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Apple Allegedly Prototyped a Redesigned 27-Inch iMac With M1 Max Chip and Black Finish Last Year

Too bad. I bought 24-inch M1 iMac for my office use and while it is a capable and silent machine and in many ways performs better than my 27-inch intel iMac, the screen estate is just way small for me. I had to make some sacrifices regarding the screen estate and everytime I come home and continue working on 27-inch iMac I feel there is a big difference.
 
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Coming from an late 2013 27“ iMac I waited for so long for apple to release a bigger iMac. Since the studio display has the same tech as Intel iMacs, I just decided to buy a used 2020 27“ iMac. The speakers sound worse than my late 2013 iMac but I really dont need that much power like in a Mac studio. At least I finally have a Retina display. Probably it will last me a lot of years for my photo and video editing needs. I finished a one hour Multicam 4K Video in Final Cut in no Time.
 
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icanhazmac said:
Not really sure what Apple is waiting for in regards to the 27".

One can hope that it signals a move away from the AIO form factor for non-entry level machines. AIOs are environmental nightmares as the useful life of the monitor is far greater than the cpu but there is no (good) way to use them (iMacs) as an external monitor. Would be really nice if Apple developed a way to do this for old iMacs.
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I wanted to respond to you because I completely agree that the AIO iMac design is a particularly wasteful form factor. That said, an iMac is by far the most practical setup for me, as I need a large screen but work out of an absurdly tiny space. Even a small, separate cpu like the Studio takes up room that I don't have to spare.

In the name of the environment I would would love to see Apple come up with some sort of modular "piggyback" form factor for the iMacs so the CPU could be easily upgraded separately from the monitor. I'm not holding my breath, but if any company could make it work & look elegant, it would be Apple.
 
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My interest in iMacs, which was pretty high, evaporated when I found out you can’t use an iMac as an external monitor. All those USBC ports and I can’t plug in my Macbook? What percentage of iMac users also have a MacBook? Or with Stage Manager, an iPad? I imagine it would be pretty high.
 
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UnbreakableAlex said:
Coming from an late 2013 27“ iMac I waited for so long for apple to release a bigger iMac. Since the studio display has the same tech as Intel iMacs, I just decided to buy a used 2020 27“ iMac. The speakers sound worse than my late 2013 iMac but I really dont need that much power like in a Mac studio. At least I finally have a Retina display. Probably it will last me a lot of years for my photo and video editing needs. I finished a one hour Multicam 4K Video in Final Cut in no Time.
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I had a late 2013 27” iMac too. Just sent it off to one of the UK buying sites today (Macback - I don’t need all that eBay hassle). I replaced it with a Studio Display connected to my M1 Air. The iMac had slowed right down, so the Air’s speed is a breath of fresh air (pardon the pun). But I know what you mean about the speakers. The Studio Display speakers are good, but the old iMac felt cinematic in comparison. And lasting over 8 years…that machine was a class act.
 
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Why don't they build the Studio monitor with some integrated system to slide a Mac Studio into? Then when you want to upgrade to the next Studio Mac, slide out/slide in. Would solve the un-upgradability of all-in-one, and the component cluster of separate display and CPU. Or maybe the monitor sits on top of the studio and plugs directly into it?
 
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Michael Scrip said:
That combo is $3,600 when the former 27" iMac was only $1,800

That's literally double the price.

Quite an upsell!

🤣
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Yup, a headless Mac is the obvious desktop solution. But at the prices Apple sells the separate components for, it's simply wtf?!

Apple, just sell a 27" iMac without the internals, for a price that matches that, and they will sell like hot cakes. Everyone will plug in the Mini, Studio, MBA, or MBP, and happy days.
 
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Danoc said:
. iMac Pro feels unnecessary, almost like an oxymoron.
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A 27" iMac with the basic M2 would work really well for a lot of basic users (like me) and a bump to a 27" iMac Pro will work even better to folks needing some heavier processing but wants to minimize the upgrade costs.
 
