Availability of Apple's high-end iMac starting to fade

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
The number of digital storefronts reflecting availability of Apple's high-end iMac configuration is dwindling this week in yet another sign that long-overdue updates to the all-in-one desktop line may be inching their way closer to market.



We picked up on the trend while making routine updates to our Mac Price Guide (also below) throughout the week. Having been dropped from MacConnection's catalog a bit earlier in the year, the 3.06GHz model more recently saw its availability run dry at several other resellers, namely MacMall, OnSale, and ClubMac.



Around the same time, Apple pushed lead times for the system out to 2 to 4 days, from 1 to 2 days, on its U.S.-based online store. The minimum wait is a bit longer at some of the company's international shops like those in Canada, France and Japan.



While these slight delays happen from time to time, more telling may be the model's absolute removal from Amazon.com's product catalog sometime in the past 48 hours. The retailer's product page for the system is now a dead end, meaning it has likely been yanked from the retailer's database of products permanently.



Amazon, which is believed to be one of the largest -- if not the largest -- online Mac resellers by volume, traditionally does not remove product entries due to lack of inventory, but rather when the product has reached the end of its life. Although new searchs for the 3.06GHz iMac on Amazon still turn up a couple of results, those systems are being offered through the retailer's affiliates and are not stocked by Amazon.



These oddities come just weeks after it was reported that Apple had advised some of its sales partners that supply of iMacs would grow constrained in the weeks that would follow. In particular, the 3.06GHz iMac was singled out as a model that was unlikely to see further production.



We put in some calls to various resellers reflecting no stock of the high-end config and were told in some cases that Apple had indicated fresh stock of iMacs would arrive sometime next week. Should those deliveries not pan out or not include the 3.06GHz model, it would be seen as a further sign that the much-anticipated NVIDIA-based iMacs with Mini DisplayPorts are on their way.



Also expected in the near term are updates to the Mac mini and Mac Pro. Expectations for each of these revisions are archived in full and in descending order by date on their respective topics pages: iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro.



Product Apple Amazon MacMall MacConnection Best Buy On Sale ClubMac Education Discount 2.40GHz 15" MacBook Pro $1,999.00 $1,868.98 $1,742.99* $1,759.00 $1999.99 $1,743.97 $1,743.97 $1,899.00 $256.01 2.53GHz 15" MacBook Pro $2,499.00 $2,388.98 $2,227.03* $2,249.00 $2499.99 $2,238.97 $2,238.97 $2,299.00 $271.97 2.66GHz 17" MacBook Pro $2,799.00 $2,794.00 $2,610.18* $2,644.00 $2799.99 $2,639.99 $2,639.99 $2,599.00 $188.82 2.1GHz 13" MacBook (white) $999.00 $959.99 $928.99 $929.00 N/A $919.99 $889.18+ $949.00 $109.82 2.0GHz 13" MacBook $1,299.00 $1,268.98 $1,218.99 $1,219.00 $1299.99 $1,208.99 $1,176.29+ $1,249.00 $122.71 2.4GHz 13" MacBook $1,599.00 $1,567.98 $1,509.99 $1,499.00 $1599.99 $1,489.99 $1,442.29+ $1,499.00 $156.71 1.6GHz 13" MacBook Air $1,799.00 $1,769.97 $1,729.99 $1,749.00 $1799.99 $1,748.99 $1,748.99 $1,699.00 $69.01 1.8GHz 13" MacBook Air $2,499.00 $2,409.99 $2,369.99 $2,399.00 $2499.99 $2,394.99 $2,394.99 $2,299.00 $129.01 2.40GHz 20" iMac $1,199.00 $1,149.99 $1,134.99 $1,124.00 $1199.99 $1,134.99 $1,134.99 $1,149.00 $75.00 2.66GHz 20" iMac $1,499.00 $1,459.99 $1,417.99 $1,404.00 $1499.99 $1,409.99 $1,409.99 $1,399.00 $95.00 2.80GHz 24" iMac $1,799.00 $1,699.99 $1,669.99 $1,694.00 $1799.99 $1,669.99 $1,669.99 $1,699.00 $129.01 3.06GHz 24" iMac $2,199.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A $2,059.00 $105.00 1.83GHz Mac mini $599.00 $595.00 $564.99 $589.00 $599.00 $584.99 $584.99 $579.00 $34.01 2.00GHz Mac mini $799.00 $794.99 $769.00 $789.00 $799.00 $779.99 $779.99 $779.00 $30.00 2.8GHz Mac Pro 8-Core $2,799.00 $2,629.99 $2,539.99 $2,699.00 $2,799.99 $2,607.99 $2,607.99 $2,599.00 $259.01
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    Amazon shows them in stock right now... and from Amazon, not from and affiliate store.
  • Reply 2 of 52
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot View Post


    Amazon shows them in stock right now... and from Amazon, not from and affiliate store.



