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It has been more than two and a half years since Apple discontinued the 27-inch iMac, as part of its move away from Intel processors. Since then, the 24-inch iMac has been Apple's only all-in-one desktop computer, with no larger model available.

iMac-Pro-2022-27-and-24-iMac.jpg

Will a larger iMac ever make a comeback? We recap the latest rumors below.

In November, Apple announced that it had no plans to release a new version of the 27-inch iMac with an Apple silicon chip. Instead, Apple recommended pairing its standalone Studio Display with its Mac Studio or Mac mini desktop computers.

Apple's statement ruled out a new 27-inch iMac, but an even larger model is still possible one day. Nearly a year ago, both Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple was developing a 32-inch iMac for release in late 2024 or in 2025. Kuo said the larger iMac's screen would feature mini-LED backlighting, which would allow for increased brightness, higher contrast ratio, and other benefits compared to LCD technology.

While there haven't been any rumors lately about this alleged 32-inch iMac, Gurman said Apple was still exploring a larger iMac as recently as August.

"A larger iMac remains something Apple is exploring as well, but it's unclear if that will be an M4 product or something that comes the following year or later," he wrote.

That is all that is known about a potential larger iMac at this point.

All in all, it seems that a larger iMac might be on Apple's roadmap, but the wait continues for now.

In the meantime, the 24-inch iMac is expected to be updated with the M4 chip in October, alongside new MacBook Pro and Mac mini models.

Article Link: Will Apple Bring Back a Larger iMac? Here's What the Latest Rumors Say
It's sad to say that the 27 inch iMac was probably the best personal computer that I ever used for its versatility over the years and upgrade ability etc. the 24 inch iMac is a kin to an iPad and nothing more. It must've gotten a great deal on those 24 inch displays even though I don't think they can even hold a candle to the 27 inch monitor on the 27 inch iMac I enjoy the 27 inch iMac screen far more than I do the newer screen that Apple produced being on a Mac studio now and forced to b producing a product that was a less quality than the one previously.
 
While we keep waiting for Apple to find REALITY again, I did order a nice new mint in box AMD Radeon Pro Vega VII and a shiny new pixlas cable for my Mac Pro 5.1 since the OCLP 2.0.1 works so exceptional well with Mac OS Sonoma. And to proof once more, that Apple is NOT green and full of lies.
Enhanced & elongated product lifecycle as a tribute to Steve Jobs, his very best and last great Mac Pro, -> The legendary MP 5,1. We miss you Steve.
 
they need to bring it back. studio display + mac mini/studio will never measure up to an all-in-one skinny legend. apple needs to give it up, studio display is too bulky and we dont want minimum 3 cables (studio AC, mac mini/studio AC, 1 thunderbolt)
 
I also have a 2017 iMac 27". Are there any issues with using that as a monitor with a new Mac Mini?
Yes, there are.
I want to be able to have the old machine still in a running state when I setup my new machine.
I don't want to transfer over a straight drive copy because the old machine has a lot of crap on it I want to lose as well as a lot of x86 binaries. So I'm going to do an iCloud & Dropbox restore and take it from there.
My business is doing well and can easily afford a new display (Apple studio probably) and either a Mac Mini or Studio to go with it depending on what Octobers event reveals.
I might still convert the iMac to a display but I might also try selling it too. I want the luxury of options. It'll be recycled one way or other.
 
Please, just let the iMac (and all AIOs) die. The monitor will almost always outlive the computer. The only way I would ever buy or support an AIO is if there were a way to use it as a monitor once the computer part is useless or if the computer part could be swapped. Imagine you bought a M1 iMac and could swap the computer card for an M4, that would be bliss.

Edit: Conversely, should the monitor die, you could swap out your computer part into another monitor.
I’m wondering how much emotion plays a role in keeping it around. The original Mac was groundbreaking and the original iMac all but saved Apple from the dustbin of history.
 
The absence of a larger iMac is likely because of the price of 32" 6K display parts.

There is demand for it just not at the price point of the 2019 Pro Display XDR 32" 6K.

I have a 2012 iMac 27" 2.5K Core i7. It's an instant buy when a 2024 iMac 32" 6K M4 for <$3k.
 
