iMac about $500 dollars over the non-retina but they recently dropped the price by $200. So possibly a future $300 price drop? Probably not, but we can hope.)
• Force-touch Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse, maybe with built-in Touch ID.
• New backlit keyboards

These are all possible.

• 8K display (I'm 100% sure that this was nothing but a typo on LG's part. But still worth mentioning)

No way.

I'm crossing my fingers for at least the Nvidia cards, if nothing else.

Well, we still don't know anything about M390X. Perhaps it will be better than current Nvidia models. But either way, it will most likely be AMD. I mean, we never know, but expecting an Nvidia for this generation is a bit unrealistic.

 

[redheeler]

* Retina for 21.5"

New Retina 4K display models are very likely, without the current ones receiving an update.

* Dedicated graphics card across the models.

Nope. Switch to AMD dGPUs on the 21.5", and will be available as an upgrade from the iGPU models.

* Standard SSD (at least 500GB storage...)

Nope. How else is  going to continue to charge for overpriced SSD upgrades?
Edit: A month ago I would have said yes to this, but Apple has recently shown its commitment to HDD-only models is still strong. We might get a 1 TB Fusion drive standard on the 27", but even that is doubtful.

* Smaller bezel.

Maybe, if the bezel size can be decreased without making it thicker at the edge. The size of the bezel on a desktop isn't a huge concern, at least to me.

And yeah... Better have some USB 3 ports...

You mean USB-C/3.1. Likely to have at least USB 3.1 if not also USB-C, and Thunderbolt 3 if the next model comes with Skylake.

 

[e93to]

Nope. How else is  going to continue to charge for overpriced SSD upgrades?
Edit: A month ago I would have said yes to this, but Apple has recently shown its commitment to HDD-only models is still strong. We might get a 1 TB Fusion drive standard on the 27", but even that is doubtful.

I think standard SSD could be a possibility for Retina models. And other non-Retina might still come with traditional HDD. But I won't be surprised if Apple still continues to offer HDD as standard

 

[EnesM]

• 10TB SSD for the same price as the current 1TB SSD or 1TB SSD for 1/10th the price (new V-NAND tech)

Please tell us where you got that info from? Last time I checked, a 2TB SSD cost about 10 times as much as 1TB...And you could get a pretty good car for the price of 3TB, or a brand new 65" Sony 4K TV.

I was expecting some announcements at Computex, but nothing worth mentioning so far...

Definitely not in 2015...there is a SLIGHT possibility that 2TB comes to iMac, whether it will cost as much as 1TB used to cost, we're yet to see...

 

[AppleWarMachine]

maybe a 10TB SSD for an extra $10,000

 

[GreatUsername]

Please tell us where you got that info from? Last time I checked, a 2TB SSD cost about 10 times as much as 1TB...And you could get a pretty good car for the price of 3TB, or a brand new 65" Sony 4K TV.

I was expecting some announcements at Computex, but nothing worth mentioning so far...

Definitely not in 2015...there is a SLIGHT possibility that 2TB comes to iMac, whether it will cost as much as 1TB used to cost, we're yet to see...

http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/27/toshiba-intel-3d-nand-chips/

It probably won't happen this year, but I thought it was an outside possibility worth mentioning. I think it'll still come within the next two years though. If not 10TB SSDs, then at least 1TB SSDs for significantly cheaper. The market will likely end up dropping the price of SSDs drastically, but Apple will still keep some high margins. Maybe 1TB for $100.

 

[EnesM]

Ok this is what I've been waiting for, but will it happen this year, at what price?:

ADATA are showing a most interesting product at Computex, a PCI-E 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD running at an incredible speeds of 3GB/sec. This 2.5in drive uses the SFF-8639 connector, with capacities going all the way to 2TB. Speeds like this illustrate just how much of a bottleneck the aging SATA interface is these days.

Read more: http://vr-zone.com/articles/adata-s...nty-more-at-computex/93069.html#ixzz3cBrtrKX3

 

[TechZeke]

Fusion or a 256 SSD should be standard by now. They push flash storage on the mobile Macs and the Mac Pro so hard, and show how flash storage is the future, but they continue to the gimp the iMacs. I thought with the retina 5k coming standard with fusion, it meant Apple was finally going to push flash storage. No cigar.

 

[QCassidy352]

Fusion or a 256 SSD should be standard by now. They push flash storage on the mobile Macs and the Mac Pro so hard, and show how flash storage is the future, but they continue to the gimp the iMacs. I thought with the retina 5k coming standard with fusion, it meant Apple was finally going to push flash storage. No cigar.

Yeah, it was a disappointment to see them introduce a new retina iMac with a spinning HD standard. Heck, it was disappointing that the 2013 iMacs (still on sale) didn't have fusion standard. Really should be moving away from that.

 

[roadkill401]

This is an awful lot like saying that Electric cars are so much more fuel efficiant that I don't understand why the car manufacturers still sell gas and diesel powered vehicles.

There are some who will take full advantage of the speed of SSD. But the vast majority of people, think average working joe who logs onto the web to look up the sports scores. They will see zero benefit and if they can save that extra $300 on the cost of the computer, then they will.

