There were so many rumors leading up to iPhone 4, iPad 2, and the new Macbook Pros - why aren't we hearing anything about new iMacs in new rumors this close to the end of an average replacement cycle?
If you'd search, you'd see there are plenty of threads that talk about the future of Mac updates.
Sandy Bridge chips for the iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air already exist, so they'll be updated when they're updated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil
Because it's the iMac. Nothing about it is going to change. It gets a new CPU, GPU, larger hard drive, and a Thunderbolt port.
No one's clamoring for a redesign or dropping the ODD. It's a desktop.
You don't think they'll redesign the iMac after so many years with the same form? I've had iMacs the last two desktops I've had. I'm really hoping for some brilliance in this line again soon. My hope is misplaced?
You don't think they'll redesign the iMac after so many years with the same form? I've had iMacs the last two desktops I've had. I'm really hoping for some brilliance in this line again soon. My hope is misplaced?
Nope. They've found something that works perfectly. They've already redesigned it since the first "where's the computer" idea with the iMac G5, and if they had planned to change it at all, they'd've done it then.
We've had four designs since then. Be happy.
(Original white case, thinner Intel white case, aluminum border case, one piece aluminum case)
I'd like to see the computer move INTO the leg and have the display just be obscenely thin, but that won't happen for a decade or so.
The longest update was 11 months and that can take us up to WWDC in June. If they did that, I'd expect touch features to coincide with Lion as it would have to ship with Lion.
If they update in the next month, I'd expect just the usual spec bump.
The iPad rollout comes next though so between March 11th until the end of the month, it will all be about iPads. April would be a good time for the Mini and iMac refresh, assuming a standard upgrade.
The nothing until WWDC and the Mac Pro could be next with the 8-cores per CPU upgrade. Then the Macbook Air update to Ivy Bridge dropping the white Macbook around back to school time.
Personally, I think the current form factor is great and don't expect any radical redesigns anytime soon. Instead, I see small tweaks and slight changes going forward. Like others have mentioned, the next obvious update will include the sandy bridge processors and thunderbolt ports.
I expect some touch screen functions to make it to the iMac eventually, but not for awhile. Personally, I don't think it's practical to have touch screens on desktops, but that's just me.
I think in January of 2012 the macbook pros will get a radical redesign however. I think that is when Apple makes a bold move they already signaled with the MacBook air, and get rid of the optical drive....thus making the MacBook pros lighter and to have more room for additional SSDs and other components while making them even slimmer. When this happens, the 13" MacBook pros will FINALLY get a dedicated graphics chip!
I think the iMacs will hold onto their optical drives longer, but eventually will follow the macbook pros lead, just as the MacBook pros will follow the MacBook airs lead.
Again, I don't think the iMac will have a radical redesign for awhile. I really think Apple has found the perfect form factor evolution wise, and there is really no need to abandon it just yet.
But little changes will happen. Rumor has it the next update might include an additional size between the 21.5" and the 27" iMacs....and we will see a 24" version. Don't know if it will replace the 21.5" or not, but it might satisfy that sweet spot for people who think the 27 too big and the 21.5 too small.
Also since Apple has managed to squeeze an i5 and even an i7 into the MacBook pro 13"....it's a safe bet that the 21.5" iMac will finally see them as well in the next update.
Apple also introduced an additional SSD drive into the 27" iMac last update, and that option should find it's way into the smaller iMac as well.
In fact, there was a strong rumor that a small SSD chip on the cpu would be included standard in all the MacBook pros for storing the operating system and the users main programs for faster run and start up times. This feature didn't happen. Perhaps it will happen with the next iMac update.
I am sure the iMac rumors will pick up steam the closer we get to the summer. I hear updates can come anywhere between sometime in April to July. Personally I think May is a happy medium. But I'm just guessing. :-)
I wouldn't expect anything flashy. But the updates should be sweet. i5 and i7s across the board, Sandy Bridge, thunderbolt, more SSD options across the line, possible 24" model etc.
Not too shabby.
Plus with the release of OSX Lion this summer...lots of nice software changes too. More ios like features that blend the best of the new crop of mobile functions with that of the desktop. And rumor has it, Lion will finally enable users to control the size of type and tool bars INDEPENDANTLY.