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Please, just let the iMac (and all AIOs) die. The monitor will almost always outlive the computer. The only way I would ever buy or support an AIO is if there were a way to use it as a monitor once the computer part is useless or if the computer part could be swapped. Imagine you bought a M1 iMac and could swap the computer card for an M4, that would be bliss.

Edit: Conversely, should the monitor die, you could swap out your computer part into another monitor.
macs can last a decade boo. no one is complaining about macbook screens outliving their chips. the iMac is here to stay because the AIO experience is superior. no one wants to deal with a monitor plus ac cords plus thunderbolt cables plus another block sitting on your desk.
 
macs can last a decade boo. no one is complaining about macbook screens outliving their chips. the iMac is here to stay because the AIO experience is superior. no one wants to deal with a monitor plus ac cords plus thunderbolt cables plus another block sitting on your desk.
Not to mention separates are ~$1k more expensive than equivalent iMac.
 
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Not to mention separates are ~$1k more expensive than equivalent iMac.
yeah that’s my only gripe with my soon-to-happen transition from iMac to MBP + Display.

I think it’s worth it though for me. MBPs get wayyy more love and technology than iMacs do (especially when it comes to the new generations).

being able to just take the MBP wherever and have that 16” screen plus a 27” / 27”+ display just seems like it’ll be a much better experience. I’m looking forward to it.
 
...then you have the third group who wanted a powerful headless desktop Mac that let them choose their own displays, which Apple refused to make after 2013, so had no other choice than buy an iMac. The Mac Mini got knobbled in 2014 (and even the 2018 was held back by a joke of a GPU) and by 2015 it was clear that the trashcan was a dead end. The 2019 Mac Pro was priced way out of most people's range. Those are the people who have bitten Apple's hand off to buy Mac Studios and M2/M2 Pro Minis.
This is me. I got my first mini around 2012, was lucky enough to buy a quad core mini only months before the inexplicable 2014 dual-core-only model came out and failed to go away for four years, and I’m delighted by my current M2 Pro mini, although my next refresh might be the Studio.

The Apple headless lineup was in a world of hurt, but they’ve definitely turned it around.
 
yeah that’s my only gripe with my soon-to-happen transition from iMac to MBP + Display.

I think it’s worth it though for me. MBPs get wayyy more love and technology than iMacs do (especially when it comes to the new generations).

being able to just take the MBP wherever and have that 16” screen plus a 27” / 27”+ display just seems like it’ll be a much better experience. I’m looking forward to it.
I have two Intel Macs.

- 2012 iMac 27" 2.5K Core i7
- 2019 MBP 16" Core i7

I'm scheduled to replace

- 2022-today: iMac
- 2027: MBP
 
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they need to bring it back. studio display + mac mini/studio will never measure up to an all-in-one skinny legend. apple needs to give it up, studio display is too bulky and we dont want minimum 3 cables (studio AC, mac mini/studio AC, 1 thunderbolt)
There's so much wrong with your statement that I would love to go deeper into it... but it's just so pointless with someone so opinionated that they make things up to cause a stir.

"Minimum 3 cables..." LMAO! Good stuff!
 
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macs can last a decade boo. no one is complaining about macbook screens outliving their chips.
Perhaps they should be complaining - non-upgradeable/repairable laptops aren't exactly a non-issue, but that's another discussion. I don't think Apple would get many complaints (from non-shareholders) if they let you swap out a M1 MacBook Pro logic board for an M3.... Not gonna happen, though so having a built-in screen is the price you pay for mobility... and wanting to keep your expensive screen(s) when you upgrade is a good justification for buying a Mini/Studio rather than a laptop or all-in-one, especially when there's no longer a night-and-day performance difference.

Anyway, Macs might last a decade but they're usually obsolete and incapable of running the latest software long before that. My 2017 iMac is still quite usable, but the CPU is hot, noisy, relatively slow, Intel and no longer supported by the latest MacOS. The display - if I could use it separately - is still in the same league as today's 5k panels from Apple and Samsung.

If "still useful" is your standard then I have a 1920x1280 LCD that I used with my 2005 Mac Mini G4, was still using as a second display on my 2017 iMac and would work quite happily as a 3rd display on my Mac Studio. It's still useful if I want to set up a Raspberry Pi or something - unlike the old iMac.

