21.5-inch iMac stock in short supply from Apple

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited April 2021
Supply of Apple's 21.5-inch iMac appears to be constrained, with the company's own online storefront showing expected delivery dates for some models pushed back by a week or more.

iMac


The most affordable 21.5-inch iMac configuration, which boasts a base 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor and standard 1920-by-1080 display, is showing estimated ship times of about seven business days through the online Apple Store. Other models, including those with Retina 4K displays, are seeing shipping delays of around five days.

A quick check shows a dip in in-store stock, with many brick-and-mortar Apple Stores flagging the device as unavailable for pickup.

Higher-end configurations are seeing wider stockouts. The base model iMac with 1TB Fusion Drive, for example, is not available in most stores and online orders are expected to ship in early May.

The reason for the apparent shortage is unknown, though iMac stock has regularly fluctuated since January. Earlier this year, Apple stopped offering 21.5-iMac models with 512GB and 1TB SSD storage.

Potentially impacting Apple's supply chain is a global chip shortage that has stymied manufacturing of everything from electronics to cars.

MacRumors spotted the change in availability today.

Apple is rumored to revamp its iMac lineup this year with a redesigned chassis and upgrade to Apple Silicon chips. More recent rumors hint at the debut of a larger-screened model that will sit at the top of Apple's all-in-one desktop range.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 15
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,694member
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 15
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    DAalsethseanboy81williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 15
    It appears we'll be waiting a bit longer for the M1x. It seems like this may just be another processor swap like they did with the MacMini, MBA and MBP. Makes sense, this machines sell in the greatest volumes, so I'm expecting MacMini performance and possibly the same screen. I was really hoping to see the M1x shame INTEL / AMD but I guess I'll have to wait a bit longer.
    bageljoeywatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 15
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.
    The M1 is way past web surfing in performance and a big plus is that the new iMac will be dead silent while remaining stone cold. It should easily outclass the iMacs it replaces.
    edited April 2021 williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 15
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,694member
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I agree.  There’s been rumbling of an “iMac Air” branding. I wouldn’t be surprised if the iMac lineup mirrors the iPad lineup with one Air model and two Pro models. So on Tuesday we see the M1 24” iMac Air and later in the year we see the 24” / 30” (32”) iMac Pro models with M1X (M2)

    "
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though" => It is here in Canada.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 15
    bageljoeybageljoey Posts: 2,004member
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I agree.  There’s been rumbling of an “iMac Air” branding. I wouldn’t be surprised if the iMac lineup mirrors the iPad lineup with one Air model and two Pro models. So on Tuesday we see the M1 24” iMac Air and later in the year we see the 24” / 30” (32”) iMac Pro models with M1X (M2)

    I'll be honest, something that is not mobile with the “Air” branding would offend my sensibilities.  Fixing Air to a desk?

    Lol!  I mean, I might get one for the family, but...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 15
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    A few tests show the M1 is faster than the 21" models, including the GPU against the 560X, M1 is 2.6TFLOPs, 560X is around 2TFLOPs. The Vega 20 option is a bit higher around 3.2TFLOPs:

    https://www.anandtech.com/show/16252/mac-mini-apple-m1-tested/3
    https://barefeats.com/m1-versus-imac-pro.html

    The power difference is huge too. The iMac uses over 100W of power. The M1 is using under 20W. 5x or more performance-per-watt difference.

    I expect the Apple Silicon iMac will have a fan and just spin it at a really low speed or turn it off until needed. The internals can be smaller than they are now:



    I assume only SSD from now on with soldered storage or PCIe. The parts left and right are the speakers. That middle part could be reduced to the size of the Mac mini, just with a power supply to handle the display. They should be able to easily reduce/remove the chin with the space saving.

    Space grey option, 24" at least, reduced/removed chin, will outperform all current 21" models (TSMC N5P could give an extra boost around 15%), soldered SSD up to 8TB (maybe limited to 2TB in 21"), if they have DDR5 sorted out, it can probably go to 64GB unified memory but likely max 16GB in the 21".