There were so many rumors leading up to iPhone 4, iPad 2, and the new Macbook Pros - why aren't we hearing anything about new iMacs in new rumors this close to the end of an average replacement cycle?
First; the chip that will go into the iMac is some variant of Sandy Bridge with an extremely remote possibility of an AMD chip. There is nothing to get excited about here.
Second; Thunderbolt has been release! So again no surprise here.
Third; unless Lion surprises us with resolution independence there likely won't be a dramatic change in screen resolution.
Fourth; Apple screwed up with respect to SSD in the Mac Books so I truly doubt we will see SSD's built into the iMacs.
In the end there is very little to get excited about. Performance should go way up if SB is implemented aggressively, but that isn't a surprise either.
You don't think they'll redesign the iMac after so many years with the same form? I've had iMacs the last two desktops I've had. I'm really hoping for some brilliance in this line again soon. My hope is misplaced?
Brilliance? Come on it is a desktop computer built around a flat panel, you can't expect much from the line. Frankly Apple now has more design latitude in the Mini than the iMac. By that I mean by making the iMac a flat panel they effectively have boxed themselves into a device with limited options as to size and design. Mainly because the expectation from the consumer is for thinner and thinner machines.
In any event back to this brilliance you are looking for, just what do you expect? Seriously the iMac isn't a platform of surprises. We already know what SB and the other technologies are and we know Apple is boxed in to a flat panel solution.
By the way one of the reasons many of us support the idea of a XMac is to have a platform upon which Apple can address the shortcomings of the iMac design. IMac won't go away but there is significant interest in a machine that can offer up more flexibility than is seen in the iMac. Such a machine would effectively free Apple from the constraints of the iMac form factor.
Built-in, no, but TRIM support for the iMac SSD option, perhaps?
I'm not a big fan of TRIM as it seems to push onto the OS, functionality that should be built into the drive. Instead the hope was for Blade SSD's in the new Mac Book Pros. The idea being that multiple slots could have been easily supported leading to a machine with the potential to have a significant amount of internal storage.
I'm still of the mind set that most user will want laptops with more and more built in storage now and in the future. There are to many issues with the "cloud" to make it a rational approach in every case. Since SSD are the wave of the future multiple slots would provide a way for todays user to deal with the capacity constraints.
The new MBP are really nice upgrades to the previous models, it is just that I was hoping for a different approach.
I'm not a big fan of TRIM as it seems to push onto the OS, functionality that should be built into the drive. Instead the hope was for Blade SSD's in the new Mac Book Pros. The idea being that multiple slots could have been easily supported leading to a machine with the potential to have a significant amount of internal storage.
I'm still of the mind set that most user will want laptops with more and more built in storage now and in the future. There are to many issues with the "cloud" to make it a rational approach in every case. Since SSD are the wave of the future multiple slots would provide a way for todays user to deal with the capacity constraints.
The new MBP are really nice upgrades to the previous models, it is just that I was hoping for a different approach.
I'll never get a laptop - I have no need for a laptop - what with the iPhone and iPad to bridge the gap. I want as much screen real-estate as I can get - and although the iMac uses a lot of laptop parts, it's still cheaper all-around for more power to stick with the iMac than to get a laptop.
I agree too I don't see a major redesign of the iMac just yet possibly a speed bump with sandy bridge and thunderbolt, there are several major changes in technologies that are on the horizon that I believe will dictate the next generation development of the iMac, First and foremost cloud computing is coming this means that home computers are going to become thin client terminals that plug into the networks and run small apps,
Naturally form follows function so a new mobile standard quad processor hike possibly Ivy bridge and AMD GPU is taken in a new design,
I would like to see the demise of the mechanical drives replaced by four fast PCI based thunderbolt interfaced Blade SSD cards with upto a 1Gbt/sec link speed, hanging on to Sata for the sake of maintaining disc drives is holding back the largest step forward in home computers and we won't see that leap until we let DVDs go and embrace cloud computing services.
Macpro also needs to evolve to serve the clouds and that will be the next big thing in convergent home entertainment devices coupled with online home rentals surely heralds the demise of the Disc as a medium.
