Mid-2017 iMac is >600 days old - all time record for an iMac without an update

[EugW]

Today, on January 27, 2019, my mid-2017 iMac has beaten the all time record for an iMac having no update. Previous record was 601 days until the update and the mid-2017 is now at 601 days. However, since it’s a Sunday, there will be no update today, meaning the 2017 is the new record holder.

Furthermore, I’m not convinced we will see a new model this quarter either. If we don’t get anything until May, we might just hit 700 days, or almost 2 years. The 2017 came out in June.
[doublepost=1548596253][/doublepost]BTW, my MacBook is in the same boat.

And to think, in 2017 I was a little disappointed I couldn’t wait to get the “inevitable” 6-core iMac in 2018, nor could I wait for a Thunderbolt MacBook.

 

[Kurri]

Great news update has to be spring right??? One can only hope....

 

[EugW]

Great news update has to be spring right??? One can only hope....

Well, who knows?!? I said the update HAD to be by fall 2018, but boy was I ever wrong...

At this point I'm almost wishing that the update won't be until May 6 or later, just so we get a new record of 700 days. Or else June 5 for an even 2 years.

 

[G4DPII]

Seriously 600 Days? That's nothing. The iMac is still a baby. It would be nice if it was updated, but the iMac range has been pretty spoiled when it comes to getting updates compared to the other desktop computers that Apple doesn't bother to care about anymore.

It's not been 2 years yet. The poor mini was 4 years old when it finally got some love. The Mac Pro will probably be 6 years by the time they pull their collective heads from their bottoms.

 

[Porkchop Sandwich]

If Apple introduces an updated 24" iMac w/a small footprint to match, I'll buy one the day it's announced. (provided finances will allow, of course)

 

[mj_]

Two years? That's like... barely hitting puberty in Mac Pro years and around its midlife crisis in Mac Mini years.

 

[johannnn]

I’m about to get a Mac to my corporate job, and the LAST thing I want is a complete redesign of the iMac. Every time Apple redesigns something I feel that product is plagued with bugs for a year or two. Just look at the MBP with the keyboard that is destroyed by a breadcrumb, and th T2 which crashes for no reason. The iMac just works. And I’d like to keep it that way.

 

[Icaras]

Thanks for reporting this. MR better put this on the front page.

Also, I bet both the MacBook and iMac will share an event together for their respective updates, and they should since they're the two consumer Macs.

 

[tomscott1988]

Sigh

 

[JoSch]

So, what's the point of this thread? At least, we now have a new Mac Mini.

 

[Plutonius]

Today, on January 27, 2019, my mid-2017 iMac has beaten the all time record for an iMac having no update.

I don't think the iMac or any other (non Mac Pro) Apple computer should get an update until Apple finally updates the Mac Pro.
[doublepost=1548681655][/doublepost]

and the T2 which crashes for no reason.

Owners of an iMac (not iMac Pro) should be very happy the iMac hasn't been updated with a T2 chip until Apple solves all the problems. Why would anyone want to spend a lot of money on a computer to be a beta tester.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

2017 really was a great year. We should keep that spirit going for some time.

But anyway I think the iMac will get a nice refresh and a price increase to boot.

I'd completely forgotten about the iMac and I've just checked - you can get a brand new one with the Retina 4K display and performance that will run miles around the current MBP for $1,299.

You can barely get an Apple anything with for $1299 these days - see the current Fisher Price-spec MacBook Air which really is appalling stuff - never mind an enourmous TV-sized desktop.

I think they'll change a thing or two and give it a nice, smooth $500 price increase so it fits better within the current lineup.

 

[chrfr]

I'd completely forgotten about the iMac and I've just checked - you can get a brand new one with the Retina 4K display and performance that will run miles around the current MBP for $1,299.

The $1299 iMac includes a 1TB 5400 rpm hard drive. At best, disk speed will be about 10% of the MacBook Pro's SSD.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

The $1299 iMac includes a 1TB 5400 rpm hard drive. At best, disk speed will be about 10% of the MacBook Pro's SSD.

Well, you can configure it with an SSD for $200, or with the Fusion Drive for $100.

 

[J.Gallardo]

Time statistics are not fair, just by counting days passed.
Development of new tech in this last two years is been not as frantic as in years before.
We don't expect Thunderbolt 4, or a faster USB. There ain't faster SSD pci blades... Intel is stuck in 14nm...
No more pixel density for screens, nor wider gamut...
Of course, Apple can introduce an iMac with T2 and perhaps Touch ID.
What else?

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Time statistics are not fair, just by counting days passed.
Development of new tech in this last two years is been not as frantic as in years before.
We don't expect Thunderbolt 4, or a faster USB. There ain't faster SSD pci blades... Intel is stuck in 14nm...
No more pixel density for screens, nor wider gamut...
Of course, Apple can introduce an iMac with T2 and perhaps Touch ID.
What else?

Don't you think this design is due for a slight refresh? I think they could shave the bezels by quite a margin...

 

[EugW]

Time statistics are not fair, just by counting days passed.
Development of new tech in this last two years is been not as frantic as in years before.
We don't expect Thunderbolt 4, or a faster USB. There ain't faster SSD pci blades... Intel is stuck in 14nm...
No more pixel density for screens, nor wider gamut...
Of course, Apple can introduce an iMac with T2 and perhaps Touch ID.
What else?

