Apple ready and waiting with redesigned iMac line

[AppleInsider]

Apple as early as this month will begin to fill out its 2009 Mac product line with a new family of iMacs sporting classier enclosures and a few added bells and whistles, AppleInsider has learned.

The new all-in-one, dual-core desktops were finalized earlier in September and have been rolling off the Mac maker's Taiwanese product lines for roughly two weeks, according to two people familiar with the matter.

In addition to more affordable pricing, the systems are expected to come clad in a thinner industrial design, one of those people added. Though details are admittedly limited, it's likely these new enclosures will also take design cues from the Cupertino-based company's relatively new LED-lit Cinema Display offerings.

Aesthetic revisions aside, the late 2009 iMac line should also debut several features previously unavailable to Mac buyers.*

People familiar with Apple's thinking have suggested in recent months one of these moves could see the company finally embrace Blu-ray -- a technology once derided by Chief Executive Steve Jobs as a "bag of hurt" from a licensing perspective.*

With the costs of such drives remaining relatively high, it's reasonable to presume such capability would fetch an added premium on most models.*

Meanwhile, a pair of other associated enhancements -- one believed to be related to audio -- should see this new generation of iMacs become the most versatile ever, according to another group of people who declined to elaborate because they were not authorized to discuss matter in detail.



For its part, AppleInsider believes Apple is primed to extend the capabilities of at least one technology introduced on the Mac platform as recently as last fall.

To make way for these new models, Apple's corporate and educational sales teams this month have reportedly been offering their volume customers instant discounts of $100 to $200 on existing models. Anxious to clear inventories, representatives have allegedly stressed to buyers that these offers would be valid for just one week.

While it remains precisely unclear when Apple plans to take the wraps off its new iMac line, it's been suggested to AppleInsider that an announcement could come anytime between next week and mid-October. Put simply, it's up to marketing to press the "Go" button.*

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[crees!]

Apple as early as this month will begin to fill out its 2009 Mac product line...

Well they better hurry on up because there's only a week to go.

[Damn_Its_Hot]

Let the guessing begin!

[melgross]

I assume that if the B-R drive rumor is true, that it would entail the OS abilities as well, that we don't have now.

I hope that would lead to a Software Update for the rest of us, so that we could add either internal or external B-R drives to our own machines. The second slot on my Mac Pro is begging to be filled with one of these.

[Quadra 610]

And here we go!

Can't wait to see the new enclosure.

[ruel24]

Dual core? I think most users were hoping of Core i7 based machines...

[lkrupp]

Originally Posted by Damn_Its_Hot

Let the guessing begin!

No, let the carping, whining, second-guessing, and threats begin. A feature or option that either is or isn't present will cause the usual suspects to declare the new iMac line a D.O.A. deal killer. See the post above this one.

[Quadra 610]

A little early, but right on time for Christmas.

[wolfneuralnet]

Originally Posted by ruel24

Dual core? I think most users were hoping of Core i7 based machines...

Yup... I cannot crossgrade from a tower to an iMac until they have more than 2 cores...

Shame I cannot afford the towers anymore either. What a pain...

I really they hope they have some quad-cores as BTO options.

[B747]

Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet

Yup... I cannot crossgrade from a tower to an iMac until they have more than 2 cores...

Shame I cannot afford the towers anymore either. What a pain...

I really they hope they have some quad-cores as BTO options.

Indeed but if the rumour that they are thinner is true...will the machines handle the heat?

[mstone]

I hope the 20" comes with VESA mounting capability. I want to put one on the kitchen counter but it needs to fit under the upper cabinet. Right now my white 20" with no VESA adapter does not fit where I want it because it is a little too tall. the 24" mount is VESA compatible but it is way too big for my purpose.

[Ronbo]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

... according to another group of people who declined to elaborate because they were not authorized to discuss matter in detail.

Very amusing. Like they were authorized to discuss the matter at all.

[stukdog]

I'm looking forward to some new iMac power.

In addition, I've noticed that Amazon has been out of the high end Mac mini for the last 5 days. It makes me wonder if they've depleted that inventory so the high end Mac mini can be upgraded a bit more to set itself apart.

[samurai1999]

Originally Posted by wolfneuralnet

Yup... I cannot crossgrade from a tower to an iMac until they have more than 2 cores...

Shame I cannot afford the towers anymore either. What a pain...

I really they hope they have some quad-cores as BTO options.

I doubt they will - too much power...

But, anyway, what Apple should do is revamp the MacMini - Mac Pro line with a Single CPU Core i7 / i5 model that can take a decent graphics card
- I'd get one if they did that
- as it is, the iMac just doesn't do it for me, unfortunately.

