Apple Developing Redesigned iMac With Slimmer Bezels, Apple Silicon Chips

[serpico007]

This commercial got me into the ecosystem. Miss my iMac G3. I even had the Epson printer Bondi Blue and other accessories. What a time for computers. Would be nice if Apple brought back some of this nostalgia in the new iMac's.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I appreciate your comments about the glue, having had to deal with upgrading to SSD etc., but they are still easy to upgrade with patience. However I disagree completely about screen comments, because if you had a pc with a separate monitor which is not much smaller than the iMac complete you would still have to lug that back to a store? Its come home to roost recently again when my daughter was supplied with a very high spec PC...WHAT A MESS!! A Dell Ultrasharp 27in. monitor, then a huge box of nothingness in a fusion case, With Ryzen processor, and two different video card set ups and where just for the monitor requires display port cable, Hdmi, power cable etc. with the monitor in the region of £350 and the beast of a box another £2440. But as ever there is no fixed configuration, so every card may be set differently or require setting up differently, so then you buy your HDMI cable, Display Port Cable another £10, so at least three cables from the monitor, then another three from the pc, plus then a web cam plus its usb cable, and any periphery USB or external devices...The result is a mess, and even setting it up illustrates how good the iMac is, you get a unit, you plug it in! Neat, tidy, compact, whereas the beast of a box that measures 230mm wide x 475mm deep x 468mm high, contains a mini board anyway, but weighs as much as an anchor! You try lugging that beast back let alone the monitor. The PC took an hour to configure and set up, and additional set up for bluetooth and other devices, whereas the 27in. iMac takes about 2 minutes. Even unboxing the PC stuff is a nightmare with you having to tip the box on its side as its so heavy, then cutting the machine out of the box, and have any of you tried putting cables into the Dell monitor....yes it rotates, but whoever designed it so that the cable entry is right behind the stand its on and where even if you rotate it its a nightmare to get the cables in. Yes upgradeability is easier on the PC, but often because its needs it, where in this instance the video card failed after 6 days, but where they don't replace the video card, you have to get the whole lot to them. Main thing to think of when getting iMac is forward thinking RAM and SSD. I still have an Apple Lisa working, a G4 and the old hunk of an iMac, let alone my G5, and the 27in. 2016 iMac. The only problem ever had was the G5 was recalled at Apple's expense because the capacitors on the main board had to be replaced. I'm looking forward to upgrading to a 24in. iMac M2

Sorry but having to bring in a 27" iMac is not easier than dealing with a separate component computer. It just isn't.

It doesn't matter how "complicated" the internals are, (upgradeable) PCs are relatively easy to maintain when you know what you are doing.

However, I'm not talking about PCs anyhow.

iMacs are great for those that like them (and I used to be one), but again, I've had my last trip to the Apple Store and back with a 27" behemoth just because a video cable connector was loose, or a video card fails, or the HDD or SSD acts up, or the screen reaches EOL for whatever reason. Packing that thing up, finagling it into and out of the car, navigating narrow shop aisles and bumping into things with an unwieldy 30+lb beast is not my idea of a great user experience.

If I get a flat in my garage I don't want to flat-bed the whole car to the dealership so they can swap a tire (an experience Apple Car buyers can look forward to).

So I'll have either a MacBook that I output video to a monitor, a Mac mini, or my more likely scenario, an iPad.
Of course, you can always pay for on-site service or something like that, but that's besides the point.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

RE: cable clutter

Apple certainly has a history of keeping things tidy!

🙂

Yes they do:

But seriously, it's supposed to be messy when you're using it, no?

 

[BradMacPro]

Bold of you to think any computer would last 10 years.

I think a well designed Mac could easily last 10 years. Unfortunately there are many examples that sadly won't last this long. I see many 10 year old desktops and laptops.

 

[BradMacPro]

If we’re being anatomically correct, all post-G4 iMacs have always had a double chin not a cleft lip.

Beyond looking ugly and increasingly dated, its only apparent use was to display the Apple logo and for most users, somewhere to stick pointless Post It notes.

