After an over 12-year run, Apple has discontinued the 27-inch iMac
After over a decade of service, there are no longer any 27-inch iMacs available from the online Apple Store for consumer purchase.
Apple's 27-inch iMac
The Apple Store has removed the listing for the late-2020 27-inch iMac model from its Mac category, leaving only the 24-inch Apple Silicon model available for purchase. The just-discontinued 27-inch model with an Intel processor was first released August 2020, and could incorporate a nano-texture anti-glare display option.
As the 21-inch Intel model was discontinued outside of some educational channels following the 24-inch Apple Silicon redesign, the expectation was that Apple would release a newer large-size iMac model in early 2022. Instead, during the March 8 event Apple announced a 27-inch Apple Studio Display alongside the Mac Studio with no apparent large-size 27-inch iMac successor.
The iMac was first launched in 1998 as a PowerPC-based all-in-one desktop computer, and was the first post-Steve Jobs return product in earnest. It transitioned to the Intel processor family in 2006, and to the previously discussed ARM-based Apple Silicon architecture in 2021. The first 27-inch iMacs debuted in 2009.
The design of the just-discontinued iMac model was first launched in 2012, followed by a Retina display model in late 2014. A nano-texture option that originally debuted in Pro Display XDR was made available in August 2020.
Read on AppleInsider
Apple's 27-inch iMac
The Apple Store has removed the listing for the late-2020 27-inch iMac model from its Mac category, leaving only the 24-inch Apple Silicon model available for purchase. The just-discontinued 27-inch model with an Intel processor was first released August 2020, and could incorporate a nano-texture anti-glare display option.
As the 21-inch Intel model was discontinued outside of some educational channels following the 24-inch Apple Silicon redesign, the expectation was that Apple would release a newer large-size iMac model in early 2022. Instead, during the March 8 event Apple announced a 27-inch Apple Studio Display alongside the Mac Studio with no apparent large-size 27-inch iMac successor.
The iMac was first launched in 1998 as a PowerPC-based all-in-one desktop computer, and was the first post-Steve Jobs return product in earnest. It transitioned to the Intel processor family in 2006, and to the previously discussed ARM-based Apple Silicon architecture in 2021. The first 27-inch iMacs debuted in 2009.
The design of the just-discontinued iMac model was first launched in 2012, followed by a Retina display model in late 2014. A nano-texture option that originally debuted in Pro Display XDR was made available in August 2020.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
So purchase a Studio Display, Mac Studio base model, Magic Keyboard and Mouse for $4300?
Pretty intense that the new Studio display is using A13 Bionic to power it. A 2 years old top of the line SoC in a display!
Of course this doesn't preclude Apple from updating the mini with the Pro or Max processors. Though adding the Max puts it in competition with the studio.
As for the iMac, Apple could do a larger and or still do a Pro but I'm getting the distinct impression that we shouldn't assume something that was in the product line will get a replacement model.
As for pricing, kinda sorta. They are pricing more like the old Mac days rather than the late-90s to mid-2000s, but we're also getting a heck of a lot more computer for the money these days (whether the average buyer realizes or needs that). Aside from GPU abilities, Macs across the whole line are now as good or better than the top end PCs.
The issue is pricing. If you go with the new 27" display and then add an appropriate Mac, the costs just went up. You would need to get the appropriate Mac and then go 3rd party for the display to keep the costs down (which is what I'll likely do), but then you don't have as nice of display as you would have with a 5k iMac. If they'd come in at closer to $1k for the new display, then they have a good argument for dropping the 5k iMac. I can see why some are upset.
What is happening at Apple, there are so many strange things coming out of there in recent years. So no 27 inch iMac right now but an expensive Studio Display. There is an iPad with Touch id on the power button but not on iPhones, there is a more adjustable stand on the new Studio Display but not on the new iMac 24 inch. There is an Ethernet option on the new iMac but not on the new Studio Display (so that if you connect a Macbook to it you would only need one cable for power, bigger display and ethernet connection). There is a SD-card slot on the new Mac Studio but not on the new iMac. The list goes on and on. Are the different teams so separated from each other that it is hard to follow some consistency? Also, how can they make a Studio display that is more expensive than the starter iMac 24 inch (the extra inches can´t be it)?
iMac/Mini - Studio
MacBook Air - MacBook Pro
iPad Air - iPadPro
iPhone - iPhone Pro
(plus entry levels iPhone SE and iPad).
Thankfully, the Pro line is now mostly overkill for consumers.