Apple Facing Shortage of 2014 and Mid 2015 5K iMac Displays, Offering Free Delayed Repairs or $600 Off a New Model

[macduke]

^^ THIS. I literally check this page every day for iMac rumours.

Hopefully AMD comes out with some new GPUs soon or else I might wait even longer. Too bad they refuse to use Nvidia. I kinda also want to see what the Mac Pro is about, but I have no idea if I'll be able to afford it. You'd think it would start cheaper than the iMac Pro since it has no display, but with the way they price things lately I should probably just give up the idea.

 

[Gasu E.]

Because most companies, particularly tech, don't support 4+ year old hardware.

Not so. I have a late 2015 iMac, and it's still under warranty. Three year extended warranties are a standard offering in tech. And no company would succeed in business if they didn't support paid maintenance for products that are just one year out of warranty.

 

[lilrush]

Hopefully AMD comes out with some new GPUs soon or else I might wait even longer. Too bad they refuse to use Nvidia. I kinda also want to see what the Mac Pro is about, but I have no idea if I'll be able to afford it. You'd think it would start cheaper than the iMac Pro since it has no display, but with the way they price things lately I should probably just give up the idea.

I agree, wish they would use NVIDIA. But overall, as long as a 2018 iMac shows up with no more mechanical drives, no removal of RAM door or reasonable RAM options, an i9, and somewhat upgraded GPUs, I'm in. I don't need a redesign or anything crazy either.

 

[Gasu E.]

three and four years old is considered "old" now....that's too funny lol

Not if that is 20% of the poster's total lifetime.

 

[kazmac]

If the 2017 replacement model was new, I’d take the $600 off.

It would be nice to see new Mac desktops already. Curious about the Mac Mini.

 

[calisurfboy]

Amazing they support such old hardware.

Apple were making 2015 iMacs up until 2017 and 2015 Macs still sold through their refurbished store. It may be a previous generation based on an old design but for many individuals its not an old purchase but relatively new.

 

[AgentAnonymous]

It’s really not surprising Cook is not a fan of PC purchases, given he sells Macs and iPads (and iPhones) lol. And Jobs also thought far fewer people would need desktops or laptops; I’m sure you remember the truck analogy.

You may not like it, but tablet computers—or even iPhones— are replacing PCs and Macs, whether notebooks and desktops, for many, many people.

That’s not a prediction, it’s a fact. Since the iPad came bursting in to the scene, desktops and notebooks have been in decline. Combined, they sell about a hundred million fewer units than six or seven years ago. Apple sells more than twice as many iPads as Macs, for many years now.

Macs have actually bucked the trend, pretty much maintaining their unit volume against an overall contracting market, so Apple has actually increased its market share with respect to PCs.

Flawed analysis. Desktop sales declined not because of a tablets, but because you desktops last a lot longer because you get more value for your money. Your table doesn’t include the hundreds of millions who already have functioning desktops. Meanwhile nobody had a tablet in 2010, so purchases shot up as consumers did their first buying round.

However the reality is that tablets are gimmicks at worst and toys at best, and will never replace laptops or desktops. A phone processor with no cooling that throttles itself at 30% load is useless for anything other than web browsing and watching YouTube, which is all most iPad owners do on them even after spending 1000+ dollars. Hell, you can’t even type an email on a tablet without wanting to kill yourself.

iPads are redundant pleasure purchases for couch surfing, or expensive toys you give to your children.

 

[rog]

My "ancient" late 2014 4Ghz i7 is still faster than most current Macs. After 4 years the Mac"Pro" is a whopping twice as fast for twice the price! I'll be keeping this one for a while. My cracked screen I've been dreading paying for a replacement for will now hopefully get replaced for free!

 

[Romey-Rome]

1) Find some broken screen iMacs on eBay/CL/OfferUp for cheap
2) Wait until Dec
3) Profit

 

[macduke]

I agree, wish they would use NVIDIA. But overall, as long as a 2018 iMac shows up with no more mechanical drives, no removal of RAM door or reasonable RAM options, an i9, and somewhat upgraded GPUs, I'm in. I don't need a redesign or anything crazy either.

Yeah the RAM door thing has me torn between that and the iMac Pro. Well that and the price. I know the iMac Pro can be upgraded later at the Apple Store, but doing it yourself is a lot more convenient and cheaper. Makes me think they'll probably remove it. I don't really think I need an 8+ core system with the iMac Pro, but I would like the faster GPU. They should be moving to six cores and the i9 as you said so that will probably be plenty fast. But that i9 that runs hotter may mean that Apple puts a similar new cooling system like the iMac Pro which could mean the RAM door goes away (that was Apple's rationale for removing it).