Uh, what? 2018 saw the release of mainstream 6-core CPUs that would be a drop in update to the 2017 models.

It's one of the biggest CPU speed upgrades in a decade.

Don't you think this design is due for a slight refresh? I think they could shave the bezels by quite a margin...

You could say that.

2010 on the left, and 2017 on the right (and MacBook 2017 in the middle)

BTW, in that picture, the 2010 iMac is powered by a FireWire 800 SSD, which you can see on the far left. The internal HD is slow by today's standards, but I didn't want to disassemble the iMac to get at it. A FireWire 800 SSD works surprisingly well actually.

However, once I got the appropriate cables, I just use the 2010 as an external monitor, as above. No more need for an external boot drive. So, in my case it's actually good that Apple didn't update the design for 2017. I have a dual-screen 27" iMac setup with perfectly matching fronts.

 

[Porkchop Sandwich]

After using mbp's for several years, I jumped ship and bought a nicely spec'd 2017 21" iMac as a primary computer for my basic business needs. Couldn't be happier.

I hope Apple sorts out its latest issues with what some have concluded are problems with the T2 before releasing a newly redesigned iMac.

 

[EugW]

I don't think the iMac or any other (non Mac Pro) Apple computer should get an update until Apple finally updates the Mac Pro.

The Mac Pro is a very different and separate product that caters to a very different and much smaller niche group, and it’s a product that historically has had a very different update schedule.

The iMac’s release schedule shouldn’t be affected by the Mac Pro’s release schedule at all. And fortunately, it isn’t.

Owners of an iMac (not iMac Pro) should be very happy the iMac hasn't been updated with a T2 chip until Apple solves all the problems. Why would anyone want to spend a lot of money on a computer to be a beta tester.

Fair enough. I am quite glad that I do not have T2, either in my iMac or my MacBook.

 

[J.Gallardo]

Don't you think this design is due for a slight refresh? I think they could shave the bezels by quite a margin...

Well... Looking from the keyboard, my 2017 iMac is quite similar to my prior 2009 iMac. It works.
I actually like having a thick, clean, neutral black bezel to edit videos and photos; and can't figure how not having a visible frame would be an advantage for a desktop set (multiple screens...?). It's like having new "low-travel" keycaps keyboard; not useful in a desktop.
I was talking about "working power" though I appreciate Apple design, which tends to be atemporal. Apple tries to cling to a basic design (MacMini). Efforts made in exterior form and interior construction deserve a saving in a lasting plan, just changing CPUs or GPUs.

2018 saw the release of mainstream 6-core CPUs that would be a drop in update to the 2017 models.

It's one of the biggest CPU speed upgrades in a decade.

Probably. Wish granted. Time was right for using it in MacMini, so this is the most logical upgrade.
AMD could provide RX590 also (Nothing more to change without a substantial remaking!!).
In fact, this should have happened by now! I wish it appeared as a built-to-order option. (I think Apple has made sudden CPUs upgrades before). If not, perhaps it's because a major redesign (they WANT T2 in every mac, it seems)... and it could take more time.
I don't feel Apple is in a hurry... Multithreaded processes are for "pro" users, and MacMini offers what they need.
We will know in a month or so (not a minimal rumor or benchmark by now).

 

[Steve121178]

the LAST thing I want is a complete redesign of the iMac.

Speak for yourself. A major redesign is long, long overdue.

 

[RUGERMAN]

Speak for yourself. A major redesign is long, long overdue.

I have a late 2009 21.5 iMac and I have people come over say "WOW, that's a nice monitor. Where's the computer?" Not folks that are computer nerds obviously.

 

[fathergll]

Today, on January 27, 2019, my mid-2017 iMac has beaten the all time record for an iMac having no update. Previous record was 601 days until the update and the mid-2017 is now at 601 days. However, since it’s a Sunday, there will be no update today, meaning the 2017 is the new record holder.


Furthermore, I’m not convinced we will see a new model this quarter either. If we don’t get anything until May, we might just hit 700 days, or almost 2 years. The 2017 came out in June.
[doublepost=1548596253][/doublepost]BTW, my MacBook is in the same boat.


And to think, in 2017 I was a little disappointed I couldn’t wait to get the “inevitable” 6-core iMac in 2018, nor could I wait for a Thunderbolt MacBook.

Good catch....they didn't update it though to be fair they introduce a workstation-class version of it so it's not as bad as it seems on the surface so I'm giving Apple some leniency on this one.

I'm hoping all of this waiting will be a major hardware update meaning not only a 6 core iMac but new screen that supports HDR and Apple supporting the DRM in order to stream UHD content.

 

[mreg376]

Great news update has to be spring right??? One can only hope....

Yes. lets hope for that new iMac! Likely more expensive, sealed RAM, a T2 chip that causes freezes and kernel panics. Can't wait!

 

[Plutonius]

Yes. lets hope for that new iMac! Likely more expensive, sealed RAM, a T2 chip that causes freezes and kernel panics. Can't wait!

You forgot the soldered in SSD because nobody ever needs or wants to change drives.