iMac Update Slated For Late June

[ricosuave]

"Nobody wants to watch video on a iPod..."
"You can't mount the CD drive vertically in the iMac screen..."
"OSX will be optimized for the Bondi iMac..."


Let's start the list

"These look so good you just wanna lick em" Steve Jobs (in Revenge of the Nerds, descriving the new iMacs).

Does this one count?

 

[elppa]

Steve has stated before that Apple is moving more into software development and licensing osx to OEM's is a logical step, there is much more money to be made in licensing osX than selling cheap PC hardware.

Software development (iLife, iWork, Final Cut Studio, Aperture) helps sell Macs and expand the Mac platform, there is little money made on the actual products.

That depends; every OS sold for a competitor’s hardware does not necessarily translate into a lost Mac sale. Given the lack of a mid-range Mac tower I suspect there are plenty of consumers who would prefer to run OSX but don’t want to settle for hardware that doesn’t meet their needs and/or pay extra for hardware they don’t need.

Licensing OS X would be a disaster, Apple would have to support a myriad of hardware combination and if they wanted to innovate or get rid of legacy elements it would be a pain. Controlling the whole solution does not harm the company, it's profits are very healthy. Don't get trapped into the mindset that marketshare is the be all and end all. It is one, rather simplistic, easy-to-distrot** measure of success.

"Nobody wants to watch video on a iPod..."
"You can't mount the CD drive vertically in the iMac screen..."
"OSX will be optimized for the Bondi iMac..."


Let's start the list

First one I'll give you.

The second one was certainly true at the time. The technology did not exist at the time to mount a super drive vertically without serious loss in performance.

The third one is fine. OS X was optimised for that machine. It ran (or rather still does run on rev A-D iMacs) with far greater reliability, security and stability than the Classic Mac OS.

I'll give you another to add to the list:

"2007 will be a great year for the Mac" — MWSF 2007. Steve Jobs slipped this out with a wry smile on his face. I think we have a greater second half of the year to look forward to.

** Macintosh hardware generally has a longer average lifespan than a PC. It therefore follows that more PCs will be sold than Macs over a certain period, even if the installed base is the same. I know the installed base is not the same, but the point still holds.

 

[Chosenbydestiny]

I'm not sure if they're going to have as much hardware announcements in WWDC... as software announcements. Maybe in the following weeks?

 

[Maccus Aurelius]

I personally would like to see the iMac look more like the HD Cinema displays (obviously thicker to house the necessary components, and better cooling so that it can support higher powered equipment, such as a better GPU. This could be achieved with a more open air back panel (vent grilles on either side of the stand with fans situated beneath them). The chin is fairly unnecessary, as all the iMac actually needs in the front is the little (silver please) logo and the I/R port for the remote. It could have the Cinema's touch sensitive brightness controls on the side, as well as the power switch. I'd also like to have easier access to parts such as the HDD and RAM.

I know Apple is all about elegance and simplicity of design and blah blah blah, and maybe I'm alone on this, but I always thought that there should at least be a couple of USB and FW ports on the side, rather than just on the back.

 

[edenwaith]

This is the type of news I've been waiting for. The current iMac is just about perfect for my needs right now (just upgrade the video card to 256 MB). It will be interesting to see what the next upgrade will offer. The 20" model has steadily gone down, so it might not be completely unrealistic to see it skip down to $1399 next. But since Leopard is delayed until October, I probably won't get the new iMac until then, and just get Leopard, the iMac, and hopefully and update to iLife by then.

 

[k2k koos]

I bet lots of new hardware when Leopard is out or presented as a full featured beta.

Still think leopard will run on generic PC hardware (Apple can't prevent it) so i'm wondering what hardware Apple is going to present to compete with Dell and others.

They can and they will. Apple will not release OSX for generic PC hardware, they are growing fast enough, faster than they can keep up with, (stealing resources for a phone development anyone?). Apple will not need to open up OS X for the time being. They are growing fast enough. They may need to licence others to build Mac's, to keep up with demand at some point in the future, but opening up OS X completely never ever going to happen as long as Jobs is in charge...If he is replaced by another Scully at some point in the future, then maybe....

 

[johnmcboston]

I doubt it will be late June. That's the timeframe for the iphone. Either we are looking at WWDC or just before.

That brings up a fascinating issue. Now that Apple Corp. is branching out, are they going to have to distribute their product lines throughout the year to stop anything from conflicting with anything else? Even for this thread - would they really hold up an new imac for a month or two just to buffer the iphone?

