Apple Planning to Launch 4K 21.5-Inch iMac in Late October

[MacRumors]

Apple will announce an updated 21.5-inch iMac with a 4K display at the end of October alongside the release of OS X El Capitan, reports 9to5Mac. The new iMac will then begin shipping out to customers in early November.

A new 21.5-inch Retina iMac has been anticipated for several months, following the discovery of code in OS X El Capitan that pointed towards a 21.5-inch machine with a resolution of 4096 x 2304. That code pointed towards Broadwell chips with Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 and AMD Radeon M380 - M395X discrete graphics, which may hint at the hardware we'll see in the updated iMac.

Reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said in early August that the iMac line would receive a refresh this quarter, adding new processors and improved display quality that brings greater color saturation.

Apple began updating its iMac lineup last October, with the launch of the 27-inch Retina iMac. Updates across the line have been slow, however, due to Intel's ongoing Broadwell chip delays, and the 21.5-inch iMac has not seen an update since 2013.

It is not clear if Apple will release multiple 21.5-inch iMac models during the October refresh, or which chips those machines might use. Skylake chips appropriate for the iMac are launching "later this year," but there are a handful of Broadwell chips appropriate for various 21.5-inch iMac models.

Article Link: Apple Planning to Launch 4K 21.5-Inch iMac in Late October

 

[antman2x2]

What an about updated 27" inch? Pretty pleeeeeeeeease?

 

[blufire95]

Why no standard UHD? simply double the pixel density like the 27". Or do they need 4096 for 4K Advertising?

 

[Crosscreek]

Sure would like to see a 24" 4K iMac.

 

[Barry Bishop]

Any code about an updated card within the mac pro?

 

[scottish]

Hoping for a 27 inch update too!

 

[kazmac]

Well, I've been put into a financial corner that means I'll have to upgrade this Fall. Just not sure if I'll go iMac again because I wasn't keen on the 2013 model of the 21.5" (that may have been the old display and it's internals.) If a mini and a display are announced though, I think I'd go with that personally, unless Apple offers a high end 21.5" with 16gb ram and SSD drive as stock rather than BTO.

Tired of waiting and flip flopping. Although I am super glad I cancelled my order this week.

 

[maflynn]

Personally, a 27" would have been better, but I understand that it would have competed against their 5k iMac

 

[nepalisherpa]

And, they couldn't do 4K on the new Apple TV (at least per the rumors).

 

[Spendlove]

I am afraid I can't afford one for a long time. Still I am loving my customised 27" iMac. Best computer I ever bought.

I wonder how awesome iMacs will be the next time I need one/want one in about five years?

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

I'd buy a couple if they offered a matching Apple monitor for a dual-monitor setup.

 

[newyorksole]

Yessss been waiting for this! Even though my Mid 2010 21.5" is absolutely fine, it would be nice to have a new desktop.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

And, they couldn't do 4K on the new Apple TV (at least per the rumors).

Not doing 4K on the Apple TV is about keeping the price down as low as possible. There isn't much in the way of 4K content currently and few people have 4K TVs so there's little reason to support it, especially since it's an added expense that makes less likely to purchase it.

On the Mac you have plenty of apps that are Retina already. There's already a market there.

 

[duaneu]

I'm a little suspicious they would have an event just for that. It makes yesterday's rumor about new iPads being announced next week more suspect if this one is true.

 

[nepalisherpa]

Not doing 4K on the Apple TV is about keeping the price down as low as possible. There isn't much in the way of 4K content currently and few people have 4K TVs so there's little reason to support it, especially since it's an added expense that makes less likely to purchase it.

On the Mac you have plenty of apps that are Retina already. There's already a market there.

Between Netflix and Youtube, there are plenty of 4K contents and 4K TVs are a lot cheaper and affordable now. Plus, A8 is perfectly capable of pushing 4K.

 

[richardsim7]

4096 x 2304 at 21.5" would be a PPI of 218.58, which halved (because of the Retina doubling) gives a perfectly useable 109.29 PPI (pretty much the same as a 27" iMac)

 

[manu chao]

Personally, a 27" would have been better, but I understand that it would have competed against their 5k iMac

You mean, a 4K 27" iMac would be better even though that would mean noticeably larger UI and text at the optimal 2x resolution? And even though that would mean selling two otherwise equal Macs with only a fairly small resolution difference with the same screen size? Apple did that only once with the high-res MBP/Powerbook (can't remember which).

 

[Jarman74]

And, they couldn't do 4K on the new Apple TV (at least per the rumors).

I guess it would have been way too early as broadcast and Hollywood film studios are getting aboard the bandwagon with some hesitation. After all, Apple is now barely entering the 4K market with this model.

 

[Gill Bates]

Well this could be very interesting.. and hopefully a decent price

 

[crsh1976]

That code pointed towards Broadwell chips with Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 and AMD Radeon M380 - M395X discrete graphics, which may hint at the hardware we'll see in the updated iMac.

Broadwell? Surely it's supposed to be Skylake, why bother with the previous gen?

I seriously doubt we'll see discrete GPUs that powerful in the 21-inch model, those are probably for the 27-inch model (380M for the budget model, 395X for the top-end one).

 

[MacVault]

So am I safe to order the "New" 3.3GHz 5K Retina model as seen here?

 

[Dave245]

So much for there not being an October event, does this mean the iPad Pro won't be shown at next weeks event

 

[maflynn]

You mean, a 4K 27" iMac would be better even though that would mean noticeably larger UI and text

Yes my 50 year old eyes would appreciate it

 

[RickInHouston]

Broadwell? Surely it's supposed to be Skylake, why bother with the previous gen?

I seriously doubt we'll see discrete GPUs that powerful in the 21-inch model, those are probably for the 27-inch model (380M for the budget model, 395X for the top-end one).

I'll put money down it will be broadwell. I'll LMAO when it happens. Then again, Broadwell / Skylake for desktop systems isn't that big of a gap in performance. It's best with tablets and laptops (battery time and on the chip graphics). Skylake would mostly be an improvement over Broadwell if there is no dedicated graphics in those things.

 

[heeloliver]

Finally. My parents are desperate to replace their 2007 iMac. I keep telling them to hold off just a little longer...once this comes out, I will tell them that it's time.