    They can use some of the Macbook design style, reducing the bezels a bit, the shiny logo that is part of the metal instead of a cut out. It's been about 1.5 years since the 16" MBP and iMacs were fully updated. It would be nice to see a more powerful option for the 16" and 27" iMac but M1 is fast enough for all the entry models.


    watto_cobraiqatedodewme
  • Reply 10 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    While it’s perfectly okay to dream, the dream of a high performance iMac for $1000.00 is pure fantasy, let alone one with a 30” screen for $1500.00. People need to get over the dream of a cheap Mac that competes with a low end Windows box. It ain’t gonna happen. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 15
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,694member
    lkrupp said:
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    While it’s perfectly okay to dream, the dream of a high performance iMac for $1000.00 is pure fantasy, let alone one with a 30” screen for $1500.00. People need to get over the dream of a cheap Mac that competes with a low end Windows box. It ain’t gonna happen. 
    Disagree.  Perfect example is the $999 M1 MBA.  That is the best value laptop going right now and even without a fan it's much better performing than the vast majority of Windows boxes and even some Mac boxes.  Even if the redesigned iMac starts at $1,299 with an M1 SoC that would still be a hell of a value.
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 15
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    lkrupp said:
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    While it’s perfectly okay to dream, the dream of a high performance iMac for $1000.00 is pure fantasy, let alone one with a 30” screen for $1500.00. People need to get over the dream of a cheap Mac that competes with a low end Windows box. It ain’t gonna happen. 
    Disagree.  Perfect example is the $999 M1 MBA.  That is the best value laptop going right now and even without a fan it's much better performing than the vast majority of Windows boxes and even some Mac boxes.  Even if the redesigned iMac starts at $1,299 with an M1 SoC that would still be a hell of a value.
    The competition for a low-er priced iMac isn't the PC, its the Mac Mini. A well appointed Mac mini driving a 27" 4k+ screen is about the limit of what Apple can price a 27" iMac. Yes, you'd need to bring speakers and the facetime camera into the mix, but I don't see a 27" iMac being viable up into the $2000+ range for me. YMMV.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    lkrupp said:
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    While it’s perfectly okay to dream, the dream of a high performance iMac for $1000.00 is pure fantasy, let alone one with a 30” screen for $1500.00. People need to get over the dream of a cheap Mac that competes with a low end Windows box. It ain’t gonna happen. 
    Well, an M1 iMac for $1000. If it was a low PPI display, the margin is there to hit $1000. But yes, if they have new 24” display at 220 PPI, they won’t be able to hit $1000. Maybe $1200 or $1300.

    The iMac 5K is surprisingly close to $1500 as the current base SKU is $1800. Using M1 guts, they could probably take it down to $1600. They likely won’t be able to hit that price if it is a 30” 220 DPI monitor.

    All bets are off if they are using miniLEDs. That will probably add $300 alone. And of course, I’m thinking there would be an M1X SKU for the iMacs and probably the Mac mini. 

    It’s not really a dream. It’s a hope. The more they drive down the price of the base SKUs, the better. In particular, I think there are people who want a large monitor, but don’t need the performance. So, offering those models seems like a really good idea. 

    I know I’d get a 24” M1 model for my kid. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 15
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,694member
    tht said:
    lkrupp said:
    tht said:
    DAalseth said:
    lkrupp said:
    Chip shortage or new iMac? Could be either.
    Mark Gurman is hinting at a new iMac to come


    I’d bet on a new M1 24” model. 
    Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though
    I think it would be great to have an M1 24" and 30" (what sizes they are) models. Fanless and for $1000 and $1500 respectively would be awesome. I think a lot people just want a large display and just enough performance to web surf. The M1 can do that admirably.

    Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
    While it’s perfectly okay to dream, the dream of a high performance iMac for $1000.00 is pure fantasy, let alone one with a 30” screen for $1500.00. People need to get over the dream of a cheap Mac that competes with a low end Windows box. It ain’t gonna happen. 
    Well, an M1 iMac for $1000. If it was a low PPI display, the margin is there to hit $1000. But yes, if they have new 24” display at 220 PPI, they won’t be able to hit $1000. Maybe $1200 or $1300.

    The iMac 5K is surprisingly close to $1500 as the current base SKU is $1800. Using M1 guts, they could probably take it down to $1600. They likely won’t be able to hit that price if it is a 30” 220 DPI monitor.

    All bets are off if they are using miniLEDs. That will probably add $300 alone. And of course, I’m thinking there would be an M1X SKU for the iMacs and probably the Mac mini. 

    It’s not really a dream. It’s a hope. The more they drive down the price of the base SKUs, the better. In particular, I think there are people who want a large monitor, but don’t need the performance. So, offering those models seems like a really good idea. 

    I know I’d get a 24” M1 model for my kid. 
    Exactly. Even at those prices it would be a great value. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 15
    iqatedoiqatedo Posts: 1,822member
    ...I know I’d get a 24” M1 model for my kid. 
    This kid wants one (or larger) and he's a grandfather...
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