Apple Discontinues 27-Inch iMac

[BWhaler]

Stunned by this move.

Bloomberg says the iMac Pro still coming, but I’m not so sure. Seems like an extra SKU that Apple doesn’t need. What do people think?

 

[LonestarOne]

I was a bit shocked to see the 27” iMac is gone.
The dilema for me is that there is now a massive gap between a maxed out M1 mini and an entry spec Studio. For me an M1 Ultra is overkill, but I want more than an M1 mini. I can only hope the high end intel mini will be replaced with an M1 Pro version to fill the gap.

You can order the Mac Studio with the M1 Max for about half the price of the M1 Ultra. There’s still something of a gap, but it’s not nearly that massive.

 

[JW Pepper]

The iMac is not green enough. Every time you want a new computer you are chucking out a good screen.

I have been waiting nearly two years to buy everyone in my office a new 27” iMac. Now I don’t know what to do. The studio display with stand is about £1800 in the U.K. that is not far off the price of the old 27” iMac. Then you have to buy a computer, keyboard and mouse. It is not far off £4000 per seat for a fairly basic model.

The alternative is a Hwawi Mate screen (no camera though) but having used one for three months, I like the format better than the 27” iMac the vertical height of the screen is brilliant.

Did you know you are limited to 2 screens and two studios?

 

[Sasparilla]

I'm stunned they just discontinued this machine.

Would guess a M2 iMac 27 or 30 will come later this year, but still, wow.

Trying to do a why here, perhaps to free up chips to sell more Apple Silicon models - the issue with chip supply is still going on.

 

[BWhaler]

Yeah the new Mac Studio Ultra and studio display is the perfect upgrade for 27inchers.

I really want an all-in-one. It’s a personal preference, of course, but I really don’t want anything on my desk that doesn’t need to be there.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Must admit I did not see this one coming. Although the Mac Studio display is really an interesting take. One in which has me salivating at the thought of it and its versatility.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

To be fair, they could still release an M2 version later this year.

 

[satcomer]

Mac Studio reminds me of two Mac Minis glued together! However with new Chip it could be the Pro iMac replacement with New Display!

 

[reallynotnick]

While I prefer separate displays and computer, it's wild that the 27" iMac was only $200 more than the Studio Display and they are very similarly speced it seems (100nits more, maybe better anti-glare, and a better camera seem to be the main differences).

 

[ducknalddon]

The competing 5K display from LG doesn’t have speakers or a camera built in.

It has both speakers and a camera.

 

[Mrcjonez1]

I am an iMac 2017 27 inch user and I am disappointed about this news. Not that I was planning to upgrade but just in general, having a lot of power in an all in one was great and the iMac 27 was a real bargain as well. The price level for this new display and studio Mac is so much higher and not everyone wants a separate display.

I have a very old 27 inch iMac and have been putting up with it's limping along just waiting for an M1 or M2 27 inch replacement. Guess I'll just go with a 24 and move on. Others in the house have apple laptops, but as the old man of the house who hates using my work laptop HP POS I just prefer using an imac on my desk.

 

[LonestarOne]

It has both speakers and a camera.

What about reference modes?

 

[blacktape242]

WHAT????? why???? so stupid! Ive been waiting for it....

 

[imdog]

I would be pissed if I was waiting for a 27" iMac, I guess I made the right choice when I got the M1 iMac.

 

[CWallace]

IMO, there were two markets for the 27" iMac:

1) Those who wanted a display larger than 21.5", but stuck with the base configs (i5, 8/16GB RAM, 256/512GB storage). For those folks, the 24" iMac is a solid replacement. Yes, the display is smaller, but not nearly as much at 24/4.5K vs. 21.5/4K.

2) Those who purchased BTO models. For those folks, a base Mac Studio and Apple Studio Display is $3000, but the iMac 5K with Intel i9 CPU and AMD 5700(XT) GPU upgrades plus 32GB would have been $2800-3200. And you get a much better webcam and Spatial Audio with much better speakers.

 

[orbital~debris]

Now with the 27-inch Studio Display that can be connected to any Mac, Apple has seemingly felt there is no need for a large-sized all-in-one desktop computer.

Utter rubbish.

The larger variant of the iMac will return.

(Or to paraphrase one of the long-running threads here on MacRumors: “The new iMac Pro is almost certainly coming.”)

 

[JippaLippa]

WOW.
A big decision for sure, but it actually makes sense.
The iMac Pro from 2017 was kind of an anomaly, but when the iMac was presented, it was always a consumer desktop machine, and the 24" imac serves that purpose perfectly well with the M1.
The only thing I don't get is limiting it to 24".
It would make much sense to refresh the lineup once the M2 drops, with a 24" and 27" option.
I have never been a fan of the iMac, so I won't miss it.