Of course - it could go the other way: buy a fantasy 5k Apple Silicon iMac today, six months later there's a new dual-layer, burn-in-free 6k 32" display on the market, but your computer is glued into a display using warmed-over 10-year-old IPS tech.

Right on cue...always humorous to watch the never-AIO crowd dive into the comments section anytime talk of a new 32" iMac gets mentioned
Sure, and if Apple dare to release a 32" iMac abomination I'll be super-gluing myself to the door of the local Apple Store to prevent people from buying one... not. All I can say is that I won't be buying $2000+ worth of display (looking at the price of the cheapest Apple-friendly 32" 220ppi currently on the market, the Dell 6k) that can only ever be used with its built-in processor. Other people can if they want provided it doesn't come at the expense of Apple neglecting the Mini and Studio lines - which is exactly what they were doing last time they were pushing the iMac as their desktop solution.

Glad my TV''s don't come with separate tuners just so I can keep that beautiful OLED display when it comes time to upgrade to the next HDMI standard. LOL
Funny you should say that - my previous 1080p TV lasted me for 12 years, saw out the end of analogue broadcasting, the heyday of over-the-air-digital and the subsequent move to streaming. It survived two media PCs, a switch from DVD to Blu Ray, a DVR, two streaming boxes and two sound systems - the latest of which I'm still using with my new OLED 4k. It would still be perfectly good today if I hadn't had the cash to splash on OLED - the only reason I didn't keep it is that I don't have house room for a second TV. It did have built-in "smart TV" features - which were never as good as external boes and became obsolete and unusable 18 months after purchase. So, yes, please sell me a tuner-less TV that is just a display panel with HDMI since my experience is that a good display panel outlasts multiple generations of associated tech.
 
macs can last a decade boo. no one is complaining about macbook screens outliving their chips. the iMac is here to stay because the AIO experience is superior. no one wants to deal with a monitor plus ac cords plus thunderbolt cables plus another block sitting on your desk.

Macbooks exist because some need mobility.

iMacs exist because some people want less wires.

Macs can last a decade? Perhaps under the most basic use case, most are past their useful lives by 5-7. My point still stands, there is no reason not to build in the ability to use an iMac as a standalone monitor, it would not add significant cost.
 
The only way I’d consider buying an iMac is if it included a DisplayPort or HDMI input which allowed it to operate as a standalone monitor. That way, when the Mac portion becomes too slow, I can buy a MacBook or Mac Mini and attach it to my perfectly good monitor. And the reason is simple: A monitor’s useful life usually out-lasts a computer’s.
 
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If a larger iMac which will serve as the replacement for the 27inch is a non starter, then surely a compromise solution is to offer the 24 inch model with the higher end chips. I've been working on a 27 for 15 years and as much as I'd like another, if they offered a high end 24 I'd definitely have one. Yes I'd mourn the loss of screen real estate but it's not that much smaller. I also transport my 27 between my home and work several times a week in a carry case, these things are surprisingly portable, I don't much fancy trying that with a studio/Mini + monitor.
 
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then surely a compromise solution is to offer the 24 inch model with the higher end chips.
I would like to see the Mx PRO offered like it is in the Mac mini

The issue is the current iMac 24” chassis design is not compatible the increased size and cooling requirements of the MxPro chip and their associated heatsink. To add a pro chip will require a new or modified iMac chassis. Either with a bigger chin, thicker design or the addition of a blister or bump. It is more than just dropping a pro chip into the existing design.

Similar to the design limitations on MacBook Air and iPad. That prevents them from using pro chips.
 
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Simple fact is the iMac is wildly impractical since it can't be upgraded, and can't ever be used as a display for another Mac. The display itself will outlast the usefulness of the cpu inside it, making it a giant paper weight eventually that is difficult to sell or get rid of. I know, I have at least 3 old iMacs taking up space here.

Most people who want the larger iMac to return are simply looking for the pricing and value that the iMac had from 2014-2019 to return along with it, and you're never going to see that again.
 
Macbooks exist because some need mobility.

iMacs exist because some people want less wires.

