Poor bets placed on new iMacs at Apple's developer conference

[AppleInsider]

Despite a growing number of reports to the contrary, it's highly unlikely that Apple will use its developer conference next week to showcase a line of redesigned iMac desktop computers, AppleInsider has learned.

People familiar with the matter say an extensive overhaul to the top-selling Apple consumer desktop machines remains on track for an unveiling later this year, adding that an introduction during company's Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday would be premature and serve only to disrupt sales of existing models.

"There's no compelling rationale for [Apple] to pre-announce new iMacs months in advance of availability," said another contact familiar with Cupertino-based Mac maker's consumer product strategy. "The current iMacs appear to have some life left in them."

Instead, Apple is expected to use its annual developer gathering to zero-in on "Top Secret" enhancements to its next-generation Mac OS X Leopard operating system that have been lingering beneath the surface of pre-release builds since the software was first previewed at last year's conference.

Those in attendance will walk away from chief executive Steve Jobs' inaugural keynote address with the first pre-release software builds of a "feature complete" Leopard, Apple has promised.

Should there be truth a recent report by the New York Times, Jobs may also use the event to brief Mac OS X developers on the company's plans to allow third-party application development for the upcoming iPhone device.

As was reported exclusively by AppleInsider back in March, Apple engineers have been putting extra hours into a pair of radically redesigned 20- and 24-inch iMacs that will be both slimmer and sleeker than today's offerings. When the project reaches fruition later this year, it will represent the first major industrial design overhaul to hit the flagship all-in-one consumer Apple desktops in nearly three years.

Omitted from the makeover will be Apple's 17-inch iMac model, people familiar with the project have said. The entry-level offering will reportedly become the subject of considerable neglect, and may eventually meet the same fate as the firm's now defunct 12-inch PowerBook and soon-to-be sacrificed Mac mini.

Apple's current line of iMac personal computers includes 17-, 20- and 24-inch models.

Unlike a supply-chain pattern (1, 2) that manifested in the weeks and days leading up to Tuesday's MacBook Pro revamp, checks into the availability and channel flow of existing iMac models revealed no disruptions and normal availability. Additionally, high-volume dealers are expecting an uninterrupted stream of iMac shipments for the foreseeable future.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off with Jobs' keynote address beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, June 11, 2007 at San Francisco’s Moscone West convention center.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[syklee26]

who knows? we might see 30 inch iMac in next event (along with price drop of 30inch ACD).

I actually believe that new iMacs might coincide with new ACD to have consistent pricing.

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Despite a growing number of reports to the contrary, it's highly unlikely that Apple will use its developer conference next week to showcase a line of redesigned iMac desktop computers, AppleInsider has learned.

People familiar with the matter say an extensive overhaul to the top-selling Apple consumer desktop machines remains on track for an unveiling later this year, adding that an introduction during company's Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday would be premature and serve only to disrupt sales of existing models.

"There's no compelling rationale for [Apple] to pre-announce new iMacs months in advance of availability," said another contact familiar with Cupertino-based Mac makers consumer product strategy. "The current iMacs appear to have some life left in them."
[/url][/c]

Booo! No new iMacs for the time being.

[mugwump]

Poor bets placed?

[IQatEdo]

Whatever happens, Apple will show Leopard off on the best possible hardware. We have new MacBook Pro computers, perhaps the Mac Pro will be announced as a revamped system.

[Go Banana]

There is nothing coming out of WWDC that will be available for retail purchase. You thought Macworld was lackluster and disappointing as far as "fund-funneling" oportunties go, WWDC will be all about Leopard and how you can't have it yet unless you're a developer attending the conference.

[kscherer]

iMacs are in very good supply within our distributor network. That would tend to indicate that Apple is not yet spooling down manufacturing on the existing models. While nothing is ever certain with the RDF floating above our heads, good supply means nothing is going to be announced. I think Apple has learned from past inventory mistakes and are very good at keeping these things under control.

We, of course, are keeping our inventory very light.

Just in case!

[psychodoughboy]

No!

[hmurchison]

Since I'm not in the market for a new Mac yet I'm more interested in seeing a full demo of "Feature Complete" Leopard and perhaps more info on the iPhone.