 

[Bonte]

Software development (iLife, iWork, Final Cut Studio, Aperture) helps sell Macs and expand the Mac platform, there is little money made on the actual products.

Microsoft proves otherwise. iWork outsold Office the first weeks it was on sale, not bad for a product that only works on Mac. Broadening osX would push all Apple software, photo-books and 3P software development itself pushing the Mac again. Hardware is getting to cheap, the real money is made on software.

Licensing OS X would be a disaster, Apple would have to support a myriad of hardware combination and if they wanted to innovate or get rid of legacy elements it would be a pain. Controlling the whole solution does not harm the company, it's profits are very healthy. Don't get trapped into the mindset that marketshare is the be all and end all. It is one, rather simplistic, easy-to-distrot** measure of success.

The current IntelMacs are build around and with general PC hardware, OEM's will just have to use supported hardware. Mac stores will only have to tech-support Mac hardware, Dell will tech-support there own sales as they already do with Windows and Linux.

 

[elppa]

Microsoft proves otherwise. iWork outsold Office the first weeks it was on sale, not bad for a product that only works on Mac. Broadening osX would push all Apple software, photo-books and 3P software development itself pushing the Mac again. Hardware is getting to cheap, the real money is made on software.

And the price of Office vs iWork is? A little bit simplistic I feel.

The real money is to be made selling a whole solution, not just software.

Microsoft will find this out eventually, they probably already are judging from disappointing sales of Vista. Very few people update their OS or want to buy software (unless they are professionals or are buying a game).

The current IntelMacs are build around and with general PC hardware, OEM's will just have to use supported hardware. Mac stores will only have to tech-support Mac hardware, Dell will tech-support there own sales as they already do with Windows and Linux.

Yes thanks for the lesson. And what a rubbish model that is for the consumer, being passed from company to company to sort out an issue. At least with Apple the buck stops with them.

 

[PNW]

Yes thanks for the lesson. And what a rubbish model that is for the consumer, being passed from company to company to sort out an issue. At least with Apple the buck stops with them.

You are right on that count and the ability to walk into an Apple store with your Mac as opposed to hanging out on hold with Dell for hours on end has got to be a huge selling point for Apple

But why not a middle of the road approach? Instead of fully supporting running OSX on PC hardware or seeking out partners, just don’t make attempts to block it or better yet publish / leak information (say lists of natively supported hardware) to assist hobbyists who want to go that route. Include the usual we don’t support this, it violates the warranty, but if you want to try wink, wink, nudge, nudge disclaimer, and wash their hands of it. This it would cost them nothing and net them a few software sales.

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

"2007 will be a great year for the Mac" — MWSF 2007. Steve Jobs slipped this out with a wry smile on his face. I think we have a greater second half of the year to look forward to.

So you think they come out with an *updated* iMac at or near WWDC and then later on in the year a wholly revamped and revised iMac to go along with Leopard?

I can't believe that would be the case. Seems to me with such a lag in any update to the iMac that the next release of it should be a big one. I imagine there's some pent-up demand for the iMac and there will be quite a few people buying when the next one comes out. If Apple turned around and a few months later put out a totally new/better model, I think that would make a whole lot of recent purchasers of iMacs ticked off.... I'm more likely to believe the reverse scenario - new/re-worked iMac at WWDC and then minor mods/update at Leopard time...

Thoughts?

 

[bolson]

Metal Case, Thinner Margins...

My crystal ball says that with the next iMac it goes to a brushed metal case like the Mac Pro and cinema displays (product differentiation would be a good reason against this though) and that and other changes allow the edge and bottom margins to be reduced, making the iMac a bit more compact. Also the stand will change to allow height adjustment, which was lost when leaving the lampshade iMac.

 

[heffeque]

I want the old iMac back!


And the little cube too!

 

[KurtangleTN]

I wonder how much Apple will really do. I mean we expect alot, and really should. The iMac, Mini, and MBP are seriously lagging right now.

I mean, it's hard to justify a low end iMac purchase when the Macbook offers everything but the HD on it's low end model (and even more RAM, better processor) just the screen is smaller (of course).

If the iMacs stay with notebook parts, is Santa Rosa a must? I really hope they consider really re-designing it.. maybe a big bigger of a G4 like model so they can fit standard desktop parts.. because from what I've seen on this forum.. with notebook chipsets you get last years desktop..

The Mini should have C2D by now, but I think Apples logic is it would compete too much with the iMac.

 

[Hugh]

Nope, leopard will define run only on an apple machine. Just like iTunes is there to encourage ipod sales. Mac OS X is there to encourage sales of apple machine. The osx is a feature of apple machine.

