I have been waiting to see what the new iMac redesign will look like but then I had a thought... why would you need an iMac verse a laptop? With a desktop processor and bigger fusion hard drive the iMac had an advantage over the laptop in processing power and storage capacity but with Apple silicon those advantages are gone(yes the fusion drive not an advantage) so what will an AS iMac offer as an advantage going forward? I am starting to think a laptop and some nice monitors are the way to go.
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Is the iMac doomed?
- Thread starter Quixotic3
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I think $4$ the iMac is a better value in terms of what you get. The tradeoff is non-portability. In any comparison be sure to include the screen. For example, a 27-in PCI HDR screen would cost north of $500. Also, greater expandability (ports/RAM) on iMac.
Huh? A desktop is a completely different user experience than a laptop. It also is physically larger to allow for more, more powerful chips. The laptop offers nothing of benefit other than portability. This is a dumb take. Not to mention, a lot of people simply prefer the 'all-in-one' ease of a device like this. No setup, just plug in one power cable and boot.
In a world that a lot of people will work from home....the imac will gain even more value
I have a 15" MacBook Pro that spec wise is a much better performer then my iMac 27", but the iMac is such a joy to use I am nearly always using it.
I don’t think the iMac is doomed, just because you didn’t get your redesign look.
Along with this Apple said they were going to release another Intel iMac and would make no sense to make this one the redesign when your releasing the AS in the coming months. People will still need Intel x86 for the next year or more while the transition to AS in in the works so that alone is the selling point of the Intel iMac and if you dont need x86 the new redesign and AS is your selling point for the next iMac.
I thought this was common knowledge that the last Intel iMac was not going to be the redesign.
When Apple brings out a 27" laptop I might consider another laptop (who would carry around a 27" laptop, anyway?). My last laptop was a G4 Powerbook. Peering down at the display hurt my neck, the display was small... For portable use I moved to iPad, for desktop I moved from 20" iMacs to 27".
The iMac and MacBook Pro cater to two completely different audiences and use cases. I don't know how many prophets proclaiming the imminent death of the desktop computer have come and go in the last 20 years (probably similar to the number of prophets proclaiming THIS to be the year of the Linux Desktop) but it has never been true and won't be for a long time to come. There are so many things that an iMac (or any other desktop computer, for that matter) can do that a MacBook Pro can't regardless of thermals that the iMac is not going to disappear.
My laptop hasn't moved from the desk in months. Covid perhaps has something to do with that but the large desktop monitor I have attached to it is what has really changed it into a desktop machine. If you want a desktop experience with a nice big monitor, a trackpad to the right (or left) of the keyboard and a keyboard that can easily be replaced, a laptop is not going to be cost effective.
Ive had my 13" MBP for 6 years and its great to have if im on the move or on a plane but their is no doubt still a need for the desktop. Being a stock trader for the last few years and making a living off that i can tell you that would be impossible to conduct on such a small screen. The Desktop give me the screen space and RAM needed when running programs or having 10 different charts up at ones. If i wasnt getting the iMac 27" id change out my MBP for one of teh more recent ipads as its more portable and has the exact same power as my 2014 MBP. The demand for desktops is higher now than anytime in the last decade and that will be a trend that will not go away once companies start to see their bottom line start to improve not having to pay the rent for such a large office space.
I think that is extremely unlikely. Do you have a source for that datapoint?
I work with several large enterprises and none of them are buying staff desktops for home use. All of them are buying laptops.
The home working situation is accelerating the long-standing transition away from desktops in businesses, not slowing it down or reversing it.
Desktop shipments have been reducing for years in favour of laptops. There are some advantages to desktops but they typically appeal to a relatively niche audience. Most people find a laptop more versatile.
But that’s not to say that the iMac is “doomed” necessarily. I imagine Apple will continue shipping a product in that category for as long as they believe that it’s a big enough and profitable enough market to bother with. And nobody knows how long that will be. But iMac has been getting a reasonable amount of Apple’s attention (including with this new refresh) so I think we can infer that they still see it as a strategic product for them.
No one is going to buy a 21.5" or 27" laptop. Most people who need the system for work want more screen space than a laptop can provide.