There will not be a newer iMac 27"

[Yoms]

[opinion]

Hi all,

There will not be an Apple Silicon iMac 27". But there will be a new Apple Silicon iMac Pro. Once released, the all-new iMac 24" will then just be named iMac.

The iMac 21.5" has always been a family-targeted computer. 21.5" or 24" is more than enough for that use case.
Professionals who use an iMac (creators, developers, scientists, etc.) would always prefer a 27" computer (or bigger).

What makes sense to me:

• iMac (announced April 20th)
  24", family-oriented (hence the cheerful colours), M1 chip, few ports, no crazy specs, basically a Mac mini with a built-in screen
• iMac Pro
  27"-32", pro-oriented (hence space gray and/or entirely black colours), next-gen M chip, all ports and CFexpress card reader (please, not just SD cards), vertically adjustable and better screen (mini-LED already ?), goodies (Face ID? Charging mat built-in the foot stand?), will replace both the now-discontinued iMac Pro and current 27" iMac

This will make a clear difference between both models. If I'm right, it's logical to announce this iMac Pro alongside new MacBook Pros. WWDC seems a good place as developers and professionals are the target public.

Following this logic, I also expect that the next full redesign of the MacBook Air will be simply named MacBook. The "Air" mnemonic is no longer useful.

iMac/iMac Pro and MacBook/MacBook Pro pairs.
Mac Mini and Mac Pro live on their own as they do not work in pairs.

Note: I know the rumours point to a bigger screen than 27" for the next iteration, but I used the terminology "newer iMac 27" in the title only to echo the current model name.

 

[fathergll]

Yes I think most agree for a while there was going to be a single larger version but given yesterday it's pretty clear they will use the name iMac Pro to separate it along with a usable color like black. I still can't get over how stupid the colors are on the current iMac....its like buying an orange TV but i digress.

Almost certain the screen will be bigger than 27"....be curious if it actually hits 32" and if it's mini-led.

 

[Rogifan]

Agree, except not sure about the MacBook Air. That name has so much caché. For whatever reason people don’t seem to want to buy a Mac laptop that isn’t called Air or Pro.

 

[eneisch]

Agree - I also expect the "new" iMac Pro to cost $$$$$$$ and probably be more expensive than i want to spend. I have been torn between getting the new iMac or wafting to see what the Pro or new 14" and 16" laptops bring. I currently have a late 2013 MacBook Pro 15" which stills runs great. It hardly leaves my desk which is why I'm considering getting an iMac. I use my 2018 12.9 iPad pro on the couch or on the go.

 

[4sallypat]

Agree - I also expect the "new" iMac Pro to cost $$$$$$$ and probably be more expensive than i want to spend. I have been torn between getting the new iMac or wafting to see what the Pro or new 14" and 16" laptops bring. I currently have a late 2013 MacBook Pro 15" which stills runs great. It hardly leaves my desk which is why I'm considering getting an iMac. I use my 2018 12.9 iPad pro on the couch or on the go.

Agreed +1 - the iMac Pro models or upcoming 27"+ new models will be too pricey for my basic needs.

I will get the 24" iMac to replace my 2019 21.5" iMac that has the silly 1TB spinning HDD.
The old 2011 27" Thunderbolt display I love so much will also be connected to the iMac (using the TB3-2 adapter dongle).
Can't wait to pre-order a blue base model on 4/30.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Good post. The main questions are processor name, size, color, price, and timing.

M2 is obvious but something worth calling M2 will take more than 6 months extra to develop. And then iMac would be stuck with different versions of M1. It’s also silly to expect pros to buy an M1 iPad then an M1 desktop. Better to go with two separate lines that can each be upgraded, like P1.

24 and 27 are to close. Plus making larger sizes is easier now. Figure 30 or even 32/34. Maybe even better tech like micro led.

Black will dominate here. So the only question on color is if we can get the black keyboard separately.

