Apple's next iMacs rumored with compelling new features - Page 2

You're crazy.

There is no faster CPU available. The only thing Intel offers is more cores and newer designs. Within the thermal envelope of the current iMac and the price of the chips they're currently using there is only one chip that would offer better performance and it's a Xeon.

More RAM? 4GB is more than enough for consumers and 4GB DIMMs are insanely expensive still.

Better video, I sure hope so, but Apple usually waits for a second revision before upgrading them.

Slimmed down. I hope not because it will prevent use of higher performance parts.

Quad core. I hope so, but it won't happen if the case is slimmer.

Don't care about BluRay and cannot see any point in a 5MP iSight.

Apple doesn't like eSATA and it's not needed on an iMac.

I agree that multitouch and USB 3 aren't coming this year.

As I've already stated, the iMac can't get any faster unless Apple re-designs it (makes it bigger) to allow desktop processors or they go with the Xeon L5520.

A speed bump in RAM doesn't mean more RAM. It means faster RAM. It currently uses 1066 MHZ DDR3, They could probably bring that up to 1300 MHz or higher.As for processor I meant that the lower end models would get a faster processor by default. Slimmed down is always a possibility with the advances in cooling and Apple being aesthetic freaks.

How hard would it to add the necessary support at the OS level? Could it be hiding on an internal build that hasn't been shown? Would it require extensive beta testing?

I'm still hoping they are going to sneak it in as a feature announced at the Snow Leopard launch. The support for Blu-ray in Final Cut and the itunes blu-ray mention seem to indicate that Apple has something up their sleeve. Or maybe it is wishful thinking. I built a Windows HTPC partly because I wanted blu-ray and partly because I wanted games, but I hate it. I'd be happy to relegate it to games only.

Well, which one is it?

iMacs probably won't see Quad-Cores until the mobile i5 and i7 processors come out next year seeing how they're based on mobile chipsets:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/15/l...npage_engadget

My guess is we'll see an announcement of a major refresh to notebooks and iMacs announced around the usual time of MacWorld in January to the Intel i5 and i7 architecture.

I'm sure Apple and NVIDIA (or maybe ATI ???) are working on integrating the video chipsets right now. I'm going to take another guess and say we'll see a return to ATI video chipsets after the recent outbursts between Apple and NVIDIA and NVIDIA and Intel.

As long as you're going with a card slot reader don't leave out CF cards.

Dratts!

Aside from the stupid business lingo phrase "up(ping) the value proposition," there is nothing terribly awkward or hard to understand about the first sentence.

I can't believe you've been posting since 2006 and yet you think this lame-ass crap is humorous?

Since this stunt gives you a mental age of twelve *today*, maybe you started posting to the forum at the age of 8 or 9?

But then, being such a precocious child doesn't exactly jibe with still being such a lame little kid after all this time.

Very confusing.

You should just change your handle to "contrarian."

What you want is a combination of the exact opposite of what most consumers want, and the exact products that Apple and most industry followers have determined they will never, ever produce.

Good luck with that.

Edit: Along with criticising them for something (noisy machines), when almost everyone agrees they makes the quietest machines on the planet in general.

....and a 30" screen!
I would upgrade my original intel 20" iMac for that and buy a 2gig TimeCapsule. Coupled with a new iPhone 3GS, the new future Tablet and of course Snow Leopard-I'm good to go! Oh, and new a Prius and then I'm good to go.

Snow Leopard.
To comply with the Bluray DRM, some changes to the OS are necessary. It makes sense to roll these into Snow Leopard.

Let's whip out the wish list here...

1. Better video card for the iMac. And by better, I mean like something from the Nvidia GTS 100 or 200 series. It's time to give the iMac real desktop graphics and not under power it with mobile notebook versions.

2. All LED. And slimmer. Heck, if Samsung can make LED TVs at 1" thick nowadays, Apple should be able to create an iMac that's at most 2.5" inches thick (added thickness due to hardware, which 1.5" is not unrealistic. While I'm on it, get rid of the speakers, who listens to monitor speakers anyway? Would reduce the asymmetric bezel and make it uniform. Oh yea, drop the silver/aluminum.

3. Blu Ray? Un-needed, and takes up space. SD slot? More of a notebook feature, IMO.

4. Use regular, industry standard RAM for once. While I'm on it, use 1333 RAM.

5. Offer up to a 30" display. Yes, a 30" iMac. For added bonus, make the 30" iMac feature an H-IPS display, and of course 2560x1600 resolution.

6. Speaking of displays, time to throw out the old 30" ACD. Let's see something fresher, and please, for the love of God Apple, don't give the 30" ACD a Mini Displayport like you did for your 24" display; a normal DP would suffice along with a DVI-D. Make it an LED H-IPS, with 30-bit color, 100+% NTSC/Adobe range, a .25mm pixel pitch, and 8ms response time. ThAT would be an unbeatable display worth drooling over.

Agreed! The current keyboards are like laptop keyboards and are a joy to use...I could see the newest laptop glass touch pads being incorporated with the current designed BT keyboards....I'd buy one for sure!

