Signs of a new iMac?

[Onimusha370]

Just been looking around on amazon and it appears that all 4 models of iMac are heavily discounted now. Annoyingly they all show good stock, other than the low end 27 inch.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00AJGW99A/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1371807545&sr=8-3&pi=SL75

These seem like pretty huge discounts (10-11%), and with one of the models showing very low stock, does anyone else think the rumours of a July iMac refresh might be true?

 

[maflynn]

Its a good discount and if other retailers were unloading their stock I'd say yes but I think this may just be a sale by amazon.

My opinion is that the last refresh of the iMac is too soon to update this line now, plus I think the MBP line is next in line to get the Haswell chipset.

 

[mrmarts]

Its a good discount and if other retailers were unloading their stock I'd say yes but I think this may just be a sale by amazon.

My opinion is that the last refresh of the iMac is too soon to update this line now, plus I think the MBP line is next in line to get the Haswell chipset.

I strongly believe that the Macbook pro update will come first and the iMac update will trail behind to late fall.

 

[AGamble]

So we're talking September to late November?

Do you think theres any chance of anything in addition to the Haswell chipset?

I'm looking to buy a iMac but dont want to buy days before a refresh.

 

[smiddlehurst]

So we're talking September to late November?

Do you think theres any chance of anything in addition to the Haswell chipset?

I'm looking to buy a iMac but dont want to buy days before a refresh.

At a rough guess I'd say Haswell, 802.11ac wireless support and a move to PCIe-based flash storage for those models that use SSD's. Minor spec bump in most ways, the flash change would be a noticeable improvement but not a deal breaker either (and, it must be said, is the least likely of the three to be included).

 

[Onimusha370]

I'm in the same boat as many who don't want to buy shortly before a refresh. I'm not bothered about the switch to haswell or ac wireless, but a 2x boost to the flash storage in the fusion drives would be worth waiting for I think.
Just wish they'd refresh it now

 

[AGamble]

At a rough guess I'd say Haswell, 802.11ac wireless support and a move to PCIe-based flash storage for those models that use SSD's. Minor spec bump in most ways, the flash change would be a noticeable improvement but not a deal breaker either (and, it must be said, is the least likely of the three to be included).

Million dollar question is will the above updates be worth the wait?

 

[mrmarts]

There is always the possibility they might bump the Video card but apart from that a quiet refresh.

 

[Johnny Jackhammer]

Thunderbolt 2?

 

[curtoise]

Million dollar question is will the above updates be worth the wait?

I believe the answer is yes if they are going to add 256ssd as default storage on Fusion Drives, that will be perfect, I think 128gb is a little small.

 

[AppleWarMachine]

No July iMac, will probably be release this fall, as usual for back to school (I am waiting for this update)

----------

I believe the answer is yes if they are going to add 256ssd as default storage on Fusion Drives, that will be perfect, I think 128gb is a little small.

I agree, or at least have 256GB SSD for the 27"

 

[curtoise]

No July iMac, will probably be release this fall, as usual for back to school (I am waiting for this update)

----------



I agree, or at least have 256GB SSD for the 27"

Me too, I'm waiting for this update, by "Fall" do you think September or more towards November?

 

[smiddlehurst]

Million dollar question is will the above updates be worth the wait?

Haswell - No. Minor bump at best for the iMac. There's also a chance that Apple may decide to pull the discrete GPU from the 21.5" models as an Iris Pro Haswell should more-or-less match the 640m and get close to the 650m.
802.11ac - For most people, no. If you've got a base station that supports it and (more importantly) other devices that'll benefit from it or, possibly, the mother of all internet connections then yes but right now it's future proofing more than anything else.
PCie SSD's - This really is the tricky one and I genuinely don't know. Will it be faster? Almost certainly. But.. it won't be the jump we got going from HDD to SSD. Even if it's twice as fast will the difference be *that* noticeable in the real world? Now if it's a 256Gb drive as standard for Fusion Drive models that does make things a bit more difficult.

Honestly at this point I'd say it depends why you want a new iMac. If you're in a position where you need a new machine go right ahead, don't think the 2013 revision will be that much better. If you'd kinda like one but aren't sure there's no harm in waiting

 

[KaraH]

There is always the possibility they might bump the Video card but apart from that a quiet refresh.

That alone would make it worthwhile! A video card is something I always buy the top option of (then wished it could be even better in a few years).

Me too, I'm waiting for this update, by "Fall" do you think September or more towards November?

