New iMac Redesign

[Artur Gasparyan]

Hey you,

I'm an iOS developer and I need a new Mac, as my MacBook is simply not effective enough for regular development of applications.

Therefore I would like to buy an iMac.

Of course there JUST has been an update to the iMac line but still (without trying to start here a discussion) it is the same iMac it has been for a few years now - especially the design. I like the design, but as this iMac is NOT VERY urgent (I need it within the next 3-6 months) I am a bit cautious because a very good friend of mine informed me that he thinks, Apple's going to push a complete redesign anytime soon. EVEN though there has just been an update. This is, so he says, typical for Apple, because they have done this before: There was a bump update with an older version of the iMac just to introduce a complete redesign about 3 months later, so it is nothing new.

Therefore I (someone who does NOT know when and what and who, but someone who would like to wait for a redesign if possible) would like to know from you (people who have a clue) if there is a possibility of a new iMac anytime soon (next 3 months?) - maybe in combination with Lion? New iMac means a complete hardware redesign - I don't mean an extra 0.1GHz.

Please tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate this.

Thank you a lot.

Cheers

 

[claimed4all]

If you wait long enough, it will be redesigned. In my expert opinion it will not happen in the next three months.

What don't you like about the current design? Put all the rumors aside and buy when you are ready, don't base it on some guys perfect view of how Apple works.

 

[anschnaller]

i really doin think that hey are going to redesign the imac this year maybe when they redesign the macbook (liquid metal), but that is not till next year or so. so if i were you i would get it and as of right now the imac is the fastest computer they make. but if i were you i would just get a MBP unless you really need the power of the imac.

 

[spcdust]

Based on previous design cycles the current iMac is due a redesign on the next revision - however that does not mean it will receive one, I'm purely referring to the empirical data of what has gone before. As far as 3-6 months, I think the chances are very small - more likely to be March - April 2012 based on the usual iMac product revision cycle.

 

[Badger^2]

Your "very good friend" doesnt have a clue as to what apple is going to do.

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

Your "very good friend" doesnt have a clue as to what apple is going to do.

So you're implying that you do? Please enlighten me.

 

[johnfkitchen]

So you're implying that you do? Please enlighten me.

Apple is very good at keeping their future product plans confidential. Nobody has a clue as to what they will do. Right, Badger?

You are much better off just looking at release cycles and don'y buy late in the cycle.

If it's early in the cycle (like right now), then look at the product. If you like it, buy it, if you don't like it, don't buy it.

If you need to buy in the next 3-6 months as you said, then you'll very likely be buying the current iMac even if you don't like it.

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

Apple is very good at keeping their future product plans confidential. Nobody has a clue as to what they will do. Right, Badger?

You are much better off just looking at release cycles and don'y buy late in the cycle.

If it's early in the cycle (like right now), then look at the product. If you like it, buy it, if you don't like it, don't buy it.

If you need to buy in the next 3-6 months as you said, then you'll very likely be buying the current iMac even if you don't like it.

Thanks to all of you.

Yeah seems that I will wait for Lion to be standard and buy then the current iMac, it's just that I decided to buy my MacBook (back then) because I wanted to wait for a new iMac design and now I'm urged to buy a new Mac and it seems that I will buy the one I wanted to avoid.

Don't get me wrong, it is brilliant as it is, I just thought "I waited for some years, so what's the deal about waiting another 6 months with my little MacBook " But alright. iMac, fasten your seatbelt, I'm coming.

 

[maflynn]

So you're implying that you do? Please enlighten me.

No I think the other poster is inferring that no one really knows. Apple plays very close to the vest and if someone states that the next iteration of the iMac will be redesigned, its more likely a guess.

Look at apple's track record for updating a design.
MBP prior to the unibody was the same design used by apple for years during the powerbook era. Even now there's an incredible resemblance with the powerbook.
Mac Pro - has changed really since apple introduced the PowerMac G5.
Apple Cinema Displays have looked like what they do for eons its seems. A minor tweak but overall its the ACD they've had for some time.

Apple doesn't make changes to the enclosure for the sake of change.

 

[spcdust]

Thanks to all of you.

Yeah seems that I will wait for Lion to be standard and buy then the current iMac, it's just that I decided to buy my MacBook (back then) because I wanted to wait for a new iMac design and now I'm urged to buy a new Mac and it seems that I will buy the one I wanted to avoid.

Don't get me wrong, it is brilliant as it is, I just thought "I waited for some years, so what's the deal about waiting another 6 months with my little MacBook " But alright. iMac, fasten your seatbelt, I'm coming.

