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New iMac rumours - thinner.... really?

@all: I absolutely agree with you that making a thinner machine and sacrificing performance is not the way to go. What I liked about the 2011 iMac is that is was a competent desktop, matching the performance of similar-specced custom build PC towers of that time while having approximately the same price (if you take the display+wireless peripherals into account). The small form factor is just a bonus.


However, you have to decide whether this discussion is an academic one or not. What I don't get is why most people here are assuming that this is what actually will happen with the iMac. I mean, if Apple manages to make it thinner, but still pack the i7-3770 and a 680m or the 7970M - then what does it even matter how thin that thing is? Now, if the new iMacs do not correspond to the performance standards of the 2011 model (fastest available CPU/mGPU) - then, believe me, I will be among the first ones to criticise Apple.
 
I don't recall where I read it, but the discussion above brought this to mind.

One of the supposed reasons that the Samsung Galaxy phones have such big screens was not so much because there was the demand for large screen phones, as the fact that Samsung did not have the technical competence to engineer a phone delivering those tech specs and fit it in a smaller form factor.

Indeed, although there is a 4" Galaxy now to launch its specs are lower than the larger model.

The deal with Apple reducing size of devices - making the iMac thinner - is (hopefully) that it can pack in the power it wants within that enclosure rather than make it just form over function. The design and engineering skills coexist to deliver a device of the quality demanded.

On the form side this might mean leaving out an ODD - which I'm not yet comfortable with but I see why it is quickly becoming obsolete - and I do also have concerns about the heat issues that a thinner enclosure could create, but if you are going to trust a company on design and engineering issues Apple is probably the one to trust.

Making it thin for the sake of making it thin is a nonsense, but making it thin because the quality of your engineering makes this a real possibility is a testament to a company's cutting edge abilities.
 
I agree the iMac doesn't need to be thinner just for styling sake. The upside is the Ivy Bridge CPUs should run cooler so many not need as much cooling or the existing system might be more officiant.

I see the biggest problem with a thinner case being other things like the possible switch to more laptop components like 2.5" HDD and dumping the DVD.
 
davidcmc said:
Apple doesn't want you opening their computers and switching the HD/GPU/CPU. That would hurt their sales, because people would stop buying new Macs.
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Maybe Apple realised most people are not technically competent to DIY and a large proportion of those that can do some DIY are really on the edge of their competence and probably causing more problems than they are solving. Sorry mate, but that's real world. If you want Apple's DNA of customer support, you play by their rules. Don't go messing things around and then run to Apple when things go wrong. You may not be that person but 99.9% of end-users are!
 
People have to realize the majority of PC and Mac customers never upgrade there computer, outside of RAM but that depends how long they take between upgrading them. Most will never upgrade to a bigger HDD, outside of a failure. They will never put in a new video card and with towers they rarely put in PCI cards for extra USB or other ports.

This is why many customers are now going to laptops. For most they get all the power they need with the portability and compact size of a laptop, then 2-3 years later they upgrade to the new model. I guess this is a reason the iMac is still a popular choice is this laptop mentality.

That said I will miss being able to easily replace the LCD or internal parts if they fail, like the DVD. Maybe removing it is a good choice, get the USB one, when it dies then get a new one and plug it in!
 
davidcmc said:
Yes, because 1920x1080 shows a lot of jagged edges and blurry text and there's no AA in OS X graphic drivers.

You're one of those that accept any BS comming from Apple and tries to find any excuse for their commercial fallacies.
Huge display resolution doesn't mean better QOL, it only means "huge display resolution", something that strongly appeals for the majority of people.

I can assure you that 4x AA in a 1920x1080 gives you way more performance than 1x AA in that stupid and retarded retina display of rMBP.

I can also assure you that most people prefer a 4x AA + 1920x1080 resolution game with WAY BETTER PERFORMANCE than a 1X AA + retina resolution game with bad performance.

When I talk about graphic quality, I'm talking about a game running in the highest graphic quality possible (except for AA, which is relatively unecessary depending on the resolution).

People saying that they "run Guild Wars 2 and Borderlands 2 flawlessly in their rMBP" are lying, running them in medium/low quality or just not on full screen resolution (retina resolution).

Guild Wars 2 is a strong CPU/GPU demanding game and that GT 650M will NEVER run it flawlessly in the highest graphics quality settings and a 2880x1800 resolution, specially during dynamic events with 20+ players or WxWxW with 100+ players.
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I've never seen anyone get so worked up over a major advancement in display resolution.

Take a chill pill and relax. You can always hook your computer up to an old blurry monitor so you can enjoy your jagged fonts and blurry pictures 24/7.
 
hideous cheese said:
Making it thin for the sake of making it thin is a nonsense, but making it thin because the quality of your engineering makes this a real possibility is a testament to a company's cutting edge abilities.
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In other words, they are making it thin NOT for the sake of making it thin, but for the sake of demonstrating that they can making it thin? :)
 
Lancer said:
I see the biggest problem with a thinner case being other things like the possible switch to more laptop components like 2.5" HDD and dumping the DVD.
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And I would applaud such changes for the better, so to each his own.
 
