Production of Apple's next iMac to begin this month for October launch - report

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  • Reply 21 of 84
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


    the next generation iMac will have a retina display, proprietary solid state storage, soldered ram, and no optical drive, and be super thin. also just like the MacBook Pro, they will keep the old ones around for the weak.

     



     


    While a super-thin, slick-looking iMac would certainly look cool, I personally don't see the need to make the thing any thinner than it already is. The heat the thing generates has to go somewhere and cramming things into an even tighter space certainly won't help things if my 2011 Core i7 MBP is any indication.

  • Reply 22 of 84
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    That would be amazing if it did have a Retina display. I would buy one for sure.



     


    I can believe that one model might, just as one notebook did, as a test run. The high end 27 inch is my thought. It will also have the same lower glass to reduce glare as the Retina MBP


     


    What I believe will happen for all models is that they will all be at least 8 GB of ram.  I think it is possible that that 27 inch model will also go no ODD and/or SSD only options. They might even do both. Have a choice of basically the same 27 inch with Retina and the standard SSD+HDD etc as now and a slimmer. Which is actually what I would take if the price is right cause I rarely have any data on my iMac anyway since I carry my scratch between offices on hard drives. 


     


    I don't think that they will totally remove the chin but I could see them rearranging so that the ports are actually on the chin not the back of it (or on the side of the machine). That way they are more accessible. Especially in a slimmer model that would have the ram soldered in so they don't need the tray. I hope they revamp the speakers to make them a bit more powerful, same with the camera and mic. I think it would be awesome if at least for a slimmer model, they made the hinge so that it comes off and there's a VESA adapter left before for wall mounting. 


     


    Something similar could happen with the Cinema Displays which would likely to Retina as well as perhaps larger sizes that have HDMI inputs. The right combo of improved image etc would be that Apple "real" TV that folks keep saying is in the works. 


     


    And yes despite it being Digitimes I can believe that this might be an Oct launch as things like the iMac, Mini and a better tv capable display would be the things that might appeal during holiday shopping

  • Reply 23 of 84
    jollypauljollypaul Posts: 328member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GTR View Post


     


    WasteOfTimes.



     


    It was the bust of times, it was the waste of times... kind of like this thread.

  • Reply 24 of 84
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    rob55 wrote: »
    While a super-thin, slick-looking iMac would certainly look cool, I personally don't see the need to make the thing any thinner than it already is. The heat the thing generates has to go somewhere and cramming things into an even tighter space certainly won't help things if my 2011 Core i7 MBP is any indication.

    I think that's a red herring. Heat dissipation will depend on area. The total surface area of a 1" thick laptop is not that much different than a 3/4" thick laptop.

    Now, if the thicker laptop allows you to add a fan, that would be a different story. In the end, I think it's a fair tradeoff - and Apple apparently does, too. I picked up the rMBP at the Apple Store and it's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to get one.

    brutus009 wrote: »
    Yeah, I feel like you can look at the rMBP screen and think it's no big deal, like, "Huh?  What's the buzz all about?" but... then you go back to your regular pro or MBA and THAT'S when you start seeing what you're missing.

    My MBA hasn't been seeing much use since I got the new iPad, but I grabbed it last night and had this exact experience.  Everything looks crudgy now, but I used to think it was great; I just never really knew any better.

    I think that overstates the case slightly. I picked up a rMBP in the Apple store and the difference in screen appearance was instantly noticeable. Granted, it didn't clobber me over the head, but I could immediately see that it was far nicer than my existing MBP.
  • Reply 25 of 84
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post


    Sorry for the fuzzy memory. I seem to remember somebody talking about the iMac NOT getting the Retina display due to the sheer volume of pixels.   I think the argument was that the Thunderbolt port can't support that much information.  And since iMacs are often used as target displays for laptops...    Or something along that line.   



     


    That's because folks are defining Retina as 'double the highest res possible on the machine' but if you look at Apple's math you only need like 12% more pixels for a 27 inch iMac to be Retina. The 21 inch was around 15-17% as I recall. And the graphics cards etc might be able to handle that

  • Reply 26 of 84
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleGreen View Post


    They need to do 13" MBP Retina before doing the retina iMac.



     


    Why? Because you want a Retina laptop and are too cheap to buy the current one. 


     


    The folks that buy a 13 inch notebook aren't likely to do anything that actually needs that kind of power and thus they won't speed for that kind of power. Same with the 21 inch iMac users. 

  • Reply 27 of 84
    davidnessdavidness Posts: 34member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Shaun, UK View Post


    I'd rather see a redesigned iMac with an anti-glare screen.



     


    + 1. Glossy screen is a deal breaker for me.

  • Reply 28 of 84
    charlitunacharlituna Posts: 7,217member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brutus009 View Post


     


    I know it's a lot of pixels, but the iMac has the space for a discrete GPU or two.



     


    Especially if they go slimmer and yank out the ODD and solder everything to the board. 


