Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Looking to Launch Lower-Cost iMac in 2014

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,237
39,041



Apple may be preparing to release a cheaper model of the iMac in 2014, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states in a new research note. The analyst believes that sales of recent iMac models have failed to meet expectations and that Apple may look to introduce a lower-cost option in order to bolster sales in critical foreign markets.
imac_family_2013-800x655.jpg
Our surveys indicate that Apple's last iMac model, released at end-2012 with an all-new-design, shipped fewer-than-expected units in the worldwide market. We think the price was set too high and the model failed to make an impact in critical foreign markets like China. We thus think Apple may offer a budget iMac model to push shipments among non-US markets in the face of solid competition from Levono (CN), HP (US) and other rivals.

We are optimistic that a budget iMac would boost overall iMac shipments to grow 10-20% YoY in 2014.
Click to expand...
After a major redesign last year, the iMac was given a surprise refresh last month as Apple updated the line of desktops based on Intel's Haswell processors, faster PCI Express-based flash storage options, and new 802.11ac Wi-Fi capabilities. Currently, the entry-level iMac 21.5 inch iMac starts at $1,299, while the 27-inch iMac starts $1,799. Both models are $100 more expensive than the previous generation iMacs, which debuted in 2011.

Article Link: Apple Looking to Launch Lower-Cost iMac in 2014
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/13/apple-reportedly-looking-to-launch-lower-cost-imac-in-2014/
They have an EDU version that they sell for $999. Would be simple enough to ramp it up a bit more and offer it more generally...
 
This would be good news, especially if available worldwide.

That being said, the PC market is shrinking due to phones and tablets. My wife now uses our iMac once every 3 months to do light Excel work. 99% of her "computing" is done on her iPhone. Cars vs. Trucks....
 
I wonder what their definition of "cheaper" is. The 5C was supposed to be "cheaper" and still cost over $500 unsubsidized.
 
CHOO CHOO! All aboard the iMac train! I wouldn't mind buying a lower-cost iMac for a family member or friend. Great way to introduce more people to OS X.
 
Apple will eventually have to move the low-end Macs to their own ARM chips using a version of OS X that can run on ARM architecture. It's going to be the only way for Apple to save money while maintaining high profit margins.

The A7 is already as fast as 2011-era Macbook Airs (given a power/MHz bump), it should be good enough for basic Mac desktops.

These base Macs should sell for 499, including Display & SSD. It would essentially be an iPad with a keyboard, running OS X.
 
So is this research note lets throw crap at the wall and see what sticks? :rolleyes:
 
leftywamumonkey said:
How about they just sell it without a display?
Click to expand...

That's the trend. Take gut after gut out of the former "all in one" but keep the price about the same. Eventually, we'll be buying a glorified thunderbolt hub called an iMac and having to attach everything to it to make a computer. It will be spun as the "thinnest and lightest" iMac ever but we'll need to bring everything to the hub to actually get a working computer.

Then, someone will point out that it's just a thunderbolt hub.

And 500 guys will call him a Samsung troll... and praise this as the "headless Mac we've always wanted", the brilliance of Apple and on and on. We all know how it goes.

;)
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
I hear it will use colorful plastic instead of aluminum but only be priced $100 less while encompassing this year's technology. Then, apparently people will say "for only $100 more" and buy the aluminum one instead because it has the latest tech. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I really wouldn't mind if they brought back the colorful iMacs and in plastic. Would love to have a glossy white one in particular.
 
xVeinx said:
They have an EDU version that they sell for $999. Would be simple enough to ramp it up a bit more and offer it more generally...
Click to expand...

Actually, the lower-cost education-only version (for institutions, not individuals) is $100 more than that: https://www.macrumors.com/2013/03/05/apple-launches-1099-21-5-inch-imac-with-3-3-ghz-dual-core-i3-processor-for-educational-institutions/ -- it's $1099, probably because it uses an i3 instead of an i5 and has a bit less RAM and HD space.

I wonder how much they could save on production by not making the desktop computer super-thin for absolutely no reason.
 
And people are gonna hate when this iMac doesn't turn out to be 'low-cost' after all... Think iPhone 5c.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
I hear it will use colorful plastic instead of aluminum but only be priced $100 less while encompassing this year's technology. Then, apparently people will say "for only $100 more" and buy the aluminum one instead because it has the latest tech. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

They've done the color and plastic iMac before...
But this was hilarious.
 
How about they just update the mac mini. The 2012/13 iMac is such a fail.

HobeSoundDarryl said:
I hear it will use colorful plastic instead of aluminum...
Click to expand...

Pretty much all the older iMacs were plastic. It's not like the shell is the important part of the computer.
 
The failure was in part the very in price increase across all models with the recent refresh.

I think if Apple drop the 21.5 high end price a little and replace the 21.5 low end with this edu model I think Apple will get more sales. Adding the edu model as a 5th model is a bad idea.
 
The reason why they didn't ship as many as they thought is real simple: besides it being thinner, there really wasn't anything productively special about it.
 
Bring back the white macbook, idc if its a repackaged mini. It should retail at $599. But knowing apple we'll be lucky if it sits below $999.
 
wingsabre said:
I wonder what their definition of "cheaper" is. The 5C was supposed to be "cheaper" and still cost over $500 unsubsidized.
Click to expand...

The 5c wasn't actually supposed to be cheaper. That's just something some stupid analysts made up.

(Re this rumor, who knows? Kuo is supposed to be the best of the analysts... but that's like being the most honest politician.)
 
One man's perspective

I can tell you as someone whom looked at buying three iMac's this year (21" for two of my kids and a 27" for myself), it was NOT just about the cost! It was about the repairability and design! My wife's 2010 iMac is a thing of beauty; both to look at and to repair/upgrade. I was able to relatively easily upgrade the machine, adding an SSD and more RAM, without paying the extortionate upgrade process for these items from Apple. One look at the glue-based mess that is the new iMac design was enough to turn me off. For goodness sake, the 21" iMac does not even have accessible RAM. Ive's my ass. Rubenstein would shake his head in disgust!

At the end of the day I chose to buy Mac mini's instead. I can only hope Apple rethinks the design of the iMac in the next release.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back