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Apple's 2026 Mac Plans
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I’d love a Studio Display to use with a Mac Mini but they are just too flipping expensive.
Apple is killing th Mac Pro with their glacial pace of updates. The industries that use it are highly competitive and need upgrades often. What are they thinking?
I want a Mac in Pacific blue or something like it. A good teal. Not too dark, not too bright. Bondi Blue was a great color they abandoned too soon
For me the problem is their entire concept of UI is flawed at the foundation. Almost every choice they make is a downgrade because the goal seems to be to unify MacOS and iOS as much as possible and be able to say “ the UI just gets out of the way of your content” which is an absurd priority when I use these computers to do *work* on the content. I need the UI to be there and I need it to be well designed
And it’s not anymore
RAM and memory are the same thing. Maybe you mean SSD storage.
How much storage you need depends on your use case, how many files you have, how large the apps are that you’re using. If you don’t work in video production and don’t have a humongous media library, maybe 512 GB is all you need for storage. If you haven’t run out of storage space on your current unit and you still have plenty left, you can use that as your target for the next machine.
As for RAM (memory), I would say that the base MacBook Pro model is probably all you will need, based on the small amount of information you gave (wanting to use the machine with a VM). If you can afford it, you might want to get just a little bit more RAM than you think you will need. You can always add an external hard drive for more data storage later, but you can’t do the same with RAM.
Note that there is a *huge price gap* between the MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 and 16-inch M4 base models now. The base 16-inch model already comes with 24 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. If you’re going for the 14-inch, you can still upgrade to 24 GB RAM and 512 GB storage and it will come out much cheaper than a 16-inch model. I don’t know your needs, but the 16-inch M4 models are not really a good value right now, unless you have the money to blow and absolutely need that extra screen size. Maybe better to wait and see if Apple will come down on price when they release the 16-inch M5 pro models, if that screen size is important to you.
Also, the MacBook Airs with 24 GB or more also run virtualized machines quite well. If you’re not doing video production or anything especially taxing on the processor, and you don’t have a lot of peripherals to connect to the computer, the MacBook Airs still represent your best value.
Finally, you probably know this already, but modern Mac laptops cannot be upgraded after the fact, so what you buy is what you get.
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If I am not mistaken, some PC laptops are this way as well. For example, the ThinkPad X13 Gen 6 Intel (13") describes the RAM as "16 GB LPDDR5X-8533MT/s (Soldered)."
So apparently you buy it with 16GB RAM and that's all you get. Just like Macs.
So apparently you buy it with 16GB RAM and that's all you get. Just like Macs.
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Yes.
There's even Intel Lunar Lake, where memory resides on the side of the package, just like with Apple's ARM Macs.
I’m a professional designer and have used iMacs for my work since the late 1990s. I’ve stuck with them because of the reasonable price/value and the compact form factor, as I work out of very small spaces. I’ve had three so far, and they have all lasted me 7-10 years (all still working when retired). Over each of their lifetimes, I think display technology would have changed enough that I’d likely want or need to pick up a new monitor if I had a separate CPU Mac.
I get the waste argument for all-in-one computers, I just think for a lot of people’s real-world needs and use-cases, it’s more of a conceptual issue.
Ironically, with the current state of the iMac, my next setup may have to be a mini + non-Apple monitor.
iMacs are known to have quite decent monitors for their price. IMO Apple need to up their iMac game to ProMotion to keep that advantage.
Interesting when you think about numbers and adjust for inflation.
- In 2002 I bought my first iMac G3 500 in indigo. It cost me $1499 CA which is about $2449 in 2025. I upgraded the RAM to 8gb after about a year.
- In 2006 I bought an eMac for $1299 CA which is about $1976 in 2025.
- In mid 2011 I bought my 21.5 Intel iMac for $1199 CA which is about $1639 in 2025. During its service I spent about $700 to upgrade to 32gb RAM, a 500gb SSD and an s2600 Intel i7.
- In 2024 I bought an M3 iMac which started at $1699 CA. But I wanted 16/512 spec with 10/10 Cores and bought a refurb from Apple for $1829 CA.
As the computers got ever more advanced they also got cheaper when adjusted for inflation. Wild.
- In 2002 I bought my first iMac G3 500 in indigo. It cost me $1499 CA which is about $2449 in 2025. I upgraded the RAM to 8gb after about a year.
- In 2006 I bought an eMac for $1299 CA which is about $1976 in 2025.
- In mid 2011 I bought my 21.5 Intel iMac for $1199 CA which is about $1639 in 2025. During its service I spent about $700 to upgrade to 32gb RAM, a 500gb SSD and an s2600 Intel i7.
- In 2024 I bought an M3 iMac which started at $1699 CA. But I wanted 16/512 spec with 10/10 Cores and bought a refurb from Apple for $1829 CA.
As the computers got ever more advanced they also got cheaper when adjusted for inflation. Wild.
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Love my HP touch screen laptop. More and more software including the OS love to toss up unwanted popups. It is much easier to get rd of them by touching the screen then moving your mouse away from your work area.
I thought so until I went to a lawyer office and there was a gov thing where you had to digitally sign on the screen on their computer. You do not have to use it if you do not want to.
I hope it will be NOTHING like a typical 2in1 hinge, they are notoriously fragile.
Aqua was cool though, compared with Apple Platinum and I still love it to this day. It was very functional. Liquid Glass doesn't have the same vibe for me. I don't want to get a new Mac or spend $129 US just to use it, like I did with Aqua.
Just come out with the new Mac Pro already!
They must be waiting on the M5 Ultra now. Meaning M4 Ultra ain't a happening and they might be putting all their resources toward the M5 Ultra to have it ready sooner, rather than later.
They must be waiting on the M5 Ultra now. Meaning M4 Ultra ain't a happening and they might be putting all their resources toward the M5 Ultra to have it ready sooner, rather than later.
The [redacted] who call themselves GNOME devs will work their guts off to make 100% sure that 'Linux on the desktop' is even farther away.
I just want a window manager that does not scream 'hey look at me, see the shiny, shiny etc etc' and allows me to get on with work.
It's strange to me that, generally speaking, Adwaita-styled apps look and work really well yet the same cannot be said for their desktop environment. Whose genius idea was "computers shouldn't work like a computer"?
Have you used it recently? Plasma 6 is really good. A little overwhelming if you let the System Settings suck you in, but super usable without venturing into the depths of customization.
Of course, there's no pleasing everyone, as Apple is always eager to show us!
Most people are familiar with smartphones, not with 1990s-style desktops. So that's what modern UI tailors towards. It has downsides, but there's reasons for it.
That would look really nice. It would be neat if they did a colour refresh and matched all the original G3 colours using frosted glass.
They could even throw in a few limited editions to recreate flower power and Dalmatian and charge $10k as an “exclusive” and call it the “30th Anniversary iMac” in 2028.
True. Maybe there will be a setting allowing the user to choose between a touchscreen-friendly UI with bigger icons, buttons, etc. and the existing macOS clickpad/pointer-only UI. If we're lucky. If by icons you mean only the Finder icons, we already have the ability to adjust their size, so maybe if there is an overall touchscreen vs. clickpad UI settings option, it'll at least partly operate by adjusting these existing settings.
There might (if we're lucky) be a settings option to select between a touchscreen-friendly UI with bigger buttons, etc. versus the regular macOS clickpad/pointer-based UI.
So if the Mac Mini line is refreshed around mid-2026, then I may wait until then, instead of ordering an M4 Pro Mac Mini line around February or March as initially planned.