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what's the point of HDMI? how many really use a second monitor with an iMac 27? sure there are some but certainly not the majority ...
and 27 would be a disappointment, would have expected 30 ...
Hmm... that's a really good point! And, if you did, there are other ways to connect it. HDMI makes sense on a laptop, but not an iMac. Unless... could it be an input????!!!!
 
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I agree that Apple will probably not stray too much from the design of the 24-inch iMac, but I think that they have realized that professional content creators don't care much about how thin their computers and monitors are.
One thing professional creators don’t care about is the all-in-one form factor. They use Mac pros or mini’s with monitors. We wouldn’t mind them all being thin and light and having a battery built in, and several hdmi inputs. Maybe built-in smart TV. A range of sizes. And a range of Minis and towers.

We should rebel against the All-in-one form factor, instead of defending it. The ugly cables for old monitors are gone. The Macintosh and iMac didn’t invent All-In-Ones, Heathkit H-89 was an early one, TRS-80 Model III, etc.
 
One thing professional creators don’t care about is the all-in-one form factor. They use Mac pros or mini’s with monitors. We wouldn’t mind them all being thin and light and having a battery built in, and several hdmi inputs. Maybe built-in smart TV. A range of sizes. And a range of Minis and towers.

We should rebel against the All-in-one form factor, instead of defending it. The ugly cables for old monitors are gone. The Macintosh and iMac didn’t invent All-In-Ones, Heathkit H-89 was an early one, TRS-80 Model III, etc.

It isn't that we don't care about it, but that they generally haven't performed well for heavy-duty stuff. The iMac Pro was kind of an edge-case. I'd happily have one if it performed well (ie. cooling system kept max performance w/o much noise) and had a video input (so I could use the display for additional systems).

If the iMac Pro and cheaper external display were actually... the same product! ? I'd buy it instantly
Exactly... and there isn't any good reason I can think of that it can't be that way, except that Apple isn't thinking that way, or at least hasn't been for a long while.
 
No, no it's not.

Lots of photographers can do perfectly fine work with 16GB & 512GB storage.
Seconding this. I’m a ‘pro’ content creator as it’s how I make a living. I get by just fine with the base 8GB M1 MacBook Air. It’s the fastest, best computer I ever owned by far.

It’s amazing how many people who don’t do work like photography or video editing like to tell actual photographers and video editors what specs they need.
 
Anyone going to run a setup with a MacBook Pro and one of these bad boys?

I know that the smarter thing to do would be to use the MBP with an external display, but if this comes out and there's not any imminent rumors of that Apple external display.... well it will be hard to resist this panel. Might take the hit of the Mac redundancy just to have it.

I suspect if Apple does release a new Thunderbolt Display it'll be later, maybe alongside the Mac Pro release. "And it has the same great panel we introduced earlier this year in our iMac Pro." But getting to that point would've required me to resist the initial launch of the iMac Pro.. Hmmmmm.. Really want mini-LED and ProMotion in whatever panel I'm using at my desk so that the screen quality isn't degraded from what I'm using on the go.
 
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The next-generation iMac that's in the works could be called the "iMac Pro," according to leaker Dylandkt. The device will feature the same M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that Apple introduced with the MacBook Pro models, and there could possibly be "an added configuration."

2020-iMac-Mockup-Feature-27-inch-text.jpg

Apple is said to be using the "Pro" naming to differentiate the upcoming iMac from the 24-inch iMac that was released earlier this year. As it will use the M1 Pro and Max chips, Apple considers it a "Pro" device and is calling it the iMac Pro internally, according to Dylandkt


The leaker claims that the iMac will feature a 27-inch mini-LED display with ProMotion technology, though some prior rumors have indicated that the next-generation iMac will have a larger display. Unlike the 24-inch iMac, the "iMac Pro" will feature dark bezels, and bezel size could be slimmed down.

Design wise, it could look similar to the 24-inch iMac and the Pro Display XDR, and Apple has apparently tested Face ID for the machine, but this is not a confirmed feature.

The base model iMac will feature 16GB memory and 512GB of storage, and all models will be equipped with an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and several USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, similar to the MacBook Pro. Apple is also said to be including an Ethernet port on the power adapter.

Dylandkt says that the iMac will have a starting price at or over $2,000, and it will be launching in the first half of 2022. The upcoming "iMac Pro" will replace the current Intel-based 27-inch iMac models.

We haven't heard much about Apple's larger iMac, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has confirmed that such a machine is in the works. Apple reportedly paused work on the bigger iMac to work on the 24-inch model, but now that the 24-inch iMac is out, development can resume.

Display analyst Ross Young has also said that Apple is working on a new 27-inch iMac with a mini-LED display and ProMotion display technology.

