Heh. People are already complaining 12 GB is not enough. 🙃And we’ll all complain that 12 is not enough and that 24gb of RAM should be the base.
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Apple's M4 iMac: What to Expect
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At minimum put the Apple logo back on front. Shows it's a computer and an Apple.
Right now the front just looks like a $100 PC monitor.
Personally I'd rather they just remove the chin completely.
This is my thinking also. Seems like 2024 is “the year of AI”
with MS’ Copilot+ PCs with NPUs that can run at 45 TOPS and the M4, which can run 38 TOPS.The M3 NPU runs at 18 TOPS and the M2’s NPU runs around 16 TOPS so they may not have enough of an “AI engine” to run the newest features.
My biggest complaints with the 24" iMac are:
- The pastel colors. Backs look good, fronts are boring. At least make the fronts the metallic color of the stand and get rid of the cloudy glass.
- Lack of Logo on the front just looks generic/cheap.
- Still lightning accessories.
- Only 8GB standard, but worse yet is all 3 "retail" configurations are 8GB so you basically have to BTO to get more.
- Light bezels. Kinda harping back on the colors, please Apple at least provide one color configuration with black bezels. I find the light ones to look dated (I'm older and remember when all monitors were light colored) and also harder on the eyes as for me a black border provides an eye buffer for what is around that light colored bezels do not.
- Bring back a larger size option. I'm cool with 27" as I've found that size to be the sweet spot for me for the distance I like my monitor away from me. Any larger and I either need to push the monitor back more, which defeats the purpose of the larger display anyway or I find that I'm moving my head/neck/eyes around too much and it creates strain. But I know others would like larger.
- The pastel colors. Backs look good, fronts are boring. At least make the fronts the metallic color of the stand and get rid of the cloudy glass.
- Lack of Logo on the front just looks generic/cheap.
- Still lightning accessories.
- Only 8GB standard, but worse yet is all 3 "retail" configurations are 8GB so you basically have to BTO to get more.
- Light bezels. Kinda harping back on the colors, please Apple at least provide one color configuration with black bezels. I find the light ones to look dated (I'm older and remember when all monitors were light colored) and also harder on the eyes as for me a black border provides an eye buffer for what is around that light colored bezels do not.
- Bring back a larger size option. I'm cool with 27" as I've found that size to be the sweet spot for me for the distance I like my monitor away from me. Any larger and I either need to push the monitor back more, which defeats the purpose of the larger display anyway or I find that I'm moving my head/neck/eyes around too much and it creates strain. But I know others would like larger.
Honestly, I don't want 27". I'd much rather have a two-tier system of 24" and 5K 29".
As for the logo, the Apple Studio Display has no front logo, but it looks great, because it has no chin at all.
As for the logo, the Apple Studio Display has no front logo, but it looks great, because it has no chin at all.
The 16GB/512GB storage configuration can be picked up same day at store. Just select the most expensive config and up the memory to see if stores have that in stock. Previous the M1 model with 16GB/1 TB storgage was a hidden 4th option. Apple online can only show 3 choices but sometimes they stock additional premade configurations of thier devices.
Also I believe it still is limited to Blue and Silver.
🤣 yeah this sounds about right. So… you should do everyone a solid and bite that bullet!
The problem with BTO is most 3rd party retailers usually won't carry it. So for example, if there is a sale at Best Buy, you can't buy a 16 GB iMac as they don't carry 16 GB models at all.
The good news is that is changing. For example, the MacBook Air 16 GB is now a standard model, available at retailers like Best Buy. Why they didn't bring that to the M3 iMac, I don't know, but maybe they decided there was not enough demand for 16 GB iMacs to justify a bunch of 16 GB SKUs for in-store purchases. There is much more demand for 16 GB MacBook Airs.
Add the power brick. An all-in-one should be an ALL-in-one, not the kinda 3/4-in-one that it is now.
Apple it's a desktop; I can live with it being 5mm thicker if that eliminates the brick and goes back to just the power cable.
They killed the iMac so well that nobody wants it anymore. Maybe just kids.. bravo!
Apple was blind sided and entered the AI race too late. Their share price was affected for a while because of that. Now they are playing catch up. In the coming WWDC, if their AI announcement is underwhelming, the share price will drop. Hence, they need to push out their latest chip to handle the high AI requirements asap. With M4 and their partnership, they might just be able to make some decent announcements.This is my thinking also. Seems like 2024 is “the year of AI”
The M3 NPU runs at 18 TOPS and the M2’s NPU runs around 16 TOPS so they may not have enough of an “AI engine” to run the newest features.
We will understand more from WWDC, which is not far off.
I stopped going back a decade ago. I've got a 2007 27" iMac that needs to be taken somewhere. I think Staples or BestBuy will take it??? I know Staples takes old printers. It would be nice if it could be used as an external monitor, but that's not a feature so now it's e-waste.
2017 switched to a 32" 4k display, then 2023 switched to a 40" ultra-wide 5k2k 2160p display. I guess I shouldn't say never, they might come out with something incredible.
