Gurman: Apple to Launch New Macs Next Month, With More to Come Around May or June

[AbsurdlyJames]

Just give me the new "big screen" iMac already -- take my $$$ Apple!

I gave up waiting and decided to go the laptop route. I've always had a desktop computer in addition to a laptop, and I figured I would get a 27" iMac to replace my current one. The more I thought about it, the more I figured that wouldn't make sense. I need a laptop for travel, so it was a question of a 27" iMac and a MacBook Air vs. a MacBook Pro, a Thunderbolt Dock (currently thinking it'll be the CalDigit TS4), and two 32" IPS 4K monitors. The more I thought about it, the more I figured the latter would be better both at home and for travel and likely less expensive to boot.

Your mileage may vary, and I bet that 27" iMac screen will be absolutely gorgeous.

 

[Ethosik]

My point was about making iMac Pro+Mac mini presentation “obscured” by Mac Pro were all spotlights and eyes will be and I’ll be deeply surprised if Apple doesn’t present Mac Pro alone. Almost 100% sure about this.
PS: iMac vs iMac Pro is about same product line different specs, like 14”/16” MBP. Mini pro vs iMac Pro vs Mac Pro is about different product lines.

No its not. I couldn't spec a normal iMac to meet the specs of the iMac Pro. It was priced out of the normal consumer pricepoint so no they were not the same product line at all.

They had an announcement with a cheap i5 starting point, fusion drive, $1,399 starting point I believe and then announced the iMac Pro with $5000. No, its not the same product line. Having the iMac announced with the iMac Pro did NOT diminish the iMac OR the iMac Pro value in the same presentation. In fact, they showed the 21.5" iMac in the same presentation as the $5,000 BASE iMac Pro.

I am not really sure what you are trying to get at. Does announcing the M1 Pro and M1 Max at the same time also mean the M1 Pro was useless in the presentation because "all eyes" are on the M1 Max?

This is my entire point, and please follow along. I was responding to the comment that a Mac mini next to a Mac Pro would be INSANE due to the devalue of the Mac mini in the same presentation. This is just not true. And we have had numerous times where Apple has done this with a Consumer priced product vs a Pro priced product IN THE SAME PRESENTATION. That....was.....all. Will it happen this time? Not sure, I don't have a crystal ball. Neither do you, so either of us could be wrong. But to call it impossible, or "Apple won't do it" is not true since there is history to back it up.

 

[Mr.PT]

No its not. I couldn't spec a normal iMac to meet the specs of the iMac Pro. It was priced out of the normal consumer pricepoint so no they were not the same product line at all.

They had an announcement with a cheap i5 starting point, fusion drive, $1,399 starting point I believe and then announced the iMac Pro with $5000. No, its not the same product line. Having the iMac announced with the iMac Pro did NOT diminish the iMac OR the iMac Pro value in the same presentation. In fact, they showed the 21.5" iMac in the same presentation as the $5,000 BASE iMac Pro.

I am not really sure what you are trying to get at. Does announcing the M1 Pro and M1 Max at the same time also mean the M1 Pro was useless in the presentation because "all eyes" are on the M1 Max?

This is my entire point, and please follow along. I was responding to the comment that a Mac mini next to a Mac Pro would be INSANE due to the devalue of the Mac mini in the same presentation. This is just not true. And we have had numerous times where Apple has done this with a Consumer priced product vs a Pro priced product IN THE SAME PRESENTATION. That....was.....all. Will it happen this time? Not sure, I don't have a crystal ball. Neither do you, so either of us could be wrong. But to call it impossible, or "Apple won't do it" is not true since there is history to back it up.

I get your opinion though I’ll stick to mine. So let’s agree on disagree.😉
I can’t spec a 13” MBP to match 14”or 16”, however I believe they’re all part of same product family although aimed and specified for different target audience. Probably that’s why they are listed in same Apple store tab.
BTW I think Apple has done a wonderful job with 14”/16”MBP similar to iPhone Pro/Max, allowing one to choose sizes without compromising performance.
I still feel, considering the nature and amount of questions that AS still has to attend, that those will be addressed by “duo and/or quad” SoC, which seem exclusive to the Mac Pro, hopefully in 2 “flavours”: Mac Pro/Mac Pro “mini”. The last if coupled with the rumoured “affordable” new Apple display could potentially substitute former iMac Pro and would engage more potential customers that were reticent to AIO concept. For all this I’m convinced Mac Pro will “deserve” an exclusive presentation by Apple.
Naturally this is all speculative and in some cases wishful thinking. If we had crystal ball we wouldn’t be around here😁.
PS: “INSANE” and “useless”; your words not mine, which I do not subscribe.

 

[James2McGill3]

So maybe:

• March - M1 Pro/Max Mac mini desktop
• May - M1 Pro/Max 27" iMac all-in-one desktop
• June - Dual/Quad M1 Max Mac Pro desktop (preview at WWDC, release end of 2022)
• October - M2 14" MacBook laptop / M2 Mac mini desktop / M2 24" iMac all-in-one desktop

SO would you recommend me buy some mac mini 16gb with M1pro/max or wait till mac mini 16gb M2 october? now have macbook air i7 2013 with 8gb and sometime appears the "balon playa" (circle with colors). Would likte to spend 869 euros that is now refurbished mac mini 16gb 256gb. Would mac m2 or m1 pro/max be the same price 1029 eur brand new?

