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iMac sept 12 release?

I kinda have to laugh (not in a bad way) because I see all the hopefull reactions here. I wanted to buy an iMac in may. Waited anxiously in june and july and finally decited to buy a MBA. Im enjoying it for over a month now. To come back here and see the same hope is kinda funny :D. But I hope for you guys it'll be released today.
 
Maakuus said:
This was the first thing I was asking myself right after having noticed that the store went down.
Click to expand...

Let's hope someone can give us an answer. :)
I'm also wondering if we can expect it to come back before the event (with or without news), or if it's just going to be down until the end of it. If they're keeping it down for six hours, it HAS to be something big... iMac or no iMac.
Imagine if it's just a graphic redesign of the store. :\
 
I know others have alluded to this, but I think it is a VERY important thing to factor in making iMac predictions...

The Back To School Mac offer goes until September 21.

I think this annual offer helps Apple clear a lot of their aging product lines. In previous years, these offers included free iPods (iPods that, not coincidently, were at the end of their product cycle).

Now lets be rational and think like a business...

Would Apple want to release a new Mac product towards the end of the Back to School offer?
Many people would return the iMacs they just bought to get the new one's. So Apple would get returned computers they were just trying to get rid of.
As far as I remember, you have 14 days to return.
So, I think it would make more sense for the release to be at least 14 days after September 21.

Doesn't this make sense?
 
commad said:
Doesn't this make sense?
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No, because it doesn't consider that Apple flips its inventory every 5 days. There's no warehouse stocked full of 2011 iMacs waiting to be sold. They're being manufactured and shipped to stores, or they're not being manufactured.
 
I've been waiting for the 2012 iMac since the end of June which isn't that long compared to others on this forum.

At this point, I have already accepted the fact that it more than likely will not be released today.

I hope I am wrong!

:(
 
forty2j said:
Yep. This is normal.
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lets be honest here a bit, now im not saying that the imacs will be release today i thinking more october now.. but still anything could happen. and i might be mistaking but i think youre wrong the apple store usually goes down during or right after the event not before.
 
commad said:
I know others have alluded to this, but I think it is a VERY important thing to factor in making iMac predictions...

The Back To School Mac offer goes until September 21.
Click to expand...

"Back To School" is a non factor.


I think this annual offer helps Apple clear a lot of their aging product lines. In previous years, these offers included free iPods (iPods that, not coincidently, were at the end of their product cycle).
Click to expand...

This sale was largely invented as alluded to above to counter act the "Osborne Effect" of the iPods being predictably refreshed every Fall around September. It also happens to align when a number of folks are buying new computers as they "leave the home" or "make a major school transition".


Now lets be rational and think like a business...
Click to expand...

Yeah but have to not be myopic also.


Would Apple want to release a new Mac product towards the end of the Back to School offer?
Many people would return the iMacs they just bought to get the new one's.
Click to expand...

Apple has a multiweek return policy. Even if the sale didn't exist there would always be folks who bought and now will return for a swap.

Note that since at this point the iMac is also at the end of a product update cycle the "Osborne Effect" is depressing its sales also. Yes the discount may have gotten some more folks to move, but the fact that it is overdue is also suppressing sales. The two will likely roughly balance themselves out.

There might be a slight negative ( slightly more returns than in a "normal" window ) but it isn't like Apple isn't going to be completely flush with cash as the horde of folks pile into new iPhone5. It won't even show up on the balance sheet for this quarter. But the time the two week window is "over" things will be back to normal. The vast majority of iMacs are going to be sold after October starts, not before.


P.S. even if Apple does get a larger than normal number back it isn't like they can't clear them through the refurbish store at just slight above cost over the next several months. There is no situation here where Apple "eats" a cost once past end of next Quarter. It is only even more ridiculous excess profit that they don't even know what to do with.
 
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edry.hilario said:
and i might be mistaking but i think youre wrong the apple store usually goes down during or right after the event not before.
Click to expand...

Well, for comparison, it was down at least as early as 6am PDT for WWDC. So, at least 7 hours prior to the event.
 
@Deconstruct60: +1

People think, even if a product is announced, the availability is often delayed, even Apple has usually sth like "Available from ..." so even if they were worried about B2S promo (as they're not, see Deconstruct's post), they'll just be selling them in stores in the next month, taking pre-orders at most.

I also want to accent that only a small majority of Apple consumers check product cycles and they are not usually aware of desktop upgrades (unlike iOS devices), most of the people who buy iMac think they have the newest iMac and that's it. If new one comes out week later, they don't know about it because desktops get rarely mentioned in mainstream press.
 
forty2j said:
No, because it doesn't consider that Apple flips its inventory every 5 days. There's no warehouse stocked full of 2011 iMacs waiting to be sold. They're being manufactured and shipped to stores, or they're not being manufactured.
Click to expand...

