Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Updated Skylake 27" iMac this fall?

I decided not to wait further for a maybe. I need to update and it won't be one iota less capable in 2 weeks or 6 months than it is right now. The high end i7 iMacs benchmark pretty well, it's doubtful that's going to see any substantial improvements. I think the risk is 'future proofing' which is kind of shaky theory anyway, isn't cannonlake just around the corner? My plan is to live with it, if it gets to the point in 3 years where there are getting to be problems because of major revolutions in technology, I'll sell it and upgrade.

I don't do video or photoshop work, so the intricacies of the screen color depth are beyond my needs or probably my ability to even detect.

The only thing that sounds really interesting to me is more along the lines of the thunderbolt 3 ports. That is probably also something i won't have a need for- I won't be driving multipanel 4k plus displays, and I won't be trying to drive huge external SSD arrays.
 
The model I plan on getting is MF885LL/A which is the 27" Retina that was updated May 2015 about 4 months back.
 
MacCurry said:
The model I plan on getting is MF885LL/A which is the 27" Retina that was updated May 2015 about 4 months back.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't consider that 'updated' It is really the October 2014 model, with lesser components like a slower processor etc to meet a lower price point. So that 'model' is still nearly a year old.
 
I want a 27" (or 30" if Apple would) 5K iMac, but I really don't need one. So, waiting for unpredictable updates, and always looking forward to how the next one will be much better is really helping my not to buy one! Thanks for the mystery and the delays Apple! You are saving me a lot of money. :rolleyes:
 
Thinking about it, part of me can wait another 12-ish days even if they don't update the 27". I'm hoping for that Magic Mouse 2 and new keyboard, too. That would make it more worth it for me regardless.

Potentially of note: It looks like the new keyboard/mouse whenever they come out are going to be bluetooth 4.2, and it looks like all the macs are 4.0. Not that this is an incompatibility, but I could see that coming out alongside *some* new hardware. Macbook seems unlikely, MacBook Air is likely deprecated, rMBP is semi-recently refreshed... leaving Mac Pro, Mac Mini, and iMac. I doubt the mini will get 4.2 first, if they release an update like that. Food for thought.
 
Last edited:
I just picked up the MF885LL/A 27" Retina. Haven't set it up yet, but will this weekend. If something looks really interesting over the next 10-12 days, I'll take it back, but otherwise, I'll keep the machine. The wife really likes it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cape Dave
bitserf said:
Oh god. I screwed up. When I looked at MacRumors' Buyers Guide I didn't realize the 100 odd days since last release was only for the mid-range update.

I ordered a completely maxed out 5k iMac earlier this week, and it's now in "Preparing For Shipment" (can't be canceled) :D

Would have preferred Skylake, especially if they're going to be using NVIDIA as the graphics. Oh well, live & learn.:)
Click to expand...

You have a 14 day return period. Just don't except delivery and send back.
 
Inksworth said:
It's anecdotal, but from what I've heard for OpenCL and some compute tasks AMD is better than nVidia on Mac anyway. It's not the gamer option, but hey, at least it's got a content creation benefit.

Crossing my fingers for a Sept 30 or sooner refresh... It's happened before that when the back-to-school promotion ends they push out new hardware, right? I don't even necessarily need Skylake, though target display mode would be nice (not required, of course) if it makes a comeback.

Really, all I care about it getting the most for my money, and the smoothest experience I can get. I'm not planning on gaming on this thing anyway (I've got a PC built for VR stuff), I just want to get into iOS game dev with it (finally.)

Waaagh. Come on, Apple! :p
Click to expand...

It would be really nice if they announced it along with the release of El Capitan, but I doubt it. October seems more likely, but that's ok, Sept 30 or Oct 10 doesn't make a difference for me, I've waited a good three months already, I can wait another week or two.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jordanz
Sirmausalot said:
Intel just can't seem to get Skylake chips out the door (and barely Broadwell) They can announce them, but real world supplies are LOW. Even worse, the Skylake desktop chip that would head to the iMac is the 6700U which clocks in at 3.4 with a boost to 4.0 -- less than the current high end i7 Haswell processor and might even benchmark less even with performance enhancements. From a marketing standpoint, a huge fail. It also requires a new chipset and new RAM -- expenses Apple might not want to absorb unless they do a redesign and can get a faster clock speed.

