Apple is working on a giant iMac, but it isn't coming soon
Apple's rumored large-screen iMac is still being considered by the company, but while a 32-inch model is a prospect, it may not be one that gets launched until later than first thought.
24-inch iMac
Following the discontinuation of the 27-inch iMac, users have waited for Apple to produce an upscaled version of the 24-inch iMac, but that so far hasn't surfaced. A report now claims that customers may have a while longer to wait before being able to enjoy the larger display.
In the subscriber edition of the "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman insists that Apple is experimenting with big-screen versions of the iMac. However, development is so early that a lot could change.
Gurman himself has previously reported the inclusion of a 30-inch or larger display in the New iMac, and in the newsletter, he identifies 32 inches as one potential size. He doubts that Apple will actually release the model anytime soon, and that it probably won't surface before the end of 2024.
So far, rumors about the larger iMac put it as having a similar design to the 24-inch model, complete with thin bezels and the new-style display stand. By shrinking the bezels, the overall size of the 30 or 32-inch model could end up being physically similar to the previous 27-inch version.
If a 30-inch iMac isn't enough for some users, there could be an even longer wait for even bigger variants. In April, a report insisted that a 42-inch iMac was possibly slated for a 2027 release.
On the 24-inch iMac running on M3, Gurman said in March that it won't launch until late 2023 or early 2024. In Sunday's newsletter, he has revised his estimate to be early 2024 for that particular model.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Come on Apple, please bring out a larger than 24” iMac. We are waiting…
As for a 32” iMac Pro, I relied upon my 27” for years. It was a beast and beautiful to work at and behold. I’m still bummed Apple would not come up with a low latency Target Display mode for the old 5K iMacs to use them with any M1/3 device.
So then, what Retina resolution might they be looking at? Here is a list of 16:9 HD (high definition) resolutions. For fun, I've included some of the higher multiples that have never been used. The obvious target for a 30" Retina iMac is 3240p. I'd also love to see them come out with two new Studio Displays at 2520p and 3240p, matching the iMacs. Let Apple's marketing people figure out what to call those resolutions. Thunderbolt 5 puts all of these possible higher resolutions into play, but for 3600p and above, I think we're looking at panels denser than 218 ppi. Dell's 31.5" 4320p (8K) is 280 ppi.
However, don't think I'm willing to pay $3000+ for a replacement. Maybe $2000? But that isn't going to happen with Apple's current display trends. This display is likely to be a 5.5K resolution monitor, miniLED and 120 Hz. $3000 for barebones model if were lucky.
So, probably will go with a Mac mini and a 32" display instead.
It's also great how Mark Gurman leaves the door wide open to change his story every other month so he can claim he's right.
Since the 24" 4K5 M1 came out, I've said many times I'm looking for a 30" 5K5 to replace my maxed, late, 2015.
I spent about $3K5 on that iMac in early 2016. I don't expect to pay less for a 30" M2 or M3 max now.
it would not be the computer for the rest of us. Only those with enormous amounts of discretionary funds.
I think 27 inch is the max we could go and keep the RRP remotely real.
When they dropped selling Apple branded monitor+dock products in 2014 to 2015 time frame, I bet they were thinking that there would be a proliferation of 5K Thunderbolt monitors that would commoditize the market. Hence, Apple felt there was no benefit to make a Thunderbolt 3 monitor. Instead of that happening, the monitor market in the PC space stayed at 4K or less and all the display investment went into making 120 Hz to 240 Hz 2K to 4K monitors. No other PC product or company was driving the need for hi-DPI monitors.
This also convinced Intel to not increase bandwidth for Thunderbolt 4 imo. Apple really wants to sell a Thunderbolt monitor with a built-in dock. It's a 1 cable lifestyle. It's great. But without a bandwidth increase in TB4, it meant external monitor resolutions were capped to 5K/6K 60 Hz, and Apple's Pro Display XDR is so bandwidth limited, it only has USB2, 5 Gbyte/s, level ports.
So, Apple is the basically only company that is driving 220 DPI monitors. With Samsung now selling a 6K monitor - uh, is it HDMI or TB4 input? - this will hopefully drive down the cost of 6K panels. And, the proliferation of miniLED monitors has been super slow too. This level of product really needs 40,000 backlights with 10,000 dimmable zones.
So I don't think you will see a 6K 120 Hz monitors until Thunderbolt 5 or it's part of an iMac 32" product. A 6K 60 Hz miniLED with 10k zones? It isn't going to be cheap.
There is probably a 40" iMac sitting in a lab in Cupertino right now.
It must be pointed out yet again that Apple prototypes thousands of designs and only a handful see the light of day as a shipping SKU.
Just because they can build something doesn't mean it must be sold as an actual product. For every planned product release, a given unit probably needs to pass 10-12 justifications. It won't be one factor that dooms a particular prototype.
We do know that Apple's shareholders have long-standing expectations of high gross margins though. Apple is a publicly traded corporation and thus its primary responsibility is to increase shareholder value. Apple does not exist to sell loss leaders.
42 inch but no taller than the 24inch could be a really popular option instead of 2 screens.
It would be to me a similar visual workspace to the VisionPro or at least as close as a desktop could get.