Actually there was a infra-red receiver behind the Apple logo. If you recall the white plastic models came with a small IR remote that could magnetically cling to the right side. Well the later models still had the IR sensor behind there, as anyone who has disassembled a iMac can attest to.

 

[BradMacPro]

Dont care about bezels. I just want VESA mounting and a GPU strong enough to keep up with Alienware.

Apple's GPUs integrated or discrete were always a couple of years behind and not gamer level, so while it may do well enough for Final Cut Pro, I don't think Alienware will be a target. Apple still does not chase the gamer market.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

I think a well designed Mac could easily last 10 years. Unfortunately there are many examples that sadly won't last this long. I see many 10 year old desktops and laptops.

My 27" iMac is 10 years old this summer, but that doesn't mean I haven't had to throw a grand or so at it and take it into the shop repeatedly in order to keep it running in those 10 years.

But run it does, and nicely, even if it's stuck on High Sierra. A self-installed SSD upgrade 5 years ago (thank you OWC for that temp controller hardware hack!) and that baby has been stable as long as my kids no longer attempt to game on it (they now have their own gaming PCs) or edit Final Cut videos. This was causing it to overheat severely.

So an M1 iMac might be as bulletproof as iPads are, which would make them a good long-term value (if you spec it out up front).

 

[BradMacPro]

A rumored 24" iMac will still be the lower-end version, just like the current 21.5" is to the 27" model. That said, it would probably still outperform my classic 12 core 3.06GHz Mac Pro from 2012. The issue is, it would likely ship sooner and a replacement for the 27", probably 30.5" if the bezel shrink is proportional 21.5 to 24", would probably ship later with an even better Apple silicon. Maybe the smaller with have a M1X and the larger will eventually (later in the year) get a M2.

 

[Phil77354]

I think a well designed Mac could easily last 10 years. Unfortunately there are many examples that sadly won't last this long. I see many 10 year old desktops and laptops.

10 years is a very long time to continue to use the same computer, iMac or PC. Of course, my own iMac is approaching 6 ½ years and there is not a single thing wrong with it.

Seems to me that the main thing that may limit life for a self-contained computer such as the iMac is cooling, and also dust accumulation over such a long time. The M1 family should reduce heat loads but the all-in-one design will still have the possibility of accumulating dust and being impractical to periodically clean out, although not impossible. The iMac also has the disadvantage of very limited (practically zero) upgradeability over time, but that is just not the Apple way. Someone who wants a computer that can be periodically upgraded with new processor or graphics or larger internal storage and RAM will always find that much easier with a tower PC.

 

[09872738]

... but that is just not the Apple way. Someone who wants a computer that can be periodically upgraded with new processor or graphics or larger internal storage and RAM will always find that much easier with a tower PC.

That is not necessarily accurate. The Power Mac / Mac Pro line of computers was very upgradeable. The new Mac Pro also is, they just missed the price target for the classic Mac Pro audience

 

[Tapper]

I think a well designed Mac could easily last 10 years. Unfortunately there are many examples that sadly won't last this long. I see many 10 year old desktops and laptops.

My 2009 Mac Pro runs Mojave very well! I use it every day without complaint and I am looking forward to buying either a 27 inch iMac or Mac mini with ASi this year.

 

[loteq]

I’m still pretty happy with my 2015 i7 iMac when I compare it to any new iMac. Has held up well with some ram upgrades and I jumped at the 1tb ssd at the time. But the latency of operations has started to bug me the last couple of years. Compared to my iPad it feels like a dog when I click the mouse I wait half a second for thing to happen. For laptop, I’m jumping from a 2018 MacBook Pro early to a fully specced m1 air as my stopgap machine until this new iMac ships. Stoked!
When this new iMac does ship I’m going deep on a big spec. I suspect these machines will hold value like iPhones have and I’ll be able to trade up every other year like iPhones for a while if it makes sense. Awesome!

 

[robinp]

Anything much thicker than an iPad and it’ll be disappointing

Well, it wasn’t disappointing! Stunning looking machine.

 

[robinp]

I seriously hope you're kidding. You'll be sacrificing a lot. Audio quality, discrete graphics, actual ports...

Well, I was right. It’s a beautiful thing. Can’t wait to see what the bigger one is like in black or space grey