Apple trimming iMac inventory ahead of Haswell models while resellers cut prices

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Apple's major channel partners have begun offering material discounts on custom-configured iMacs just as the company appears to have slowed the flow of units coming into the channel in preparation for new Haswell-based models expected by fall.

iMac


For instance, B&H on Wednesday evening slashed the price of 15 different custom iMac configurations by as much as $150, several of which had not previously been discounted from Apple's suggested retail price. Many of those same configurations were previously available from other resellers, but have not been restocked alongside other Macs for several weeks, according to historical data from the Apple Price Guide.

The discounts join sales efforts initiated earlier this month by Best Buy, Amazon (Update: out of stock, prices raised via DataVision), and MacMall -- all of which are similarly offering the four standard iMac retail configurations at discounts between $100 and $150. Given the new inventory management measures Apple adopted after January's MacBook Pro surplus scare, the discounts are likely the start of a multi-week effort to run its iMac channel fairly bare.

According to the most trusted reports, Haswell-powered iMacs could be available for launch by late August, but those same reports suggest the possibility that Apple will elect to wait several weeks longer in order to avoid a repeat of last year's misfire, when the company pushed the existing iMac lineup to market too soon, leaving customers waiting for months when demand could not be met.

The blunder drew a rare public admission of hindsight from Chief Executive Tim Cook, who would later state during a conference call that he wished he had waited until 2013 to launch the new iMacs, which were largely unavailable through the entire 2012 holiday shopping season.


The iMac was plagued with production issues when the desktop went on sale in December. It was reported that those issues came from a unique screen lamination process Apple employed in the now current design, allowing the desktop to sport a much thinner profile than its predecessor.

"In retrospect, yes, I sort of wish we had done it after the turn of the year," Cook said. "Customers wouldn't have had to have waited as long as they did."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 26


    Headline is about iMac while picture is a Macbook Pro. Too Snarky? Haswell would be a big boost to Macbook Pro's battery life. Won't be a big help for the iMac.

  • Reply 2 of 26
    dugbugdugbug Posts: 283member
    There are other benefits to haswell
  • Reply 3 of 26
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member


    Hm, not so much interested in Haswell here, but would love Thunderbolt 2 support (and a Retina or 4K top model, hehe).

  • Reply 4 of 26
    dreyfus2 wrote: »
    Hm, not so much interested in Haswell here, but would love Thunderbolt 2 support (and a Retina or 4K top model, hehe).
    Wouldn't 4k be a lot of pixels to push with the mobile processors that the MacBook pros and iMac use?
  • Reply 5 of 26
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post





    Wouldn't 4k be a lot of pixels to push with the mobile processors that the MacBook pros and iMac use?


     


    Depends on the GPU(s) Apple uses

  • Reply 6 of 26
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post





    Wouldn't 4k be a lot of pixels to push with the mobile processors that the MacBook pros and iMac use?


     


    Yes, sure. And my "hehe" above was intended to admit some wishful thinking here...


     


    Nevertheless, we know that Apple did hire several GPU experts and we know that the new Mac Pro will support (multiple) 4K displays. So, very likely, Apple will release an updated or additional Thunderbolt Display that indeed is 4K to go with it. For almost a decade Apple's top "Pro" laptops and iMacs were always able to drive all of Apple's displays (and even the 11" MBA can drive the current Thunderbolt Display). So, I would assume that this is planned. It might not be now, but maybe in a year though.

  • Reply 7 of 26
    archarch Posts: 66member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bigdaddyp View Post





    Wouldn't 4k be a lot of pixels to push with the mobile processors that the MacBook pros and iMac use?


    iMacs don't use mobile processors.

  • Reply 8 of 26
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by arch View Post


    iMacs don't use mobile processors.



     


    They do use mobile GPUs though; and that is indeed a relevant point here.

  • Reply 9 of 26
    eideardeideard Posts: 428member
    Just waiting for the update to trade-in.
  • Reply 10 of 26
    gazoobeegazoobee Posts: 3,754member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dreyfus2 View Post


    Hm, not so much interested in Haswell here, but would love Thunderbolt 2 support (and a Retina or 4K top model, hehe).



     


    4K support would be a total waste on a computer that generally sits less than a foot from your face.  You wouldn't be able to see the difference. 


     


    They could literally just tell you it was 4K and you wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying. 

