21.5-inch iMac stock in short supply from Apple
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.
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.
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
Lets hope they have new iMacs. It's been so long.
"Interesting that the 27 “ is not yet showing shirt supply though" => It is here in Canada.
Lol! I mean, I might get one for the family, but...
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.