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KontryBoy706 said:
Sad all we can get for an iMac is this Fisher Price looking machine at 24 inches smh. And if we want more... they expect us to buy the Studio, Display and keyboard and track pad and all. No.. Bring back the actual iMac please.
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The iMac was originally a Fisher Price looking machine who can forget the fruity colors Grape, Strawberry, Blueberry, etc. or how about Flower Power and Dalmatian. And if you don't have an extra keyboard and mouse laying around just walk outside they practically fall from the sky, I must have 10 or more laying around the house, wireless, wired, bluetooth, USB, I even have a few ADB keyboards and mice around.
 
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BrownyQ said:
I'd like to imagine it will make a return at some point, but was held off on purpose to give the Mac Studio breathing room.

Once the M2 chips are out and more commonplace, they'll probably put the inevitable M2 variants in both this iMac Pro and Mac Pro.

My wild guess.
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Mine is wilder: No more 27“ iMacs. Next year, 30“ iMac M3 inside. No bezels. Tech similar to Studio Display except will have 4k webcam. Can also act as external display for M-gen MacBooks ….
 
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AppleTO said:
They want to try to upsell people the Studio and external display first. They’ll probably release the 27” afterwards at some point for those who didn’t ‘fall for’ the Studio. All sales tactics.
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Apple will feel amazing knowing that it will be a new LG screen attached to my computer soon. I'm grateful for their support and patience*
 
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I was just arguing with others in another thread over the last few days that Ross Young's rumored 5K120 mini-LED monitor was really a 27" iMac. And here we go. The iMac described in this new rumor fits Young's prediction, except it isn't a standalone monitor. In an iMac, Apple can do 5K120 through a custom timing controller, just as they did for the original 5K iMac. In a couple of years, we'll have Thunderbolt 5 to handle that resolution and refresh rate and then Apple can think of upgrading the Studio Display.

A 5K120 standalone made no sense to me because no current Mac can support that and the future Mac Pro would have a revised Pro Display XDR to go with it. With no computer support, Apple would be dumb to release such a monitor. The Studio Display was made specifically for the Mac Studio, hence the name, but it also could be used by every other computer Apple sold. A 5K120 standalone monitor is an orphan right away.
 
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tobybrut said:
I was just arguing with others in another thread over the last few days that Ross Young's rumored 5K120 mini-LED monitor was really a 27" iMac. And here we go. The iMac described in this new rumor fits Young's prediction, except it isn't a standalone monitor. In an iMac, Apple can do 5K120 through a custom timing controller, just as they did for the original 5K iMac. In a couple of years, we'll have Thunderbolt 5 to handle that resolution and refresh rate and then Apple can think of upgrading the Studio Display.

A 5K120 standalone made no sense to me because no current Mac can support that and the future Mac Pro would have a revised Pro Display XDR to go with it. With no computer support, Apple would be dumb to release such a monitor. The Studio Display was made specifically for the Mac Studio, hence the name, but it also could be used by every other computer Apple sold. A 5K120 standalone monitor is an orphan right away.
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I believe in this theory as well.
It would also match the "iMac Pro" rumors, as ProMotion has only been used in Pro devices (iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, iPhone Pro)
 
I hope the team who figured out the compromises in the MacBook pro to be back real pro gets the iMac pro through as well.
the 24inch iMac is for kids really.
 
krspkbl said:
but instead decided to release Mac Studio starting from just £1,999. with an Apple display, keyboard, and mouse....from just £3,796!

the 24" iMac starts from £1,249. even with an M1 Max and an extra 3" display it shouldn't be anymore than £1,800-2,000 (going by apple's current pricing of MBP's)

they are selling us a Mac Studio for the price of an entire 27" iMac and basically saying get your own ****ing display/keyboard/mouse or pay us an extra £1,797 for ours!
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I would far far prefer my Mac studio over an iMac for these reasons.

1. silent [I have the ultra]. I have no idea how they would put that heatsink into an iMac.....
2. I can upgrade the Mac studio or studio display when I want or need to. iMac you need to replace the lot.

I guess if you just need a mid range machine that is simple, the iMac suffices.
 
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