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It could be that the transportation system out of China was so messed up that Apple focused on what can ship the most to change their revenue status ASAP. New 14"/16" MBP and Mac minis easily was what to ship first.
I was referring to pricing mentioned in the post replied. I think Apple could move more product with a price decrease for the previous model. Apple won't do that, though.
 
If you factor the 2020 27" iMac costing $1799, you'll have an heck of an experience paying the same amount for the Studio Display and then staring at it with a blank look on your face because there is no computer attached.
Just on inflation alone, that 2020 27” iMac at $1799 would cost $2034, this year. Was that $1799 iMac the one with SSD or did it have spinning discs? Apple was still selling HD-based iMacs on the lower end in 2020.

i hope that Apple does bring out a larger iMac but I’m not holding my breath on that. Perhaps if the new Samsung 5K 27” is cheaper that might bring the Mini+Monitor package more in line with your budget.
 
I am holding on a 2012 iMac. It had become unusable with the original HDD, but I upgraded the RAM to 16GB and installed a SSD a few years back, since which it has been quite reasonably functional. I would still like to upgrade, but the white bezels are on the 24", are putting me off as long as there is no emergency. I would also happily go modular, doing a mac mini + monitor if there were a reasonably priced branded monitor. But, that is not the case, so I'll continue to wait. For a while, it would seem.
 
I was referring to pricing mentioned in the post replied. I think Apple could move more product with a price decrease for the previous model. Apple won't do that, though.
I was watching the AVR marketplace yesterday, the pricing of what gets built in China really shot up last two years, it's starting to fall again as shipping manufacturing gets better. Apple that had to up prices should be able to not raise them or even decrease them if things go a lot better in China.
 
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What if the MacBook Air goes the same route as the iMac right now and doesn't end up getting updated until the M4 chip?
In terms of units annually shipped worldwide it is the most numerous Mac.

It would be very surprising if Apple did so and a sign that the Mac is not selling well.
Its like Apple wants each form factor to have advantage over the other. Hence why they are not updating the Mac Studio concurrently with the release of the new Mac Pro. Also, the other issues with supply chain might also be factoring into this.
Release of these Macs should ideally be spaced out to manage supply with demand every quarter.

Apple not refreshing any Mac during the Q4 2022 negatively impacted Apple earnings. There was evidence that the 2023 MBP 14"/16" & the 2023 Mac mini M2/M2 Pro were supposed to be released in Q4 2022. Odds are it was a supply chain challenge.
 
The current Barbie Hot Wheels iMac is a failed product with tiny screens and outdated specs. Not to mention a total lack of a neutral or appealing color. This follows the Apple template:

1.) Take a beloved product and create a terrible version of it
2.) Neglect the product forever because "no one is buying it"

Do better, Apple.
the classic silver iMac is the definition of “neutral color”.
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This makes sense IF M3 is really ready within 2023. No point in releasing something new that will be obsoleted/replaced within 6 months.

It all points to anything M2 just being a stop gap measure.
 
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Have a feeling the iMac is heading the way of the iPod.
Hopefully they’ll be replaced with a new line of amazing displays and a new Mac Nano M3 Pro that replaces the vintage Intel Mini design that had to be plugged in to the wall. We haven’t gotten a performance boost from running “full power” since Apple Silicon. All we get is the thick power cord and constant worry of losing power that makes it feel dangerous.
 
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What I find weird would be the iMac being timed for the December quarter.

Just like back in November 2020 the MBA, Mac mini & MBP 13" would make for a better M3 refresh candidate at that time.

I would have expected the iMac 24" M2 refresh to occur before June. Like around April?
 
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Just on inflation alone, that 2020 27” iMac at $1799 would cost $2034, this year. Was that $1799 iMac the one with SSD or did it have spinning discs? Apple was still selling HD-based iMacs on the lower end in 2020.

i hope that Apple does bring out a larger iMac but I’m not holding my breath on that. Perhaps if the new Samsung 5K 27” is cheaper that might bring the Mini+Monitor package more in line with your budget.

$1799 2020 iMac came with a 256GB SSD.
Although the 5K Samsung is going to make a lot of iMac orphans happy, it's still absurd that Apple couldn't be bothered to give them a better upgrade path.
 
