iMac Reportedly Set to Receive Updates Next Week [Updated]

[GadgetDon]

Ordered imac on Sunday but has not shipped yet should I be cancelling it and order again next week or will this update not be worth the bother

First, how urgent is your need? If not very urgent, I'd cancel.

If there's an update (and it's still in the category of rumor), at a minimum it'll support USB 3.0 which provides cheaper high speed connectivity than Firewire 800 or Thunderbolt.

And even if you look at it and go "meh", there will probably be current models in the clearance area for a discount. Won't be a huge discount, but money is money.

Of course, this rumor may not be true, so next Tuesday the same choices will be there for iMacs as now, so you just lose some time.

If you don't cancel - let us know if your iMac is delayed in shipping by a week. If so - they're probably holding the order and will give you the newer model. Which will be pretty good confirmation that there are iMac updates. (Apple often holds old orders when a new product is about to be announced, to avoid dealing with returns.)

 

[rhoydotp]

from 17" core duo!

finally, i've been waiting since the beginning of this year to upgrade! anything newer than my 17" core duo will do!

 

[cosmowilly]

now im gonna have a hard time deciding what to get now there are so many options

ruled out rMBP 13 looking at 2011 2.5Ghz 17 or 2012 15.

But this new iMac has me pondering...

What would be your guess for iMac GPU specs?

Could we expect 1GB GPU on 21'' models?

AMD or Nvidia?

 

[iMikeT]

Glad I got my BTO 27" 2011 iMac in July of 2011, no need to wait more than an entire year for this refresh. However, I hope the wait will have been worth it for everyone who did wait this long.

 

[sasasule]

Just checked NL store to see what is time frame if you order now iMac...And there time frame for preparing unit jumped from 1-3days to 7-10days before they can ship out....This is for BTO model...And expected date for delivery is between 31.10.2012 - 05.11.2012

This is positive totally and fiting perfect in this rumores that are going around...

Freeky cannot wait to get new iMac....I sold mine like 2weeks ago so this will be perfect timing for me to get or refreshed iMac or totally redesigned one

 

[denmarkguy]

new 2012 iMacs

new thin design = no optical drive

 

[joenj07087]

how can you guys afford to refresh your Imac every year that there is a refresh?...are you guys rich? do you sell the older one? I have a 2010 Imac, and I don't see how I can expend $3,000 bucks only 2 years later without selling my car or something, how do you guys do it? Seriously...

 

[denmarkguy]

yes, agree here... sometimes this is insane.

how can you guys afford to refresh your Imac every year that there is a refresh?...are you guys rich? do you sell the older one? I have a 2010 Imac, and I don't see how I can expend $3,000 bucks only 2 years later without selling my car or something, how do you guys do it? Seriously...

 

[dranakin]

Looking to buy from Best Buy to burn through my rewards points. If Apple Stores are expected to have the new iMac in-stock the day after the announcement, how long is the wait for other retailers?

 

[kinggtomm]

Its about time

I have been waiting ages to buy a new iMac but haven't dared in fear of apple releasing a new one the next day and myself been depressed that I just spent £1000 on an old piece of technology

 

[Anuba]

There's always something to complain about.

For me, "why can't it be anodized like the black iPhone 5!?"

Like this? I dunno... The silver/white keyboard and white mouse are a dubious match. They'd have to make the whole kit black. And then, any white cables would stick out like a sore thumb. It's a slippery slope, and at the bottom is an iMac that looks just like an HP/Dell AIO if you squint.

 

[xgman]

how can you guys afford to refresh your Imac every year that there is a refresh?...are you guys rich? do you sell the older one? I have a 2010 Imac, and I don't see how I can expend $3,000 bucks only 2 years later without selling my car or something, how do you guys do it? Seriously...

They hold their value pretty well for resale.

 

[kralnor]

I think a couple of people on here said they wanted this

Time to throw out that perfectly good $1000 monitor with a tiny computer attached and get a new one!

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new thin design = no optical drive

Freedom from physical media

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Glad I got my BTO 27" 2011 iMac in July of 2011, no need to wait more than an entire year for this refresh. However, I hope the wait will have been worth it for everyone who did wait this long.

Freedom from a savings account

 

[GadgetDon]

how can you guys afford to refresh your Imac every year that there is a refresh?...are you guys rich? do you sell the older one? I have a 2010 Imac, and I don't see how I can expend $3,000 bucks only 2 years later without selling my car or something, how do you guys do it? Seriously...

I suspect most people don't. When Apple made the switch to Intel iMacs in early 2006, I got one. It had an Intel Core Duo (not even Core 2 Duo) and when Lion was released last year, it wouldn't run on that processor (required a 64 bit processor) so I upgraded. (The old iMac was also limited to 2GB RAM and I tend to leave a lot of apps running, so coming with 4GB RAM and upgrading it to 12 GB RAM has also really helped performance).

