Rumors of June Launch for Updated iMacs Begin to Build

[gramirez2012]

I was really hoping for a late April/early May update. Hope it's not June.

 

[iSayuSay]

Apple will eventually not let you replace RAM either. I bet they will integrate it on the motherboards on the iMac as well. Will suck big time.

If that's the case with the new iMac, then 2011 iMac is the last and the best iMac ever, I bought it right after launch, so I still get the Snow Leopard DVD. I got 2 OSX for free with my iMac! (I was eligible for free Lion upgrade) Imagine if I bought it later, I wouldn't even get any DVD anymore since everything you need is on fancy OSX Lion Recovery HD now, according to Apple.


I can imagine that Apple decide to integrate RAM with motherboard to make it thinner after all, and when that happens, I wouldn't go with another Mac for my next computer. Unless Apple decide to give MacPro another refresh love...

 

[Burger Thing]

Wirelessly posted

As far as I can tell it's working out quite well for them.

Who cares? The important thing is that it's not working so well for Mac users who are relegated to using rather inferior desktop computers.

And yet, more and more users each year decide to put up with this agony instead of dealing with Windows.

Lilo, it's Eastern. Shouldn't you be hunting with your parents for your eggs?

 

[charlituna]

Who cares? The important thing is that it's not working so well for Mac users who are relegated to using rather inferior desktop computers.

Are they? Or is that other computer superior due to the importance said user has placed on having total control over the present and future components and/or the form factor

 

[Ryox]

Would be great to have USB 3.0 now that intel will be supporting it.

 

[iSayuSay]

A quick look at the back of an iMac disproves this:

Image

Your image disproves nothing from the post you quoted. What is the relation between iMac rear ports and iMac's overall upgradeability, come on!

 

[vikpt]

I hope Apple will release the Macbook Pro's first and soon!

 

[kiljoy616]

Wirelessly posted



And yet, more and more users each year decide to put up with this agony instead of dealing with Windows.

Lilo, it's Eastern. Shouldn't you be hunting with your parents for your eggs?

Nice!

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Image

Sweet looking pic but with a 30 inch monitor and Retina levels now that would put the iMac back on the cover of even PC mag, muhahahahahaha

 

[rneglia]

Apple will eventually not let you replace RAM either.... Will suck big time.

Do you have any basis for saying this or are you just speculating?

 

[Jamooche]

Ripping CD's is the only reason i could see wanting an ODD still. But even with that, i've not bought a physical CD in many, many years. I've probably used the ODD in my 2009 iMac maybe 5 times, tops.

Next time I'm at a concert I'll just simply buy the album from iTunes right from my iPhone. I guess being at a concert like that made me feel like I was back in college 10 years ago when we actually used CDs.

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Just get the Apple external superdrive and you'll be good to go.

Problem. Solved.

I know I know, but my old PC is free and I only need to use it a few times per year.

 

[scoobydoo99]

The biggest argument for "upgrading" a computer isn't what you might want to do a few years later - but what you want to have on day 1.

I'll agree with your premise that "2nd/3rd year" upgrades are fairly rare.

However, people who buy tower systems will often get options (AKA "upgrades") at the time of purchase. More memory, better graphics card (or even add a graphics card to a system with base integrated graphics), more/bigger disks, various PCIe cards (eSATA, GbE, RAID, ...), BD burner, ....

While some people do upgrade later, IMO the biggest argument for a mini/mid tower is the ability to configure the system you want from the start (and it's not relevant whether you get BTO options from the vendor or order what you want from Newegg and install it yourself).




I'm of the opposite camp. I almost always build DIY systems - although I do price compare with Dell/HP/Asus/... to check. (My current main desktop is a Dell XPS Core i7-940 - Dell's price was much better than I could build on my own, and it came with a great warranty.)

Your point about the mobo is a bit of hyperbole (I can't think of any reasonable cases where a graphics card upgrade requires a mobo upgrade (unless you have an ancient AGP mobo and want to put a PCIe x16 card in it)), but it's true in that if you jump to a CPU that needs a different chipset, you'll need a new motherboard usually you can't transfer your memory. (I did, however, just replace a mobo with a Q6600 CPU with a Core i7 mobo, and the DDR3 memory worked in the new mobo. Pleasantly surprised.)

