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M1 Powered iMacs

L

LesTheLesbo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 17, 2020
2
1
Has there been any rumours or announcements from Apple about M1 Powered iMac's?
I have a 27" i7 Quad Core Late 2012 iMac at the moment, I will probably wait for the new M1 iMac to be launched before upgrade
 
Doubt the iMac will ever have an M1 - it will get something more performant / bigger / better.

If you've been hanging on to a 2012 thus far, I'd hold out until the new model if your machine will survive that long.
 
I'd have thought the iMac and the Macbook Pro 16" will get a somethingElse 1 CPU probably by WWDC next year - higher core count / clock speed / RAM options / GPU cores commensurate with the better cooling those machines can provide.
 
These first round ARM Macs with this M1 chip are what you'd call the 'Core Duo' Macs of the initial Intel variety. The specs are constrained so that Apple can make a wedge off early adopters. The successive generations is where you'll get actual performant computers which is of interest to the more savvy techie.
 
This is why I haven't bothered to upgrade my iMac because I would not get much more performance than the current Quad Core i7, 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD anyway. I will keep it until it goes up in smoke and non-repairable, just not worth the outlay to get something new that is slightly better performing than the existing one
 
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A 24” iMac was rumored to be the first Mac alongside the 13” Pro. Seems like plans changed or it was slightly wrong information. It seems rumors point towards it being early next year now.

throAU said:
Doubt the iMac will ever have an M1 - it will get something more performant / bigger / better.

If you've been hanging on to a 2012 thus far, I'd hold out until the new model if your machine will survive that long.
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I wouldn’t be so sure. The M1 could easily replace the entry 1099 iMac and the 1299 4k iMac. It could even replace the 1499 6 core version.

The 5k iMac will demand a higher chip though.
 
throAU said:
Doubt the iMac will ever have an M1 - it will get something more performant / bigger / better.
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An M1 iMac would smoke the current entry-level 21.5" iMac (7th gen i5 with Intel integrated graphics...) and, with all that surface area for a heat spreader, could probably be made fanless.

Everybody is so busy arguing about Cinebench and DaVinci Resolve that it's kinda getting overlooked that the M1 is powerful enough to handle more mundane "personal productivity" and education work without breaking a sweat. That's pretty much what the entry-level 1080p iMac and the lower-end 4K iMacs are aimed at.

The 27" iMacs are a different kettle of fish, and the top half of the range - which will likely have to supplant the iMac Pro - at least will certainly need something meatier than an M1.
 
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Not saying the M1 isn't powerful - but what I AM saying is that when apple put out a new iMac, it won't just beat the current iMac like the M1 does. It will be a slaughter.
 
According to this forum loads of stuff coming in spring summer. Apple has said it will roll out SoC over two years. So, SOMETHINGs won’t be out for another 18 months.
 
dogslobber said:
When do we think the M1 iMacs will surface. Wife needs a new iMac as the 2011 is creaking.
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Likely sometime later this year. Won’t be an M1... but it’ll be an M-something.
If you’re looking to buy an iMac, I’d do what I could to keep her current machine ticking a little while longer. Unless you absolutely need something now (and the current Intel-based iMacs are quite good and the top-end 27” iMac can perform better than the $5000 iMac Pro), I’d wait. I’m putting my money on this fall.
 
The 27" was updated in August last year but the 21.5" is almost two years old. Surely they need to update the iMac ASAP given the latter age. It seems like they only update the 21.5" every other year. That seems very lazy to me.
 
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dogslobber said:
The 27" was updated in August last year but the 21.5" is almost two years old. Surely they need to update the iMac ASAP given the latter age.
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Yes; I think a 21.5" replacement (hopefully 23-24") will arrive mid-year, around WWDC, with a a 27-30 inch "M2" iMac towards the end of the year (Oct/Nov?).
 
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dogslobber said:
When do we think the M1 iMacs will surface. Wife needs a new iMac as the 2011 is creaking.
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Why not get her a Mac Mini and a decent monitor. I've owned several iMacs, but these days I'd consider a good separate monitor (e.g. ultrawide) and a Mini to be a better proposition. That way you can upgrade the Mac and keep the screen.
 
dogslobber said:
When do we think the M1 iMacs will surface. Wife needs a new iMac as the 2011 is creaking.
Click to expand...
About 2 weeks after you give up and buy an Intel iMac, of course :)

Seriously, though, the short answer is that nobody knows, and while the rumours sometimes get the “features” right, they’re rarely reliable on timing. It hasn’t exactly been a typical year since Apple announced the “2 Year” switch. Plus, this time round they’ll need a brand new processor: the M1 gives the higher end Intel Macs a run for their money, but needs more cores, more RAM capacity, more I/O, better GPU, better multi display support...

My guess would be that Apple’s priority will be the higher-end MacBook Pros, since they are likely the next biggest sellers and are being embarrassed by the entry-level M1s. But that’s just a guess.

If your iMac is actually failing then I’d second the Mac Mini suggestion, with a 4K screen.
 
dogslobber said:
My wife wouldn’t tolerate that as she hates cables and boxes.
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As obvious as this point is, I've not actually considered it, so thank you.

I am desperately trying to reduce the clutter and cables on my desk. An iMac is the only Mac form factor that I've not owned in the last decade. Obviously I will still have a monitor floating above an iMac and another one to the side, because one needs screens to make them look professional, but an iMac would at least reduce a few cables. 🤔

If Apple released a 32" 5K or 6K iMac with a beefier M SOMETHING I would certainly give it some serious thought. Sadly though I think the days of user upgradeable RAM on the iMac could be over.
 
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