I won't be upgrading this year, though I'll admit the USB 3 is tempting - I have external drives for backup and media, and it's far cheaper to get USB 3 drives than FireWire 800. If I'd had a Core2Duo and could upgrade to Lion, I might have not upgraded and then this upgrade would be highly desirable.

 

[Lancer]

I don't get why some think we won't see USB3 in the new iMac, they would have to be absolute idiots to wait this long and not release the next iMac with Ivy Bridge/USB3

I think the spec will see a good boost, the CPU might only be 10-20% faster than the current ones but all the other things will add up too a much better iMac, new case design or not.

 

[JCT]

Count me among the stoked -- I have a 2007 CD2 iMac with 4 GB RAM that has been feeling very slow the past few months...

 

[nissan.gtp]

I don't need the internal optical, would way rather have an SSD+large capacity hard drive, user-expandanble RAM (4 slots would be great), USB3 and 2 TB, and FW for current drives. I'd like to have a couple of USB on the edge under the SD slot for convenience.

 

[bobob]

new thin design = no optical drive

I disagree - - the iMac ain't gonna be MBA thin.

 

[Tom J]

I love the idea of black, but NOT ANODIZED ALUMINUM. It scratches very easily and using a black sharpie is a poor fix.

 

[Mydrivec]

Hoping for a MAJOR update

Honestly, this is a desktop, not a laptop. Ohh it will be pretty and slim, yes but unless it HOWLS and I do mean howls compared to current specs, it is a NON event.

Again, great to make the desktop prettier but my 5 year old Imac looks pretty darn nice. I need internal specs refreshed. Let's try and remember that there are users out there that actually prefer a desktop on their desk and not a tablet or laptop. I want screen acres and power.

Keeping my fingers crossed but it is entirely possible that my next major computer will be a Windows home build.

 

[GadgetDon]

Honestly, this is a desktop, not a laptop. Ohh it will be pretty and slim, yes but unless it HOWLS and I do mean howls compared to current specs, it is a NON event.

Again, great to make the desktop prettier but my 5 year old Imac looks pretty darn nice. I need internal specs refreshed. Let's try and remember that there are users out there that actually prefer a desktop on their desk and not a tablet or laptop. I want screen acres and power.

Keeping my fingers crossed but it is entirely possible that my next major computer will be a Windows home build.

I doubt that they'd have an event for the iMac. It's conceivable it may not be mentioned or just given a brief mention.

But still, it may not be howling faster than the last model, but it'll be faster, it'll have improvements like USB 3 (presumably - using the non-retina MacBook Pro upgrades as a model).

I went from a 2006 model to last year's model and I would describe it as a howling improvement in performance, so I suspect comparing the (still rumored) upgrade coming next week to yours will be huge. I have the 21" iMac, with an external 21" monitor for lots of screen real estate. (I've got the external monitor hooked up to a KVM so can switch between two-screen iMac or one screen iMac one screeen PC). The 27" current iMac has two thunderbolt ports which means you could add two external monitors.

 

[Anuba]

I disagree - - the iMac ain't gonna be MBA thin.

No, but the optical drive is on the side, and the sides are flat, and they're apparently looking to make the edges tapered. Think iPad 1 > iPad 2. That's not possible with a DVD slot on the side.

Remember that the iMac is not a 'pro' computer. It was always a consumer desktop, the first Mac to ditch the floppy drive, and serial/parallel in favor of USB. Streamlined for what consumers need, with no bells and whistles or expandability. Since they've started omitting the optical drive on the pro line now, starting with the rMBP, they're almost guaranteed to remove it from the iMac.

 

[kboretti]

New iMac!! Finally!

Here's my money..
Take it, and go.! (indian accent)

 

[GadgetDon]

No, but the optical drive is on the side, and the sides are flat, and they're apparently looking to make the edges tapered. Think iPad 1 > iPad 2. That's not possible with a DVD slot on the side.

Remember that the iMac is not a 'pro' computer. It was always a consumer desktop, the first Mac to ditch the floppy drive, and serial/parallel in favor of USB. Streamlined for what consumers need, with no bells and whistles or expandability. Since they've started omitting the optical drive on the pro line now, starting with the rMBP, they're almost guaranteed to remove it from the iMac.

In theory the iMac is not a pro computer, but the power of the iMac has grown over time that a lot of people are using the iMac for functions you'd call Pro.

And I'd argue against the idea that consumers have no need of an optical drive. Ripping CDs (and DVDs), watching DVDs, burning CDs, these are very consumery functions. I'd say the same for the Mac Mini and they removed it from there, so I won't be shocked if it's gone from the new iMac, but I think it's a mistake.

 

[parapup]

So why are people excited about the new iMac - are you guys mostly 2010 iMac owners? In that case it is understandable but as someone with 2011 iMac this is hardly exciting.

What will excite me is a more user upgradeable iMac design - Hard disk slots that are easier to access mainly.

Btw, I dig what HP is doing with their line of Z1 all-in-ones.