I'm sure That Apple will have a nice update in time. The developers are been keen on the new features of Leopard but they are all under NDA, frankly, even with a new version of the imac I'll that it will be underwhelming too many.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Go Banana

There is nothing coming out of WWDC that will be available for retail purchase. You thought Macworld was lackluster and disappointing as far as "fund-funneling" oportunties go, WWDC will be all about Leopard and how you can't have it yet unless you're a developer attending the conference.

And that would be what the "Developer's Conference" infers.

We have all gotten accustomed to Apple releasing some fantastic thing at each and every gathering, and are disappointed when they don't.

There will most likely be "One more thing…", but don't get your hopes up too high.

[MacSuperiority]

They gotta intorduce something don't they. I cant remember a single keynote where some form of hardware wasn't introed.

That means either a headless mac or a subnotebook. I cant wait.

[britwithgoodteeth]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

...a pair of radically redesigned 20- and 24-inch iMacs that will be both slimmer and sleeker than today's offerings.

The only question left then is this: are they slim and sleek enough for solipsism to masturbate to?

[shanmugam]

NO NO, hope AI is wrong on this, atleast Santa Rosa update is minimum!

or iPod and iMac and Leopard willl be in last quarter, no idea whether it is too good (all the students will be cursing if everything will be released after sep 16th!)

[SpinDrift]

I guess the good news here is that the new iMac hardware will probably take advantage of Leopard specific features. As we all know Leopard should have been released by now, according to the original schedule, so perhaps the new iMac design is ready to go to production. Or perhaps they are using this extra time to improve the hardware even further.

I'm sure Steve Jobs will have plenty to dazzle us with at WWDC. He has to! I just hope Leopard is enough to keep us all at bay until the new hardware is announced.

[Zweben]

Originally Posted by syklee26

who knows? we might see 30 inch iMac in next event (along with price drop of 30inch ACD).

I actually believe that new iMacs might coincide with new ACD to have consistent pricing.

What would be the target market for a 30" iMac?

People who buy computers with 30" screens are, 99% of the time, not the type of people who want all-in-one computers with limited upgradability.

A 30" all in one computer is kind of stupid anyway. The point of an all in one is that it's compact. It's not going to be compact if it's 30" diagonally.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Zweben

What would be the target market for a 30" iMac?

People who buy computers with 30" screens are, 99% of the time, not the type of people who want all-in-one computers with limited upgradability.

A 30" all in one computer is kind of stupid anyway. The point of an all in one is that it's compact. It's not going to be compact if it's 30" diagonally.

A 30th anniversary, 30" iMac, would sell like mad! It would look like this:

30" ACD
3GHz Intel Xeon Dual Core
2GB RAM (expandable to 8)
Dual drive bays (single 500GB standard)
X1900 Graphics
Blue Ray/SD combo thingy
Wireless KB/MS standard
Black with gold-plated Apple logo and 30th anniversary tag
$4999

That would be cool!

As a side note, Stevie boy isn't going to take time on stage to announce iMacs with minor speed bumps. It's all or nothing.

My predicition: One More Thing = subnotebook.

[jdmlight]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Despite a growing number of reports to the contrary, it's highly unlikely that Apple will use its developer conference next week to showcase a line of redesigned iMac desktop computers, AppleInsider has learned.

I suppose, but Steve said:

Originally Posted by Steve Jobs

If you come to WWDC we're rolling out our new version of OSX -- massive investments in desktops. You'll love it.

So yes, he will focus a lot on Leopard, but I'd be surprised if the iMacs didn't get an update. Apple recently updated the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro. That only leaves the iMac and Mini. Assuming that the Mini does get scrapped, the iMac would have to be updated for there to be "massive investments in desktops." Unless Steve has something else up his sleeve, like a minitower Mac. (edit: or a subnotebook)

BTW, I'd buy a 30" iMac.

[shadow]

In his last interview Jobs said that he hopes soon they will be selling more than 90% notebooks. Now we know the paln - update the rest of the line once in 2 years

I wanted a new iMac in June

[psychodoughboy]

Originally Posted by SpinDrift

I guess the good news here is that the new iMac hardware will probably take advantage of Leopard specific features. As we all know Leopard should have been released by now, according to the original schedule, so perhaps the new iMac design is ready to go to production. Or perhaps they are using this extra time to improve the hardware even further.