One other point to consider on the upgrade scale, and one that I always follow, is to game the Intel release schedule.

This means

• Don't buy CPU X (and mobo X and memory X) right after announcement, three months later the prices will be much lower
• When you do buy, don't buy the fastest CPU X. The model two or three steps slower is much, much cheaper and almost as fast.
• Watch prices for CPUs, especially when Intel releases the new CPU X+1. Prices for even the fastest CPU X drop when X+1 shows up.
• Buy the fastest CPU X before Intel stops producing them.

If money is not a concern, yes - buy a new computer every year.

And I still don't understand why Apples with out-of-date components have resale value. Sheeple who can't afford new?

I don't really disagree with anything you say. I think it comes down to the type of buyer and what you need the machine to do. I think the personal computer market has evolved a great deal from the early days (80's-90's) - when computer users pretty much NEEDED to be well-versed in the hardware and competent at doing their own hardware mods - to the current day, when computers are more of a commodity. I am perfectly comfortable opening up a case and doing hardware installs, buy I don't really need to. It just isn't as improtant to me to have the ABSOLUTE fastest chip or whatnot. I can easily find a top-end build-to-order iMac or Mac Mini or MacBook Pro that does everything I need out of the box. I realize there are others who need more options. But these days, I think those people are in the minority.

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Why would I want to upgrade my computer... Oh, I don't know... maybe the hard drive would eventually go out (they do that, you know), and I would want to replace myself rather than pay Apple a forture to do so. Or the display. Or the video card. Or the RAM. When that happens, should I plop down $1500 for a new machine or $50-$100 for a new component? Maybe I need a bigger hard drive for my growing movie collection. Should I buy a new Mac for that? In your eyes, I should just shut up and buy a new Mac every year to further prop up that huge cash reserve they don't really know what to do with.

There is a difference between UPGRADES and REPAIRS. If a hard drive or monitor goes out, replacing them is not an upgrade. I've never had a hardware failure on a Mac, and I generally have kept them for anywhere from 2 - 4 years. But no, if a part fails, you should pay to fix it, not buy a new computer.

As far as your growing movie collection, I would think you could anticipate that when you first buy the computer and buy a hard drive with room to grow. Of course, external drives are always available anyway, so I don't see how Macs in any way limit your ability to expand your storage capability.

 

[thunderfunny]

Breaking news: macpro with thunderbolt coming in june. Sorry i know i made you feel like doo doo. Thats exactly how i feel when i just hear imac,ipad,iphone,iphone,iphone. i just need a new macpro with thunderbolt and im happy,if not i am really considering getting that promax computer. I saw the webinar and i was impressed. But till then i guess i have to wait till june for a rumor for a macpro.

 

[faroZ06]

Apple should drop the disc drives. Steve would have.

It wouldn't do much. What would you put in its place?

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Breaking news: macpro with thunderbolt coming in june. Sorry i know i made you feel like doo doo. Thats exactly how i feel when i just hear imac,ipad,iphone,iphone,iphone. i just need a new macpro with thunderbolt and im happy,if not i am really considering getting that promax computer. I saw the webinar and i was impressed. But till then i guess i have to wait till june for a rumor for a macpro.

That's why I buy used, 1 generation behind

 

[turtlebud]

don't care much about the imac, give me an upgraded macbook pro!

 

[bobright]

I can not wait this will be my first ever Mac so I'm not worried about the wait, get it right, keep us peeled on the new rumors I'll be eating it all up like a puppy hungry with my tongue out.

Ok I'm drunk but yea you get my point. My birthday is in August so June July this will be my early birthday present.

 

[KylePowers]

Besides Ivy Bridge, some slightly more current Nvidia/AMD GPU, and probably USB 3.0, the update more than likely won't be too enticing. I doubt any sort of redesign would make an appearance. But the performance upgrade should be pretty sweet, and anyone with a C2D machine or older would probably find the update vastly beneficial (especially with an upgraded or standard SSD).

I think it'd be a neat move to nix the ODD, put an SSD there as the boot drive, and keep the 1TB as a storage device. Then when doing a BTO, having the options to upgrade the SSD, upgrade the standard HDD, upgrading both, or possibly going with two SSDs and RAIDing them. Obviously you can already do most of this and still have an ODD, but for it to be standard to begin with would be nice. I'd take an SSD over an ODD any day of the week.

