Will the next iMac remove the internal spinning disk?

[gibsonjv]

Maybe I'm late to the game with this thought, but I've been looking at the Mac Pro design and wondering when the iMac designers will drop the spinning disk from the list of consumer specifications. PCIe SSDs are showing amazing performance numbers on the new MacBook Airs and an SSD only iMac would certainly help Jony and company to slim/thin the iMac even more. It's only a matter of time before they ship an SSD only iMac, but IMO the real question here is: Would they redesign the enclosure less than a year after releasing the "thin" model to make it even more thin?

 

[dwarnecke11]

I would think so, and this is great news. So long and good riddance to what has historically proven to be the least reliable single component in the iMac.

 

[Sam Spade]

There's no way Apple will introduce another iMac redesign this soon, regardless of technological advances. I think it's likely the next generation will delete the HDD, but I wouldn't expect its release any time soon.

Expect a minor refresh before another redesign.

 

[old-wiz]

I don't see them dropping HDDs on iMacs while flash storage is so expensive. You can't get a 1TB SDD for a reasonable price yet.

 

[RadDave]

I don't see them dropping HDDs on iMacs while flash storage is so expensive. You can't get a 1TB SDD for a reasonable price yet.

The above would also be my argument in NOT seeing an iMac in the near future w/ a large (e.g. 1 TB) SSD only - may come in time as cost per GB solid state storage drops (or another non-mechanical storage option becomes available).

Quote below might bring the issue home for the moment - from PC Mag, May 2013 -

To put it bluntly, SSDs are frakking expensive in terms of dollar per GB. For the same capacity and form factor 1TB internal 2.5-inch drive, you'll be paying about $100 for a HDD, but as of this writing, you'll be paying a whopping $600 for an SSD. That translates into ten-cents-per-GB for the HDD and 60 cents per GB for the SSD.