I'm sure Steve Jobs will have plenty to dazzle us with at WWDC. He has to! I just hope Leopard is enough to keep us all at bay until the new hardware is announced.

Unless there's a second hard drive for Time Machine (very unlikely, that's just stuff MOSR made up), that's unlikely. Any totally hardware-dependent Leopard features will get announced at WWDC, and unless it's just something simple like a second hard drive, something like (for example) a touchscreen interface would utterly cannibalize hardware sales if they said "touchscreen hardware coming this fall."

[Rich-Myster]

who knows what they're going to do. for all we know, the updates done to the macbook pro macbook and macpro were just to get rid of some inventory. mabye they are going to release new ones, mabye some new case designs or something. who knows. mabye they'll make a new mouse, and they'll call it the "mightier mouse"

[JakeTheRock]

Originally Posted by MacSuperiority

That means either a headless mac or a subnotebook. I cant wait.

No, no, no. As long as Steve Jobs is around, Apple will not release a headless midrange. As for the subnotebook, I really doubt that they would do that.
They will likely release an update to the design of the Mac Pro. Remember, the design is even older then the current iMacs.

[mr O]

Originally Posted by britwithgoodteeth

The only question left then is this: are they slim and sleek enough for solipsism to masturbate to?

You shouldn't put them in profile …


On a different note: Isn't Leopard a great product on its own? I am very keen to find out about Adressbook, iCal, iPhoto (labelling, stacking and freely arranging pictures), Safari (labelling and organising your bookmarks), .mac and Mail (no more "Re:'s"?)! Alotof questions about the little things that do shape our daily smiles!

My hardware guess: new LED powered 20" / 24" / 30" cinema displays

[Hobbes]

Originally Posted by jdmlight

I suppose, but Steve said:

So yes, he will focus a lot on Leopard, but I'd be surprised if the iMacs didn't get an update.

Well, I don't know, that could have been a slight slip of the tongue: "massive investment in [the] desktop." As in, Mac OS X, our "desktop" OS for Macs. After all, the question was if Apple was going to continue to invest time and energy in Macs. Obviously, new iMacs help answer that question, but even more so would an innovative and bleeding-edge new version of Apple's desktop OS.

I would not be surprised to have a WWDC that focused entirely on Leopard (along with a Leopard-only iLife and OS X Mini). If you read between the lines, it's clear that there's much more to Leopard that's been publicly revealed.... I suspect the real Leopard (especially the UI) is yet another shadowy secret project Apple has been working on years. It's going to be a *big* deal.

[jamezog]

Originally Posted by Zweben

What would be the target market for a 30" iMac?

People who buy computers with 30" screens are, 99% of the time, not the type of people who want all-in-one computers with limited upgradability.

A 30" all in one computer is kind of stupid anyway. The point of an all in one is that it's compact. It's not going to be compact if it's 30" diagonally.

What about a 30" touchscreen iMac? I think we're too early to hope for one, but that would be a SWEET machine.

[Feynman]

Originally Posted by Zweben

What would be the target market for a 30" iMac?

People who buy computers with 30" screens are, 99% of the time, not the type of people who want all-in-one computers with limited upgradability.

A 30" all in one computer is kind of stupid anyway. The point of an all in one is that it's compact. It's not going to be compact if it's 30" diagonally.

Production assistants? The iMac is a pretty powerful machine, and they don't need a workhorse of a machine that someone in full production would need.

As much as I would love to buy a Mac Pro maxed out, I could never afford it. A 30" iMac priced at 2499 on the other hand would be reasonable. No I am not a production assistant or do anything in production but it would inspire me to get my video projects going

[Marvin]

When I said I wanted Mac news instead of iphone news, I meant good news.

Even if they aren't redesigned at the moment, I can see them bumped to the same specs as the Macbook Pros. I won't be bothering of course because I want a redesign, so the waiting continues.

If there's no iMac update and they are getting rid of the 17" for sure as well as the Mini, there has to be something else to go in there. There HAS to be.

Has someone been sneaking some cubic packages into the WWDC? Ah wait, that would be too obvious, everybody look for round or rectangular boxes.

[Louzer]

Originally Posted by Feynman

Production assistants? The iMac is a pretty powerful machine, and they don't need a workhorse of a machine that someone in full production would need.

