I can't see Apple putting out a redesigned iMac with Intel processors if the ARM switch is real and pending.
You kind of have to wonder. It would make more sense for it to debut in the laptops, but I just can't believe they've waited this long to update the iMac unless is truly a substantial redesign (and even then, why no T2 or SSD update for the current design).
It was bizarre enough for the mini, Mac Pro, etc. but really bizarre for their most popular desktop.
the iMac G5 was a radically different form factor and it was out not too long (less than 2 years?) before Apple switched to Intel. The first Intel iMac basically looked like the iMac G5.
Really, I don't think it's bizarre. They should always be making the best product they can at any given point in time. There's no reason to intentionally hold a product design back.
I had both. The G5 was a pleasure to open up and fix things or upgrade. It even had diagnostic lights inside. The intel iMac was an absolute nightmare to try to do anything like that. Even the pram battery was so hard to get at it had to be deliberate.
I guess "iPad Pro design language" might imply that upgrades will be more difficult.
Another possibility is that the back of the new iMac might look something like the back of the ProDisplay XDR (cheese grater cooling top and bottom, ports and stand attachment in the middle).
My dream scenario would be that this cheese-grater back might be held in place with thumb screws and entirely user-removable, allowing access to RAM and SSD. Alas.... that seems unlikely.
I purchased a 27" iMac the day after they came out in Nov 2009.
I didn't know that huge screen was coming and I joke that I almost fainted when it debuted....
It was fairly upgraded, with a 2TB HDD (7200rpm), at $2600.
It's still going and we still use it. It's on El Capitan and we only use it for family photos in the Photo's app (66,000 of them), and e-mail/Internet.
I purchased it around that time too, thought at first 27" was probably more than I need but nooooo. I would still be using it now had the GPU survived, since I had finally added 8 GB or RAM just the year before.
My dream scenario would be that this cheese-grater back might be held in place with thumb screws and entirely user-removable, allowing access to RAM and SSD. Alas.... that seems unlikely.
That would be my dream as well. It's not like we shouldn't be trusted to change our own RAM or drives should the need arise. It's not ordinarily supposed to be difficult.
I can't see Apple putting out a redesigned iMac with Intel processors if the ARM switch is real and pending. And it seems likely that it is. Spec bump maybe, redesign seems un-Apple-esque. But then...all will be revealed at WWDC. Maybe.
All in all, there seems little for me to be interested in at this year's WWDC. YYMV. I might be interested in an Apple TV with a tuner for OTA, (yes, there are other boxes) an Apple monitor (and even if they went back into this business, they would be way overpriced) the return of Airport, (not happening ever) or even hearing about the Apple Glasses (too soon.) None of the rumored stuff is interesting to me.
Considering it's a software conference for developers, I generally don't expect to see hardware.. Not getting it is the norm, hardware announcements the exception.
blastdoor said: Really, I don't think it's bizarre. They should always be making the best product they can at any given point in time. There's no reason to intentionally hold a product design back.
That's what I actually mean... why has the iMac remained based on such an old design/internals for so long, compared to the entire rest of the Mac lineup?
Simple, for the reason they have said many times -- they don't do change for change's sake. There have been several changes to the iMac design over the past decade or so, each time reducing materials and making it lighter. If and when they can do it again, they will...but not out of pressure to make it different or to alleviate enthusiasts boredom.
As for components, the latest iMac is from March 2019, and now over the average refresh duration for iMac. I imagine there will be refreshed internals soon.
My interpretation of iPad Pro design language means that they now are able to get it thin enough so that they don’t have to hide the thickness with tapered edges, so it’ll be thicker at the sides, but overall much thinner. And maybe also get rid of the chin. I’m sure they’ll still do speakers and air intake coming from the bottom, but it would be very cool for them to do what blastdoor suggested and have a removable ‘cheese grater’ panel that functions as exhaust and access.
I have pretty much iOS everything, but still using my 2010 MacBook Air believe it or not. If the redesign is at all like the above, I’ll be seriously considering an upgrade!