The iMac tops out over 2000. So base pro will be 2000-3000 depending on how aggressive the specs. If it follows the old pro, that will extend past 10k.

Releasing a P1 this soon after the M1 is a major undertaking, even for apple. Especially with the pandemic. So I would expect it later this year or next year.

 

[Caliber26]

Good post. The main questions are processor name, size, color, and price.

M2 is obvious but something worth calling M2 will take more than 6 months extra to develop. And then iMac would be stuck with different versions of M1. It’s also silly to expect pros to buy an M1 iPad then an M1 desktop. Better to go with two separate lines that can each be upgraded, like P1.

24 and 27 are to close. Plus making larger sizes is easier now. Figure 30 or even 32/34. Maybe even better tech like micro led.

Black will dominate here. So the only question on color is if we can get the black keyboard separately.

The iMac tops out over 2000. So base pro will be 2000-3000 depending on how aggressive the specs. If it follows the old pro, that will extend past 10k.

And watch that $2000 base pro come with 256GB of storage. 🙄

 

[CWallace]

And watch that $2000 base pro come with 256GB of storage. 🙄

The 32" XDR display everyone assumes will be used will be cheaper than the Pro XDR display, but still not cheap.

And honestly I'd be ecstatic if it starts at $1999. I'm praying it starts at "only" $2999 and at that price has 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage.

 

[Mellofello808]

Mac mini it is.

 

[Danellr007]

I have a Mid 2011 27", and I knew that the 24" would probably be the new and only iMac model to replace the 21 and 27. I currently have a black piece of paper taped to my screen to simulate the 24" model size. It will work, but I would have prefered to go larger, not smaller. I might wait to order until the WWDC to see what they announce, that's only June.

 

[petvas]

I am sure that there will be a new big iMac to replace the current 27“ model. It might be renamed to iMac Pro, but it will definitely come. I don‘t think that it will cost 5000$ like the previous iMac Pro, but it will certainly be more expensive than the 24“ model. I also expect it to look different than the 24“ iMac. More professional with more serious color options.

 

[Caliber26]

Mac mini it is.

Same. I actually bought a mini a few weeks ago. My intention was to keep it and sell it once the new iMacs were released. The new iMac would suffice my needs perfectly but I'm not gonna put a pastel-colored computer in my home office. And the "pro" iMac will be overkill for me, in terms of power and price. So, the mini stays. I'll just buy a better monitor now that I'm certain that I'm not going to end up with an iMac after all.

 

[Mellofello808]

Same. I actually bought a mini a few weeks ago. My intention was to keep it and sell it once the new iMacs were released. The new iMac would suffice my needs perfectly but I'm not gonna put a pastel-colored computer in my home office. And the "pro" iMac will be overkill for me, in terms of power and price. So, the mini stays. I'll just buy a better monitor now that I'm certain that I'm not going to end up with an iMac after all.

Yeah I am in the same boat.

I have been chugging along on a 2012 i7 mini for quite some time, patiently waiting to see what is coming down the pipe.

While we don't know much about the bigger imac, we can infer a lot from this release. It will undoubtedly be expensive.

As things are coming into focus I think the very reasonably priced mini is perfect for my needs, and I will take the money I saved, and drop that on a huge ultrawide monitor that will serve my needs better than even a 32 inch 5k dispay would.

 

[Eso]

Professionals who use an iMac (creators, developers, scientists, etc.) would always prefer a 27" computer (or bigger)

Huh? I don’t want a nearly 3-foot screen for the same reason that I don’t sit in the front row of a movie theater. I see why no reason why screen size should be correlated with something like hard drive space, as if more than 512 GB couldn’t possibly be useful for a 24” screen.

 

[skaertus]

[opinion]

Hi all,

There will not be an Apple Silicon iMac 27". But there will be a new Apple Silicon iMac Pro. Once released, the all-new iMac 24" will then just be named iMac.

The iMac 21.5" has always been a family-targeted computer. 21.5" or 24" is more than enough for that use case.
Professionals who use an iMac (creators, developers, scientists, etc.) would always prefer a 27" computer (or bigger).