Don't bother waiting for Lion - all computer purchases made since the announcement will receive it for free when it's released.

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

Don't bother waiting for Lion - all computer purchases made since the announcement will receive it for free when it's released.

Yeah I know the details, It's just, I like it ready installed when I buy it

 

[peterski]

So you're implying that you do? Please enlighten me.

He wasn't implying that he does... no one does. The simple fact is that no one really knows what will happen with the current Apple lineup. Your friend is guessing just like everyone else on these forums. Will his guess or advice materialize? Sure, if you wait long enough for something from Apple the chances are it will be "refreshed" or somehow modified.

You can take your MacBook, max out the RAM on it, slap a nice SSD and wait or upgrade to an iMac now... IMHO I'd upgrade now (if that's really needed) waiting for something and then finding out that 6-9 months later your machine is outdated isn't really my kind of thing... I buy what I want/need, when I want/need... when it's time to upgrade, I upgrade.

I really don't know what kind of development you do, but I'd suggest something portable so once your "team" grows you can take your machine with you and collaborate in person, etc... then again if you really think the reason you're not putting out "killer" apps out there is because you don't have an iMac... get it now I personally work on a 24" iMac when in my home office, but mostly use the new 13" MBA...

 

[spcdust]

Yeah I know the details, It's just, I like it ready installed when I buy it

But as a developer do you really want to start using Lion immediately - most people would hold off for at least a couple of months and continue using Snow Leopard, this would allow for the inevitable bug and incompatibilities to be ironed out.

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

He wasn't implying that he does... no one does. The simple fact is that no one really knows what will happen with the current Apple lineup. Your friend is guessing just like everyone else on these forums. Will his guess or advice materialize? Sure, if you wait long enough for something from Apple the chances are it will be "refreshed" or somehow modified.

You can take your MacBook, max out the RAM on it, slap a nice SSD and wait or upgrade to an iMac now... IMHO I'd upgrade now (if that's really needed) waiting for something and then finding out that 6-9 months later your machine is outdated isn't really my kind of thing... I buy what I want/need, when I want/need... when it's time to upgrade, I upgrade.

I really don't know what kind of development you do, but I'd suggest something portable so once your "team" grows you can take your machine with you and collaborate in person, etc... then again if you really think the reason you're not putting out "killer" apps out there is because you don't have an iMac... get it now I personally work on a 24" iMac when in my home office, but mostly use the new 13" MBA...

As I'm I freelancer, I'm not trying to put out killer apps I'm doing the apps that different companies and persons want.

I have maxed out the RAM already and it's simply the screen size and the performance that makes it a pain for me. I have an external screen, but it's only part of the problem. No, I simply need a new computer and as I'm NOT throwing this MacBook away, it can still serve as the mobile computer I need if my "team grows" as you say, it's about having a desktop machine at home that can be my workhorse. I hope that makes sense. Thank you for your point of view!

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

But as a developer do you really want to start using Lion immediately - most people would hold off for at least a couple of months and continue using Snow Leopard, this would allow for the inevitable bug and incompatibilities to be ironed out.

Uh sorry, now I see the problem: I'm an iOS developer so these kind of bugs don't...well...bug me.

Especially since I do not through my MacBook away. I do not think that the release version of Lion will be thus extremely buggy that I will not be able to work on it

 

[peterski]

As I'm I freelancer, I'm not trying to put out killer apps I'm doing the apps that different companies and persons want.

I have maxed out the RAM already and it's simply the screen size and the performance that makes it a pain for me. I have an external screen, but it's only part of the problem. No, I simply need a new computer and as I'm NOT throwing this MacBook away, it can still serve as the mobile computer I need if my "team grows" as you say, it's about having a desktop machine at home that can be my workhorse. I hope that makes sense. Thank you for your point of view!

You're welcome. Makes sense, having a portable machine has always been a must for me. Justifying multiple high end machines on the other hand has always been a bit difficult, but its not like I'm buying a new sports car every six months... or am I j/k

Enjoy your new iMac!

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

You're welcome. Makes sense, having a portable machine has always been a must for me. Justifying multiple high end machines on the other hand has always been a bit difficult, but its not like I'm buying a new sports car every six months... or am I j/k

Enjoy your new iMac!

Thank you! And as I'm not buying "multiple high end machines" I do not feel that I have to justify anything at all

About those sports cars however...