The rumored upgrade to the m295X graphics chip is a rebrand to the m395X -- with a slight uptick in clock speed. All we can hope for is the rumored upgrade to the screen -- not just for the 21.5 to 4k, but better color saturation on both models -- perhaps something they can trumpet as Retina HDR.

The top end iMac is Apple's flagship computer and when the retina version came out last year, it was a fantastic computer with a top of the line CPU and a strong (albeit mobile) GPU -- but for the iMac line much stronger than previous versions and really cutting edge. Still, worth waiting a couple of more weeks to see if there is the expected October refresh to both the 21.5 and the 27....
Click to expand...

But those chips are in Asus iMac clone already, what's stopping Apple then? Unless Asus is vaporware, I might just check the availability now

EDIT: Yep, just checked, vaporware it is
 
Last edited:
FrankySavvy said:
With intel announcing the Skylake roadmap, how likely would a Skylake 27" iMac be in Fall 2015, probable announcement October?

Would it be a big improvement?
Click to expand...
new cpu/gpu, and bandwidth internally - normalization between 21/27" for production.
Maintenance release.
 
EnesM said:
It would be really nice if they announced it along with the release of El Capitan, but I doubt it. October seems more likely, but that's ok, Sept 30 or Oct 10 doesn't make a difference for me, I've waited a good three months already, I can wait another week or two.
Click to expand...
October has always been my expectation. I just hope the 27" gets updated, since the only rumors so far have been around 21.5".
 
hleewell said:
Brutal power & speed should be Mac Pro.
But I think Apple should steer focus from
designing ultra-thin models to real functional
features like heat management, non-glossy high-contrast
screen, removable HDD/SSD, a SD card slot that is accessible
(to actually live up to its ergonomic design). Finger-print login
like their mobile devices should be on the menu. Better internal
speakers could be another focus. The damn thing is so thin
their edge could be disappearing...fast.
Click to expand...

For brutal power you leave the Apple computers. Almost everyone in my scene (graphics) left apple and work on a high end machine with brutal power. I7 5820k with 32 gb and sveral SSD's. Jum jum! I will switch to soon. I feel bad to leave osx. Imac or mac pro, there is so much in between. To bad Apple doenst provide something in that area.
 
when do you guys think we will know whether or not they're dropping a new iMac?
 
Liffey said:
October has always been my expectation. I just hope the 27" gets updated, since the only rumors so far have been around 21.5".
Click to expand...

All rumors are around 21.5" because it is getting the 4K love. 5K iMac is getting an incremental upgrade, nothing huge
 
EnesM said:
All rumors are around 21.5" because it is getting the 4K love. 5K iMac is getting an incremental upgrade, nothing huge
Click to expand...
Probably an improved screen for the 27. Have been tempted to jump ship for Windows as it is possible to get a 6700k chip and overclock it as well as exactly the components I want. However, the 5k screen and performance of the iMac is impossible to match in the Windows world as a self contained bundle.
 
08kx250f said:
when do you guys think we will know whether or not they're dropping a new iMac?
Click to expand...

I was looking at Amazon to buy the 27" iMac Retina. I ended up going to the Apple Store because Amazon was sold out and Amazon indicated it would should ship in 1-2 months. This was an indicator that the 27" iMac Retina was going to be updated and most likely be available at the end of October.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EnesM
Liffey said:
October has always been my expectation. I just hope the 27" gets updated, since the only rumors so far have been around 21.5".
Click to expand...

My guess would be that there is a 90% chance there they will release a 4k iMac with El Capitan in a press release. We know El Capitan is coming soon and new iMacs are rumored soon, makes no sense not to do it together to get a little buzz. They always release Macs with OS X.
 
  • Like
Reactions: EnesM
Thought this was interesting. Looking at Best Buy online, if they don't have it available, it says Wednesday September 30th. Lines up with El Cap release.
image.png
 
I'm eagerly waiting for any news regarding the possible update. Due to accounting reasons, I need to buy my iMac this year :), so hopefully an update in October + shipping in November.

And please Apple, give us a wireless keyboard with numeric keys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back