As much as I would love to buy a Mac Pro maxed out, I could never afford it. A 30" iMac priced at 2499 on the other hand would be reasonable. No I am not a production assistant or do anything in production but it would inspire me to get my video projects going

I think his point is, if you're going to invest in a ton of money, most of which is going to a 30" screen, you'd probably want to invest it such that that screen doesn't have to be dumped when you dump the computer. One of the reasons I hate the all-in-ones.

[athletics68]

This is fine by me. My girlfriend's parents just bought the 17" iMac. Looks like they'll get a little more time with the current model before they discontinue the 17" completely.

That said, does anyone else think that with the 17" iMac going it is unlikely the Mac Mini is going to be EOL'ed? I mean that would leave Apple with no sub 1000 computers in the line, which to me makes no sense whatsoever.

[OriginalMacRat]

Originally Posted by MacSuperiority

They gotta intorduce something don't they. I cant remember a single keynote where some form of hardware wasn't introed.

There were no Macs intro'ed at MacWorld 2007.

[athletics68]

Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat

There were no Macs intro'ed at MacWorld 2007 nor at WWDC 2006.

Still, Steve did say something about desktops being the key theme at WWDC. Could a Mac Mini replacement or upgrade be in the works we haven't heard about? If not the iMac the Mac Mini is in the biggest need of an upgrade.

[kresh]

Originally Posted by shadow

In his last interview Jobs said that he hopes soon they will be selling more than 90% notebooks. Now we know the paln - update the rest of the line once in 2 years

I wanted a new iMac in June

No doubt about it. This is a self fulfilling prophecy. Build desktops that nobody wants (iMac) or most can't afford (Mac Pro), then you can point and say "Our business is 90%" notebooks.

[superlatic_uk]

your forcing me to get a PC apple

i need a new computer ASAP now and I am not paying apples current prices for outdated hardware!!!!!

update the mac pro at least!!!!

[MacSuperiority]

Originally Posted by JakeTheRock

No, no, no. As long as Steve Jobs is around, Apple will not release a headless midrange. As for the subnotebook, I really doubt that they would do that.
They will likely release an update to the design of the Mac Pro. Remember, the design is even older then the current iMacs.

So what are they going to do then. Keep on with the same damn lineup they have had for the past 3 years. Thats not the way to grow a business. They have to introduce a new computer some time. A lot of people want a headless mac and Apple might finally listen to them.

[emig647]

Yay 4 1 year update cycle!!! WTG Apple

[MacSuperiority]

Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat

There were no Macs intro'ed at MacWorld 2007.

Notice I didnt say macs I said hardware. iPhone was the focus of MWSF 07 so they didnt need to intro new macs. Any mac announcement would have been completely overshadowed by the iphone.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by MacSuperiority

So what are they going to do then. Keep on with the same damn lineup they have had for the past 3 years. Thats not the way to grow a business. They have to introduce a new computer some time. A lot of people want a headless mac and Apple might finally listen to them.

And if they don't, more and more and more people will build hackintoshes. It's getting way too easy to build / and use them with no drawbacks.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by kresh

No doubt about it. This is a self fulfilling prophecy. Build desktops that nobody wants (iMac) or most can't afford (Mac Pro), then you can point and say "Our business is 90%" notebooks.

I'm not too sure I understand that. We sell iMacs like crazy, and lots of people want them. Just because you don't, doesn't make them unpopular. The vast majority of PC-switchers that walk into our store are positively thrilled with the idea of eliminating that big rat's nest of cables behind their desk. Calling the iMac a computer that nobody wants is a bit of a stretch.

Originally Posted by superlatic_uk

your forcing me to get a PC apple

i need a new computer ASAP now and I am not paying apples current prices for outdated hardware!!!!!

update the mac pro at least!!!!

The MacPro is far from out-dated! You can show me hardware that is faster and cheaper?

[LoganT]

Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat

There were no Macs intro'ed at MacWorld 2007.

Mac Pro.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by LoganT

Mac Pro.

Mac Pro was NOT updated at MWSF 07. The OCTO update was a silent update on April 4th 2007.

[superlatic_uk]

Mac pro is in desparate need of new GPU's!!!!

And for a computer that price, needs 2GB Ram as standard!!

As it is a developers conference as such, i do think we could see this happen