[mitchelljd]

I am hoping for
Blu-Ray
No Intel integrated Graphics chips, except maybe for the cheapest education version.
Better speakers
and.... decent CPU chip, it is getting a bit frustrating that Apple thinks a desktop computer needs a laptop graphics chip and to be thinner than most monitors. This severely limits upgrades and the type of CPU you can put in there.

[blurpbleepbloop]

Originally Posted by lkrupp

No, let the carping, whining, second-guessing, and threats begin. A feature or option that either is or isn't present will cause the usual suspects to declare the new iMac line a D.O.A. deal killer. See the post above this one.

That may be, but the iMac is going to be a tougher and tougher (if not just plainly a hard) sell as a desktop when system when there are so many i7 systems out there. It just plain time to move beyond 2 cores as the entry point on the desktop. Otherwise, people are better off buying laptops - at least then you get mobility for an otherwise evenly spec'ed Mac.

[monstrosity]

i wonder if we will see any 'secret' SL features...

[nonimus]

I hope there will be an Intel i5 750 or (preferably) an i7 860.

It would be nice to see USB 3.0 or a faster version of FireWire -- or at the very least an eSATA port.

I'd like to know who's been talking to Apple about the need for a thinner enclosure. I really can't imagine that the numbers asking for that aren't a slim fraction of the numbers wanting a DESKTOP quad processor and better video card. Some other rumors suggest a 25.5" or 26" screen. Rather have a better processor/video card.

Why not just make a Mac Pro Mini - with a mini aluminum enclosure with the opportunity for owners to make some hardware upgrades instead of being sealed off like most Apple products.

My Windows computer died from hardware failure and I was hoping for a quad core iMac. I may have to get a cheap Windows 7 laptop and wait until next Spring. I hope not....

You'd think Apple would want to exploit Snow Leopard's Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL with new, capable hardware -- at the consumer level.

[teckstud]

Goddbye- you fugly racconed iMac. Begone with the black border once and for all. I've been waiting 3 years for this. Bring on a new mouse and cord to match. Hopefully the cheap black plasticy Dell back is history too. A blu-ray of course. It pays to wait. This has been a great year for me with Apple:
1.) iPhone 3Gs- video and speed
2.) 13" MacBook Pro- firewire.
3,) New iMac- blu-ray, new design. matte perhaps or at least less gloss?

[Intense]

well my social circle hasn't been much influenced or even aware that such a thing as an i6 system exists, so it doesn't really matter for them as long as the task on the computer is completed without the computer getting in the way

Originally Posted by blurpbleepbloop

That may be, but the iMac is going to be a tougher and tougher (if not just plainly a hard) sell as a desktop when system when there are so many i6 systems out there. It just plain time to move beyond 2 cores as the entry point on the desktop. Otherwise, people are better off buying laptops - at least then you get mobility for an otherwise evenly spec'ed Mac.

[8CoreWhore]

The i7 will prolly be in their higher end iMac. The mobile chips are out.

[Dr Millmoss]

Originally Posted by blurpbleepbloop

That may be, but the iMac is going to be a tougher and tougher (if not just plainly a hard) sell as a desktop when system when there are so many i6 systems out there. It just plain time to move beyond 2 cores as the entry point on the desktop. Otherwise, people are better off buying laptops - at least then you get mobility for an otherwise evenly spec'ed Mac.

Who buys specs? Some perhaps, but this is not the market for the iMac. Can you get a 20" or 24" laptop...?

[teckstud]

a new family of iMacs sporting classier enclosures

the systems are expected to come clad in a thinner industrial design, one of those people added

This has to mean that disgusting black eye-lined racoon is finally gone!!!!!!! Rejoice!!!!

[John the Geek]

SD card slot, just like the laptops.

Mac OS X will eventually ship on them, as Apple phases out the optical drive eventually.

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

While it remains precisely unclear when Apple plans to take the wraps off its new iMac line, it's been suggested to AppleInsider that an announcement could come anytime between next week and mid-October. Put simply, it's up to marketing to press the "Go" button.*

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

That is not a marketing decision. That is an inventory management decision.

[Burke]

Great news! I can finally give this 3-year-old Turion laptop to someone and

Personally, I'm hoping for:

- LED-backlit screen
- 2.1 speaker system (like the LED Cinema Display)
- Keyboard with black, backlit keys (wired and wireless)
- Discrete graphics on all models (bit of a wish)
- $100-$200 below current prices
- 30" version on the high-end (I would get it in a heartbeat, but an LED 30" would be expensive as bollocks)

Also, do you think they'll dump the 20" and just go 24" at some point?