Hoping for USB-C trackpad and keyboard and also hoping it'll be compatible with Vision OS (current M processor series Magic systems aren't compatible). Seems they'll finally update it since it appears the Mini and iMac are being updated this year. That'll be a win. Might pick up a M4 Mini if the base memory/storage capacity increases.
The best deal Apple has ever offered resale wise is the Apple Pro Display 6K XDR. Everyone scoffed at the price but even today the used ones sell for about the same as a new one. I regret not getting one.
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My 2017 27" is still being used by my kid. It feels like a modern machine... cuz it is, as it runs Ventura really well, and Ventura is still supported by Apple.
My 2010 27" works fine as a monitor, but it's not Retina. Actually it works fine as a basic surfing machine too, but it's limited to High Sierra so a lot of modern applications don't run on it. Actually, even most browsers have now given up High Sierra. Even Chrome and Firefox now require 10.15 Catalina or later so to surf you need to run older versions. Too bad though, since the i7 in it makes the performance quite adequate for entry level users, after I installed an SSD in it.
My 2010 27" works fine as a monitor, but it's not Retina. Actually it works fine as a basic surfing machine too, but it's limited to High Sierra so a lot of modern applications don't run on it. Actually, even most browsers have now given up High Sierra. Even Chrome and Firefox now require 10.15 Catalina or later so to surf you need to run older versions. Too bad though, since the i7 in it makes the performance quite adequate for entry level users, after I installed an SSD in it.
Coming in 2024? If it’s November…it’s a little late to the party. Since apples motherboards are very smal I’d rather have an upgradable Mac mini and a separate display. My intel 27 iMacs display is still very good. The computer is slow. Why throw away the display and buy a totally new all in one? Thought Apple was thinking about the environment? Guess it’s only thinking about the environment when it suits their wallet. I hate the hypocrisy 😡
From M1 to M2 to M3 and now M4 we’ve gotten 15-20% performance boosts each time. Thats very respectable and nothing to apologize for. You want to go back to Intel when people thought it was great if they got 5% performance boosts?
The iMac already has USB-C ports. It’s the included keyboard and mouse that still have Lightning (to USB-C) ports and that could well change with the M4 iMac.
In the 'old fashion' days investors actually looked at a company's financials to decide whether it was a good investment or not. Now have drifted more into the which company has a better hype train to ride as opposed to does this P/E ratio make any rational sense. Sadly there is now a notion of 'investors' which primarily folks playing the 'bigger fool' game. Find someone else who looks even less at financials and will buy it at a higher price.
If Apple dumps the M3 generation dies too fast they will probably have trouble paying for the R&D. That would be a net loss. AI is a software-hardware system. M3 runs Siri fast but Siri's software is the highly dubious part. Folks act alike Apple hasn't been putting multiple AI/ML accelerators in the Mac for years. It is the software that is moving slow as molasses. Quickly tossing the M3 into the garbage can isn't going to make a difference. Likewise the VAST majority of folks with M1-M3 systems are not going to buy anything that quickly.
Apple probably won't be selling M3 systems in 2 years. ( e.g, the iPad Air pretty good chance goes from M2 -> M4 and M3 is never seen in iPad line up. ). The M3 Max will probably get a 'short cycle' but those systems sell at a higher premium. If Apple skips the M3 Ultra then totally saves on that R&D cost also. So far the rumors indicate that Apple will ride the MBA M3 systems for about a full year. Those are Apple's best selling systems and best chance to use volume to recoup the shared R&D overhead investment that crosses all of the M3 generation.
Windows has a very different issues. Windows 10 is suppose to be desupported in 2025. Yet 60% of folks are still on it. The overall average age of WinPC systems is older than Macs. That market has a vastly bigger "motivation" problem of getting off older hardware onto newer stuff. ( mainly folks who have pre-pandemic systems and didn't upgrade during the that 'buying boom' cycle. )
In contrast, Apple has 60-70+ % folks on the lastest version of the OS. The macOS ecosystem doesn't really have a major "squat as long as possible" faction. The average upgrade cycle is incrementally better than Windows. There is a substantive "keeping my Mac Pro , box with discrete GPUs cards forever" crowd but relatively not that large to aggregate ecosystem. MBP and Mini folks on the Intel who haven't moved the M4 even without "AI magic sauce" would uncork a decent number of folks. Their system is likely falling into Vintage/Obsolete if more than 5 years old. The performance gap is even more large. etc. The AI stuff is just a 'cherry on top'.
The 'new' AI/ML coming excluding M1-M3 to be useful would be telling about 36 Million users "no soup for you". (Apple is averaging about 12M units per year). That is dumb. It has to be useful for those folks. That is VAST majority of the possible Mac user base. The Mac user base is around 80-100+ M. They only every 'turn over'
only about 12-15% of that. If just start selling the M4 that would be less than 6-7% of the user base getting very substantive utility.