 

[SactoGuy18]

This is why I think the 24" iMac may get not only the M2 SoC later this year, but it might be a candidate for the M2 Pro version of that same SoC with up to 32 GB of RAM.

 

[CWallace]

I remain convinced we will see a 27" iMac Pro (now in 2023), but it will likely be like the old Intel model. M1 Max and M1 Ultra as the SoC options. Up to 128GB of RAM and 8TB+ of SSD (possibly in a paired-config like the old iMac Pro), the 27" 5K ProMotion MiniLED display that Young said is coming. And a starting price of at least $4000.

It will serve as the AIO compliment to the 2023 Apple silicon Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR.

 

[aapl owner]

So humour me here - does anyone really think we will see an upgraded 27" iMac now - At all?

My hope is that maybe they just discontinued it for now, to push Sales of the Studio line. I have been hanging out for a new 27" iMac for a good 18 months now and don't know whether to keep hoping of face facts it's gone and the Studio setup will cost me a lot more than I had hoped!

I would expect Apple to eventually bring out a 27" iMac with the M1-Pro/M1-Max chip. At a minimum Apple needs to add the M1-Pro as an upgrade to the 24" iMac but why would they not announce that in today's event unless they also have a 27" iMac coming along later this year. I think the consumer 27" iMac was a sweet spot for them and they know it. The 24" iMac has an entry-level price of $1299 whereas the $1999 27" iMac has been replaced by the new Mac Studio and 27" (insanely priced) LCD display starting at an eye-popping $3598 which is 80% higher price than the prior iMac and is obviously not intended for the home user. There is a massive hole in the desktop Mac pricing that can be nicely filled with a new 27" iMac and an M1-Pro chip in the $2500 range. I hope this is the case.

 

[fwmireault]

You can't spec a Mac mini or 24" iMac with 32GB of RAM, period.

Don’t know where you got this information, but you definitely can on the higher-end Mac mini, which is the device I was talking about

 

[Tagbert]

The original post that I replied to specified Ultra. The cheapest ultra+display ($5598) is a little over three times the price that the cheapest 27" iMac was ($1799). I haven't considered any upgrades, as I'm just looking at the entry price.

If you are looking at entry pricing, that would be the Studio Monitor + Mac Studio with the M1 Max chip for about $3600. That is much more computer than that cheap $1799 iMac. The Mac Studio is faster than the previous iMac Pro that was $4900, which is pretty close to the price of that M1 Ultra.

If you were looking for a closer match to the $1799 iMac, look at the Studio Monitor + M1 Mini for around $2300. That Mini is still considerable faster than that iMac for only $500 more.

 

[Arctic Moose]

John Siracusa is going to be so sad.

 

[edoates]

I don’t think there’s any configuration of the Mac Studio and Studio Display which is not significantly more expensive than a comparably specced 27” iMac would have been. Perhaps not “three times” as much, but it’s definitely a price hike.

Yes, it’s likely significantly faster spec-for-spec because of Apple silicon, but there is now a pretty substantial gap for mid-range Macs (the so-called “prosumers”) with the discontinuation of the higher-end Intel Mac mini and 27” iMac.

For example, you can’t currently spec a Mac with 32 GB RAM without spending $2,000. That certainly wasn’t the case before.

Edit: Turns out that high-end Intel Mac mini is still for sale. Hmm.

Add up a new Mac Studio minimum config ($2000) + a studio display ($1600): that's $3700. The iMac 5K I got a few years ago with maxed out processors the time, 32GB memory 3TB Fusion, and the 5Kdisplay was $3500. They are probably comparable overall, with the Studio/Studio display being overall better, not counting inflation. So, it is an across the board replacement if you want, with somewhat better performance. Yes, if you up the processor, member, solid state drive capacity, and get the cool adjustable stand (iMac didn't have that ;-), the new studio is better and pricier.

 

[scotttnz]

You can order the Mac Studio with the M1 Max for about half the price of the M1 Ultra. There’s still something of a gap, but it’s not nearly that massive.

Where I live, an M1 Mini, with 16GB Memory and 1TB Storage is NZ$2249. The base M1 Max Studio with just the storage upgraded to 1TB is NZ$3949. That is a huge gap, admittedly for a much more capable machine, but an M1 Pro Machine between the 2 would be the sweet spot for me.
I'm ok sticking with my intel iMac for now, and wait and see what they do with the intel Mini.