I would agree that they want it back-to-school if not July (there are rumours of July). That means it would be no later than August but still new enough for holiday shopping.

 

[curtoise]

Haswell - No. Minor bump at best for the iMac. There's also a chance that Apple may decide to pull the discrete GPU from the 21.5" models as an Iris Pro Haswell should more-or-less match the 640m and get close to the 650m.
802.11ac - For most people, no. If you've got a base station that supports it and (more importantly) other devices that'll benefit from it or, possibly, the mother of all internet connections then yes but right now it's future proofing more than anything else.
PCie SSD's - This really is the tricky one and I genuinely don't know. Will it be faster? Almost certainly. But.. it won't be the jump we got going from HDD to SSD. Even if it's twice as fast will the difference be *that* noticeable in the real world? Now if it's a 256Gb drive as standard for Fusion Drive models that does make things a bit more difficult.

Honestly at this point I'd say it depends why you want a new iMac. If you're in a position where you need a new machine go right ahead, don't think the 2013 revision will be that much better. If you'd kinda like one but aren't sure there's no harm in waiting

Yes I need it but not desperate as I have a 2011 MBP with Thunderbolt 27'

I'll just wait as I'll prefer to have newer technology even if it is not too much of an upgrade.

 

[AGamble]

Haswell - No. Minor bump at best for the iMac. There's also a chance that Apple may decide to pull the discrete GPU from the 21.5" models as an Iris Pro Haswell should more-or-less match the 640m and get close to the 650m.
802.11ac - For most people, no. If you've got a base station that supports it and (more importantly) other devices that'll benefit from it or, possibly, the mother of all internet connections then yes but right now it's future proofing more than anything else.
PCie SSD's - This really is the tricky one and I genuinely don't know. Will it be faster? Almost certainly. But.. it won't be the jump we got going from HDD to SSD. Even if it's twice as fast will the difference be *that* noticeable in the real world? Now if it's a 256Gb drive as standard for Fusion Drive models that does make things a bit more difficult.

Honestly at this point I'd say it depends why you want a new iMac. If you're in a position where you need a new machine go right ahead, don't think the 2013 revision will be that much better. If you'd kinda like one but aren't sure there's no harm in waiting

Surely this is too much of a update to be a "silent" upgrade?

Is the general consensus that the first mention will be part of the next WWDC?

If so whens it scheduled for? November?

 

[Bear]

At a rough guess I'd say Haswell, 802.11ac wireless support and a move to PCIe-based flash storage for those models that use SSD's. Minor spec bump in most ways, the flash change would be a noticeable improvement but not a deal breaker either (and, it must be said, is the least likely of the three to be included).

Actually I disagree on the likelihood of the SSD, I think it is quite likely to be included. One reason is so Apple has to deal with fewer SSD types in inventory for manufacturing.

As a side benefit, I think a Haswell powered iMac will probably use slightly less electricity and therefore generate less heat.

Surely this is too much of a update to be a "silent" upgrade?

Is the general consensus that the first mention will be part of the next WWDC?

If so whens it scheduled for? November?

Actually it's not too much for a silent update. 802.11ac and faster SSDs have already been announce via the MacBook Air, so people will know to look for those options.

Thunderbolt 2?

Unlikely until the middle of next year for all Macs except the Mac Pro of course.

 

[Nismo73]

Its a good discount and if other retailers were unloading their stock I'd say yes but I think this may just be a sale by amazon.

My opinion is that the last refresh of the iMac is too soon to update this line now, plus I think the MBP line is next in line to get the Haswell chipset.

Best Buy and B&H Photo both have the discounted price on the iMac as well as Mac-Mini too...

 

[Onimusha370]

Best Buy and B&H Photo both have the discounted price on the iMac as well as Mac-Mini too...

That's good to hear!
I'm still positive about a refresh next month

 

[kazmac]

I could easily see next Month

As others have mentioned, July has been a release month for iMacs in the past so a Summer update for the iMacs could possibly happen. I bought my 2010 in August of that year, a few weeks after the July refresh.

I'm slowly warming up to the 2012 iMacs, hopefully my 2010 will last at least another year or longer (holding out for a retina iMac.)

 

[forty2j]

That's good to hear!
I'm still positive about a refresh next month

If there is a refresh next month, both the Geekbench and 3DMark will be essentially indistinguishable from the current model. I.e. it'll have newer parts, but not really better-performing ones.