Apple machine + Mac OS X = apple seamless experience.

The only scenario that a Mac os x will be on a non apple branded computer if apple decide that it need another computer brand to create an another image for more diverse customer base. Such as Apple brand as a high end brand and a new brand for consumer. Apple can create a new brand from scratch or merge with an existing company such as Dell.

I don't see any thing like that happing outside of the Mini. Some of you may remember the Performa series.

Hugh

 

[SamIchi]

Damn, I really want to see what this new design it. O__O

 

[Toddgabweg]

Looks like I will be buying a 24 in imac in June... I have been waiting since December for a new update... I want to be able to connect my xbox 360 to the imac for some 1080 P gaming....

 

[ClimbingTheLog]

I've noticed this as a recent trend at MR... i thought if it's a rumor, it gets a question mark. n'est-ce pas?

I'd be happier if MacRumors just stuck to Rumors... but I understand the business case for not doing so.

I just hope they get rid of the chin. I have come to hate the look of it.

How's this?

Why does everyone want to touch their displays? Think of the fingerprint mess!

Part of the "radical new design" of the new iMac is an integrated miniature Roomba Scooba that sits on the top corner. When the computer enters sleep mode, the miniscooba comes down and cleans your screen for you.

Eww. Keep the chin!

Yeah, this is artwork-framing 101 - the bottom frame has to be larger than the top frame for it to look right. See here:

In the immortal words of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith: Dream on.

"Dream until your dreams come true!"

I work at an apple store and i doubt they will discontinue the 17" model, being its the best selling mac apple macs.

Do you get anybody saying the 20" is just too big ... or is it because it's the cheapest? (I'm guessing the latter). The 20" will be the same price as the old 17". A nice 17" display is only worth about $115 today (parts).

Why would apple go against their "optimum" dpi just to get a larger display and hope that the pros that the displays are designed for won't notice? Plus the different pixel pitch would discourage users considering a second display because images would look different on each display.

Even if iMacs were aimed at design pros (they're not), Leopard has a DPI-independent GUI. It would look the same on the second display.

Agreed. The GPU in the iMac is one of the two reasons it isn't good enough. ...There is no good reason why there aren't decent middle-of-the-road energy-saver GPUs.

Even if gamers were interested in an iMac (they're not - they want that race-car GPU you were talking about) the low-energy high-performance GPU is here - it's just that the current iMac GPU beats the pants off of the 250W GPU of 5 years ago. Apple might do well to make a minitower for ricers, though.

Still think leopard will run on generic PC hardware (Apple can't prevent it)

Sure they can - all they need to do is to only sell Leopard Upgrade editions.

 

[RRK]

How's this?

Large sized with a coke please.

 

[flopticalcube]

How's this?

That's the good stuff!

 

[Mantronix]

Large sized with a coke please.

That is sexy.

 

[Peace]

I find the comment about the 24" LCD screen interesting, given all the issues and complaints I have seen surrounding the 24" iMac screens. Are the 24" going to be assembled in China? If they are, I'd wait a while before buying....
As a matter of fact, I believe the class action lawsuit mentioned earlier on this website is mainly from the 24" iMac, in particular their screens.....

Rich

The potential class action lawsuit involves the Macbook not the iMac.

 

[Chris Bangle]

That's the good stuff!

Its superb but the stand looks out of place. the rest is awesome, i would love to see what a computer will look like/uisng it will be like with a shny black surround like that. But the stand soesnt look right. I think height adjustment is crucial, imac g4 was probably to costly to produce, the negineering in that arm as awesome.hopefully though it will look like the iphone,eg big chrome bezel.


when its off, with a black body the screen and the body willl blend in and it will look phonomenal, the whole thing will look like one giant screen with a floating apple.

 

[Bonte]

Yes thanks for the lesson. And what a rubbish model that is for the consumer, being passed from company to company to sort out an issue. At least with Apple the buck stops with them.

Not a bad model at all when Dell sells a lot more computers than Apple but MS taking all the profit on these machines, not Dell. Apple offered to license osX for free to the $100 laptop project, this proves they are more than thinking about OEM licensing osX.

Hell froze over many times already and pigs are flying at least a few years. It's not a big deal anymore and just the next logical step for Apple and the OS to take.

NEXT moved from hardware to a full software company in the '90's, i don't see why this trend would stop when the same people now work at Apple.

 

[notsofatjames]

How's this?

Could you do this image with a white background? It would be so much clearer. I prefer white macs anyways, and i like the current look. But choice is always a good thing.