    8 results for the 3.06GHz iMac come up, each of which is sold through Techno Intelligence.



    What are you seeing? Please provide a link.



    K
  • Reply 3 of 52
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:

    Availability of Apple's high-end iMac starting to fade



    THANK GOD! FINALLY.
  • Reply 4 of 52
    mactelmactel Posts: 1,275member
    I'm holding off on buying a Mac Mini (as a backup to our Macbook) until a refresh.
  • Reply 5 of 52
    pmjoepmjoe Posts: 565member
    Waiting for the Mac mini update please.
  • Reply 6 of 52
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    I hope they keep the 20". I have a 20" core solo which I want to update but since I use it at the eating bar in the kitchen I don't want anything larger than 20.



    I'll probably end up just tossing my current core solo once I upgrade since a couple of months ago it fell off the counter, landed on the tile floor and ended up with a crack across the screen. Other than the slight hairline crack it still works great, just a little slow.



    I'd sell it on Craig's but then I'd have to spend hours deleting everything and have strangers come over to the house to look at it. I'd rather just destroy it. Yet you are 'supposed' to take it to the recycling center instead of tossing it in the bin. I guess it is worth an hour of my time to help save the planet.
  • Reply 7 of 52
    dobbydobby Posts: 797member
    I still wouldn't expect to see anything new before end of March at the earliest. We've previously seen top end kit have 2-3 weeks of no availability before a refresh appears.



    Really keen on seeing a mac mini update though. Didn't get a Chrissy pressy cos I thought it would be updated earlier.



    Dobby
  • Reply 8 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    I hope they keep the 20". I have a 20" core solo which I want to update but since I use it at the eating bar in the kitchen I don't want anything larger than 20.



    I'll probably end up just tossing my current core solo once I upgrade since a couple of months ago it fell off the counter, landed on the tile floor and ended up with a crack across the screen. Other than the slight hairline crack it still works great, just a little slow.



    I'd sell it on Craig's but then I'd have to spend hours deleting everything and have strangers come over to the house to look at it. I'd rather just destroy it. Yet you are 'supposed' to take it to the recycling center instead of tossing it in the bin. I guess it is worth an hour of my time to help save the planet.



    wow!



    really? its too much trouble for you to put in the install disc wipe the HD and do a fresh install, that the Mac actually pretty much does itself.
  • Reply 9 of 52
    Okay, AI, can we just agree NOT to use the term "long-overdue" unless it pertains to the Mac Mini? There has never in the history of Apple been a product so long-overdue as the Mac Mini.



    ...save Pippin ][ ...



    -Clive
  • Reply 10 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dobby View Post


    I still wouldn't expect to see anything new before end of March at the earliest. We've previously seen top end kit have 2-3 weeks of no availability before a refresh



    I agree, but think we'll have a Special Event hosted by Cook in the halls of 1 Infinite Loop within the first 2 weeks of March. At least 5 days will needed for press.
  • Reply 11 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Clive At Five View Post


    Okay, AI, can we just agree NOT to use the term "long-overdue" unless it pertains to the Mac Mini? There has never in the history of Apple been a product so long-overdue as the Mac Mini.



    There can be more than one item that is long overdue. No one denies that the Mini is the longest overdue, but Apple's other desktops have gone an unprecendented duration between their rekative refreshes.
  • Reply 12 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    ...desktops have gone an unprecendented duration between their rekative refreshes.



    Lets not forget the 500mhz g4 tower.
  • Reply 13 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I agree, but think we'll have a Special Event hosted by Cook in the halls of 1 Infinite Loop within the first 2 weeks of March. At least 5 days will needed for press.



    March 10th?
  • Reply 14 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    There can be more than one item that is long overdue. No one denies that the Mini is the longest overdue, but Apple's other desktops have gone an unprecendented duration between their rekative refreshes.