Anti-reflective screen would be cool, but I don't particularly have any issues with mine, besides seeing my ugly face when it's off

Wireless charging for the mouse and keyboard would be very forward thinking, especially if they made it compatible with the next iPhone.

Oh, and having a backlit keyboard (which certainly seems unnecessary to most people sure) would be a nice addition. Not particularly needed, but hey, why not? (Especially if charging was as easy as putting the keyboard on the stand or under the chin)

 

[Naaaaak]

"Rumors of ... Updated iMacs"

That's not a rumor; it's a fact that the iMacs will be updated. MacPros on the other hand…

 

[lilo777]

Wirelessly posted



And yet, more and more users each year decide to put up with this agony instead of dealing with Windows.

Lilo, it's Eastern. Shouldn't you be hunting with your parents for your eggs?

Speaking of agony. Have you updated Java on your Mac today? And yesterday? Happy Easter!

 

[coolspot18]

Apple really needs to release a full size wireless keyboard with numeric pad.


Matte screen option is great! Finally.

 

[strausd]

Sure man, if you say so. Thing is, they don;t really offer anything else, unless you want to drop $2k+ on a Mac Pro, which is rumored to be discontinued soon. Even so, that Mac Pro is less upgradable than a PC is, that's for sure. OSX is quite picky with what hardware it likes and dislikes, based on personal experiences (Hackintosh).

I have a Mac Pro and am a regular in the Mac Pro specific forums here and I, among with many others, disagree with you. I do not think they will be discontinued. Look at any workstation, none of them have been updated. People need to understand that it is not Apple's fault, but Intel's for the CPU delays.

As for the Mac Pro not being as upgradable, I agree and disagree. Mac Pros are not as upgradable when under OS X because of hardware support. But then you are not comparing like terms. You are comparing two workstations with different operating systems. I am not sure what hardware you are thinking of, but GPUs and PCIe cards will work perfectly in a Mac Pro under Windows just like those same components would work on a custom build desktop also under Windows. The only limitations I see are the motherboard and PSU. However, I have read and seen blog posts showing how someone was able to do it. Also, people have build a hackintosh out of a Mac Pro case. It is requires more work, but can be more fun and more rewarding. Also, it is possible to upgrade CPUs as well.

 

[Lynn Belvedere]

Apple really needs to release a full size wireless keyboard with numeric pad.


Matte screen option is great! Finally.

It won't be matte, just anti-reflective glass.

 

[Pakaku]

And I still don't understand why Apples with out-of-date components have resale value. Sheeple who can't afford new?

I always buy refurbished or used because it's cheaper, and they usually aren't that far behind the current model spec-wise anyways. The one exception is when Apple introduces an entirely new redesign or some feature like the multi-touch trackpad.

I bought a 2008 Mac Pro as a workstation/game-machine, and over time have thrown in an eSATA card, a USB 3.0 card(!!!), and an SSD, and I haven't looked back since. It's great for my work, handles current games well that I've played, and if the graphics card finally dies or gets too old, I could just pop in a good Windows graphics card and flash the OS.

In fact, an older-gen Mac Pro is probably exactly what people whining about not having a mid-range Mac should be looking at... one other reason I bought mine, as something better than an iMac without going fully-loaded with a newer Mac Pro.

 

[Burger Thing]

Wirelessly posted

Wirelessly posted



And yet, more and more users each year decide to put up with this agony instead of dealing with Windows.

Lilo, it's Eastern. Shouldn't you be hunting with your parents for your eggs?

Speaking of agony. Have you updated Java on your Mac today? And yesterday? Happy Easter!

Yes, I did. To click on the software update button and then to acknowledge it, took me about 5 sec.

To find out, why my bloody Android phone has been happily but unnecessarily uploading 400 MB of data over the last 30 hours and draining the battery in the process when disconnected from the charger, took me much longer in comparison. Google should bundle a powerful task manager with Android. It is needed.

Happy Egg Hunting, Lilo.

 

[Rogue.]

Finally! ..... An iMac rumour

 

[sinser]

Anti-reflective display ? Wow, finally!!!