Macs can last a decade? Perhaps under the most basic use case, most are past their useful lives by 5-7. My point still stands, there is no reason not to build in the ability to use an iMac as a standalone monitor, it would not add significant cost.

old imacs have target display mode so whats your point
you can also mirror your ipad iphone or apple tv
 
Perhaps they should be complaining - non-upgradeable/repairable laptops aren't exactly a non-issue, but that's another discussion. I don't think Apple would get many complaints (from non-shareholders) if they let you swap out a M1 MacBook Pro logic board for an M3.... Not gonna happen, though so having a built-in screen is the price you pay for mobility... and wanting to keep your expensive screen(s) when you upgrade is a good justification for buying a Mini/Studio rather than a laptop or all-in-one, especially when there's no longer a night-and-day performance difference.

Anyway, Macs might last a decade but they're usually obsolete and incapable of running the latest software long before that. My 2017 iMac is still quite usable, but the CPU is hot, noisy, relatively slow, Intel and no longer supported by the latest MacOS. The display - if I could use it separately - is still in the same league as today's 5k panels from Apple and Samsung.

If "still useful" is your standard then I have a 1920x1280 LCD that I used with my 2005 Mac Mini G4, was still using as a second display on my 2017 iMac and would work quite happily as a 3rd display on my Mac Studio. It's still useful if I want to set up a Raspberry Pi or something - unlike the old iMac.

Of course - it could go the other way: buy a fantasy 5k Apple Silicon iMac today, six months later there's a new dual-layer, burn-in-free 6k 32" display on the market, but your computer is glued into a display using warmed-over 10-year-old IPS tech.


Sure, and if Apple dare to release a 32" iMac abomination I'll be super-gluing myself to the door of the local Apple Store to prevent people from buying one... not. All I can say is that I won't be buying $2000+ worth of display (looking at the price of the cheapest Apple-friendly 32" 220ppi currently on the market, the Dell 6k) that can only ever be used with its built-in processor. Other people can if they want provided it doesn't come at the expense of Apple neglecting the Mini and Studio lines - which is exactly what they were doing last time they were pushing the iMac as their desktop solution.


Funny you should say that - my previous 1080p TV lasted me for 12 years, saw out the end of analogue broadcasting, the heyday of over-the-air-digital and the subsequent move to streaming. It survived two media PCs, a switch from DVD to Blu Ray, a DVR, two streaming boxes and two sound systems - the latest of which I'm still using with my new OLED 4k. It would still be perfectly good today if I hadn't had the cash to splash on OLED - the only reason I didn't keep it is that I don't have house room for a second TV. It did have built-in "smart TV" features - which were never as good as external boes and became obsolete and unusable 18 months after purchase. So, yes, please sell me a tuner-less TV that is just a display panel with HDMI since my experience is that a good display panel outlasts multiple generations of associated tech.

youd cry over a $2000 imac bc you cant reuse the monitor but ok with a $2000 macbook w a smaller screen where you cant replace the chip either? ok lmao
 
Kuo said the larger iMac's screen would feature mini-LED backlighting, which would allow for increased brightness, higher contrast ratio, and other benefits compared to LCD technology.

It’s still LCD! Mini-LED just refers to the backlighting, not the display itself, which is still LCD. Mini-LED just means a tighter grid of LED backlights, like on the MacBook Pro. Not to be confused with OLED or micro-LED which *are* different — self-illuminating, no backlight — display tech. Amazing how many tech bloggers still mess this up.
 
My point still stands, there is no reason not to build in the ability to use an iMac as a standalone monitor, it would not add significant cost.

There appears to be a technical reason related to the custom Timing Controller necessary to allow for 60Hz refresh that prevented Apple from putting TDM into the 4K and 5K iMacs.
 
There appears to be a technical reason related to the custom Timing Controller necessary to allow for 60Hz refresh that prevented Apple from putting TDM into the 4K and 5K iMacs.

Agreed and understood. What I was suggesting was some method outside of TDM.

old imacs have target display mode so whats your point
you can also mirror your ipad iphone or apple tv

Why so hostile?

Old macs, 2013 and older if memory serves, have target display mode which requires the "computer parts" to still function, what about newer Macs? My suggestion was that it wouldn't be expensive or difficult to have a port that knows, if the power supply is good and there is a cable plugged in here that we are in "monitor mode" and act as such with no other input from the iMac. To be clear, I would suggest this for all AIOs not just iMacs.

Mirroring has nothing to do with this conversation. This is all about AIOs and the fact that the monitor will almost always outlive the CPU and or "computer parts".
 
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