Another questios is will the redisgned mac mini will be abatible with mac mini m2 in october or maybe now in mrach 8th.

 

[Ethosik]

I get your opinion though I’ll stick to mine. So let’s agree on disagree.?
I can’t spec a 13” MBP to match 14”or 16”, however I believe they’re all part of same product family although aimed and specified for different target audience. Probably that’s why they are listed in same Apple store tab.
BTW I think Apple has done a wonderful job with 14”/16”MBP similar to iPhone Pro/Max, allowing one to choose sizes without compromising performance.
I still feel, considering the nature and amount of questions that AS still has to attend, that those will be addressed by “duo and/or quad” SoC, which seem exclusive to the Mac Pro, hopefully in 2 “flavours”: Mac Pro/Mac Pro “mini”. The last if coupled with the rumoured “affordable” new Apple display could potentially substitute former iMac Pro and would engage more potential customers that were reticent to AIO concept. For all this I’m convinced Mac Pro will “deserve” an exclusive presentation by Apple.
Naturally this is all speculative and in some cases wishful thinking. If we had crystal ball we wouldn’t be around here?.
PS: “INSANE” and “useless”; your words not mine, which I do not subscribe.

Your words:

Agree, hence Mac Pro will be showcased in WWDC. However a simultaneous presentation of all “desktop” Pro’s line would be overwhelming and a waste of “juicy” marketing: Mac Mini and iMac would look terribly “underpowered”.

So that means when Apple presented the 21.5" iMac NEXT TO a base $5,000 iMac Pro, they were doing things wrong? They were having the 21.5" look terribly "underpowered" JUST FOR announcing it in the same presentation?

Im not discussing consumer vs pro product lines and if they are the same category. My whole point was about that one statement you made that Apple would NOT do such a thing because it would make Product X look terribly "underpowered" compared to Product Y when we have history to back up that Apple has indeed done this in presentations.

Again, I don't know if it will happen this time or not. Neither do you. But you can't say "Apple can't do it because it would make other products in the same presentation look underpowered" because there is history to back up my stance.

And if history repeats itself, if the base 2022 Mac Pro starts at $6,000 again, that will immediately price A LOT....A LOT of customers out of the product. I got a decently upgraded Mac Pro in 2010 for $4,500 but the base 2019 Mac Pro for $6,000 was a complete joke. So no, having a M1 Max Mac mini next to a Mac Pro announcement will not make the Mac mini look "terribly underpowered"

 

[Tagbert]

SO would you recommend me buy some mac mini 16gb with M1pro/max or wait till mac mini 16gb M2 october? now have macbook air i7 2013 with 8gb and sometime appears the "balon playa" (circle with colors). Would likte to spend 869 euros that is now refurbished mac mini 16gb 256gb. Would mac m2 or m1 pro/max be the same price 1029 eur brand new?

Another questios is will the redisgned mac mini will be abatible with mac mini m2 in october or maybe now in mrach 8th.

A Mini with M1 Pro/Max would be at least twice as fast as a Mini with an M2 for many tasks. That M1 Pro/Max will probably be several hundred euros more expensive than the current M1 or a predicted M2. The M2 will probably be a similar price to the M1 and will probably be a little faster but not faster by a large amount.

 

[Tagbert]

Your words:

Agree, hence Mac Pro will be showcased in WWDC. However a simultaneous presentation of all “desktop” Pro’s line would be overwhelming and a waste of “juicy” marketing: Mac Mini and iMac would look terribly “underpowered”.

So that means when Apple presented the 21.5" iMac NEXT TO a base $5,000 iMac Pro, they were doing things wrong? They were having the 21.5" look terribly "underpowered" JUST FOR announcing it in the same presentation?

Im not discussing consumer vs pro product lines and if they are the same category. My whole point was about that one statement you made that Apple would NOT do such a thing because it would make Product X look terribly "underpowered" compared to Product Y when we have history to back up that Apple has indeed done this in presentations.

Again, I don't know if it will happen this time or not. Neither do you. But you can't say "Apple can't do it because it would make other products in the same presentation look underpowered" because there is history to back up my stance.

And if history repeats itself, if the base 2022 Mac Pro starts at $6,000 again, that will immediately price A LOT....A LOT of customers out of the product. I got a decently upgraded Mac Pro in 2010 for $4,500 but the base 2019 Mac Pro for $6,000 was a complete joke. So no, having a M1 Max Mac mini next to a Mac Pro announcement will not make the Mac mini look "terribly underpowered"

If Apple does choose to call all 27” iMacs “Pros” (which is the strongest rumor), then don’t expect them to start at $6000. That old iMac Pro was intended to replace the Mac Pro and contained a very very expensive Xeon processor and ECC RAM. That model is gone now. I would expect a new line of 27” iMac Pros to start around the price of the MBPs and include versions of the M1 Pro and Max chips. It’s not clear if they will decide to include a hypothetical 2xMax or 4xMax in the iMac or just keep those chips to the Mac Pro line. It depends on how they decide to differentiate between the iMac Pro and the Mac Pro.