New iMacs, huh? Guess it’s a good thing looters helped clear out all the old inventory then...
Man, the world inside your head... You sound like one of those dudes more concerned with some loss of property than you are with decades of loss of life. Law & order! Clean them boots up!
My dream scenario would be that this cheese-grater back might be held in place with thumb screws and entirely user-removable, allowing access to RAM and SSD. Alas.... that seems unlikely.
That would be my dream as well. It's not like we shouldn't be trusted to change our own RAM or drives should the need arise. It's not ordinarily supposed to be difficult.
It wasn't difficult at all to change the RAM on my current 2019 iMac. In fact it's gotten easier over the years, w/ the compartment no longer requiring any tools.
My interpretation of iPad Pro design language means that they now are able to get it thin enough so that they don’t have to hide the thickness with tapered edges, so it’ll be thicker at the sides, but overall much thinner. And maybe also get rid of the chin. I’m sure they’ll still do speakers and air intake coming from the bottom, but it would be very cool for them to do what blastdoor suggested and have a removable ‘cheese grater’ panel that functions as exhaust and access.
I have pretty much iOS everything, but still using my 2010 MacBook Air believe it or not. If the redesign is at all like the above, I’ll be seriously considering an upgrade!
I’d really like it if they revisited the “Luxo Lamp” style iMac, with a bigger screen but all of the hardware located in the base. That was the most flexible iteration of the iMac so far, in my opinion.
A feature that would be nice (but won’t be available) would be a DisplayPort Input that would allow you to use the iMac as a monitor and would also let you connect an eGPU to the iMac without passing the signal back through the same Thunderbolt controller.
In terms of backward compatibility, I’d bet Apple would introduce a translation layer for older apps for a time period. I remember using this for a couple of apps:
blastdoor said: The intervals are due for an update but aren’t really too old. Comet lake is just a price cut, so the CPU isn’t really out of date (at least, not for Intel). The GPU could use an upgrade, though.
in terms of physical appearance, it has been a very compelling design for a long time. It is hard to improve on a design that good. For example, you cannot find many displays better than what is in the 27 inch iMac.
I’ll guess that whatever the new physical design is, it required multiple technical advances in order to be feasible.
No, that isn't what I meant. It doesn't have the same architecture as any other Mac... no T2, no 100% SSDs, etc. There is zero reason they couldn't have added all that stuff a couple years back.
StrangeDays said: Considering it's a software conference for developers, I generally don't expect to see hardware.. Not getting it is the norm, hardware announcements the exception.
Of course, that's what they said the last time we got a ton of new hardware at WWDC.
StrangeDays said: Simple, for the reason they have said many times -- they don't do change for change's sake. There have been several changes to the iMac design over the past decade or so, each time reducing materials and making it lighter. If and when they can do it again, they will...but not out of pressure to make it different or to alleviate enthusiasts boredom.
As for components, the latest iMac is from March 2019, and now over the average refresh duration for iMac. I imagine there will be refreshed internals soon.
Except I wasn't talking about a physical update. I think it is strange that the iMac lags behind my 2018 Mac mini... and the laptops... and...
A feature that would be nice (but won’t be available) would be a DisplayPort Input that would allow you to use the iMac as a monitor and would also let you connect an eGPU to the iMac without passing the signal back through the same Thunderbolt controller.
Yes, please. It is a nice display, but I don't want a display like that if it can't be used at the core of my setup. I guess it is typical Apple stupid, but I don't get why they purposely seem to limit their devices with that kind of basic functionality (another example is the HomePod w/o audio in).
I know some have said the new iMac won't be ARM but is there any chance Microsoft and Adobe have been given a heads up about this move, or that their iOS ports have been done with an easier transfer to ARM macOS? I wonder if the iMac could be announced at WWDC, on ARM but with shipping not until later in the year?
Apple switched to Intel because PowerPC was dead for the consumer space. They had to bet the farm on it.
Apple isn't switching to ARM. They are augmenting their product lines with other ARM designs.