 

[mojolicious]

'Best iMac yet' remains the original 24", ie the last one without a bloody great sheet of glass over the screen.

 

[GreatUsername]

I don't think SSDs will become the standard within the iMac until the body becomes too thin to house a HDD. Fusion drives could become the standard with a 256GB flash option for the same price. This is already true for the second 5K option (the "original" option before the $2000 one was added).

This could change within the next two years though as SSDs are on track to become exponentially cheaper. It may even become more cost-effective to forgo HDDs altogether.

 

[xmichaelp]

From all of the developments in technology and rumors in the Apple-sphere, it seems to me like the iMac that comes out later this year could potentially be by-far the greatest all-in-one they've ever made. Here's a list of my best-case-scenario predictions:

• Intel Skylake chips
• Nvidia GeForce 980MX (if they decide not to stick with AMD)
• 10TB SSD for the same price as the current 1TB SSD or 1TB SSD for 1/10th the price (new V-NAND tech)
• Combined USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports - giving a total of six ports and possibility of connecting 12 external 4K displays at 60hz (if the 980 can handle it)
• thinner! (I think we can all do without this one, but it is starting to approach that time )
• Cheaper? (Apple raised the price of the 5K iMac about $500 dollars over the non-retina but they recently dropped the price by $200. So possibly a future $300 price drop? Probably not, but we can hope.)
• Force-touch Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse, maybe with built-in Touch ID.
• New backlit keyboards
• 8K display (I'm 100% sure that this was nothing but a typo on LG's part. But still worth mentioning)

So what do you think the odds are of the late-2015 or perhaps early-2016 iMac coming with all or some of these features?

I'm crossing my fingers for at least the Nvidia cards, if nothing else. I bought my current refurbished 2012 iMac in 2013, betting that within two years a retina model would come out. I was right, but as expected it is quite underpowered for all those pixels, especially for gaming. That's why Apple needs to switch back to Nvidia, especially if they integrate Thunderbolt 3 for driving external 4K displays at 60hz.

Skylake will happen.

Nvidia probably won't happen.

10TB SSD will not happen, no way. Even if it did they would charge you a premium.

USB C / TB3 will happen.

12 external 4k display will not happen. That's insane. No GPU could push that.

Thinner probably won't happen. They decided to keep the same design for the retina iMac, I think it's safe to say the design is set for the next 3 years at least. The design might not ever change, it's incredibly optimized and minimal internally and making it thinner at the hump won't do much for aesthetics. It already look gorgeous and most angles with the 5mm edge.

300 dollar price drop? They already made a new 1999 model. It may not come down from that ever. The rMBP never came down to match the 1799 non-retina version it replaced.

Force touch magic mouse and trackpad is doubtful, but who knows. Touch ID probably won't happen.

The leaked keyboard wasn't actually backlit, it just had keys with the backlight logo on them, they were blank before.

8k display will not happen. Makes zero sense.

 

[cocky jeremy]

Every new iMac that comes out is better than the last, so it'll definitely be the best yet. That's why I'm holding off on the next 5k Retina iMac and went with a 13" MacBook Air instead. My late 2013 will be perfectly fine for a bit longer. More than anything, I want a TouchID keyboard. No need for typing passwords, or even 1Password ever again.

 

[Lankyman]

I doubt that Apple will reduce the cost of SSD drives. Face it, they make a killing off selling them to the consumer. Think about the cost of memory inside your iPhone or iPad. they still sell a model that has too little memory then fleace you to pay that extra $100 ~ 150 to get 32 or 64gb when the cost of the chips are $10~15 more in cost.

Apple is never about revolutionary upgrades.. small steps forward to maximize the profits as they are selling premium products at high profit margins and if it is selling, just do enough to keep momentum and not set yourself up for failure as if you give too much new at once, you shoot yourself for the next year. Look at Samsung.

So you're basically saying Apple rips off the consumer but the consumer is implicit in the action by accquiesing.

 

[xSinghx]

So you're basically saying Apple rips off the consumer but the consumer is complicit in the action by accquiesing.

He's not saying anything more than Apple is a corporation and like all corporations this entails maximizing profit. That could mean at times it does so to the consumer's detriment.

However, the consumer is not "acquiescing" to being "ripped off" (this is a vague term so it could mean a lot of things) simply because they make a purchase, thus lemon laws, refund policies, and other protections.

 

[AlexJoda]

Thinner probably won't happen. They decided to keep the same design for the retina iMac, I think it's safe to say the design is set for the next 3 years at least. The design might not ever change, it's incredibly optimized and minimal internally and making it thinner at the hump won't do much for aesthetics. It already look gorgeous and most angles with the 5mm edge.

8k display will not happen. Makes zero sense.

Normally the iMac design changes every 2-3 years with 2-3 revisions within that design. Now we are in the fourth year with the fourth revision. Why do you think that the design is set for the next 3 years?

If they reduce the bezel they might even bring a bigger 30"-32" display with 8k....