 

[roland.g]

As others have said, really really doubtful we will see a redesign in 3-6 months. There may be a design change in the next revision or there may not be. But that would be March - June 2012. And as most people will attest, sometimes it is better to get the last of a product cycle as it represents the culmination of the species and development, rather than get a Rev. A and be a guinea pig. I personally bought a Rev. A aluminum iMac in Aug. 2007, however it was not a true Rev. A as it was really just an exterior shell change to the white iMacs, with upgraded internals, but nothing truly revolutionary. Not like going from the "lamp" to the "pizza box" iMac or G5 to Intel even. I plan to upgrade to a Sandy Bridge Thunderbolt equipped iMac once Lion is installed to replace my 2007 machine. Not in a huge hurry, and I too would like Lion pre-installed with a Lion DVD/USB restore disk rather than the Snow Leopard/Up-to-date code process. I am a fan of clean installs and usually the first thing I do when I get a new Mac is to wipe the drive and OS and reinstall it without all the fat, ie. support for booting into extra languages, additional language fonts, Rosetta, X11, printer drivers (I only have one printer and can install the latest driver, thank you), etc. In 10.5 and 10.6 this usually cut the OS back by 40%. Though you may use X11, I don't know.

 

[johnfkitchen]

Whether or not you fear being an early OS adopter, you do have another option.

Order your Mac and get it with Snow Leopard.

Clone the OS partition to a spare bootable partition.

Upgrade the "real" boot partition to Lion and if you don't like it, boot from the Snow Leopard partition until you are happy with Lion behavior.

I intend to be an early adopter with Lion, as I was with Snow Leopard. I don't recall anything seriously worrying with Snow Leopard in its early days.

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

Whether or not you fear being an early OS adopter, you do have another option.

Order your Mac and get it with Snow Leopard.

Clone the OS partition to a spare bootable partition.

Upgrade the "real" boot partition to Lion and if you don't like it, boot from the Snow Leopard partition until you are happy with Lion behavior.

I intend to be an early adopter with Lion, as I was with Snow Leopard. I don't recall anything seriously worrying with Snow Leopard in its early days.

same with me

 

[peterski]

Whether or not you fear being an early OS adopter, you do have another option.

Order your Mac and get it with Snow Leopard.

Clone the OS partition to a spare bootable partition.

Upgrade the "real" boot partition to Lion and if you don't like it, boot from the Snow Leopard partition until you are happy with Lion behavior.

I intend to be an early adopter with Lion, as I was with Snow Leopard. I don't recall anything seriously worrying with Snow Leopard in its early days.

I think Lions release and the "early adopter" base might be quite a bit smaller than Snow Leopards. While SL provided an optional installer for rosetta, from what I hear Lion will not include it in it's initial release (or not at all) ... I am not one of those affected, but from what I see there are plenty of people using software that currently has no option for universal binary/etc. That in my opinion will be a contributing factor why people aren't jumping on Lion at launch day.

 

[Artur Gasparyan]

I think Lions release and the "early adopter" base might be quite a bit smaller than Snow Leopards. While SL provided an optional installer for rosetta, from what I hear Lion will not include it in it's initial release (or not at all) ... I am not one of those affected, but from what I see there are plenty of people using software that currently has no option for universal binary/etc. That in my opinion will be a contributing factor why people aren't jumping on Lion at launch day.

Don't get me wrong, I'm new to the Mac (about 4 years now) and so I never needed Rosetta. Nor have I any apps which do not run natively on Snow Leopard. And I think most of the Mac user base is based on the iOS rush, so I think this won't affect many people. I think the problem is 4 GB of a download combined with a credit card registration in the Mac App Store which many people just won't do, they're used to simply give the money and get the product.

 

[leman]

The iMac was updated a month ago. The next update is not due late autumn and even then its not clear whether you'll get your 'full redesign' (whatever that may mean). Just look up the Ivy Bridge release date and you'll have an approximate iMac refresh date (plus few month).

 

[Icaras]

The iMac was updated a month ago. The next update is not due late autumn and even then its not clear whether you'll get your 'full redesign' (whatever that may mean). Just look up the Ivy Bridge release date and you'll have an approximate iMac refresh date (plus few month).

Given the iMac's release cycle based on the Mac Rumors Buyer's Guide, I don't even think the iMac will get another update this year. I think this is it until 2012.

 

[Badger^2]

Given the iMac's release cycle based on the Mac Rumors Buyer's Guide, I don't even think the iMac will get another update this year. I think this is it until 2012.

I agree with that 100%. Think Jan 2012.