     


    And I can see them doing this with a high end 27 inch PRO iMac. Many of us are already using iMacs connected to our studio render farm rather than Pro Towers (although one of our offices is running that farm off a handful of Pros). We'd be thrilled with a sharp screen, reduced glare model with more RAM, double GPU etc. We never burn anything off our own machines so yanking that ODD is not an issue for us. On the very very rare occasion we do need to burn something we could hook a stand alone to it. Our only wish on the ODD drive front is for someone to come out with a thunderbolt Blu-ray burner since we typically burn data disks anyway (when we burn) and a zippy transfer to a high speed high capacity drive would be nice. 

  • Reply 29 of 84
    jbach67jbach67 Posts: 27member


    Still don't understand the infatuation with uber thinness for an AIO desktop that is already reasonably thin - unless they change the stand design, the base footprint limits how far you can move it back to the wall.   Thinner laptops make a lot of sense, but why dump drives and increase cooling problems and force proprietary and difficult to upgrade RAM/SSDs to make a very thin desktop. What do you gain?  Not a functional move.   


     


    Also doubt the infatuation with a big screen retinal display will translate into an increase of sales if the SSD plus retina pushes iMacs into $3000 plus territory.   But in the next couple years prices will come down.   They need to keep a more affordable iMac around till then.   I was able to compare the retina MBP with the current 27 inch iMac at the apple store.  The difference didn't exactly knock my socks off.   Not on the standard apple store graphics running on both, and definitely not in a couple of websites, which aren't optimized, so photos looked better on the iMac.  You have to blow up the text to see any difference.

  • Reply 30 of 84
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post





    I think that's a red herring. Heat dissipation will depend on area. The total surface area of a 1" thick laptop is not that much different than a 3/4" thick laptop.

    Now, if the thicker laptop allows you to add a fan, that would be a different story. In the end, I think it's a fair tradeoff - and Apple apparently does, too. I picked up the rMBP at the Apple Store and it's absolutely amazing. I can't wait to get one.

    I think that overstates the case slightly. I picked up a rMBP in the Apple store and the difference in screen appearance was instantly noticeable. Granted, it didn't clobber me over the head, but I could immediately see that it was far nicer than my existing MBP.


     


    I picked up a fully loaded 27" iMac last June and the thing got crazy hot when crunching video. All I was saying is making an iMac "super-thin" would not help the situation. Make a laptop super-thin I understand, but does the iMac really need to be any thinner? I was not, however, making any commentary about the merits of a retina display on a MBP/MBA/iMAC or otherwise (which I'm all for BTW).

  • Reply 31 of 84
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jbach67 View Post


    Still don't understand the infatuation with uber thinness for an AIO desktop that is already reasonably thin - unless they change the stand design, the base footprint limits how far you can move it back to the wall.   Thinner laptops make a lot of sense, but why dump drives and increase cooling problems and force proprietary and difficult to upgrade RAM/SSDs to make a very thin desktop. What do you gain?  Not a functional move.   



     


    Agree completely. That's the point I was trying to make in my earlier post.

  • Reply 32 of 84
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Sasparilla View Post


     


     I'm surprised that it won't roll out till October though...I was really expecting the refresh with Mountain Lion launch this month.



    I'm surprised about the October release date as well. Since the first aluminum iMacs (2007) will be deprecated due to no 64 bit kernel there is going to be some additional demand for new iMacs as soon as ML is released.

  • Reply 33 of 84
    brutus009brutus009 Posts: 356member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jbach67 View Post


    Still don't understand the infatuation with uber thinness for an AIO desktop that is already reasonably thin - unless they change the stand design, the base footprint limits how far you can move it back to the wall.   Thinner laptops make a lot of sense, but why dump drives and increase cooling problems and force proprietary and difficult to upgrade RAM/SSDs to make a very thin desktop. What do you gain?  Not a functional move.   



    But... how else can they reduce the foot print without reducing the mass of the iMac?


     


    Hehe... I'm now imagining a couple through holes on the pedestal and provided hardware so you can bolt your iMac's directly to your desk.  Footprint, BEGONE!

  • Reply 34 of 84
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by brutus009 View Post


    But... how else can they reduce the foot print without reducing the mass of the iMac?


     


    Hehe... I'm now imagining a couple through holes on the pedestal and provided hardware so you can bolt your iMac's directly to your desk.  Footprint, BEGONE!



    Ha ha! My Mac Pro and my 30" Cinema are both bolted to my desk. When I first got it I was a bit paranoid about someone walking off with my $10K machine so I designed some plastic covered metal brackets that bolt from under the desk as to not require the drilling of any holes in the the equipment. There are housekeeping crews and sometimes maintenance workers coming through the office on the weekends or after hours so I didn't want to take any chances.

  • Reply 35 of 84
    applegreenapplegreen Posts: 421member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


     


    Why? Because you want a Retina laptop and are too cheap to buy the current one. 


     


    The folks that buy a 13 inch notebook aren't likely to do anything that actually needs that kind of power and thus they won't speed for that kind of power. Same with the 21 inch iMac users. 



    Just received my 15" high-end Retina last week.  So, "who you callin' too cheap, suckah'?"


     


    Apple "needs" to do 13" Retina because the 13" low-end Pro is their most popular (as in highest volume seller) notebook.  When they introduce the 13" Retina, demand will go through the roof.  By comparison, they don't (and will not) sell that many iMacs.  Apple likes to make high volume selling products.