Huginnmuninn said:
While I personally do continue to use my iMac's Superdrive, I'm actually looking forward to buying a new Superdriveless iMac and then getting a CD/DVD/Blu-Ray external drive from OWC for $98.
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Wouldn’t it make iMac not All-in-one but Some-in-one? :)
Then people will have two mismatched boxes (external HD and DVD) compromising integrity of their clean iMac setup.
I suggest you put them into a nice brushed aluminum box (with an Apple logo). This will also allow you to replace their two unattractive power bricks with one built-in power supply.
Make this box a bit taller, and it can house the appropriately-powerful video card.
Looking at this concoction now, it will only be reasonable to move the CPU there too, as the temperature condition will be better for it there and not behind the hot screen.
Should I stop? Do you see where I am going with that?
In a computer world it is called “computer”, or “PC”.
 
vladfein said:
Wouldn’t it make iMac not All-in-one but Some-in-one? :)
Then people will have two mismatched boxes (external HD and DVD) compromising integrity of their clean iMac setup.
Click to expand...

Apple doesn't care about what you attach after they sell you a pristine computer.

Neither do I.
 
So if the new iMac does indeed become a lot more thinner..we can all assume the probability of the ram being soldered to be way higher :(?
 
sukai said:
So if the new iMac does indeed become a lot more thinner..we can all assume the probability of the ram being soldered to be way higher :(?
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I doubt it. The thinner design will likely come in the form of a removed disk drive, possibly a thinner screen, and maybe a more efficient arrangement of the internal parts. It could also simply be a new form factor revised to make it look thinner than it really is (like the sloped bottom they did with the retina MBP).

Ram should still be user-upgradeable. If they do solder it, it would be more to milk consumers of upgrading money, and less so to save space.
 
forgotten benefits?

Has it evaded everyone, that a thinner and lighter imac would result in less shipping weight, and thus less fuel used, in turn saving the environment?

lol

i want a avatar style display,
give me a transparent screen attached to a heavy base where all the internals a kept, and a floating hinge like imacs of days gone by,
leap motion, retina display, and something new and fancy i didnt think of yet.

remember people, technology advances, at some point people have got to show others how thin and light computers can be, whilst being functional, so people like intel can pull their fingers out and move to 5nm quicker.

i guess in short, my PERSONAL OPINION is that apple has pushed design, others have created ugly boxes that look good on paper.
here is the key. if you dont like, dont buy, let apple know directly or form a fb group and let them know in numbers, and they will do something about it.

or stay quiet and live with the changes...
advise generally applicable to life.

peace:rolleyes:
 
Abazigal said:
I doubt it. The thinner design will likely come in the form of a removed disk drive, possibly a thinner screen, and maybe a more efficient arrangement of the internal parts. It could also simply be a new form factor revised to make it look thinner than it really is (like the sloped bottom they did with the retina MBP).

Ram should still be user-upgradeable. If they do solder it, it would be more to milk consumers of upgrading money, and less so to save space.
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That is true, I really do not feel like adding all the ram through apple at their prices.
 
vladfein said:
I believe it
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That's actually evidence that Apple doesn't care what you do after buying one of their pristine machines.

----------
MacVault said:
They don't seem to have to with the Macbook Airs ;)
(well it still has that thick bezel edge on the screen but it is DAMN THIN!)
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Possible that the new design is knife-edge at top, a la Air, and fills out toward the bottom to hold most of the computer electronics.
 
MacVault said:
They don't seem to have to with the Macbook Airs ;)
(well it still has that thick bezel edge on the screen but it is DAMN THIN!)
Click to expand...


Maybe because there isn't any hardware behind the screen on a Macbook Air?

Where are you going to put the hard drive? The processor? The memory? Cooling fans? Optical drive (if there is one)?
 
Gloops said:
The trouble is if you want to use Mac OS Apple don't make anything else, unless you want to remortgage your house and buy an outdated Mac Pro.

I was happy with my G4 Power Mac. What I really want now is another mid-range, mid-priced tower, but I have to settle for the iMac and its flaws and limitations.
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You are absolutely right, this is the core of the problem. No one would be concerned about the possibility of the iMac getting thinner if Apple offered a desktop product that would fill the gap between the iMac and Mac Pro. For many the performance of the iMac is not enough and the cost of the Mac Pro is too high.

It seams that a lot of people are buying a maxed out iMac only because they can't afford the Mac Pro.
 
Tanda said:
You are absolutely right, this is the core of the problem. No one would be concerned about the possibility of the iMac getting thinner if Apple offered a desktop product that would fill the gap between the iMac and Mac Pro. For many the performance of the iMac is not enough and the cost of the Mac Pro is too high.

It seams that a lot of people are buying a maxed out iMac only because they can't afford the Mac Pro.
Click to expand...

I can afford a Mac Pro, but I don't want to pay the price for a computer that hasn't had a real update in such a long time. But I'd be even happier with something between the iMac and Mac Pro. As for thinness, I don't care much. The only time I can see the thickness of my iMac is when I'm walking to or from my desk. :)
 
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