Some Crazy G5 iMac Speculation!

[~Shard~]

Alright, I thought I would post my thoughts on the new iMacs, (whenever they are released), just to stir up some good, fun discussion and get other people's thoughts and opinions as well.

Here are my predictions, which are somewhat questionable (and I realize that!) :

The next iMac announcement will not be a speed boost to 1.33 GHz or 1.42 GHz or whatever, it will be a move to the G5. Jobs will wait on this until the G5 iMac is ready. As for when it will be announced, probably not until spring (so not @ MWSF). This is because Jobs will not want to release the G5 iMac too much ahead of the G5 PowerBooks, which will be ready next summer/early fall. (Another guess on my part.)

It will have a completely redesigned form factor, and although the base will resemble the current iMac, it will be smaller, sleaker and more elonngated. The LCD will come off an arm, but the arm will not be positioned right in the middle of the base, but come from the back of the base (almost blending into it as a single peice) and curve inwards. The guts will be significantly upgraded, with up-to-date video card, DDR400 RAM, SATA HD, etc., and a nice 1.6 or 1.8 G5.

Now here's an interesting one I thought I would throw in - due to the G5 being a relatively new processor, and due to the new form factor, upgraded guts, etc., the new G5 iMac will actually cost ~$2500. It will be very expensive compared to the G4 iMac, and this will of course present some issues with regards to Apple's pro/consumer model philosophy, as the iMac would no longer be a consumer-level machine, but be an in-between model, between the eMac (sole consumer machine) and the PowerMac (pro machine). Big shift!

Anyways, just some thoughts and theories I thought I would submit and see what evryone thinks. I realize not all of these ideas make sense, etc., but hey, what the helll - just thought I'd throw them out there for some fun discussion material!

 

[stoid]

Hmmm, an interesting idea, for sure, but I don't think it's very likely, as Apple has been in trouble twice for trying to promote a machine type other than their high-end machines. The old PowerMac 6xxx era comes to mind immediately, and I think that if something like this does come to pass it will be the second coming of the cube (in terms of form factor, not necessarily success).

 

[jefhatfield]

i suspect a G5 powerbook slightly before a G5 imac, so that all the pro stuff can be on the same page for a short while

...then apple will stick the G5 in the imac (my guess mid 2004 or slightly earlier), and late in 2004 the emac will get the chip and maybe by 2005 sometime, the ibook will get the chip

...and by then, we will have dual 3+ ghz powermacs and the lowest prices for the whole powermac line...there have already been price reductions and for one hundred dollars more, the 1.8 ghz powermac has been made into a dual 1.8 ghz powermac so that is a reduction in price in a true sense for what you get...and the single 1.6 ghz powermac has been reduced to 1799 usd from 1999 dollars

 

[~Shard~]

Originally posted by jefhatfield
i suspect a G5 powerbook slightly before a G5 imac, so that all the pro stuff can be on the same page for a short while

...then apple will stick the G5 in the imac (my guess mid 2004 or slightly earlier), and late in 2004 the emac will get the chip and maybe by 2005 sometime, the ibook will get the chip

...and by then, we will have dual 3+ ghz powermacs and the lowest prices for the whole powermac line...there have already been price reductions and for one hundred dollars more, the 1.8 ghz powermac has been made into a dual 1.8 ghz powermac so that is a reduction in price in a true sense for what you get...and the single 1.6 ghz powermac has been reduced to 1799 usd from 1999 dollars

Yah, I'd agree with all of that - sounds about right. Especially with the lower prices - now that the initial R&D costs have been sunk into the G5, and the technology is there, the associated costs will definitely go down.

It's going to be a great next couple of years! Since I just bought a machine though (which will hopefully last me at least 2 years!) I'm just going to hold out for a nice new G6.

 

[jefhatfield]

Originally posted by ~Shard~
Yah, I'd agree with all of that - sounds about right. Especially with the lower prices - now that the initial R&D costs have been sunk into the G5, and the technology is there, the associated costs will definitely go down.

It's going to be a great next couple of years! Since I just bought a machine though (which will hopefully last me at least 2 years!) I'm just going to hold out for a nice new G6.

technology goes faster and faster every year, and cheaper with higher levels of quality and performance

two years will be the longest most can bear to have any machine and i think apple inc should offer a two year applecare option like ibm does for its machines...ibm also offers the stadard one year, but has three, four, and five year extended warranty options

too many people buy a mac, then get applecare for three years, only to use the machine only two years (or less) before dumping it off...some say the remaining 12 months of applecare on the machine ups its value, but the mac users i know who are willing to dump a two year old mac off are glad just to sell the thing at any price

new macs are at their all time cheapest...emac at 799 new and ibook G4 at 1099...and all this with G4 processors which are more than powerful enough for most users