What makes sense to me:

• iMac (announced April 20th)
  24", family-oriented (hence the cheerful colours), M1 chip, few ports, no crazy specs, basically a Mac mini with a built-in screen
• iMac Pro
  27"-32", pro-oriented (hence space gray and/or entirely black colours), next-gen M chip, all ports and CFexpress card reader, vertically adjustable and better screen (mini-LED already ?), goodies (Face ID? Charging mat built-in the foot stand?), will replace both the now-discontinued iMac Pro and current 27" iMac

This will make a clear difference between both models. If I'm right, it's logical to announce this iMac Pro alongside new MacBook Pros. WWDC seems a good place as developers and professionals are the target public.

Following this logic, I also expect that the next full redesign of the MacBook Air will be simply named MacBook. The "Air" mnemonic is no longer useful.

iMac/iMac Pro and MacBook/MacBook Pro pairs. the Mac Mini lives on its own.

I totally agree with you. This is what is happening.

Apple will blur the line between the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and will release a single MacBook (14-inch?) to replace them. The MacBook Pro will be the 16-inch version only.

The colorful iMac is for kids and families. The Pro version will be 32-inch and much more expensive.

And the mac Mini and the Mac Pro will continue to exist.

 

[skaertus]

The 32" XDR display everyone assumes will be used will be cheaper than the Pro XDR display, but still not cheap.

And honestly I'd be ecstatic if it starts at $1999. I'm praying it starts at "only" $2999 and at that price has 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage.

Yes, but this is sad. The 24-inch iMac is already out of my budget as the most basic version costs $3160 here in Brazil. The larger iMac Pro will be completely out of reach. And I will definitely have to stick to Windows computers.

 

[Zellio]

Are you trying to say that they'll make a new 21.5" model and call it the iMac Air?

 

[Yoms]

Huh? I don’t want a nearly 3-foot screen for the same reason that I don’t sit in the front row of a movie theater. I see why no reason why screen size should be correlated with something like hard drive space, as if more than 512 GB couldn’t possibly be useful for a 24” screen.

I haven't correlated screen size to SSD size or RAM or anything similar. But I did correlate it to the use cases I mentioned. I pretty much check several of them and screen size is definitely important.

 

[Yoms]

If Apple also releases a new external display based on the same display found in the forthcoming iMac Pro, I'll be curious to compare prices between iMac Pro on the one hand and [Mac mini + keyboard + mouse + this external display] on the other hand.

Also, if this external display does not include speakers, a webcam and a USB hub, that's something to take into account should you choose to connect it to a Mac mini.

 

[Yoms]

So the only question on color is if we can get the black keyboard separately.

Damn, hope yes!

 

[Jorbanead]

Good post. The main questions are processor name, size, color, price, and timing.

M2 is obvious but something worth calling M2 will take more than 6 months extra to develop. And then iMac would be stuck with different versions of M1. It’s also silly to expect pros to buy an M1 iPad then an M1 desktop. Better to go with two separate lines that can each be upgraded, like P1.

Assuming apple sticks to their chip naming schemes, the next chip would likely be called M1X instead.

M1, M2, M3, etc. would all be the baseline chips. Just how the A12, A13, A14 are all baseline chips. The new number corresponds to the new node process (like 7nm or 7nm+ or 5nm etc.) so that way you know that anything that has M1 in the name is built off of the same 5nm process and uses the same firestorm cores etc. and are all part of the same generation of chips.

So if the new chip is still using the same 5nm process as M1 and the same firestorm cores, it’ll be an M1-variant. If the chip uses a newer 5nm+ process with totally new core designs, that’s when it’ll be M2.

 

[UBS28]

The iMac Pro is dead, it will be gone. There will come a new model later at the end of the year, which will probably be an iMac 30" (or more) together with the 14" MBP and 16" MBP release in Q3 2021, for the simple reason that their high-end chip is not ready yet.

