What the new 27in. iMac could look like....

[Warped9]

Based on what we've been hearing I feel about 90-95% certain the new big brother to the iMac 24 will be 27ins. There have been several threads about this forthcoming iMac, but everything we've actually been shown is just a regurgitation of the same image that (wrongly) presaged the M1 iMac 24 some months back--that of basically a big iPad Pro on a pedestal design.

So I took some time this evening to work up a quick-and-dirty render of what I think the new 27in. iMac could likely look like.

I kept the chin and the bezels the same as the 24in. design, but enlarged the display to 27ins. I did lengthen and widen the pedestal about 5 or so percent to counter the wider and taller chassis, and the pedestal is mounted a bit higher on the back of the chassis. Finally I took the liberty of thickening the chassis about 10 percent for the sake of added structural rigidity and possibly additional type ports on the back. Of coures, it's possible the actual design we get could be even a bit thicker...or maybe not at all. I also didn't bother detailing anything further than just the chassis and pedestal to get a general idea of what this could look like.

Finally I opted to show this with the altenatives of (off)white or black bezels on a silver chassis. Personally I find myself prefering the white bezels--I find them more welcoming and less stark and sterile. I find the black bezels just look same-old-same-old. Mind you if they offered Space Gray then black bezels would look less stark with the darker hue.

 

[svish]

Based on what we've been hearing I feel about 90-95% certain the new big brother to the iMac 24 will be 27ins. There have been several threads about this forthcoming iMac, but everything we've actually been shown is just a regurgitation of the same image that (wrongly) presaged the M1 iMac 24 some months back--that of basically a big iPad Pro on a pedestal design.

So I took some time this evening to work up a quick-and-dirty render of what I think the new 27in. iMac could likely look like.

I kept the chin and the bezels the same as the 24in. design, but enlarged the display to 27ins. I did lengthen and widen the pedestal about 5 or so percent to counter the wider and taller chassis, and the pedestal is mounted a bit higher on the back of the chassis. Finally I took the liberty of thickening the chassis about 10 percent for the sake of added structural rigidity and possibly additional type ports on the back. Of coures, it's possible the actual design we get could be even a bit thicker...or maybe not at all. I also didn't bother detailing anything further than just the chassis and pedestal to get a general idea of what this could look like.

Finally I opted to show this with the altenatives of (off)white or black bezels on a silver chassis. Personally I find myself prefering the white bezels--I find them more welcoming and less stark and sterile. I find the black bezels just look same-old-same-old. Mind you if they offered Space Gray then black bezels would look less stark with the darker hue.

I think it would be like how you have mentioned. Hoping it will come in multiple colours.

 

[rpmurray]

It's missing the notch.

 

[Warped9]

I don’t think it’s guaranteed to have a notch. And on something this size a notch wouldn’t be very obtrusive.

 

[Jorbanead]

It's missing the notch.

Unlikely. The notch is only needed when the actual bezel itself is less than 5.3mm which we don’t see on the current iMac design. The current ProDisplay XDR has bezels that are 9mm thick.

 

[NeonIbis]

Personally I find myself prefering the white bezels--I find them more welcoming and less stark and sterile.

Totally agree! My 2020 27" at work looks so drab now I'm used to the 24". I suppose if I used dark mode, the black would blend better, but I never use dark mode, so the white (light grey) bezels disappear into with the menu bar etc. on screen and the off-white wall behind.

 

[blairh]

Definitely won’t have white bezels. I don’t think it will come in space grey either. I expect black or near black and maybe one other color that is also very dark.

 

[Warped9]

I don’t think it will be black. Has Apple ever released a black, or near black, desktop?

No, I think Silver and/or Space Gray are the most likely colours unless Apple does something really unexpected. Silver and/or Space Gray would be in sync with the recent 14 and 16in. MacBook Pro models if indeed Apple calls the new desktop an iMac Pro.

 

[SigEp265]

I hope they make one in Product(red) !

 

[blairh]

I don’t think it will be black. Has Apple ever released a black, or near black, desktop?

No, I think Silver and/or Space Gray are the most likely colours unless Apple does something really unexpected. Silver and/or Space Gray would be in sync with the recent 14 and 16in. MacBook Pro models if indeed Apple calls the new desktop an iMac Pro.

They did make a black MacBook. I don't think it's impossible to imagine a black or near black iMac. The iMac Pro was pretty dark.

Also they ditched the grey magic trackpad some time ago. Seems strange to make new ones again for the new iMac Pro.

I just don't see space grey with the iMac Pro. They need to make it look different than the 24" iMac and that will be hard with no logo on both models. So I expect something pretty drastic color-wise compared all the 24" iMacs.

 

[Fatus_Asticus]

They get drastic on a pro device they’ll lose customers. Save that crap for mass market cheaper devices.

 

[Warped9]

They get drastic on a pro device they’ll lose customers. Save that crap for mass market cheaper devices.

Not condescending much?