Also consider SDXC data cards can store UPTO 64Gbt and together with micro SD and adaptors are used in most video and stills cameras right upto pro studio HDcams and are fast enough to hold up to 8hrs of 1080p HD video and photography,
I'm not a big fan of TRIM as it seems to push onto the OS, functionality that should be built into the drive. Instead the hope was for Blade SSD's in the new Mac Book Pros. The idea being that multiple slots could have been easily supported leading to a machine with the potential to have a significant amount of internal storage.
I'm still of the mind set that most user will want laptops with more and more built in storage now and in the future. There are to many issues with the "cloud" to make it a rational approach in every case. Since SSD are the wave of the future multiple slots would provide a way for todays user to deal with the capacity constraints.
The new MBP are really nice upgrades to the previous models, it is just that I was hoping for a different approach.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AllanMc
I agree too I don't see a major redesign of the iMac just yet possibly a speed bump with sandy bridge and thunderbolt, there are several major changes in technologies that are on the horizon that I believe will dictate the next generation development of the iMac, First and foremost cloud computing is coming this means that home computers are going to become thin client terminals that plug into the networks and run small apps,
Naturally form follows function so a new mobile standard quad processor hike possibly Ivy bridge and AMD GPU is taken in a new design,
I would like to see the demise of the mechanical drives replaced by four fast PCI based thunderbolt interfaced Blade SSD cards with upto a 1Gbt/sec link speed, hanging on to Sata for the sake of maintaining disc drives is holding back the largest step forward in home computers and we won't see that leap until we let DVDs go and embrace cloud computing services.
Macpro also needs to evolve to serve the clouds and that will be the next big thing in convergent home entertainment devices coupled with online home rentals surely heralds the demise of the Disc as a medium.
Also consider SDXC data cards can store UPTO 64Gbt and together with micro SD and adaptors are used in most video and stills cameras right upto pro studio HDcams and are fast enough to hold up to 8hrs of 1080p HD video and photography,
Yeah....I'm not too interested in the cloud right now - I'd rather keep local storage local. The cloud is great for backups, but it's not directly controlled by me and I don't much like that.
One of the changes I would like to see done to the iMac is going back partially to an older design. The design I'd like to go back to is the neck and the mounting that they used on the basketball Mac. The reason I would like to see this is that allow the monitor to be moved in any direction and at any angle and virtually any height the only thing that was missing was the rotation of the screen which with larger screens I don't believe is really necessary. The advantage of this type of mounting for the screen is basically ergonomic.
The major problem is that the current screen design for both monitors and the iMac do not have enough weight in their base to be able to counterbalance the weight of the screen or the computer.
One of the changes I would like to see done to the iMac is going back partially to an older design. The design I'd like to go back to is the neck and the mounting that they used on the basketball Mac. The reason I would like to see this is that allow the monitor to be moved in any direction and at any angle and virtually any height the only thing that was missing was the rotation of the screen which with larger screens I don't believe is really necessary. The advantage of this type of mounting for the screen is basically ergonomic.
The major problem is that the current screen design for both monitors and the iMac do not have enough weight in their base to be able to counterbalance the weight of the screen or the computer.
Naaaaaah. Personally I think the screen mobility of the current iMacs is fine. Tilt it up or down on the hinge is enough. If you need to angle the screen, I find turning the lead base on top of the desk easy to do.
And as you point out, the screens are too heavy. The old lampshade or basketball style iMac as you call it had the computer in the base. I think this is a step backwards. To cram all those components in a small base will only limit the iMac. Plus the whole point of evolving to a floating screen design would be lost.
I hope they don't radically change the design. For me, the current design is a winner. I'd just like to see them concentrate on the innards and software now. Phasing out optical drives. Making SSDs standard. Thunderbolt. Resolution independence. So much room to evovle. There's no need to change the design. IMHO. :-)
I hope they don't radically change the design. For me, the current design is a winner. I'd just like to see them concentrate on the innards and software now. Phasing out optical drives. Making SSDs standard. Thunderbolt. Resolution independence. So much room to evovle. There's no need to change the design. IMHO. :-)
The big feature that would be good is touch input, which would mean pulling it down almost flat but the IO ports will prevent that. One option might be to use a Thunderbolt connection mixed with the power cable but even this means no portrait mode.
Displays will only get lighter and components more power efficient so I can see a return to the lamp-style one day. I actually think it was Apple's most iconic computer design.
