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Where next for the iMac?

L

Lankyman

macrumors 68020
Original poster
May 14, 2011
2,083
832
U.K.
Where next for the Desktop PC?

Whilst we may have had a few iterations from my mid-2011 iMac, in the main little has changed.

If I look at my machine front ways on against a brand new one, it is hard to tell which is which. Yes they may have made it slimmer, but let's face it you don't really see that difference when using it. Most of what has been done is what I call 'speed bumps and bling'.

Speaking personally I don't even care about the new Retina model, I'm content with the IPS screen I have now.

I just can't see where the next big thing is going to come from. I doubt even Apple can keep the present design going for much longer and if anything it's already beginning to stagnate.

Therefore what next for the iMac?
 
The next thing is the iMac is going to be a poster you can put on your wall....

If you look at modern desktops, other than the nMP, they haven't changed in 20 years. If you go to the store and look at a desktop (very few are sold these days in stores it seems), they don't look different from the first desktop I got in 1993. The thing that has changed is the innards.

Other than a slimmer model, nicer screen and better innards, what more do you want?
 
With such a nice screen, it'd been nice if they added target display mode back... and one step further, some sort of HDMI input so I can play my consoles on it!

The iMac has the ability to really become a smaller rooms entertainment center if they'd just allow it to be! :(

--rob
 
leenak said:
The next thing is the iMac is going to be a poster you can put on your wall....

If you look at modern desktops, other than the nMP, they haven't changed in 20 years. If you go to the store and look at a desktop (very few are sold these days in stores it seems), they don't look different from the first desktop I got in 1993. The thing that has changed is the innards.

Other than a slimmer model, nicer screen and better innards, what more do you want?
Click to expand...

Well let's see, when did the present overall design hit the stores? Quite some years ago now. Even the VW Golf has changed beyond all recognition from the original Mk1, not so the all aluminium iMac.

It just feels as though Apple have run into the buffers with this present design (as nice as it is) and don't appear to know where to take it next.

Where is the next OMG product?
 
The Retina iMac display is a nice addition but most non-graphic users are probably unwilling to pay a premium for resolutions that they might only occasionally find actually useful. So Retina really needs to become the standard without the premium price.

I think users are going to tire of having to buy pretty displays with non-upgradable computers stuck on the back of them.

The Mac Mini sure looks like a dead end after this latest downgrade. Dig a grave for the Mini-please.

Well, who knows what Apple will try to peddle at their next event. I guess it all depends on the marketing teams and bean counters which babies born in the Apple labs will plop out and be cradled by a proud Tim Rice to show everyone.
 
Lankyman said:
Well let's see, when did the present overall design hit the stores? Quite some years ago now. Even the VW Golf has changed beyond all recognition from the original Mk1, not so the all aluminium iMac.

It just feels as though Apple have run into the buffers with this present design (as nice as it is) and don't appear to know where to take it next.

Where is the next OMG product?
Click to expand...

Do you really need a OMG product for the iMac? I think the design will be tweaked but it won't drastically change but you can already say that the iMacs have changed a lot since the first iMac has come out but my point was that general desktops (windows based pcs) have remained the same for nearly 20 years... I think the design as it is works with some minor tweaks.
 
Lankyman said:
Where next for the Desktop PC?

Whilst we may have had a few iterations from my mid-2011 iMac, in the main little has changed.

If I look at my machine front ways on against a brand new one, it is hard to tell which is which. Yes they may have made it slimmer, but let's face it you don't really see that difference when using it. Most of what has been done is what I call 'speed bumps and bling'.

Speaking personally I don't even care about the new Retina model, I'm content with the IPS screen I have now.

I just can't see where the next big thing is going to come from. I doubt even Apple can keep the present design going for much longer and if anything it's already beginning to stagnate.

Therefore what next for the iMac?
Click to expand...

It will continue to get thinner until it is as thin as the iPad Air 2.
 
Lankyman said:
Well let's see, when did the present overall design hit the stores? Quite some years ago now. Even the VW Golf has changed beyond all recognition from the original Mk1, not so the all aluminium iMac.

It just feels as though Apple have run into the buffers with this present design (as nice as it is) and don't appear to know where to take it next.