 

[Onimusha370]

I personally really hope that the larger imac (likely called iMac Pro) comes in the same colours as the 24 inch, but i think its very unlikely sadly. I really want an M1 max/mini LED desktop but also love the orange of the 24 inch… If they combine both its an instant buy for me

 

[Warped9]

I think colour options on the big iMac will depend on how/where Apple wants to market it. Is it meant to target primarily professionals (thus limited to 1 or 2 colours) or will it be targeted to appeal to the broader market like the 24 (offering more colour choices)?

If it’s called and marketed as a Pro machine then we could see a significant price jump over the departing 27in. Intel iMac, similar to what we saw with the release of the 14 and 16in. MacBook Pros. Even so I doubt it coukd get as expensive as the previous discontinued iMac Pro. If it’s meant to be more mainstream, yet still capable as Pro device, then the price change should be minimal.

I see something of snob appeal in having something branded as Pro given that the new MacBook Air and iMac 24 are very capable machines for the vast majority of the market. The new MacBook Pros are amazing, but few people really need that kind of power. But people can often rationalize want into need.

 

[theluggage]

I think colour options on the big iMac will depend on how/where Apple wants to market it.

Well, it's all speculation at the moment, but in the absence of other information, look at the all new, designed-for-Apple Silicon Macs released so far, plus the pretty firm rumours about the upcoming M2 Air. We have a "consumer" range (24" iMac, forthcoming M2 Air) with multi coloured bodies and white bezels and a "Pro" range (14", 16" MBP) in "any colour you like provided it is silver with black bezels".

(the 13" M1 Air/MBP and the Mini don't count as they are quite clearly "transitional" models re-using old case designs and will probably be history this time next year).

There's every reason to expect that to continue with the 27" iMac (and Apple have an opportunity to rationalise their naming by calling it the "iMac Pro" so that the "Pro" branding corresponds to the M1 Pro/Max processors - it never has made sense for the "iMac" to be "less-Pro" than the 13-16" McBook Pros).

There are also practical arguments: the Pro models most likely sell in much lower volumes than the consumer models, and it's not hard to imagine that "pro" buyers with specific needs are more likely to choose BTO options. Distributors and stores (whether their Apple or third party) aren't going to want to stock them in the same quantities as the higher-volume consumer models - and certainly won't want to stock five times as many just so that they can offer their customers a choice of colour.

Also as for the black vs. white bezels - if you're a serious creative working on colour media, you really don't want outside colours intruding on your vision and skewing your perception. Black is as neutral a colour as you can get, but white will reflect the colour of the ambient lighting, and your eyes (which have awesome auto white-balance) will notice it. The silver/grey "chin" isn't brilliant in that respect, but it's better than white or shocking pink...

The colour of the wall behind your Mac is your problem (The Rolling Stones can offer some good advice there...)

 

[blairh]

I think colour options on the big iMac will depend on how/where Apple wants to market it. Is it meant to target primarily professionals (thus limited to 1 or 2 colours) or will it be targeted to appeal to the broader market like the 24 (offering more colour choices)?

If it’s called and marketed as a Pro machine then we could see a significant price jump over the departing 27in. Intel iMac, similar to what we saw with the release of the 14 and 16in. MacBook Pros. Even so I doubt it coukd get as expensive as the previous discontinued iMac Pro. If it’s meant to be more mainstream, yet still capable as Pro device, then the price change should be minimal.

I see something of snob appeal in having something branded as Pro given that the new MacBook Air and iMac 24 are very capable machines for the vast majority of the market. The new MacBook Pros are amazing, but few people really need that kind of power. But people can often rationalize want into need.

Yeah I expect a price increase with the iMac Pro 2.0. The 27" iMac had been starting at $1800 for years now. I expect the new one will start at $2,500. The screen will be much more premium than what we currently have on the 24" iMac.

Hence why I don't see space grey with the iMac Pro 2.0. They need this new machine to look different than the space grey 24" iMac, and that's hard to do when the chins are the same color, no logo, and the only difference (from the front) is a larger machine and a different color bezel. Hence why I think it will be darker than the iMac Pro 1.0. Definitely one or two colors at most.

 

[Warped9]

I don’t believe the iMac 24 is available in Space Gray. It’s neutral colour offering is Silver.

 

[blairh]

I don’t believe the iMac 24 is available in Space Gray. It’s neutral colour offering is Silver.

This is correct. It's called silver. And from what I can tell it's identical or nearly identical to the color of the current 27" iMac.

To be more accurate I should state I don't believe the iMac Pro 2.0 will be available in silver, as depicted in your renders.

I think it's obvious they also won't use the same color of the iMac Pro 1.0 which apparently is considered to be 'space gray'. I expect the iMac Pro 2.0 to be darker than the space gray of the iMac Pro 1.0.

(Side note - you should use the 'quote' feature on the forum. Sometimes you reply to members like myself but we don't get notifications because you don't quote our previous comments.)