Comments
Sandy Bridge chips for the iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air already exist, so they'll be updated when they're updated.
If you'd search, you'd see there are plenty of threads that talk about the future of Mac updates.
Sandy Bridge chips for the iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air already exist, so they'll be updated when they're updated.
I did search. I don't see the excitement building the way it has for the other products.
I did search. I don't see the excitement building the way it has for the other products.
Because it's the iMac. Nothing about it is going to change. It gets a new CPU, GPU, larger hard drive, and a Thunderbolt port.
No one's clamoring for a redesign or dropping the ODD. It's a desktop.
If you'd search, you'd see there are plenty of threads that talk about the future of Mac updates.
Sandy Bridge chips for the iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air already exist, so they'll be updated when they're updated.
Because it's the iMac. Nothing about it is going to change. It gets a new CPU, GPU, larger hard drive, and a Thunderbolt port.
No one's clamoring for a redesign or dropping the ODD. It's a desktop.
You don't think they'll redesign the iMac after so many years with the same form? I've had iMacs the last two desktops I've had. I'm really hoping for some brilliance in this line again soon. My hope is misplaced?
You don't think they'll redesign the iMac after so many years with the same form? I've had iMacs the last two desktops I've had. I'm really hoping for some brilliance in this line again soon. My hope is misplaced?
Nope. They've found something that works perfectly. They've already redesigned it since the first "where's the computer" idea with the iMac G5, and if they had planned to change it at all, they'd've done it then.
We've had four designs since then. Be happy.
(Original white case, thinner Intel white case, aluminum border case, one piece aluminum case)
I'd like to see the computer move INTO the leg and have the display just be obscenely thin, but that won't happen for a decade or so.
I did search. I don't see the excitement building the way it has for the other products.
Because the replacement has not yet been rumored/announced. Once that is in the air, you'll see momentum building.
If they update in the next month, I'd expect just the usual spec bump.
The iPad rollout comes next though so between March 11th until the end of the month, it will all be about iPads. April would be a good time for the Mini and iMac refresh, assuming a standard upgrade.
The nothing until WWDC and the Mac Pro could be next with the 8-cores per CPU upgrade. Then the Macbook Air update to Ivy Bridge dropping the white Macbook around back to school time.
I expect some touch screen functions to make it to the iMac eventually, but not for awhile. Personally, I don't think it's practical to have touch screens on desktops, but that's just me.
I think in January of 2012 the macbook pros will get a radical redesign however. I think that is when Apple makes a bold move they already signaled with the MacBook air, and get rid of the optical drive....thus making the MacBook pros lighter and to have more room for additional SSDs and other components while making them even slimmer. When this happens, the 13" MacBook pros will FINALLY get a dedicated graphics chip!
I think the iMacs will hold onto their optical drives longer, but eventually will follow the macbook pros lead, just as the MacBook pros will follow the MacBook airs lead.
Again, I don't think the iMac will have a radical redesign for awhile. I really think Apple has found the perfect form factor evolution wise, and there is really no need to abandon it just yet.
But little changes will happen. Rumor has it the next update might include an additional size between the 21.5" and the 27" iMacs....and we will see a 24" version. Don't know if it will replace the 21.5" or not, but it might satisfy that sweet spot for people who think the 27 too big and the 21.5 too small.
Also since Apple has managed to squeeze an i5 and even an i7 into the MacBook pro 13"....it's a safe bet that the 21.5" iMac will finally see them as well in the next update.
Apple also introduced an additional SSD drive into the 27" iMac last update, and that option should find it's way into the smaller iMac as well.
In fact, there was a strong rumor that a small SSD chip on the cpu would be included standard in all the MacBook pros for storing the operating system and the users main programs for faster run and start up times. This feature didn't happen. Perhaps it will happen with the next iMac update.
I am sure the iMac rumors will pick up steam the closer we get to the summer. I hear updates can come anywhere between sometime in April to July. Personally I think May is a happy medium. But I'm just guessing. :-)
I wouldn't expect anything flashy. But the updates should be sweet. i5 and i7s across the board, Sandy Bridge, thunderbolt, more SSD options across the line, possible 24" model etc.
Not too shabby.