The current iMacs are pretty darn quiet! I have never even heard mine at all! Granted I have 3 dogs, 3 cats and 3 kids but even late at night I never heard it in all the time I've had it!

I've been wanting a Mini tower for a long time... don't hold your breath!
Bring on the Quad-core!
Don't need FW

KRR

PS. I don't really care about Blu-Ray. Movies are too expensive and I do backups on an external HD. DVD-+RW is just fine by me!

Of all the useless articles on AI... this one tops (bottoms?) them all...

Would anyone expect 'new' iMacs to have less features than the last? Of course there is going to be new stuff...

My predictions... 16GB of built-in SSD that will serve as the OS drive. A separate HD/SSD will sit along side it for apps/data. It will boot into an optional Internet mode, where Safari will load from a cold start in about 3 seconds.

Blu-ray. Not because it is 'needed', but who can resist a $300 'upgrade' that only costs Apple $20? This is their bread and butter... cheap upgrades marked up big time. I'm not criticizing... it's a fantastic business model that only works because they are their only competitor.

eSata/FW1600/USB3... there will be something faster... because there always is...

30 inch iMac... because if you can sell a 24 inch for $2500... you can sell a 30 inch for $3500... These screens costs peanuts really... it costs more to ship a bigger screen than to build it... so again, big mark-ups for perceived value...

Cores. Quad core will be the mid-level... only the cheapest will be dual core.

http://gizmodo.com/339918/apple-dock...a+slim-macbook

Wouldn't the upcoming tablet be perfect for this?... If Apple really wants a coup with their new iMacs, I think this would blow everyone away.

Hopefully Snow Leopard will be able to take advantage of them well. Dual Core is soon to be dead. High end laptops and PCs are all quad core now. I just won't buy a non-quadcore.

Blu-Ray is possible, the licensing changed in the spring to help open things up. Probably an option for an extra $200-300.

You'd think the camera would be as least as nice as the iPhone ... :>D

But I'll hope for Quad Core & Blu-Ray.

compelling new features--
was this a propaganda article really for windows 7 thinking it will push pc purchase or maybe a mislabeled article for "hope the pc's can catch up"
"compelling" hmmmm
fluff, i don't get it...sorry

hey what about 3-d, --bluray is not relevant anymore with everyone moving to downloads.
wireless syncing with iphone?
a iMac "sleeve" to slip in the new itablet? or mbp?

long live my strawberry imac g3

as mentioned above--"quick boot" with built in ssd, now that would compel me to upgrade my MACBOOK, nice to have in the imac, but make laptops instant on

Not long after Steve suggested that Blu-Ray is a bag of hurt the Blu-Ray association re did their licensing scheme. Not just a minor change either from what I understand, so maybe Steve did some good here as much wider deployment of Blu-Ray would be nice for people that want it.

Me; well lets just say my optical drive hardly gets a work out anymore. I might be more interested in Blu-Ray if I had a TV to drive but I don't and frankly I'm not in a rush to get one. Frankly I'd be surprised if Blu-Ray was indeed the feature being talked about here as movie distribution seems to be moving to SD cards in the future. Frankly SD cards make more sense than a bulky CD sized disc and the room that the drive takes up.

Dave

I doubt blu-ray will be in the mix. Optical media is obsolete. An SD card reader is more likely going into the new iMac and it takes less space, hence a thinner system coupled with the LED monitor.

Maybe the higher end iMac will have a BTO for solid state drives.

You know what would rock? Seemless integration of the up and coming tablet. So, you could simply slide the tablet into the iMac, and presto. You have a home and portable unit too. It would rock.

Somewhere. someone once mocked up a picture of this, although it was with a newer MacBook rather than a tablet.

And yeah, I know... the processor power would stink if it was dependent upon the tablet to run. Le sigh. I can dream, can't I?

To paraphrase Steve "blow" Jobs:

Bluray is a bag of farts.

I would not give two fucks if the new iMacs came with a blu player because, as other have said, optical media for playing content is obsolete.

What I hope the new iMacs will have as a new feature is a DVD player that instantaneously destroys any DVD sold by Microsoft and spits out the fragments.

It seems you have been watching too many Transformers movies.

You are to the English language what the Stuka was to Krakow!

Nah, I avoided that one at all costs. I just like the idea of an iMac as a dock as well as a desktop. Most folks don't need both a MacBook and a iMac. But an iMac and a tablet? That's almost believable...

Yes. Yes, it would — although I don't think that they would call a tablet/docking station combo an "iMac."

Maybe they would, though! Hell if I know.

It's obvious what the two "compelling features" are:

1. A long-requested SD card slot for consumers' digital cameras
2. A matte finish on the display for audio/video professionals, instead of the glossy glass

There is no point in a RAM speed bump unless they are throwing i5's/i7's in there. The RAM speeds are a moot point right now because the FSB is bottlenecking it. I'm waiting for an i5/i7 before I upgrade, that'll be the most noticeable advance over my ~3 yr. old C2D. Throw in a Blu-Ray drive and I would be ecstatic.