Article Link: 'iMac Pro' Coming in 2022 With M1 Pro/Max Chips, 27-Inch Mini-LED Display, MacBook Pro Ports and More
I think if theres a notch the display will have to have a slightly larger advertised size so full screen video content can still be the same size as on the 27 inch but with a black bar the depth of the notch on the top and bottom of screen. So you will get a little more desktop and app space, but video will still be same size as on current iMac 27. Bet.
 
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The current M1 Max beats 2020 iMac 10 Core with 5700XT in all geekbench tests.

So even the MBP chip is faster than the fastest iMac as of today.

If Apple scales this chip to more cores for CPU and GPU, the next iMac will be much much faster than the current one, still in SoC form factor.

Don't worry.
Geekbench isn’t real world for rendering. M1 is WAY behind in Cinebench scores, for example. Behind even some 7th gen Intel i7s.

Beyond that, you are comparing a 10th gen Intel chip to the fastest AS chip. By the time these machines are rumored to ship, we are talking 12th gen Intel chips that are testing very fast.

These are great laptop chips. But I want a desktop chip with desktop graphics in my “Pro” desktop setup.
 
No, no it's not.

Lots of photographers can do perfectly fine work with 16GB & 512GB storage.

Sure, and many more have piles of externals because their image portfolio is several times larger than a mere 512gB.

Haven't read the whole comment thread yet, but I'm hoping that someone's mentioned just how easy it should be to build in a row of four (user-accessible) M.2 NVME SSD slots ... because onboard data storage is tons faster than Cloud.

-hh
 
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Sure, and many more have piles of externals because their image portfolio is several times larger than a mere 512gB.

Haven't read the whole comment thread yet, but I'm hoping that someone's mentioned just how easy it should be to build in a row of four (user-accessible) M.2 NVME SSD slots ... because onboard data storage is tons faster than Cloud.

-hh
That’s called workflow. Photographers and video editors aren’t archiving their workflow on internal drives. It’s impractical.

It’s why ports and bus speed are important.
 
Exactly... and there isn't any good reason I can think of that it can't be that way, except that Apple isn't thinking that way, or at least hasn't been for a long while.

I'm not the most knowledgeable person on this topic, but I believe there are hardware issues that prevent iMacs from being used as external displays. I'd be really interested in seeing if any of this changes now that Apple is in full control of the architecture.

If iMacs could once again be used as another display, I could see myself ending up pairing a MBA with an iMac to get the best of both worlds.
 
Just give me a 27” Mini LED display for my MacBook Air to plug into plz ?
I suspect if Apple does release a new Thunderbolt Display it'll be later, maybe alongside the Mac Pro release. "And it has the same great panel we introduced earlier this year in our iMac Pro."
It will be amazing if Apple makes a standalone display out of the rumoured 27" screen (and priced it reasonably - as compared to the 32"). Or perhaps another vendor can make it, à la LG 5K Thunderbolt Display?
 
It will be amazing if Apple makes a standalone display out of the rumoured 27" screen (and priced it reasonably - as compared to the 32"). Or perhaps another vendor can make it, à la LG 5K Thunderbolt Display?
That would be good, if LG made it using the same panel, but it still likely wouldn’t have the Apple-level quality of design, materials, fit and finish, etc. I think Apple will make a Thunderbolt Display, it’s just a matter of when (and if I will be able to resist the iMac Pro in the meantime - likely NOT)
 
The truth and open letter to Apple:

Dear Apple,

Regardless of the specs, design and just about everything else: Just take my money for the top-spec model.
Sooner the better.

Thank you.
 
Just give me a 27” Mini LED display for my MacBook Air to plug into plz ?
Yeah, I hope they make one of those as well.

I'm not the most knowledgeable person on this topic, but I believe there are hardware issues that prevent iMacs from being used as external displays. I'd be really interested in seeing if any of this changes now that Apple is in full control of the architecture.

If iMacs could once again be used as another display, I could see myself ending up pairing a MBA with an iMac to get the best of both worlds.
If so, I'd love to know what the reason was.
 
If so, I'd love to know what the reason was.

If you'll remember, the iMac 5K had been out for quite a few years before the first external 5K screen could be used as an external display. The amount of bandwidth and processing needed to drive an external monitor was prohibitive until the launch of the 2016 MBP line.

The only reason why the 5K iMac screens worked was because the system architecture drove the screen as if it were two separate screens fused together. It was the only way to get enough bandwidth to drive those displays, but that worked ok as a strategy to drive an internal display. The external displays had to wait for Thunderbolt 4 before they could be connected to a separate computer.

Anyway, this was the reason with the old architecture. I'm hoping that Apple's now able to do something about it now that they're doing a total redesign of the iMac.

My memory is fuzzy about this, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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If you'll remember, the iMac 5K had been out for quite a few years before the first external 5K screen could be used as an external display. The amount of bandwidth and processing needed to drive an external monitor was prohibitive until the launch of the 2016 MBP line.