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This makes sense IF M3 is really ready within 2023. No point in releasing something new that will be obsoleted/replaced within 6 months.

It all points to anything M2 just being a stop gap measure.
I had suspected they really wanted to debut M3 at the TOP of the line (new Pro) rather than the bottom (updated Air). It may be difficult to flip the cadence though. We are still dealing with the fallout of the HUGE transition to in-house chips, which has been very successful, by any measure. The big initial gains in focused areas will transition into distributed and more uniform incremental gains across the product line over time, I think. There have been major transitions in form factors and internals that each require huge engineering investments recently, and the need to give a few things major attention limits capacity to give everything some attention.
 
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same. I think I’m over having an iMac. would rather something more portable that I can connect to a monitor.

15” MBA here I come!

Me too, especially now that the modern laptops can all power 4k/5k externals, even at higher than 60hz.

The "laptop as the only machine" is finally a reality (save for power users/situations of course)
 
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Hopefully they’ll be replaced with a new line of amazing displays and a new Mac Nano M3 Pro that replaces the vintage Intel Mini design that had to be plugged in to the wall. We haven’t gotten a performance boost from running “full power” since Apple Silicon. All we get is the thick power cord and constant worry of losing power that makes it feel dangerous.
I'm confused; all Mac desktops need to be plugged in, regardless of processor.
 
10 or so years ago we would often get updates 2x a year and now Apple has their own chip that is like clockwork based on iPhone chip they are not even able to do yearly updates. The pandemic excuse can't be played forever as things are getting better. If they could update a product with M2 last summer than why not update the iMac and other products that use M2 with it? We should get updates every year just like iPhone does. Its all based on the same fundamentals. So if iPhone can be on yearly updates so can the other chips be. So, things like this:

Mx fall
Mx pro/max spring
Mx ultra june

That way, the ultra gets update the last and then the whole cycle starts again.
We will get predictable timeframes for all the products which is easier for the customer and Apple gets their PR spread out throughout the year with logical timelines. Apple wins, customer wins.



Either the pandemic, or Cook wanted to spread the PR out over as many times as possible, I’d wager.
 
Why wouldn't those people buy a Mac Studio or Mac mini?
I don’t have the statistics, but some probably will. Others like the aestetics of a clutter free and beautifully designed all-in-on that also looks good on the desk and inspires creative work.

EDIT: A certain portion of potential/previous iMac enthusiasts may also consider the MS Surface. I’m sure Apple has a pretty good idea of those migration patterns.
 
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$1799 2020 iMac came with a 256GB SSD.
Although the 5K Samsung is going to make a lot of iMac orphans happy, it's still absurd that Apple couldn't be bothered to give them a better upgrade path.
I have a 2020 iMac but with much better specs. I would have loved an alternative to the iMac but the Mac Pro was and is absurdly expensive and the Intel Mac minis absurdly underpowered and had no GPU worthy of the name.
 
I had suspected they really wanted to debut M3 at the TOP of the line (new Pro) rather than the bottom (updated Air).

Who say they won't? MacPro is rumored to come with a M2Ultra but thats just that, a rumor. And on top of it is a rumor that suggests the MacPro to be little more then a bigger Studio.

If they have something big enough and 3rd gen ready for the MacPro "M3" will debut in the MacPro with lower variants coming later.

But sofar it has always been that the bigger chips lack behind, true for M1, M2 and even A10/12 variants used in the iPadPro.

My guess: Something "M2" for the MacPro in Q2, M3 iMac in Q3 and M3 variants for everything else spread over 2024.
 
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Bought my 2020 27" iMac in basic configuration just last summer new for 1250 € from Amazon before they ran out of final stock. I put in 32G RAM which I already had and that will do for a while as a second computer to my Windows MiniPC. I enjoy the great screen for media consumption and editing. The Windows machine is now attached to a 28" 4K+ monitor (3:2) by Huawei, which can be used by the iMac, too. The 4K+ monitor costs half as much the LG 5K one.
 
I like that they're reserving chips that are tried and true for the iMac. It should be the most stable Apple product. The M2 isn't the upgrade people were hoping for. Let it get the M3 instead. I don't see a problem with that.
 
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