     


    "The folks that buy a 13 inch notebook" will buy the 13" Retina for the gorgeous display, not for the "power" (not sure what you meant by that).


     


    By the way, rudeness is unbecoming.  Just tells everyone that you are a classless boor.  Choose words carefully when making your points.  It is certainly possible to do that.

  • Reply 36 of 84
    slang4artslang4art Posts: 376member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rob55 View Post


     


    While a super-thin, slick-looking iMac would certainly look cool, I personally don't see the need to make the thing any thinner than it already is. The heat the thing generates has to go somewhere and cramming things into an even tighter space certainly won't help things if my 2011 Core i7 MBP is any indication.



    I guess this is as good a place as any for technology to plateau. Does everyone else agree to give up on making new things?

  • Reply 37 of 84
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,514moderator
    Various rumors throughout 2012 have suggested the next iMacs <a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/05/15/apples_next_imacs_also_rumored_to_receive_retina_display_upgrade.html">will feature</a> high-resolution Retina displays. However, one <a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/06/22/rumor_apples_2012_imac_refresh_wont_have_retina_display.html">recent report</a> suggested Apple's 2012 iMac refresh won't feature a Retina display, and that the new screen will instead debut in 2013 when costs are more reasonable.

    High-res iMacs implies high-res Cinema displays too, which would require Displayport 1.2 to run and that's coming in 2013 with Redwood Ridge and only pass-through (no chaining). Apple could get an exclusive on the new Thunderbolt controller of course.

    There are high-res panels coming:

    http://www.digitalversus.com/tv-television/sharp-aquos-lc-60le636e-p12284/sharp-mass-producing-32-quad-hd-4k-lcd-panel-n24109.html

    but some are very expensive:

    http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/05/viewsonic-vp3280-led-4k-monitor-hands-on/

    "ViewSonic reps say the VP3280, which will be marketed towards film studios, broadcasters, photographers and any other professionals in need of a compact 4K display, could ship by the end of the year, costing 'about the price of a car'."

    They don't say what kind of car, it could be some beat-up old used $500 motor but I suspect they mean a few thousand dollars.

    I think Apple is just waiting until Mountain Lion is ready as the desktop release cycle falls into this schedule. Mountain Lion is rumored to arrive July 19th:

    http://www.t-gaap.com/2012/6/18/mountain-lion-release-date-july-19-2012

    The vacation blackout is July 22nd-29th so new OS, iMac and Mini and Digitimes wrong again. The new iPhone and iOS 6 will arrive in the Fall so I don't see why they'd release desktops at the same time.
  • Reply 38 of 84
    rob55rob55 Posts: 1,291member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Slang4Art View Post


    I guess this is as good a place as any for technology to plateau. Does everyone else agree to give up on making new things?



     


    Wow, really? Way to twist my words around. Here let me spell it out for you. Don't make it super-thin just for the sake of making it super-thin, especially if it creates additional thermal problems. Judging from my experience with the current iMac and MBP, both of which get pretty hot when pushed (even by something like Aperture), they need to work on heat dissipation a bit more before trying to make the thing super-thin. I'm all for the advancement of technology and making new things, but my comments about not making the iMac super-thin in no way suggested that tech should stagnate or plateau. Read the 1st paragraph of post #29 for another explanation.

  • Reply 39 of 84
    amtiamti Posts: 19member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by GTR View Post


     


    The day they release a Retina MBA is the day my bank account trembles with fear...



     


    Your bank account can probably rest easy for a while. Current form MBAs are not going to have retina screens until screens get a lot more energy efficient, and/or battery capacity (energy density) improves a lot. 


     


    But nothing stopping MBAs being upgraded now to an IPS screen (at the same resolution, 1440 x 900). Hint, hint, Apple. :)

  • Reply 40 of 84
    jonshfjonshf Posts: 90member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


     


    That's because folks are defining Retina as 'double the highest res possible on the machine' but if you look at Apple's math you only need like 12% more pixels for a 27 inch iMac to be Retina. The 21 inch was around 15-17% as I recall. And the graphics cards etc might be able to handle that



    This statement doesn't fit with my reasoning. Here are some so called retina resolutions:


     


    iPhone 4 - 326 pixels/inch


    New iPad - 264 pixels/inch


    rMBP - 220 pixels/inch


     


    The current iMac 27" has a native resolution of 109 pixels/inch. My eyesight isn't very good anymore but I can easily see the pixel matrix. Doubling it would reach 218 which is close to the retina MBP. Given that the viewing distance is normally a little more with the iMac, I think the stamp of retina would require something close to 200 pixels/inch. That's an 83% increase, resulting in a 336% increase in total pixels that the graphics card and thunderbolt connection would have to pump.


     


    Personally, I hope they double the pixels and increase the screen size to 30 inches! 5120 x 2880 pixels at a resolution of 196 px/inch.


     


    I think the whole move to Thunderbolt is part of the retina plan at Apple which means they've been scheming this several years in advance. Steve Jobs had his finger in this.

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