The only reason why the 5K iMac screens worked was because the system architecture drove the screen as if it were two separate screens fused together. It was the only way to get enough bandwidth to drive those displays, but that worked ok as a strategy to drive an internal display. The external displays had to wait for Thunderbolt 4 before they could be connected to a separate computer.

Anyway, this was the reason with the old architecture. I'm hoping that Apple's now able to do something about it now that they're doing a total redesign of the iMac.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
Hmm, but I'm just talking about a video input. I don't care if a MacBook Pro has the capability to drive it, but more like being able to connect a PC, Xbox, PS4/5, etc. If my iMac is going to be my main display, it needs to be able to display other systems as well. They used to have inputs years ago.

Do you mean very few systems of any kind could drive a 5k display at that time? That makes some sense, but they can always add some scaling circuitry to that input so that the system driving it doesn't have to put out a 5k signal. I wouldn't want to have to drive it at the native rez necessarily, for example, a PS4. It would need to be a generic input.
 
Hmm, but I'm just talking about a video input. I don't care if a MacBook Pro has the capability to drive it, but more like being able to connect a PC, Xbox, PS4/5, etc. If my iMac is going to be my main display, it needs to be able to display other systems as well. They used to have inputs years ago.

Do you mean very few systems of any kind could drive a 5k display at that time? That makes some sense, but they can always add some scaling circuitry to that input so that the system driving it doesn't have to put out a 5k signal. I wouldn't want to have to drive it at the native rez necessarily, for example, a PS4. It would need to be a generic input.

Yes, very few systems could drive a 5K display at that time. Everyone assumes it's a simple open and shut case, but it gets way more confusing than just a question of "Bandwidth: yes or no?"

If you want to get into some of the gory details, there's a rather in depth review of the BlackMagic eGPu that wanders into the reasons why hardly any 5K displays exist and why at the time there's only one eGPU that even supports driving a 5K resolution monitor despite that there were numerous eGPUs that had Thunderbolt ports.

iMacs before the 5K iMacs could be used in target display mode. None of them have supported it since, but there are 3rd party solutions that will allow you to use it at scaled resolutions. I don't know how well they work though.
 
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That’s called workflow. Photographers and video editors aren’t archiving their workflow on internal drives. It’s impractical.

It’s why ports and bus speed are important.

Except that the data still has to be stored somewhere, so that argument doesn't cut it.


And sure, faster ports means that there's no longer as bad of a performance hit to be external, but "not being punished" iin of itself isn't a justification that externalized data storage is the superior configuration.

From a desktop perspective this is one of packaging: why is an externally provisioned drive being assumed (or claimed) as superior to one that's packaged inside the desktop?

Internal is good enough for the 2019 Mac Pro, so why not this 'Pro' desktop model too?
 
Of course it will. The previous iMac Pro started at $4,999.

Yes, the iMac Pro's $5K (& up) sticker really killed it from being popular.

The way that I read the "...will have a starting price at or over $2,000" is that there's some internal contingent at Apple who understands how the original iMac Pro's high price killed it, so a little leak like this may help manipulate internal politics at Apple.

With that in mind, since this is an "at/over" and not an "under", the only thing that this leak does is to show that there's pressure for its starting price to start with a "2". As such, I'd call this more of evidence of an internal contingent who believes it should be "under $2999" that's being debated (or maybe gaining traction).
 
That would only be a premium of $100 over the 512/16GB M1 iMac. Not going to happen.
You can’ t get a m1 max with 16gb, it starts at 32gb.
If apple ever releases a Mac mini with a m1 max, that would even be around $2500, so an iMac with a 27 inch mini led , 120hz with a 32gb , m1 max and 1 TB storage would at least cost around $3400.

A 27 inch iMac with a binned m1 pro(8xcpu and 14 gpu cores) and 16gb and 512gb ssd would start around $2400.

And if there is going to be a real iMac Pro with dual m1 pro or max configs, they would at least be around the $5000-6000 mark.

Don’ t expect macs with AS going cheaper.
It will be better performing but won’ t be cheaper.
 
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Don’ t expect macs with AS going cheaper.
It will be better performing but won’ t be cheaper.

MacBook Pro 16" with M1 Max is $600 cheaper than a maxed-out Intel MBP 16" according to Max Tech so the new iMacs will most likely be so too.
 
MacBook Pro 16" with M1 Max is $600 cheaper than a maxed-out Intel MBP 16" according to Max Tech so the new iMacs will most likely be so too.
The maxed versions probably, but not the starting prices. Cheaper on ram and ssd upgrades. But no way a iMac 27 inch with m1 max and required 32gb will start at around $2000, not even with a 512gb ssd, and binned m1max with 24gpu cores.
 
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