I'm hoping not. That is I'm really hoping this machine transitions to a new architecture. The last "upgrade" was a bit of a joke that not many fell for. So an upgrade that can really drive sales is in order.

Thinnest isn't so much an issues as there really aren't any alternatives to iMac in Apples line up. If they had a midrange machine Apple could make iMac as thin and light as they wanted because my dollars would be going towards a machine with midrange hardware. Of course Apple doesn't have this midrange machine in their line up thus the need to press for better iMac designs.

As to case design yeah the current iMac sucks badly. Frankly it is testament to design burying function and is frankly a joke for business users because of that. As you note access sucks and what is really needed are drive bays <-- note the "S". That is easily accessible drive bays for at least 3 "drives". Where drives could be 1.8" SSD for all I care.

Well considering one processor is a special order Apple item, I'm not to sure this is a concern for Apple. The price on Clarksfield is really unknown to us as Apple likely buys in lots of tens or hundreds of thousands. Considering Apples use of laptop processors they might actually be Intels volume leader now.

A lot of people say that a desk top processor is impossible in iMac, but I ten to agree with you it is not impossible. Cooling is a trick though as that heat does have to be removed from one concentrated spot. It is not impossible though as any body that has looked inside a 1U server box can tell you. Given that new heat conduction tech could be thrown at the problem.

I'd go for it in heart beat! Really I would. First the XEON ought to be about 20% faster clock for clock. Second Snow Leopard looks like it is going to be really good on such hardware. Plus the general speed up you will get from SL anyways. Such a machine ought to be very impressive for most desktop users and remain that way for a long time.

Yes this is true but then again he sold people on the G5 even though it sucked up against Intel CPU's of the day. That is for general desktop usage and not canned benchmarks with optimized software. Lets face it Core 2 is a dead technology and is only applicable where the heat can't be tolerated. Core 2 Quad could potentially work well on something like the Mini that is ran at close to the same clock speed but giving users 2 more threads. Even here though some of Intels new tech processor might be a better choice, for the same reason you mentioned above; everything is integrated into the chip thus overall power usage is lower.

It does look like Apple is in a hard place right now with respect to the iMac and a suitable processor but maybe they have something going on with Intel we don't know about. There are persistent rumors that Intel will go straight to 32nm for its new laptop chips for example. Or maybe Apple knocked some heads together at PA Semi and Intel to come up with a custom Intel chip just for Apple. All I know is another round of Core 2 in the iMac is enough to make one gag.


Dave

Would get me to buy.
I would even settle for 28-inch high-res screen.

Err, this article is "a bag of hype."

And the last thing we need is an even slimmer desktop. They're pushing thermal limits enough as it is to excuse them from using good mid range desktop-grade hardware.

This is a great list. I really don't care that the iMac gets any slimmer - it's already really slim. Love the SD Card Slot -- makes importing photos and videos really easy. Backlit keyboard would be great for those days I work non-stop into the dark... (and not solely on porn...).

I think the iSight camera needs to be kicked WAY up into HD, with the same auto-focus that the new iPhones have. Built-in tuner and DVR would also be great -- especially if you could stream to Apple TV and iPhone.

Jeez, am I missing something? 635 words to say that Apple may be planning a couple of future features that will be good. You think????

In what's long been a hotly contested category, this is the most content-free AI article yet.

It will be syncing with the new Tablet.

I am just gonna jump in here without reading any of the posts (aside from the initial one with the original article, natch...) and give my guess at the two 'compelling' features...

1 - One PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot

2 - Blu-Ray

;^p

I agree.
Jobs and team seem infatuated with thinness for its own sake.
My last iMac died because of overheating (they would not cover it in extended warranty as it was a month out... Which I am sure was exacerbated by trying to force it all into a space that did not allow decent cooling (it always felt very hot to me).

For some reason, they think that an improvement to the iMac means just making it thinner (and God help us, probably glossier ).

I would rather have it get better air flow cooling, allowing it to have better processor performance.

Could it possibly be that their design team and whatever marketing research they do always comes back with answer to 'What do you want in new iMac' of: 'Oh, we don't care how hot it is, we don't care if it is no faster than last year, we just want it thin as sliced bread.'



I would LOVE to see a significant improvement in the Mac Mini - without having to wait 2 years between refreshes. Esp as the last Mini revision mostly just brought it up to Apple par on the graphics card front, and did not push the envelope on processor capability. And for that meager improvement kept the same price - did not see any lowering such as the iMac line got. An especial ouch since both the base and high end Mac Mini have the exact same cpu processor...

I hope they offer white and black iMacs. The brushed metal look is so 1990s. I'd rather my iMac match the design of my iPhone, not my refrigerator.

Everyone seems to be forgetting that Blu-ray is for more than just movies. I installed Final Cut Studio 3 the other week - it had about 7 DVDs. I had to keep coming back every hour or so just to change the disc.

Large software installations (particularly games which might have large models, textures, cutscenes, etc) are perfect for Blu-ray, and it is also good for providing cheap data backups.