The M4 selling point would more so the AI/ML 2-3 years down the road runs better. Not that M2-M3 can't do a decent job on the current stuff. And Apple's AI/ML is extremely likely going to run on some range of A1x SoCs also. That is an even larger user base where software that skips everyone has limited uplift on moving the whole ecosystem forward. Siri has to "suck less" on those systems too.
the M-series iMac isn't a performance system. It is running the same class SoC as the iPad Pro. They have thinned out the iMac so it is pragmatically an iMac on a stick. Unlikely, the remaining folks buying an iMac are buying it primarily for 'performance' reasons.
Additionally, Apple isn't "wasting" a 27" panel on an iMac at this point because they do not even sell one now. The only 27" iMacs are the Intel ones which are minimally at least 4 years old tech now ( Apple kept selling the iMac 27" well into the transition but it was increasing dated tech) . The "large screen" Mac users is being pointed at discrete monitors for last 4 years. It would only be hypocrisy if they had a product there. They have dropped it. The replacement there is the Mac Studio.
The 24" iMac is far more deeply pointed at general productivity market ( email , generic MS Office , web browser, some 'home' photos and video , general education/testing software , etc. ) for which the plain Mn SoC is plenty to drive the system through its 6-7 year supported lifecycle.
In the Intel era, the Mini was kneecapped with CPU and graphics lower than the iMac. Now it is not. Apple is giving folks more options to decide for themselves now. Some folks want the all-in-one. ( Apple doesn't force folks to leave a 'deposit' with them that they only get back if they recycle. The more important issue is for Apple to give folks better choices/options. Not make them do it only Apple's way. )
Apple could probably port SideCar to the iMac and/or augment screen sharing so that using an iMac as a "viewing terminal" was easier "1-2 clicks" and "Just works" , but there is no show stopper in using an iMac that is still running as just a viewer to another system.. ( setting up a point-to-point IP-over-Thunderbolt network. Not any good reason that couldn't be down with private wired network at high enough bandwidth for very decent resolution and color coverage. )
For me, lightning cable are too fragile. With regular connecting and disconnecting they break on a regular basis. This is NOT an issue with USB-C connector. For the keyboard it is not as issue if I just keep it plugged in. This is not an option with the Magic Mouse since the charging port is on the bottom.
Hmm... YMMV, but I've had more trouble with USB-C than Lightning.
And you will be thrilled at having had the sense not to have purchased an AIO device that would be neither upgradable to change displays nor portable.
The 32 inch “chinless” iMac Pro has to be coming… In no way is the 24 inch model an upgrade over the 27 inch model. I have 40GB of RAM and 5 TB of SSD in mine, and you can’t even get close to that with the 24 inch model.
Yes at the Apple Store. By "retail" configuration I'm of course referring to Apple third party retail like Best Buy, Costco and Amazon.The 16GB/512GB storage configuration can be picked up same day at store. Just select the most expensive config and up the memory to see if stores have that in stock. Previous the M1 model with 16GB/1 TB storgage was a hidden 4th option. Apple online can only show 3 choices but sometimes they stock additional premade configurations of thier devices.
Also I believe it still is limited to Blue and Silver.
It is not really a "entire product line". In terms of the Mac, the iMac and Mac Pro are the only mac systems that come with a discrete keyboard and mouse (**) . (kind of odd Apple puts both in the box with the rack mount version. That likely is a 'waste' over the aggregate systems sold. However, some folks use the rack version tipped sideways as a desk-side version so not always a waste. I can somewhat see why they do it. ) It would expect the keyboard and mice to be almost identical. (the port and a few power management chips inside the only difference). They probably will not have both Lightning and USB-C ports on them. Once they have a USB-C one there is little good reason to keep the Lighting one around. Folks would only need to buy a general USB-C (or A)-to-Lightning cable to charge the 'old ones'. If they have had an older iPhone/iPad how likely is it that folks don't already own one of those cables? ( millions of folks already have these. Especially old keyboard/mouse users. ) Apple is likely going to want to sell the new units at maximum volume.
Apple used the "same cable" for the iPhones as the keyboard/mouse. Well Apple is deep into transitioning the whole iPhone line up to USB-C. Same with the iPad line up. Mac laptop line up ... many (although MagSafe is back). Lots of folks are already have USB-C cables even if been in the Mac ecosystem for a while.
For typing and pointing product line the "Magic Trackpad" needs an update also. ( two keyboards, mouse , and Trackpad ) all in one shot.
** The Mac Pro 2013 skipped the keyboard. In part, because the box was relatively small. For a long while it was only the iMac.
[ Maybe there is a new mouse to adjust so that can use it while plugged up. I suspect they are going to stick with the that "hide the port, it is magical in appearance " dogma though. If there is a redesign that is likely part of the delay. ]
I strongly suspect Apple sells at least an order of magnitude more AirPod containers than they do keyboards and mice. There is way more inertia to get over there than with the keyboard. Plus these "touch ID" keyboards have been relatively new ( given average service life Apple assigns to selling their keyboard mice. Apple goes many years with no changes. ). Pretty good chance they will stretch these "new-ish" Lightning ones out to the 'last minute' and flip them just in time to avoid EU drama. Use most of 2024 to draw down inventories to as low as possible.