Plus with the release of OSX Lion this summer...lots of nice software changes too. More ios like features that blend the best of the new crop of mobile functions with that of the desktop. And rumor has it, Lion will finally enable users to control the size of type and tool bars INDEPENDANTLY.
Can't wait for the next update. :-)
There were so many rumors leading up to iPhone 4, iPad 2, and the new Macbook Pros - why aren't we hearing anything about new iMacs in new rumors this close to the end of an average replacement cycle?
First; the chip that will go into the iMac is some variant of Sandy Bridge with an extremely remote possibility of an AMD chip. There is nothing to get excited about here.
Second; Thunderbolt has been release! So again no surprise here.
Third; unless Lion surprises us with resolution independence there likely won't be a dramatic change in screen resolution.
Fourth; Apple screwed up with respect to SSD in the Mac Books so I truly doubt we will see SSD's built into the iMacs.
In the end there is very little to get excited about. Performance should go way up if SB is implemented aggressively, but that isn't a surprise either.
Fourth; Apple screwed up with respect to SSD in the Mac Books so I truly doubt we will see SSD's built into the iMacs.
Built-in, no, but TRIM support for the iMac SSD option, perhaps?
You don't think they'll redesign the iMac after so many years with the same form? I've had iMacs the last two desktops I've had. I'm really hoping for some brilliance in this line again soon. My hope is misplaced?
Brilliance? Come on it is a desktop computer built around a flat panel, you can't expect much from the line. Frankly Apple now has more design latitude in the Mini than the iMac. By that I mean by making the iMac a flat panel they effectively have boxed themselves into a device with limited options as to size and design. Mainly because the expectation from the consumer is for thinner and thinner machines.
In any event back to this brilliance you are looking for, just what do you expect? Seriously the iMac isn't a platform of surprises. We already know what SB and the other technologies are and we know Apple is boxed in to a flat panel solution.
By the way one of the reasons many of us support the idea of a XMac is to have a platform upon which Apple can address the shortcomings of the iMac design. IMac won't go away but there is significant interest in a machine that can offer up more flexibility than is seen in the iMac. Such a machine would effectively free Apple from the constraints of the iMac form factor.
Built-in, no, but TRIM support for the iMac SSD option, perhaps?
I'm not a big fan of TRIM as it seems to push onto the OS, functionality that should be built into the drive. Instead the hope was for Blade SSD's in the new Mac Book Pros. The idea being that multiple slots could have been easily supported leading to a machine with the potential to have a significant amount of internal storage.
I'm still of the mind set that most user will want laptops with more and more built in storage now and in the future. There are to many issues with the "cloud" to make it a rational approach in every case. Since SSD are the wave of the future multiple slots would provide a way for todays user to deal with the capacity constraints.
The new MBP are really nice upgrades to the previous models, it is just that I was hoping for a different approach.
I'm not a big fan of TRIM as it seems to push onto the OS, functionality that should be built into the drive. Instead the hope was for Blade SSD's in the new Mac Book Pros. The idea being that multiple slots could have been easily supported leading to a machine with the potential to have a significant amount of internal storage.
I'm still of the mind set that most user will want laptops with more and more built in storage now and in the future. There are to many issues with the "cloud" to make it a rational approach in every case. Since SSD are the wave of the future multiple slots would provide a way for todays user to deal with the capacity constraints.
The new MBP are really nice upgrades to the previous models, it is just that I was hoping for a different approach.
I'll never get a laptop - I have no need for a laptop - what with the iPhone and iPad to bridge the gap. I want as much screen real-estate as I can get - and although the iMac uses a lot of laptop parts, it's still cheaper all-around for more power to stick with the iMac than to get a laptop.
Naturally form follows function so a new mobile standard quad processor hike possibly Ivy bridge and AMD GPU is taken in a new design,
I would like to see the demise of the mechanical drives replaced by four fast PCI based thunderbolt interfaced Blade SSD cards with upto a 1Gbt/sec link speed, hanging on to Sata for the sake of maintaining disc drives is holding back the largest step forward in home computers and we won't see that leap until we let DVDs go and embrace cloud computing services.
Macpro also needs to evolve to serve the clouds and that will be the next big thing in convergent home entertainment devices coupled with online home rentals surely heralds the demise of the Disc as a medium.
