Death of 27" iMac is a good thing.

[satchmo]

I know many here were waiting for that 27" iMac, but in some respects it's demise was not only warranted, but a good thing.

Here's why.

We know when iMacs get old and slow down, they're usefulness is limited. Specifically because of their inability to be used as a secondary target display.

By separating the display from computer, your new Studio Display with never be obsolete (well unless you want 8K or 120hz or 32").
Pair it with a M1 Mac mini for $2300 USD which is probably where the 27" iMac would have been priced.

And down the road, as your needs change, upgrade to a M2 Mac mini, or even a Studio Mac.
Sure that all-in-one is gone, but a Mac mini is pretty minimalist.

Spending $1600 USD on a Studio Display is an investment...but it will likely last longer than any 27" iMac would have.

 

[usagora]

I haven't watched the event yet. Did they say the iMac 27" is being discontinued or are you just guessing?

 

[Ifti]

I haven't watched the event yet. Did they say the iMac 27" is being discontinued or are you just guessing?

its been discontinued

 

[deuce sluice]

Sure, but that's always been the case against going for any iMac. Couple of specific quibbles, though:

* There's no desktop M1 Pro option right now. I'm assuming it'll come eventually in a Mini, but I certainly figured a 27" iMac would have Pro / Max options. Personally, I don't need the Max but I want that encoding engine the Pro-and-above processors have.

* The thing that you can do with an AIO that you can't as easily is specialized non-standard display connections, which may be necessary if we're talking about a 5K display with 120hz ProMotion capabilities. The Studio Display is basically the same screen I have in my current 5K iMac, and it's fine, but something with ProMotion has to be on the way in some form or another.

 

[usagora]

its been discontinued

But did Apple say that? That's what I was asking. EDIT: I see it's not in the store right now, but I'm asking did they say there will not be any new ones in the future.

 

[Feyl]

The bigger iMac is not dead people. Apple probably can't make them in mass yet. It will come in the future for sure.

 

[JamesMay82]

The bigger iMac is not dead people. Apple probably can't make them in mass yet. It will come in the future for sure.

Yes but they do say the desktop market for them is small and perhaps the 27inch is smaller still. Perhaps they are testing the water to see how this set up sells. Perhaps they will have a larger uptake on the display from the laptop crowd

 

[fwmireault]

But did Apple say that? That's what I was asking. EDIT: I see it's not in the store right now, but I'm asking did they say there will not be any new ones in the future.

No, and Gurman is still saying that a larger iMac is in the pipeline for a mid-2022 release. I wouldn't be so sure the larger iMac is discontinued. The question is, specs-wise and price-wise, will it be closer to the 24 inch iMac or the previous iMac Pro.

 

[sdugoten]

But did Apple say that? That's what I was asking. EDIT: I see it's not in the store right now, but I'm asking did they say there will not be any new ones in the future.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1501352016026619906

confirmed it's dead

 

[dizmonk]

But did Apple say that? That's what I was asking. EDIT: I see it's not in the store right now, but I'm asking did they say there will not be any new ones in the future.

Xda developers said they contacted Apple to verify and they said Apple confirmed it...

Apple kills 27-inch iMac, leaving only two Intel-powered Macs available

Apple has discontinued the 2020 Intel 27-inch iMac, leaving the i5/i7 Mac Mini and Mac Pro as the company's last Intel-powered Mac computers.

www.xda-developers.com

 

[macmyworld]

Terrible news. Mac mini isn't a replacement for those of us with two external monitors.

iMac has been a workhorse for me and I do not like the cost to replace it with the new Studio and 27" display.

Apple has made a mess of the various M1 chips. Many people use three monitors.

 

[ian87w]

I know many here were waiting for that 27" iMac, but in some respects it's demise was not only warranted, but a good thing.

Here's why.

We know when iMacs get old and slow down, they're usefulness is limited. Specifically because of their inability to be used as a secondary target display.

By separating the display from computer, your new Studio Display with never be obsolete (well unless you want 8K or 120hz or 32").
Pair it with a M1 Mac mini for $2300 USD which is probably where the 27" iMac would have been priced.

And down the road, as your needs change, upgrade to a M2 Mac mini, or even a Studio Mac.
Sure that all-in-one is gone, but a Mac mini is pretty minimalist.

Spending $1600 USD on a Studio Display is an investment...but it will likely last longer than any 27" iMac would have.

The whole point of an iMac is simplicity, not modularity.

 

[usagora]

nevermind (didn't see the "edit" on one of the articles)

 

[G46&Fbnth5]

I would agree, if the Studio Display cost $900.

 

[satchmo]

The whole point of an iMac is simplicity, not modularity.

Simplicity only if you don't use any peripherals.

 

[usagora]

Given the discontinuation of the 27" iMac as a choice for buyers, it would SURE be nice if Apple offered special pricing for users buying the Mac Studio AND Studio Display together, but I guess that would be unprecedented for Apple.

 

[jay-A]

1) If specced well enough, iMacs, just like other macs, don't 'slow down' as they age. If your computer slows down that's either because you have installed too much bloatware or that you went cheap when you specced it.

2) Just that Apple has discontinued the 27 inch intel iMac does not mean another 27 inch iMac won't ever be coming. Gurman says it's still coming. No one at apple said that they would never do this format again.

3) There is a price gap in the desktop line btw a 24 inch imac and the super expensive mac studio/studio display duo. From a marketing standpoint it would be foolish not to fill it with a machine that has been an absolute best seller for more than 10 years.

So patience is all you need here.