  • Reply 11 of 26

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    4K support would be a total waste on a computer that generally sits less than a foot from your face.  You wouldn't be able to see the difference. 


     


    They could literally just tell you it was 4K and you wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying. 



     


    Less than a foot away from an iMac screen!!!? Time for you to get some glasses so you can sit a little further back. I just measured 19" from my eyes to the screen  on my 15" rMBP and I can tell you without question that I can tell the difference between this screen and a non-retina screen. With a larger screen in front of me, it would be even more obvious. Especially at less than 12" from the screen!

  • Reply 12 of 26
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


    4K support would be a total waste on a computer that generally sits less than a foot from your face.  You wouldn't be able to see the difference.



     


    Wrong. 


     


    Oh, and if you're sitting a foot away, you're doing a fair bit of damage to your eyes.

  • Reply 13 of 26
    just_mejust_me Posts: 590member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    4K support would be a total waste on a computer that generally sits less than a foot from your face.  You wouldn't be able to see the difference. 


     


    They could literally just tell you it was 4K and you wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying. 



    You have your logic backwards. Closer you are to the screen, the better you can tell the quality.  

  • Reply 14 of 26
    dreyfus2dreyfus2 Posts: 1,072member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    4K support would be a total waste on a computer that generally sits less than a foot from your face.  You wouldn't be able to see the difference. 


     


    They could literally just tell you it was 4K and you wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying. 



     


    Well, my normal viewing distance from the 27" screen is more like 2 feet. We do have a Sony PVM-X300 4K in the office for reviewing 4k footage, and I can guarantee you that there is a huge difference between viewing full size footage on it vs. watching the same footage on a 27" Thunderbolt display... The difference is at least as dramatic as it is between an iPad 2 and an iPad 3 or 4.

  • Reply 15 of 26
    65c81665c816 Posts: 136member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gazoobee View Post


     


    4K support would be a total waste on a computer that generally sits less than a foot from your face.  You wouldn't be able to see the difference. 


     


    They could literally just tell you it was 4K and you wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying. 



     


    As someone with 20/10 eyesight[1], I'll call bull shit on this.  According to the guys who talk about these sorts of things, I can see dots up to about 450dpi.


     


    So, depending on the dpi on the new 4K display (I doubt if it'd be 450dpi), I *CAN* see a difference.


     


    [1]  Not everyone wears glasses or have shitty eyesight, thanks.

  • Reply 16 of 26
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Headline is about iMac while picture is a Macbook Pro. Too Snarky?

    Didn't you know the iMac is just a laptop on a stand? ;)
    dreyfus2 wrote:
    a Retina or 4K top model

    They may have an option to switch a lot of their products over to IGZO:


    [VIDEO]


    This includes the iOS devices. The power consumption is lower, the bezels can be smaller. This means they can fit slightly larger displays into the same physical size and improve battery life on Macbook Pros and iOS products. The response times are much faster than any display they've used. Dell and Sharp will have 32" models. If Apple went with 32", they could perhaps switch the entry iMac to 24".

    The increased resolution also gives the option to scale the display better to lower resolutions.
  • Reply 17 of 26
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    Waiting on a resolution upgrade before I upgrade one of my iMacs. Does everything I need it to right now, so I can be patient. Here's hoping for 2014...
  • Reply 18 of 26
    poksipoksi Posts: 482member


    I have retina 15" Macbook Pro. If next iMac has Retina screen, then I'm buying it, otherwise I'll wait. It's as simple as that.

  • Reply 19 of 26
    Marvin wrote: »
    If Apple went with 32", they could perhaps switch the entry iMac to 24".

    I would hope they continue to offer the 21.5" or similar sized configuration. Not everyone needs massive desktop screens. I'm hoping that IF Apple update their display they would offer a 21.5" display as well as the 27" model currently offered.
  • Reply 20 of 26
    macarenamacarena Posts: 365member
    We are way pas the point where customers "need" to upgrade. Most people upgrade because their previous Macs are 4 years old, still serving them fine, but probably just want to catch up on things like iLife. Others are the compulsive adopters, who can never have enough I suppose.

    Soon Apple needs to take the price points on iMac lower. This is even more imperative because large "developer" markets like India other wise will just stick to the Mac Mini. Frankly, Mac Mini is more than adequate, but Apple is still missing out.
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