I get your point BUT....

When I said "clear aging product lines" I wasn't necessarily referring to warehouses stocked with items. I think Apple makes more money on a product at the end of it's life than at the beginning. This has to do with the cost of old components going down over time.
So they have more to gain by selling as much of an older product as possible before they release a new one.

Marketing the Back To School offer is a tool to sell.
Marketing the release of a new product is a tool to sell.
If they overlap these 2 things, they sell less.
 
comatory said:
People think, even if a product is announced, the availability is often delayed, even Apple has usually sth like "Available from ..." so even if they were worried about B2S promo (as they're not, see Deconstruct's post), they'll just be selling them in stores in the next month, taking pre-orders at most.
Click to expand...

Outside of the iPhone itself, I can't recall Apple announcing an update to an existing product and saying "nope, you can't buy this today, wait a few weeks/a month". It may have happened, but I believe it's quite rare.

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commad said:
When I said "clear aging product lines" I wasn't necessarily referring to warehouses stocked with items. I think Apple makes more money on a product at the end of it's life than at the beginning. This has to do with the cost of old components going down over time.
So they have more to gain by selling as much of an older product as possible before they release a new one.
Click to expand...

A company that focuses on the short term profit at the expense of long term gains will soon have neither.

Apple is not benefiting in the slightest from selling an old model; fewer and fewer people are buying them.
 
deconstruct60 said:
"Back To School" is a non factor.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I haven't done the research, but I am willing to bet that Apple hasn't released a brand new product towards the end of a Back To School offer that included that product.

I want a new iMac ASAP and have been waiting a while, but I don't see it happening during this offer period.

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forty2j said:
Apple is not benefiting in the slightest from selling an old model; fewer and fewer people are buying them.
Click to expand...

The Back To School offer surges sales of Macs. So people are buying them. Apple doesn't need to release anything new until that offer is over.
 
commad said:
I know others have alluded to this, but I think it is a VERY important thing to factor in making iMac predictions...

The Back To School Mac offer goes until September 21.

I think this annual offer helps Apple clear a lot of their aging product lines. In previous years, these offers included free iPods (iPods that, not coincidently, were at the end of their product cycle).

Now lets be rational and think like a business...

Would Apple want to release a new Mac product towards the end of the Back to School offer?
Many people would return the iMacs they just bought to get the new one's. So Apple would get returned computers they were just trying to get rid of.
As far as I remember, you have 14 days to return.
So, I think it would make more sense for the release to be at least 14 days after September 21.

Doesn't this make sense?
Click to expand...

I think you are pretty spot on there actually. After reading that I dont expect to see a new iMac ship before at least he 8th October.

Actually after reading your post it has taken a bit of the stress of the anticipation of a new mac tonight a bit... I really think tonight would just be dissapointment for that..... At least now I can concentrate on seeing what the new phone brings and relax a bit..
 
MightyWhite said:
I think you are pretty spot on there actually. After reading that I dont expect to see a new iMac ship before at least he 8th October.

Actually after reading your post it has taken a bit of the stress of the anticipation of a new mac tonight a bit... I really think tonight would just be dissapointment for that..... At least now I can concentrate on seeing what the new phone brings and relax a bit..
Click to expand...

I've pointed it out already a week ago :D https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1434406/
 
It's confirmed. No iMac will be announced in the event. Only iPhone, iPods, and iTunes. You can probably still hope for a silent update but I'll pass. See you again in October 9th thread! :D
 
commad said:
well, i totally agree with you... i am surprised this argument hasn't carried more weight with all the rumors.
Click to expand...

Indeed, it's weird it's not discussed more and I don't remember it was ever mentioned in any web/rumor articles so far, neither on macrumors nor any other mac/apple-related news website. Oh well, we will see what happens...
 
Multiple last minute leaks about iPhone, iPod, iTunes, ect. but nothing about iMacs ... definitely we won't hear Tim say "one more thing ..." :( :(

Or maybe his "doubling on secrecy" works so much better for AIO ... :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
What iss the diff between releasing right up to Back to school or towards the end of back to school ?

Apple jsut refreshed their entire "campus-friendly" line before back to school. According to your logic, they are basically losing even more money doing that.

Apple launches upgrades and add campaigns not for you and me (guaranteed apple buyers) but for college kids that might chose something different than apple, and in that sense, the newer their products and the better the offer, the higher the sales numbers.

The Back to school is just a gimmick anyway, its such a small % discount, and since its from apple store, they are actually boosting App sales and getting publicity worth equal or more than the discount, its win/win for them. Pairing new macs with Back to School is a major benefit "business" wise. If Apple is not releasing the iMac it's either because they see no future in the product OR they are having productions problems. A lot of data suggests the latter.
 
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