[addabox]

How come every time Apple refreshes the iMac or Mini a bunch of people seem to forget that Apple has been using laptop parts in these machines since like forever? They begin to clamor for the latest and greatest desktop CPUs and GPUs, as if that were even a remote possibility.

Pro tip: not going to happen. Sorry. Just not Apple's thing, for better or worse. They've made a choice: laptop parts are "fast enough" for most people, and such parts allow them to emphasize the form factors that they want to build. Yes, I know those aren't the form factors some of you want, that doesn't necessarily mean Apple is wrong or crazy-- see also their recent market share gains.

It is true the that i7 mobile part just launched, so I guess there might be an outside chance that Apple will use it. Myself, wouldn't count on it.

[trboyden]

Originally Posted by ruel24

Dual core? I think most users were hoping of Core i7 based machines...

Agreed, no i5 or i7 800 series chips means iMac == FAIL

Most desktops by January and early Spring will be taking advantage of the i5 for its pricing alone, let alone its power that blows away all current Core 2 Quads, let alone Core 2 Duos. If Apple doesn't adopt i5s this time around, their desktops will be two technology generations behind everything else in the marketplace. Let's see their marketing people work around that disadvantage. Given their release cycle, Dell, HP, etc... could be on second generation i5s before Apple refreshes the iMac again.

[sheff]

I agree with Steve, Blu Ray is expensive and kinda useless on a computer.

First off, most programs still fit nicely on a DVD.

Second you would need a much larger then 24' display for blu ray to be useful, and for that you would need a TV, not an iMac.

Third making iMacs more expensive right now is not a very good move, the economy is not good enough to support a price increase right now.

Therefore if blu ray does come about it would have to be an option for the most expensive iMac in the family. Just my prediction.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by Burke

Also, do you think they'll dump the 20" and just go 24" at some point?

The logical course of action would be to go with a 24", 27" and 30" Cinema Display lineup.
iMacs would use the first two.

Of course, Apple's logic doesn't always sync up with history or conventional thinking.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by mitchelljd

I am hoping for
Blu-Ray
No Intel integrated Graphics chips, except maybe for the cheapest education version.
Better speakers
and.... decent CPU chip, it is getting a bit frustrating that Apple thinks a desktop computer needs a laptop graphics chip and to be thinner than most monitors. This severely limits upgrades and the type of CPU you can put in there.

does apple still use integrated intel graphics? i thought they used nvidia 9400M on the low end, 9600 in the mid and a few nvidia/ati parts on the high end

[hypoluxa]

Apple really needs to put in quad core chips in this new line up. But I have a feeling that we will be waiting for that a little longer... who knows though. I like and at the same-time dislike Apples constant form over function aesthetics..I totally admire the slim design of the macbooks, and iMac lines, but dammit people want power too. But they just can't squeeze hotter running chips into their casings. It would defeat there designs.

Now with this Grand central tech... the doors have opened up hopefully for more than 2 cores in all of their HW.

[iCarbon]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

For its part, AppleInsider believes Apple is primed to extend the capabilities of at least one technology introduced on the Mac platform as recently as last fall.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

ok, I've been noticing a recurrent tendency lately in AI articles to imply knowledge of something, but not actually spell it out, so that those of us who aren't avidly drooling over every rumor have to guess at what you are talking about. This is a freakin' news site, not a game show or puzzlebox. stop wasting our time with tantalizing bits of fluff -- if you know something, say it. if you suspect something, say it and provide appropriate caveats. if you suspect something and don't have enough evidence/credibility to spell it out, don't imply it either -- it's like having a 4-yo girl teasing me about having ice cream!

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by sheff

I agree with Steve, Blu Ray is expensive and kinda useless on a computer.

First off, most programs still fit nicely on a DVD.

Second you would need a much larger then 24' display for blu ray to be useful, and for that you would need a TV, not an iMac.

Third making iMacs more expensive right now is not a very good move, the economy is not good enough to support a price increase right now.

Therefore if blu ray does come about it would have to be an option for the most expensive iMac in the family. Just my prediction.

Option -that's all we ask. For storage. I'm tired of these hard drives that are supposed to be back up and then die.

[bugsnw]

You're all formally invited to my iMac Launch Party. I'm working on a video now. I need one black guy, one older woman, a hottie, and a nerd. It's important to show that being hip crosses all ethnic and socioeconomic lines.

I'd like to see the following:

My 24" iMac is in a 28" enclosure. I hope Apple gets to the gold standard of a super thin monitor just hanging there in space, with no 'edge.'

Put a desktop chip in there, if possible. Better graphics card. Much better speakers.