    Then perhaps "long-overdue" when used to describe anything other than the Mac Mini should be followed with the caveat: "(not nearly as epically, mind-bogglingly, inconceivably overdue as the Mac Mini)"



  • Reply 15 of 52
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    I love Apple's computers, I really do, I switched 5 years ago, but I love my PC games too and Apples (they're taking the piss now) long overdue system update has had me looking at building a custom based PC and using my MacBook as my other machine.



    I wanted a new iMac to replace my ageing 17" core2duo but with the weakening pound which is pushing up the prices in the UK and the sloppy upgrade cycle i'm in between a rock & a hard place.
  • Reply 16 of 52
    After being reprimanded ( ), I re-read the original post. I found only the 3 lower models a Amazon... the 3.06 is, as you said, absent. My bad.
  • Reply 17 of 52
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Amazon, which is believed to be one of the largest -- if not the largest -- online Mac resellers by volume, traditionally does not remove product entries due to lack of inventory, but rather when the product has reached the end of its life. Although new searchs for the 3.06GHz iMac on Amazon still turn up a couple of results, those systems are being offered through the retailer's affiliates and are not stocked by Amazon.



    These oddities come just weeks after it was reported that Apple had advised some of its sales partners that supply of iMacs would grow constrained in the weeks that would follow. In particular, the 3.06GHz iMac was singled out as a model that was unlikely to see further production.



    What I wonder is if they are going to stick to dual core chips, then what's the hold up? Also, what chips would they subsequently use? Intel haven't brought out any major improvements over what they already use on the mobile end, nor have the prices dropped.



    If they stick in new Nvidia graphics chips and the same displays then it's going to be a pretty minor refresh. They could do a redesign but still, no reason to wait this long.



    I still reckon low power Core 2 Quad desktop chips and all 24-inch models that look like the Cinema display and the Mini matches the Macbook spec in the current Mini enclosure but with new ports as shown in the video.



    There are currently no reasons for holding out on refreshes as all the chips they need to use whatever they do on the consumer end are available.



    If there's going to be a press event, they'll try and squeeze the updates together though as the Nehalem Pro is the big update and the Mac Pro chips won't be out until possibly late next month. They could just put the update online though and have a 2 week shipping time or something. They must realize how fed up people are waiting on them.
  • Reply 18 of 52
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    I agree, but think we'll have a Special Event hosted by Cook in the halls of 1 Infinite Loop within the first 2 weeks of March. At least 5 days will needed for press.



    I have a sneeking suspicion that it coincides with Steve Wozniak appearing on Dancing with the Stars- March 8th.
  • Reply 19 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    What I wonder is if they are going to stick to dual core chips, then what's the hold up? Also, what chips would they subsequently use? Intel haven't brought out any major improvements over what they already use on the mobile end, nor have the prices dropped.



    If they stick in new Nvidia graphics chips and the same displays then it's going to be a pretty minor refresh. They could do a redesign but still, no reason to wait this long.



    I still reckon low power Core 2 Quad desktop chips and all 24-inch models that look like the Cinema display and the Mini matches the Macbook spec in the current Mini enclosure but with new ports as shown in the video.



    There are currently no reasons for holding out on refreshes as all the chips they need to use whatever they do on the consumer end are available.



    If there's going to be a press event, they'll try and squeeze the updates together though as the Nehalem Pro is the big update and the Mac Pro chips won't be out until possibly late next month. They could just put the update online though and have a 2 week shipping time or something. They must realize how fed up people are waiting on them.



    That is a well thought-out comment, and I think that is the true cause of the delay in refresh. It makes no sense for this amount of time, unless there was going to be a major overhaul of the system. The NVidia upgrade isn't that much of an overhaul. However, a switch from Duo to Quad, now THAT is an upgrade!!
  • Reply 20 of 52
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    I have a sneeking suspicion that it coincides with Steve Wozniak appearing on Dancing with the Stars- March 8th.



    I have a sneaking suspicion that he will be the first to go home this season.



    I also have a sneaking suspicion that Woz will make a play for more "face time" by joining other shows like VH-1's Celebirty Fit Club or The Surreal Life.



    Though it would be great if they made an original show for him. Since he engagement to Carrot Top fizzled, perhaps he could have Tech of Love or Woz of Love, in the vein of Flavor of Love and Rock of Love. He is worth considerably more than Brett Michaels and Flavor Flav have ever had and put together, so finding him plenty of attractive women to fight for him shouldn't be too difficult.
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