With the fast I/O for SSDs, eGPUs, i9, and support for additional displays, it should last a good long while without breaking the bank like the Pro models. With gigabit in my neighborhood now, I'm hoping it gets 10Gbps ethernet built-in as well as UHS-II SD card slot which are both found in the iMac Pro and should be making their way down the line. If not there are always dongles, lol. It would be icing on the cake if it got 802.11ax, which I think is standardized now and new devices with it will be coming out this autumn. But if not I can always use ethernet since it's a desktop and it's next to my router, but it would just make AirDrops, handoff, etc that much faster.

 

[Oldmanmac]

So, only *new*, no refurbs?

 

[rog]

Anyone actually confirm this with an attempt at such a repair? My repair center said they'd have no problem ordering this screen for my late 2014.

 

[dwd3885]

I’m going in tomorrow I’ll let you know

 

[Opinion Leader / Analyst]

I say they embrace the notch!

View attachment 791450

**** THE NOTCH

 

[davester]

Please no!!, Apple "redesign" usually means taking something away or replace it for something less functional

Interesting thing you said. I remember updates used to mean that something was going to be improved but as you mentioned, it's like saying 'which useful limb is Apple going to remove today?'

 

[rrm74001]

It's time for a redesign!

I mean, as far as an all-in-one design, I think it is pretty much perfect (as far as aesthetics/chassis). It is about all-in-one as you can get. With an all-in-one, at the very least you need a screen, right? And they have built the computer "inside" the screen.

Is there anything in particular you want them to change? Or are you just asking for change for the sake of change?

 

[AppleHaterLover]

I mean, as far as an all-in-one design, I think it is pretty much perfect (as far as aesthetics/chassis). It is about all-in-one as you can get. With an all-in-one, at the very least you need a screen, right? And they have built the computer "inside" the screen.

Is there anything in particular you want them to change? Or are you just asking for change for the sake of change?

I don’t think they’ll redesign anything considering they’ve just identical iMac Pro...

 

[dilbert99]

Amazing they support such old hardware.

What 4 year old hardware, hardly such.
[doublepost=1538554925][/doublepost]I guess Timmys just in time approach comes off the rails at times.

 

[Majven]

Weird. I can't imagine there are a lot of iMac displays that get damaged.

They have some issues with that model, particularly ghosting. They replaced mine iMac screen under customer warranty 2 months ago. It was 3,5 years old!

 

[MistrSynistr]

I have a 2015 5K with SSD and it performs amazing, looks brand new.

That said, they need to redesign the iMac with less chin, less bezel, offer it in varied colors.

Face ID, Touch ID on the keyboard....things like that.

 

[dwd3885]

Took my late 2014 iMac in and they said $585 to replace. No mention of free. When I brought it up they still said no.
[doublepost=1538591905][/doublepost]I even called Apple and asked for a one time exception and they said no. I know everyone talks about the amazing Apple support but I have yet to see any of these 'hey my old iMac got fixed for free' things ever and I've been a hardcore apple customer for years.

 

[lec0rsaire]

Unless you can sell the broken iMac for more on eBay, take the $600 discount. Or wait for the free repair, sell it and then get a new one if the market price for a working iMac of that year is more than $600.

Edit: Yeah you're not going to be getting much more than $800-900 for a working 2014 5K model and that's before eBay's commission. Just take the damn discount and get a new machine. You won't get a better deal than that. Christmas is around the corner anyway!

The 2015s are worth more apparently and it can fluctuate between $800-2000 depending on the configuration and luck. Sometimes people overpay.

 

[gnasher729]

My guess—and experience—is that they suffer from image retention. Anecdotal evidence points towards that.

If course not. The offer applies if the customer damages their screen, is willing to pay the repair, and Apple can’t repair it. Anything that Apple would have to fix for free, they fix for free.
[doublepost=1538666074][/doublepost]

There’s something missing here. Free repair for damaged display?? In or out of warranty.
Is the display prone to damage in normal usage? i.e. faulty/dangerous?

If so, a $600 trade-in, for what should be a Woking computer is insulting. That Mac should have years of life left in it.

These are computers with broken displays, out of warranty. Normally the customer would have the choice of selling a broken computer on eBay, or paying for the repair. Since Apple has problems finding enough screens, they offer customers two more options: Wait some time and get the repair for free instead of paying, or get a much newer Mac for $600 off the normal price and don’t pay for the repair. Two additional choices, so the customer may be better off and won’t be worse off.

 

[macboy2000]

Took my late 2014 iMac in and they said $585 to replace. No mention of free. When I brought it up they still said no.
[doublepost=1538591905][/doublepost]I even called Apple and asked for a one time exception and they said no. I know everyone talks about the amazing Apple support but I have yet to see any of these 'hey my old iMac got fixed for free' things ever and I've been a hardcore apple customer for years.

Thanks for the update. Was your screen broken? Mine has severe image retention but is out of warranty.

 

[dwd3885]

Thanks for the update. Was your screen broken? Mine has severe image retention but is out of warranty.

No, not broken. I have black lines on bottom left and right of screen that are faint but they said dust got in the screen. I argue that it's a design flaw and I'm 6 months out of warranty so I didn't expect a repair but still disappointing.