I actually hope they don't have Blue-Ray. We need to move towards solid state anyhow. No moving parts. Steve Jobs can continue to encourage the industry to move towards fatter pipes so we can stream this stuff. Or get it to fit on new, higher capacity SD cards.

Speaking of SD, put a slot right on the side of the monitor, under the CD slot.

Aesthetically, make it thinner, lighter, with cables, keys, mouse, etc. that blend with the display.

Get it all under $2K, including Apple Care.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by iCarbon

ok, I've been noticing a recurrent tendency lately in AI articles to imply knowledge of something, but not actually spell it out, so that those of us who aren't avidly drooling over every rumor have to guess at what you are talking about. This is a freakin' news site, not a game show or puzzlebox. stop wasting our time with tantalizing bits of fluff -- if you know something, say it. if you suspect something, say it and provide appropriate caveats. if you suspect something and don't have enough evidence/credibility to spell it out, don't imply it either -- it's like having a 4-yo girl teasing me about having ice cream!

I think instead of a mouse it will get a small glass (mousepad) plate like the laptops to maneuver around.

[addabox]

Originally Posted by trboyden

Agreed, no i5 or i7 800 series chips means iMac == FAIL

Most desktops by January and early Spring will be taking advantage of the i5 for its pricing alone, let alone its power that blows away all current Core 2 Quads, let alone Core 2 Duos. If Apple doesn't adopt i5s this time around, their desktops will be two technology generations behind everything else in the marketplace. Let's see their marketing people work around that disadvantage. Given their release cycle, Dell, HP, etc... could be on second generation i5s before Apple refreshes the iMac again.

Yeah. Like that. What part of "Apple doesn't put desktop parts into their iMacs" are you not getting?

Look at the relative growth of desktop machines vs. laptops and tell me that people are rejecting laptop level power. Just because internet tech nerds obsess over dick waving contests and who's got the latest generation tech doesn't mean the average buyer does.

The average buyer checks out a machine and makes a judgement based on a variety of factors-- price, looks, ease of use, apparent quality, etc.

For a lot of people, an all in one machine that looks great and does everything they want it to in a snappy fashion is exactly what they want. They have no idea and could care less where the innards fall within Intel's lineup. It's been a while since pretty much any system sold (excepting netbooks) didn't have plenty of power to do what most people do with their computers.

A lot of the proud owners of PCs with i7 desktop parts will be running Office, email, internet, iTunes, and maybe some light photo editing software, all of which will are already going as fast as they can.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by addabox

Yeah. Like that. What part of "Apple doesn't put desktop parts into their iMacs" are you not getting?

Look at the relative growth of desktop machines vs. laptops and tell me that people are rejecting laptop level power. Just because internet tech nerds obsess over dick waving contests and who's got the latest generation tech doesn't mean the average buyer does.

The average buyer checks out a machine and makes a judgement based on a variety of factors-- price, looks, ease of use, apparent quality, etc.

For a lot of people, an all in one machine that looks great and does everything they want it to in a snappy fashion is exactly what they want. They have no idea and could care less where the innards fall within Intel's lineup. It's been a while since pretty much any system sold (excepting netbooks) didn't have plenty of power to do what most people do with their computers.

A lot of the proud owners of PCs with i7 desktop parts will be running Office, email, internet, iTunes, and maybe some light photo editing software, all of which will are already going as fast as they can.

Not all the parts are laptops parts. Hard drive? graphics? Please don't generalize.

[philu]

I fully expect the recently announced mobile i7 chips. Reviews have already been done so it's entirely feasible that they have been in production already. Sure it'll probably be the top-tier model, but what else would you expect?

And some better graphics options, too. At least their last iMac line-up ditched the Intel "GPUs". I assume that Open CL will be standard across the line to take advantage of this new SL feature and h.264 encode/decode will be hardware accelerated.

I'll keep hoping for eSATA or an ExpressCard slot, but not holding my breath. They pulled the card slots from their last laptop revision and I don't think any of their systems have eSATA built-in.

User-upgradeable hard drive would be nice. But fat chance on that, too. Or maybe one of them OCZ Colossus drives BTO for me.

[newbee]

Originally Posted by mstone

I hope the 20" comes with VESA mounting capability. I want to put one on the kitchen counter but it needs to fit under the upper cabinet. Right now my white 20" with no VESA adapter does not fit where I want it because it is a little too tall. the 24" mount is VESA compatible but it is way too big for my purpose.

I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything but for the life of me I can't think of any reason to put a computer on a kitchen counter where it might come into contact with water. Please explain, I'm dying of curiosity here.