 

[satchmo]

Sure, but that's always been the case against going for any iMac. Couple of specific quibbles, though:

* There's no desktop M1 Pro option right now. I'm assuming it'll come eventually in a Mini, but I certainly figured a 27" iMac would have Pro / Max options. Personally, I don't need the Max but I want that encoding engine the Pro-and-above processors have.

* The thing that you can do with an AIO that you can't as easily is specialized non-standard display connections, which may be necessary if we're talking about a 5K display with 120hz ProMotion capabilities. The Studio Display is basically the same screen I have in my current 5K iMac, and it's fine, but something with ProMotion has to be on the way in some form or another.

As you said and I alluded to, the Mini will no doubt be upgraded to some higher spec M-chip. Whether it's M2 or M1 Pro, I'm sure it's coming down the line. And being modular, you can even go Ultra one day.

The thing with ProMotion is you're going to pay big bucks for that...whether as an AIO or as a standalone display.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

The whole point of an iMac is simplicity, not modularity.

And yet, how many things do you have hooked to your iMac? Those early ones were much more "all in one." Over time, they become "much in one" computers. For example, I actually had- and still have- a need for optical disc. Orginal iMacs had it. But since Apple decided "bag of hurt" blah, blah, blah, I had iMacs with an optical drive (big) dongle attached.

Apple internal storage pricing is EXPENSIVE but storage growth needs begged (me) for more. So my "all in one" has another big dongle as external storage.

If this new Studio Monitor had been 27" iMac but with only 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB C jacks on it, I have some peripherals that need USB-A (and obviously, I likely need more than 3 jacks) so that would have meant another big dongle hub.

I'm a working Mac guy, so need Windows too. Wanting to embrace Silicon but still needing Bootcamp meant I needed to return to the traditional "Bootcamp" option of a separate PC. There are plenty of little Mac Mini-like PCs available. And there are a good number of monitors with many inputs so they can have 2 or more computers/consoles attached and be easily used for more than only Mac stuff. Some of them have built in KVM switches so that ONE keyboard, mouse, external speaker can be used by the various computer/consoles attached to them. Choosing the right monitor meant I can have a Parallels-like experience on ONE monitor instead of needing 2 whole separate systems... AND embrace Silicon too... and not have an annual subscription.

As I now see it, Mac Studio or probably this years Mac Mini M1/2 PRO can be the new "iMac" except one can choose ANY size screen instead of only the size chosen for us by a corporation, potentially with any kind of jacks not necessarily all around back, or any kind of stand that doesn't cost $400 extra to raise or lower it nor have to decide your one type of connection need for life of monitor up front, etc.

Just do what we've slowly had to do with iMac (not really) "all in ones" (after the early models) as things have been pushed OUTSIDE of the box... and consider the monitor- any monitor you want (any size, any width, rotatable to portrait, etc)- one more dongle.

When any part conks or is software obsoleted, replace just the part instead of having to do what I'm having to do- throw out the whole thing (best monitor, best macOS computer, best Windows computer) because one part is almost dead.

 

[UltimateSyn]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1501352016026619906

confirmed it's dead

This still doesn’t mean that a larger “iMac Pro” can’t be added back into their product line as a branch off the current 24” iMac.

 

[SpotOnT]

sorry - duplicate.

 

[Mr. Dee]

What if it shows up this fall in an even larger size?

 

[briko]

Apple did not need to KILL the 27” iMac.

They just needed to REVIVE target display mode.

That makes the entire argument about wasting good displays when the iMac ages a moot point.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Yes, but that was about what- 7 years- for a new version of Target Display Mode to come back to iMac and never such a move?

If I was willing to buy an iMac "bigger" again, part of the requirement would be a way to use it as a monitor after the computing guts conked or were obsoleted by macOS upgrades. There were some rumors of an HDMI jack on iMac ''bigger" that had many seeing nearly no purpose in that. I was thinking what if that is HDMI IN to be the new TDM option? If I was still interested in an iMac "bigger" myself, the ONLY way I would buy one is a return of some form of TDM. The value is great at the beginning but feels very wasteful at the end when one part goes and the whole thing has to be trashed.

Apple instead solved that issue completely by at least temporarily killing iMac "bigger." A screen- now separate- has much greater flexibility for use well beyond the lifetime of the new Studio or other Macs attached to it. And other screens can scratch much posted itches for a 30" iMac, 32" screen, 40" screen, ultra-wide, rotatable to portrait, etc.

Again, I just see it as one more dongle... one which offers a way for anyone to get whatever screen size/resolution/format they want for their new Mac.

If NOT a new TDM, build an iMac with a removable back (like the early ones) and a way to easily swap the tech guts for new guts and plug in the "old" screen again. Screens can go 8, 10, 12 years. iMac guts feel stretched at about 4-6 years. Bring your aging iMac into an Apple store, pay for the new guts, they go in the back and install them, leave with a functionally new Mac... without wasting a screen.

But, but what about Apples profit? They can just price the new guts plus install at borderline crazy pricing, not quite entirely new iMac. They save the costs of new monitor, jacks, (apparently insanely high cost monitor) stands, etc while commanding the Apple premium for mostly a circuit board. Recycle the old, dead/obsolete one and spin even more "environmental friendly" PR too.

 

[Jimmdean]

The absence of the 27" iMac and the existence of the Studio Display are separate things. Current Apple displays (except for the 24" iMac) are Pro displays that most people do not need and normal users would be ill-advised to buy. For regular consumers a Mac Mini and literally any other 27"+ monitor is a better buy. Eventually when Apple realizes that (I'm sure they already know) the 27" (or maybe slightly larger) iMac will return. It's really kind of silly that the 24" iMac doesn't already have a larger sibling that is nearly identical otherwise - I'm sure it was just a manufacturing or supply chain issue.