 

[CWallace]

While I expect the Apple Silicon Mac Pro to be expensive, I do expect it to start below $6000.

What will be interesting is what SoC options are available. I presume each SoC needs its own system board so will we see single M1 Max in addition to the dual and quad versions?

 

[Boil]

While I expect the Apple Silicon Mac Pro to be expensive, I do expect it to start below $6000.

What will be interesting is what SoC options are available. I presume each SoC needs its own system board so will we see single M1 Max in addition to the dual and quad versions?

No single SoC configuration for the Mac Pro, only duals and possible quads...?

 

[Mr.PT]

If Apple does choose to call all 27” iMacs “Pros” (which is the strongest rumor), then don’t expect them to start at $6000. That old iMac Pro was intended to replace the Mac Pro and contained a very very expensive Xeon processor and ECC RAM. That model is gone now. I would expect a new line of 27” iMac Pros to start around the price of the MBPs and include versions of the M1 Pro and Max chips. It’s not clear if they will decide to include a hypotheatrical 2xMax or 4xMax in the iMac or just keep those chips to the Mac Pro line. It depends on how they decide to differentiate between the iMac Pro and the Mac Pro.

Although I agree on your vision about former 27”iMac Pro, I feel it may be too optimistic to expect similar price to MBP. Considering Display size alone (regardless if Apple updates both DPI or “just”refresh rates), probably will make it at least $1k more expensive. So a 27” iMac (Pro) M1Max 32RAM 1TB around $4.5k? That could be “matched” by similar specs Mini “Pro”+27” Display combo at $4.5-5.0k?

 

[Mr.PT]

(…)

It’s not clear if they will decide to include a hypotheatrical 2xMax or 4xMax in the iMac or just keep those chips to the Mac Pro line. It depends on how they decide to differentiate between the iMac Pro and the Mac Pro.

No single SoC configuration for the Mac Pro, only duals and possible quads...?

The way I see, it it will depend if we are getting a new 27” Apple Display or not.
If true, a dual/quad SoC “Headless” Mac coupled with Display will always be considered a better fit investment for Pro/Prosumers customers. If not, some may feel 27”display rewarding enough to go for AIO concept, so iMacPro dual/quad offer could make more sense. Since I’m hopping for new Displays I agree dual/quad SoC will be likely exclusive for Mac Pro.

 

[AbsurdlyJames]

Although I agree on your vision about former 27”iMac Pro, I feel it may be too optimistic to expect similar price to MBP. Considering Display size alone (regardless if Apple updates both DPI or “just”refresh rates), probably will make it at least $1k more expensive. So a 27” iMac (Pro) M1Max 32RAM 1TB around $4.5k? That could be “matched” by similar specs Mini “Pro”+27” Display combo at $4.5-5.0k?

I agree with this analysis and I think it's instructive to walk through it in detail.

The 14" MacBook Pro starts at $1999 with a binned 8/14 M1Pro processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. But a 24" iMac with an 8/8 M1, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD sells for $1899. If Apple were to offer the same quality screen as the 24" iMac in the 27" iMac, with a vanilla M1 and those specs, it might sell for $1999, but even that would seems to be a slight bargain relative to its smaller-screened sibling. If Apple wanted to make that machine (and, admittedly, there is probably significant demand for such a thing), they would have done so long ago. I would be very surprised if the 27" iMac (whether it's labeled "Pro" or not) did not have, at a minimum, an M1Pro and a screen of the quality of the 14" MacBook Pro. To anticipate the cost of these upgrades, I think it's best to compare what those upgrades cost with the laptops and extrapolate from that.

The 13" MacBook Air, with 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD, and a non-binned M1 chip costs $1449. I think the MBA is a better parallel to the 24" iMac than the 13" MBP because of the thinness of design for both machines, but for what it's worth, a 13" MBP with those specs lists for $1699.

The 16" MacBook Pro, with 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD, and a non-binned M1 Pro chip costs $2499. (I think the 16" MBP is a better comparison than the 14" MBP because the screen size is jumping about the same amount as it would between the 24" iMac and the hypothetical 27" iMac Pro.)

Thus, the cost the relevant changed elements—a 3" increase in screen size, an increase in screen quality, and moving to the non-binned M1Pro, costs $1050 ($2499-$1449). The same increase from the 24" iMac would set the cost at $2949 ($1899+$1050). That's why I think the hypothetical 27" iMac Pro will start at around $2999. It could go lower with a binned M1 Pro, but I doubt they'll offer such a config.

Jumping to the M1Max with a 32/1TB config increases the price of the 16" MBP by $1000, so if it does the same for the hypothetical 27" iMac, that config will list for $4K. Since this machine is likely low-volume, I would not be surprised if the price is bumped further to your $4.5K. But it will be in that ballpark. A Mac mini/27" Display combo will likely be in that ballpark as well.

(This is why I decided to buy a 16" MBP rather than wait for the 27" iMac. Again, I'll be happy if I'm wrong.)