Also consider SDXC data cards can store UPTO 64Gbt and together with micro SD and adaptors are used in most video and stills cameras right upto pro studio HDcams and are fast enough to hold up to 8hrs of 1080p HD video and photography,
I'm not a big fan of TRIM as it seems to push onto the OS, functionality that should be built into the drive. Instead the hope was for Blade SSD's in the new Mac Book Pros. The idea being that multiple slots could have been easily supported leading to a machine with the potential to have a significant amount of internal storage.
I'm still of the mind set that most user will want laptops with more and more built in storage now and in the future. There are to many issues with the "cloud" to make it a rational approach in every case. Since SSD are the wave of the future multiple slots would provide a way for todays user to deal with the capacity constraints.
The new MBP are really nice upgrades to the previous models, it is just that I was hoping for a different approach.
I agree too I don't see a major redesign of the iMac just yet possibly a speed bump with sandy bridge and thunderbolt, there are several major changes in technologies that are on the horizon that I believe will dictate the next generation development of the iMac, First and foremost cloud computing is coming this means that home computers are going to become thin client terminals that plug into the networks and run small apps,
Naturally form follows function so a new mobile standard quad processor hike possibly Ivy bridge and AMD GPU is taken in a new design,
I would like to see the demise of the mechanical drives replaced by four fast PCI based thunderbolt interfaced Blade SSD cards with upto a 1Gbt/sec link speed, hanging on to Sata for the sake of maintaining disc drives is holding back the largest step forward in home computers and we won't see that leap until we let DVDs go and embrace cloud computing services.
Macpro also needs to evolve to serve the clouds and that will be the next big thing in convergent home entertainment devices coupled with online home rentals surely heralds the demise of the Disc as a medium.
Also consider SDXC data cards can store UPTO 64Gbt and together with micro SD and adaptors are used in most video and stills cameras right upto pro studio HDcams and are fast enough to hold up to 8hrs of 1080p HD video and photography,
Yeah....I'm not too interested in the cloud right now - I'd rather keep local storage local. The cloud is great for backups, but it's not directly controlled by me and I don't much like that.
The major problem is that the current screen design for both monitors and the iMac do not have enough weight in their base to be able to counterbalance the weight of the screen or the computer.
One of the changes I would like to see done to the iMac is going back partially to an older design. The design I'd like to go back to is the neck and the mounting that they used on the basketball Mac. The reason I would like to see this is that allow the monitor to be moved in any direction and at any angle and virtually any height the only thing that was missing was the rotation of the screen which with larger screens I don't believe is really necessary. The advantage of this type of mounting for the screen is basically ergonomic.
The major problem is that the current screen design for both monitors and the iMac do not have enough weight in their base to be able to counterbalance the weight of the screen or the computer.
Naaaaaah. Personally I think the screen mobility of the current iMacs is fine. Tilt it up or down on the hinge is enough. If you need to angle the screen, I find turning the lead base on top of the desk easy to do.
And as you point out, the screens are too heavy. The old lampshade or basketball style iMac as you call it had the computer in the base. I think this is a step backwards. To cram all those components in a small base will only limit the iMac. Plus the whole point of evolving to a floating screen design would be lost.
I hope they don't radically change the design. For me, the current design is a winner. I'd just like to see them concentrate on the innards and software now. Phasing out optical drives. Making SSDs standard. Thunderbolt. Resolution independence. So much room to evovle. There's no need to change the design. IMHO. :-)
I hope they don't radically change the design. For me, the current design is a winner. I'd just like to see them concentrate on the innards and software now. Phasing out optical drives. Making SSDs standard. Thunderbolt. Resolution independence. So much room to evovle. There's no need to change the design. IMHO. :-)
The big feature that would be good is touch input, which would mean pulling it down almost flat but the IO ports will prevent that. One option might be to use a Thunderbolt connection mixed with the power cable but even this means no portrait mode.
Displays will only get lighter and components more power efficient so I can see a return to the lamp-style one day. I actually think it was Apple's most iconic computer design.
If you'd search, you'd see there are plenty of threads that talk about the future of Mac updates.
Sandy Bridge chips for the iMac, Mac Mini, and MacBook Air already exist, so they'll be updated when they're updated.
Oh please. You know what he means.
Oh please. You know what he means.
And I addressed his concerns. I fail to see the problem.