Next generation iMac?

I'm a photographer looking to rethink my editing station setup.

Right now I have a 17" MacBookPro. I do my photo sorting and rating in the field but then work on each image in my studio. I show prospective clients who I meet in person my portfolio on my iPhone 4.

My new setup will be an iPad 3 (if it has a Retina Display as rumoured) for sorting and rating in the field and to show clients my portfolio and an iMac with as large as a screen as I can get for editing in my studio.

I've never owned a desktop Mac before -- just a series of Powerbooks and MacBookPro's -- so I'm not in touch with the iMac release schedule and upcoming rumours.

It seems that the iMac is due for a redesign. Any rumours of this? When would we usually expect a new iMac to be released?

 

I've been looking into the Mac Pro as well, but I don't think I need that kind of power. Apparently Apple thinks the same thing and the next generation iMac may take the reins as a pro workstation.

My rationale on waiting until the next generation iMac is that the Pro is painfully due for an update. Either Apple updates it or discontinues it releases a next generation iMac to take over.

 

This is a controversial idea because old timers don't want to let go of the Mac, but I think that a "desktop iPad" could be the next generation iMac. The form factor would be a 20" to 27" iPad like device that sits on the desk at a shallow angle ideal for a touch interface.

Inspired by the 1999 Cinema Display, it could have a kick stand on the back for upright viewing:



... but it would sit most of the time on its back for comfortable extended use.

What OS would it run? Lion or iOS? Many new design cues in Lion such as full screen apps, LaunchPad and gestures show that Apple is interested in porting OSX for touch. The proliferation of the Magic TrackPad lends to that trend as well.

Steve Jobs said that there would always be "trucks" but that "cars" would take over. Could an oversized iPad like iMac become the truck of the computer world and the iPad, iPhones and iPods the cars?

 

My new setup depends on an iPad and I'm not getting one until they have a high resolution display so I'll be buying an iMac when the iPad 3 is launched. Hopefully the new iMac will be out by then.

 

Fatigue and tendon inflammation results from holding your hands up against a display perpendicular to the the table. What I anticipate happening is a device that lies on its back on the table at a slight angle, like a touch enabled table. You would use it just as comfortably as you use your iPad.

As I said, Apple is leaving an increasingly large trail of clues that it is adopting a touch interface in OSX.

Steve Jobs was known to deny things that Apple was preparing to release. i.e. "We're not getting into the phone business" and then proceeds to saying what is wrong about the current approach. Apple then releases a device in that category that they denied getting into and shows it can be done better.

HP and Dell sell touch displays but it's a gimmick because the OS is not meant for touch and the screen sits exactly as it would if it weren't a touch device -- not very comfortable for any extended use.

Reinvent the device from the ground up: an iPad with enough power and screen real estate to run professional grade apps that you can directly manipulate with your fingers or a capacitive pen. Hold up the screen in a traditional position with a kick stand and add a physical wireless keyboard for extended typing.

 

Now that I have a retina display iPad, my new workflow is half complete. While the iPad has replaced most of my need for a MacBookPro, on the other side of the scale, I still need a powerful desktop with a large screen for video and photo editing. Enter the new iMac.

Is the time ripe for a next generation iMac or will yet another feature update be on the horizon? The iMac is a beautiful machine but it's remained generally unchanged since the introduction of the current form factor in 2004.

I think that the perfect opportunity for an all new iMac will be pairing its launch with Mountain Lion. Nonetheless, if Apple is planning on a large iPad-like desktop as alluded to earlier in this thread, Mountain Lion may be the precursor to the next generation of OSX with touch fully built in so we may yet need to wait until 2013 for the next generation iMac.