Is it a bad time to buy the iMac and is Apple dedicated to its desktops?

[Hieveryone]

I've heard before from friends that Apple no longer cares for its desktop computers. So I was wondering if it was a good investment to buy the iMac?

I really need one tbh. It would be great to get the 27" 5K!

 

[Lunder89]

Try taking a look at yesterdays news. Apple has promised a new Mac Pro with a display (from Apple), next year, and new Pro minded iMac later this year. That was a quick re-cap.

I have 5k iMac myself, configured with i5, 16 GB Ram, 512 GB SSD, R9 M390 2GB

And it is a fantastic machine, I am not the guy to talk you out of it. I use it for video editing, screencasting, games and then all the classics, mail, internet bla. bla. bla.

I think Apple does care about its desktops, they just don't know what way the market is going. And they have received a bit a battering recently with the release of the MacBook Pro. So I think they tread a little carefully. And for us, that means slow.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

And late last year I purchased my new i7 iMac and am delighted with it. Apple have released on schedule the last few models:-

Late 2013

Late 2015

Late 2017 on schedule.

Any chance these knowledgable friends are PC users?

 

[estabya]

The 5k iMac is a great machine. Some may balk at the price and lack of super recent updates, but the fact is that a high quality 5k monitor in and of itself costs $1000+, and then you still have to buy the computer that supports it. Considering those things makes the price more palatable.

If you're always waiting around for the next big thing then you'll never make a purchase. Buying something that will be old tech in 6 months is just how it goes if you're a consumer of electronics.

 

[redheeler]

I've heard before from friends that Apple no longer cares for its desktop computers. So I was wondering if it was a good investment to buy the iMac?

I really need one tbh. It would be great to get the 27" 5K!

If you really need one then get one, but buy Apple refurbished at a discount if you can. There's nothing that feels outdated about mine, except maybe the design, but that's no big deal. The 5K display in the iMac continues to be one of if not the best display in an all-in-one.

Edit: Apple has hinted at a Late 2017 iMac refresh. I do believe they are still committed enough to at least deliver on that, and by then the CPU, GPU, USB-C upgrades should be available for it.

And late last year I purchased my new i7 iMac and am delighted with it. Apple have released on schedule the last few models:-

Late 2013

Late 2015

Late 2017 on schedule.

Any chance these knowledgable friends are PC users?

For the second time, you are missing the Late 2014 introduced October 16, 2014. I should know, having ordered one the very day it was announced because of the 5K display.

Apple has released at least one refreshed iMac every year since 1998, with 2016 being the only exclusion in the iMac's entire history. Probably not the last, though.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

For the 3rd time it was not a major release, just introduced the 5k display and a coupleof other sweeteners and upped the i7 to 4GHz.

 

[maflynn]

For the 3rd time it was not a major release, just introduced the 5k display and a coupleof other sweeteners and upped the i7 to 4GHz.

I think the 5k introduction was a major release. It was a game changer in a number of ways. Apple used a media event to show off the iMac, they'll not do that for a minor update.

 

[Strider64]

About 2 1/2 years ago I switched over to an 27" iMac with 5K after being a PC user for 30+ years. I also was building my own computers towards the end. In my opinion the PC market as a whole has taken a hit from all the smartphone, iPads, Kindles, tablets and other small media devices that are out there on the market and it is just not Apple facing this problem. I like Apple's approach on their iMac computers by not really commenting, but I am sure it has more to do with not panicking their shareholders than consumers. I am OK with that approach myself for I am very happy with my iMac for it's a pleasure working on the computer for what it was intended for, instead of constantly tinkering around with it and constantly hunting down drivers because Micro$illy can't automatically find them. Don't get me wrong PCs are good computers with better upgrade capability and more power, but the iMac is a solid computer that to put it simply just works. Just like buying any computer (PC or Apple) there is really no bad time to buy a computer (unless it's the day before a manufacturer's release). If you want power and speed I would go with a PC, but if you want style ( by that I mean solid performance without hiccups) and elegance then I would go with an iMac. Just my .05 cents (it would be .02 cents, but because of inflation....)

The one thing I don't get is there are people out there that think everyone is going to be doing all this graphic work on these small devices (tablets) or laptops. There is still a need for desktops, but be it a smaller market.

 

[redheeler]

For the 3rd time it was not a major release, just introduced the 5k display and a coupleof other sweeteners and upped the i7 to 4GHz.

The 5K display was major, at least I and many others thought so at the time. Apple had even mentioned it in the October 16, 2014 event complete with an introduction video highlighting the 5K display, which is not the typical coverage for a minor refresh.

You could easily argue the Late 2015 was more of a minor spec-bump update, and certainly the Late 2013 refresh was incremental over Late 2012.

 

[decafjava]

I just recently got a 5k iMac and am very happy with it. So no, Apple does care about its desktops but they have made some mistakes especially in the Pro department as they all but admitted with their announcing a new Pro coming.

 

[Fishrrman]

The 5k iMacs -- in the proper configuration -- remain viable machines which will offers years of usage.

And if one doesn't mind buying Apple-refurbished, they can be found right now (from 3rd party resellers) at very good prices.

 

[czerney]

If you do need one, get one.

As per my comments in other threads I also took delivery of a 27" 5K iMac this week and couldn't be happier with the performance.

My speculation is that it could be 6-9 months before we see an update which for most (non-pros) like me wont impact the things we do most. And if it's the first iteration of a new iMac 'Pro' it might not be wise to jump on it out the gate - let it get put through it's paces by the early adopters.

Personally I think we're at a bit of a crossroads now that AMD is back in the game with their Ryzen chips and Vega graphics on the horizon. Finally we've got intel and nvidia to get off their procrastinating butts so that we might finally see an end of small drawn out performance increases. And with the Mac Pro looking like it's on the cards 2018 could be quite a year for the mac and a lot more options!

I think buying an iMac now is not actually that bad an idea. You get a machine with ports that'll connect to 90% of everything without a dongle, a still very useful sd card reader, a top spec 5K display and excellent performance if you spec it up appropriately to your needs. And if you get 3 years of applecare then that will keep you covered during which time the landscape should have settled a bit.

 

[fokmik]

I think in today updates,buying something 1 year old when something is coming in 6 months is wrong if you really don't need it. We can see the improvements are really slow from year to year. In the past there were something good to change a 2-3 year old mac but today you can easily keep it 4-5 years
[doublepost=1491545168][/doublepost]I think every mac will be updated from 2 to 2 years with mac pro from 3-3 years or even 4. Its not worth it to make an silent update and have a 5-10% improvements overall.

 

[nss_gabriele]

I have a 2008 iMac, I've been waiting for about a year for the new iMac, and I just can't wait until October (if the new rumors are to be believed).
I think I'm going for a hackintosh...