Odds for a ”pro” bigger iMac at WWDC?

[Pelinwin]

So I’m curious what everyone thinks: is it something to even hope for? Wouldn’t it be kind of an ******* move by Apple to introduce this new 24” version shipping in mid may and not even a month later announce something that people ordering this version would’ve preferred?
I’m 50-50 if I will wait for a heavy duty pro iMac or go for this one and possibly upgrade later. If I most definitely will have to wait until fall/winter I might not be able to hold off. But June? Hell yeah. I hate waiting and waiting and not knowing if it could actually be a year until it’s announced.

 

[orbital~debris]

This was what I had been presuming, but I've seen a couple of (educated?) guesses at "next year" for the supposed 30" version.

I could see WWDC or October this year, especially if Apple bestow it with the 'iMac Pro' name.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

So I’m curious what everyone thinks: is it something to even hope for? Wouldn’t it be kind of an ******* move by Apple to introduce this new 24” version shipping in mid may and not even a month later announce something that people ordering this version would’ve preferred?

Anyone waiting for a productivity machine would not get the 24" iMac.

And why would you even get something if it doesn't suit your needs? Then you're just dumb.

 

[fishkorp]

WWDC does fall conveniently after most folks return period is up (depending on when exactly these ship).

 

[petvas]

I believe that the new iMac and Pro laptops will be announced in November. Not before that.

 

[Ethosik]

Very likely. This is the Worldwide Developers Conference. So announcing the more power M1X/M2/whatever will let developers program for the extra cores and stuff. This doesn't mean products will ship. They have typically announced stuff in WWDC and have them ship in the fall.

 

[fishkorp]

Very likely. This is the Worldwide Developers Conference. So announcing the more power M1X/M2/whatever will let developers program for the extra cores and stuff. This doesn't mean products will ship. They have typically announced stuff in WWDC and have them ship in the fall.

Plus a lot of developers have a $500 DTK credit they’re sitting on.

 

[zorinlynx]

I'm honestly wondering if I should just buy a higher end current 27" Intel iMac.

By the time the full usable lifetime of that machine is up, M(2? 3? 4?) Macs will be performance monsters and all the bugs will have been worked out. Also by then most apps will be running native on Apple Silicon.

Of course, the main question is, how much longer will Apple support MacOS on Intel? Will these machines be orphaned in two years? As a comparison, I'm using a late-2015 iMac right now, and I got Big Sur, six years later. It's starting to show its age, though, and has the subtle pink borders problem though it's not too bad yet.

 

[Maconplasma]

Anyone waiting for a productivity machine would not get the 24" iMac.

This is just senseless. The new 24" iMac is very much a productivity machine. It's fully capable of doing Final Cut Pro editing, Adobe CC and CAD design work. The great screen quality, power and graphics of the M1 chip are saying that you're wrong.

 

[GSWForever8]

No way in wwdc. That’s software only. I know the Mac Pro was released at wwdc, but since the iMac 27 inch was updated in fall 2020, I think that’s unlikely.

 

[GSWForever8]

I'm honestly wondering if I should just buy a higher end current 27" Intel iMac.

By the time the full usable lifetime of that machine is up, M(2? 3? 4?) Macs will be performance monsters and all the bugs will have been worked out. Also by then most apps will be running native on Apple Silicon.

Of course, the main question is, how much longer will Apple support MacOS on Intel? Will these machines be orphaned in two years? As a comparison, I'm using a late-2015 iMac right now, and I got Big Sur, six years later. It's starting to show its age, though, and has the subtle pink borders problem though it's not too bad yet.

I’m using an intel MBA. So far so good, but I think you should go for the M1 iMac.

 

[Ethosik]

I'm honestly wondering if I should just buy a higher end current 27" Intel iMac.

By the time the full usable lifetime of that machine is up, M(2? 3? 4?) Macs will be performance monsters and all the bugs will have been worked out. Also by then most apps will be running native on Apple Silicon.

Of course, the main question is, how much longer will Apple support MacOS on Intel? Will these machines be orphaned in two years? As a comparison, I'm using a late-2015 iMac right now, and I got Big Sur, six years later. It's starting to show its age, though, and has the subtle pink borders problem though it's not too bad yet.

I would advise against that. One of the reasons I started to really hate my 2019 i9 iMac was due to the fan noise even doing the smallest of tasks.

 

[Ethosik]

No way in wwdc. That’s software only. I know the Mac Pro was released at wwdc, but since the iMac 27 inch was updated in fall 2020, I think that’s unlikely.

Correction - its "developer focused". They announce the new software so developers are prepared. So announcing a more powerful processor with more cores makes sense. Again so developers are prepared.

 

[Nimoy]

Anything’s possible but think it’s a bit stupid to announce a different type of iMac two weeks after the 24” starts shipping. People need to make informed purchasing decisions. If Apple had an iMac Pro ready to go, they should‘ve/would’ve announced it last week.

 

[GSWForever8]

Correction - its "developer focused". They announce the new software so developers are prepared. So announcing a more powerful processor with more cores makes sense. Again so developers are prepared.