Not likely. Apple needs to set a direction for the platform. Previous transitions were successful because they were actual transitions. Developers got onboard because they had to. Making support for ARM optional is a recipe for failure. Just ask Microsoft about that.
Intel has become stagnant and uncompetitive. Nobody can really deny that. Apple’s cores are already on par with Intel designs on devices that are extremely constrained for power. Imagine what Apple can do on devices where that constraint is removed. Apple has a competitive advantage on their mobile platforms because of their excellent chip design team. Apple can now gain a competitive advantage on the desktop by moving to their own custom ARM processors.
New iMacs, huh? Guess it’s a good thing looters helped clear out all the old inventory then...
Man, the world inside your head... You sound like one of those dudes more concerned with some loss of property than you are with decades of loss of life. Law & order! Clean them boots up!
Man, you sound like one of those dudes that’s not concerned with the loss of *other* people’s property. Are you saying that if they came to your home or business and smashed it up and stole a bunch of your things that you wouldn’t be making a phone call for some “law and order”?
As far as the iMac goes, it’s going to be physically redesigned inside and out, not just a refresh of the “internals”. Too many rumors at this point for there to not be something to them.
Me too. I'm not sure why they haven't implemented that yet. My guess is the thickness of the laptop lid would need to be thicker in order to house the camera system. Which Apple probably doesn't want to do.
Me too. I'm not sure why they haven't implemented that yet. My guess is the thickness of the laptop lid would need to be thicker in order to house the camera system. Which Apple probably doesn't want to do.
My crazy idea is to have 2 to 3 front facing cameras, one on each side, for iPad too. During a video call, the camera video data goes through an image correction routine to make it appear as if I'm looking straight into the camera. Apple was experimenting with this with one camera, probably still are. Well, with one camera's worth of data it sounds like some creation of facial data is being done. 2 or 3 cameras? That's basically just interpolation with some correction for shadows.
implemented that yet. My guess is the thickness of the laptop lid would need to be thicker in order to house the camera system. Which Apple probably doesn't want to do.
Another reason could be is that the iPad and MacBook Pro are more ‘personal’ devices used on your lap, or holding with your hands, close to your face. A desktop is more public and therefore FaceTime could activate through ‘false positives’. The web camera is quite wide so they’d have to experiment with a FaceID camera that only ‘looks’ for someone clearly engaging with the device.
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Another possibility is that the back of the new iMac might look something like the back of the ProDisplay XDR (cheese grater cooling top and bottom, ports and stand attachment in the middle).
My dream scenario would be that this cheese-grater back might be held in place with thumb screws and entirely user-removable, allowing access to RAM and SSD. Alas.... that seems unlikely.
I would still be using it now had the GPU survived, since I had finally added 8 GB or RAM just the year before.
As for components, the latest iMac is from March 2019, and now over the average refresh duration for iMac. I imagine there will be refreshed internals soon.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(software)
Of course, that's what they said the last time we got a ton of new hardware at WWDC.
Except I wasn't talking about a physical update. I think it is strange that the iMac lags behind my 2018 Mac mini... and the laptops... and...
Yes, please. It is a nice display, but I don't want a display like that if it can't be used at the core of my setup. I guess it is typical Apple stupid, but I don't get why they purposely seem to limit their devices with that kind of basic functionality (another example is the HomePod w/o audio in).
iPadOS, touch screen, terrible file management.
Intel has become stagnant and uncompetitive. Nobody can really deny that. Apple’s cores are already on par with Intel designs on devices that are extremely constrained for power. Imagine what Apple can do on devices where that constraint is removed. Apple has a competitive advantage on their mobile platforms because of their excellent chip design team. Apple can now gain a competitive advantage on the desktop by moving to their own custom ARM processors.
As far as the iMac goes, it’s going to be physically redesigned inside and out, not just a refresh of the “internals”. Too many rumors at this point for there to not be something to them.
Me too. I'm not sure why they haven't implemented that yet. My guess is the thickness of the laptop lid would need to be thicker in order to house the camera system. Which Apple probably doesn't want to do.