It will probably be also have a very thin design where the chip is housed in the "chin".

For Apple their largest chip (M2XL?), that one will feature in their Mac Pro probably next year.

 

[UBS28]

Assuming apple sticks to their chip naming schemes, the next chip would likely be called M1X instead.

M1, M2, M3, etc. would all be the baseline chips. Just how the A12, A13, A14 are all baseline chips. The new number corresponds to the new node process (like 7nm or 7nm+ or 5nm etc.) so that way you know that anything that has M1 in the name is built off of the same 5nm process and uses the same firestorm cores etc. and are all part of the same generation of chips.

So if the new chip is still using the same 5nm process as M1 and the same firestorm cores, it’ll be an M1-variant. If the chip uses a newer 5nm+ process with totally new core designs, that’s when it’ll be M2.

It will be M2X because the iPhone will be released at the end of the summer most likely, which is going to feature the A15. Since the M1 is a basically an A14X, there is most likely going to be an M2X which is based of the A15.

Else, Apple could have released the 14" MBP and 16" MBP this week if they would have used the M1 / A14X as the basis.

 

[thingstoponder]

I disagree. I think there will be a direct replacement to the 1799 5k iMac with modest RAM/Storage specs. If they call that the iMac Pro then I guess they could do that but it wouldn’t make much sense.

If there is an “iMac Pro” I think it will cost more like 2999-4999 and come spec’d up with 32GB RAM and 1TB and maybe Mini LED.

 

[CWallace]

M2 is obvious but something worth calling M2 will take more than 6 months extra to develop. And then iMac would be stuck with different versions of M1. It’s also silly to expect pros to buy an M1 iPad then an M1 desktop. Better to go with two separate lines that can each be upgraded, like P1.

24 and 27 are to close. Plus making larger sizes is easier now. Figure 30 or even 32/34. Maybe even better tech like micro led.

General consensus appears to be that M1X would be an M1 with more than the 8 "Firestorm" performance cores in the M1: 12-16 being the numbers most bandied-about. It would also either have more than the 8 GPU cores in the M1 or it would be paired with the "Lifuka" GPU that Apple has been rumored to be building.

As for display size, it was assumed they go larger than 27" now that the iMac is at 24" and l0vetodream has said it will be larger than 27". Many believe Apple will use the 32" 6K panel in the Pro Display XDR and will somehow magically reduce the cost by 90% by "pulling out stuff".

I believe MiniLED will be used on this display and they will call it XDR like on the 2021 iPad Pro 12.9". It will have to be Retina which means it will have to be 6K (just as the iMac had to go to "4.5K" to remain Retina at 24"). I do not believe it will be able to match the Pro Display XDR's performance (the 2021 iPad Pro can because it's display is so much smaller) to both keep the price down and to not invalidate the Pro Display XDR, but it will be better than what we have now in the 27" iMac 5K.

I disagree. I think there will be a direct replacement to the 1799 5k iMac with modest RAM/Storage specs. If they call that the iMac Pro then I guess they could do that but it wouldn’t make much sense.

If there is an “iMac Pro” I think it will cost more like 2999-4999 and come spec’d up with 32GB RAM and 1TB and maybe Mini LED.

The cost of the panel is going to be the key. LG charges Apple $1500 for the 32" 6K panel used in the Pro Display XDR, but we don't know if that includes the backlighting, which is likely expensive. If it does, then LG could swap that out for MiniLED and likely shave a significant amount off the price considering the MiniLED iPad Pro is only $100 more. But if it does not, the panel price to Apple will drop due to more production (one can expect the "iMac Pro" will sell at least a million units a quarter on average), but it is going to set a high floor for how cheap Apple can make the machine.

My hope is that Apple can do it for $2499 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. That's $500 more than the "real" entry-level iMac 5K (the $1999 model with the 3.3GHz i5 and 512GB SSD), but you would have more than double the CPU performance, a much larger display, and twice the RAM so I think they could make it work.