Where is the next OMG product?
Click to expand...

The VW Golf Mk1 appeared in 1974, so that is hardly a fair comparison. The Golf has not changed much since the Mk5 which launched in 2003. The iMac was still on the adjustable G4 model then. The aluminium iMac didn't appear until 2007.

I would like to see a return to the G4 concept (but with updated materials and design). The adjustable arm was great for ergonomics (easy to change the height), cooling (the screen isn't a barrier for heat from the internals), elegance (no bulky stand required to cope with the weight of the screen and internal components), and looked like nothing else, whereas the currently iMac looks like a monitor with a big chin (although a very nice monitor).
 
Lankyman said:
Where next for the Desktop PC?

Whilst we may have had a few iterations from my mid-2011 iMac, in the main little has changed.

If I look at my machine front ways on against a brand new one, it is hard to tell which is which. Yes they may have made it slimmer, but let's face it you don't really see that difference when using it. Most of what has been done is what I call 'speed bumps and bling'.

Speaking personally I don't even care about the new Retina model, I'm content with the IPS screen I have now.

I just can't see where the next big thing is going to come from. I doubt even Apple can keep the present design going for much longer and if anything it's already beginning to stagnate.

Therefore what next for the iMac?
Click to expand...

That's a great question, and a tough one to answer. I mostly use desktops for the screen size and power, etc. The Retina screen could be rather nice, but the machine style is primarily designed for content creation and as a "hub" for devices. The latter is going away due to cloud, leaving the former as the main purpose. Apart from new input devices, it may not change much in the next few years. High DPI screens are the next big change to settle on, after which they'll stick around for some time. It's not that there aren't any creative possibilities, but more that the market for these has shrunk dramatically. How much effort will be put there is unclear.
 
There is a lot of chatter presently that Desktop/Laptop sales are recovering and that the loser is the Tablet computer with Phablet sales cannibalising sales of iPad's.

Now who could have predicted that even just eighteen months ago? Even industry pundits didn't predict this scenario.
 
I hoped I would have lost its "chin" and looked like the Thunderbolt display with just a small Apple Logo on the bottom. Just look-wise.
 
Lankyman said:
Whilst we may have had a few iterations from my mid-2011 iMac, in the main little has changed.
Click to expand...

Power wise, maybe. But for me Retina is big...very big. Big enough for me to switch from a Windows PC to an riMac. As usual, it took Apple to raise the PC bar once again...and they did it in a cost effective way too. Way to go Apple!
 
Gary Irwin said:
Power wise, maybe. But for me Retina is big...very big. Big enough for me to switch from a Windows PC to an riMac. As usual, it took Apple to raise the PC bar once again...and they did it in a cost effective way too. Way to go Apple!
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow your thinking. Other manufacturers are making similar displays, even larger ones in fact?

Why would need my Office applications in super high res. I don't watch TV or films on my iMac so for me it's a non issue. I tend to use my machine for productivity not recreation.
 
Lankyman said:
Where next for the Desktop PC?

If I look at my machine front ways on against a brand new one, it is hard to tell which is which. Yes they may have made it slimmer, but let's face it you don't really see that difference when using it. Most of what has been done is what I call 'speed bumps and bling'.
Click to expand...

The display improvements on the 2012 and later iMacs are very noticeable versus mid-2011 and older.
 
inhalexhale1 said:
The display improvements on the 2012 and later iMacs are very noticeable versus mid-2011 and older.
Click to expand...

There is a difference, but the 2011 displays are still extremely usable. They just don't have that 'fused' look that post-2012 models do.
 
Branskins said:
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patent...ar-gesture-to-invoke-siri-on-the-desktop.html

Scroll down for the image where the screen is tilted into a more comfortable touch screen format

:p
Click to expand...

Looks familiar

z1_g2_gallery_img4_tcm_245_1550530.jpg
 
jji7skyline said:
There is a difference, but the 2011 displays are still extremely usable. They just don't have that 'fused' look that post-2012 models do.
Click to expand...

Yea, I didn't mean the 2011 displays were junk! I had a TBD before I switched to iMac, and it was great. But I would never switch back. The color, reduced glare, and really overall experience is much better.
 
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