Ah. Now that makes more sense. I think in this case, a Mac Pro sounds logical in this situation? It hasn’t been updated in 2 years.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I don't see it happening. Probably later in the year.

 

[ADGrant]

I'm honestly wondering if I should just buy a higher end current 27" Intel iMac.

By the time the full usable lifetime of that machine is up, M(2? 3? 4?) Macs will be performance monsters and all the bugs will have been worked out. Also by then most apps will be running native on Apple Silicon.

Of course, the main question is, how much longer will Apple support MacOS on Intel? Will these machines be orphaned in two years? As a comparison, I'm using a late-2015 iMac right now, and I got Big Sur, six years later. It's starting to show its age, though, and has the subtle pink borders problem though it's not too bad yet.

I did that last summer and got the 2020 27" as soon as it was available but I needed a new Mac. I am not sure if I would do the same thing this year if I already had a reasonable machine.

That said, the Intel Macs will not be orphaned in two years. There may even still be Intel Macs sold. Apple has a lot of Enterprise customers. They can be slow to upgrade to new tech. Many are still running Windows 7 for example.

 

[MacCheetah3]

I was hoping March-April for the upper tiers but clearly Apple wasn’t ready yet — perhaps this is their original roadmap or the tech manufacturing/supply problems have prevented moving beyond M1 production at this point. So, most likely, upper tiers in fall/late (September-November) this year at the soonest.

 

[Maconplasma]

I was hoping March-April for the upper tiers but clearly Apple wasn’t ready yet — perhaps this is their original roadmap or the tech manufacturing/supply problems have prevented moving beyond M1 production at this point. So, most likely, upper tiers in fall/late (September-November) this year at the soonest.

Apple generally does not announce pro/prosumer products until WWDC. I wouldn't say it has anything to do with supply problems or they wouldn't have announced the new iMac. Remember their products are made in China. If there was a supply problem the iMac announcement wouldn't have happened, nor would they have announced the M1 iPad Pro.

 

[AVonGauss]

Deleted.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Apple generally does not announce pro/prosumer products until WWDC. I wouldn't say it has anything to do with supply problems or they wouldn't have announced the new iMac. Remember their products are made in China. If there was a supply problem the iMac announcement wouldn't have happened, nor would they have announced the M1 iPad Pro.

Indeed, Spring was being very optimistic as it’s not even six months since the M1 Macs launched. However, I’m eagerly curious on what the upper tier offerings will be. From my analysis, a top specced M1 machine should be fine for my workflow for several years at least, but having some headroom would be nice.

 

[Maconplasma]

Indeed, Spring was being very optimistic as it’s not even six months since the M1 Macs launched. However, I’m eagerly curious on what the upper tier offerings will be. From my analysis, a top specced M1 machine should be fine for my workflow for several years at least, but having some headroom would be nice.

Same! I'm hoping they announce the Apple Silicon 16" MBP at WWDC. My current one is amazing but I'm having trouble getting some work done due to the noisy fans when the system gets taxed as I do video production and voiceovers using open mics.

 

[zorinlynx]

I did that last summer and got the 2020 27" as soon as it was available but I needed a new Mac. I am not sure if I would do the same thing this year if I already had a reasonable machine.

That said, the Intel Macs will not be orphaned in two years. There may even still be Intel Macs sold. Apple has a lot of Enterprise customers. They can be slow to upgrade to new tech. Many are still running Windows 7 for example.

I still have a little PTSD from how quickly Apple took their PowerPC platform out back and shot it back in 2006.

There were people with near-brand-new G5 PowerMacs that suddenly had obsolete machines.

Maybe it'll be different this time, but it's hard to count on that.

 

[jdb8167]

This is just senseless. The new 24" iMac is very much a productivity machine. It's fully capable of doing Final Cut Pro editing, Adobe CC and CAD design work. The great screen quality, power and graphics of the M1 chip are saying that you're wrong.

Anyone who hasn't used an M1 Mac has no real idea of how impressive these SoCs are. People get jaded over the constant praise. The M1 has limitations as to memory size and some IO but from a performance point of view, it is tough to do better unless you need a huge number of cores. Almost no one uses 8 or 16 cores for normal computer use.

There are no performance issues with the M1. It's not a problem in a MacBook Air and it isn't going to be a problem in a colorful iMac. The CPUs are impressively fast and efficient. A new iMac will be faster than almost any desktop most users would buy. It isn't a gaming PC or a high-end workstation but who buys those? Gamers aren't going to buy a Mac anyways.

 

[jdb8167]

I did that last summer and got the 2020 27" as soon as it was available but I needed a new Mac. I am not sure if I would do the same thing this year if I already had a reasonable machine.

That said, the Intel Macs will not be orphaned in two years. There may even still be Intel Macs sold. Apple has a lot of Enterprise customers. They can be slow to upgrade to new tech. Many are still running Windows 7 for example.

I think that support will continue for a long time but software updates are going to end about 2025. My guess is that Apple isn't going to go much beyond their Apple Care warranty for Intel Macs. There will not be any new Intel Macs at this point. Everything Intel that Apple sells is already for sale. Don't fool yourself into thinking Apple will introduce new Intel Macs until November of 2022.