semajnollissor

My predictions were based on my assumptions that the higher end products - the Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, iMac Pro, and 27” iMac will not transition to ARM processors. I’d also guess that at least one version of the Mac Mini will stay with x86 chips. 

Usually updates are preceded by sales of the current models. Have there been many sales on the iMacs or Mac Minis lately?

If new iMac models are released, I have some predictions:

Internals:

Most likely:

Inclusion of AMD Radeon RX 5X00 graphic cards. These may be the full desktop-strength versions or the lesser laptop-tier parts, but given that they are consumer oriented cards I’d say it is a good bet that any new iMac in the near future will include these chips.

Pretty likely:

Inclusion of Intel 10th generation chips. When the iMac has been updated in the past, they have been given the latest and greatest Intel core processors. In 2019, that was the 9th gen chips, with the i9-9900k at the high end; in 2017 it was the 7th gen chips topping out with the i7-7700k.

If the iMac is updated in the near time frame, the high-end model will likely get the i9-10900k, which has not been released yet, but kinda has been released, sort-of. The rest of the lineup will probably be from the 10th-gen Intel line of core processors. Apparently, Dell accidentally leaked some advertising touting 10th generation Intel chips in their newest computers, so the new chips should be available to consumers soon.

Not likely, but not impossible:

AMD Ryzen processors. Ignoring the Intel 10th generation processors, the AMD Ryzen chips are the best available. Normally I’d dismiss the idea of Apple switching to AMD as crazy talk, but there was that story from a few weeks ago about some sort of references to AMD chips (CPUs, not just GPUs) in the latest Mac OS build. It may be wishful thinking on my part, since inclusion of AMD processors in the iMac would likely pave the way for AMD processors in the Mac Pro, but AMD processors are not a total impossibility either. AMD CPU/GPU combos (APUs) would make sense in low end iMacs, Macbooks, and Mac Minis. Ryzen processors would make sense as Core processor replacements, and Threadrippers would be awesome in Mac Pros.

 

Enclosure:

Most likely:

Same old enclosure. People have complained in the past about the wide bezel, the chin, and the thermal performance of the current enclosure, but… The wide bezel and the chin are just issues of personal preference and not that big of a deal (at least for me). Any new enclosure will have just as many detractors as the current one does (welcome to the internet). As for the thermals, I’m not really sure that there are thermal problems with the 2019 models, are there? My understanding is that the 2019 iMacs throttle the processor and graphics far less than the 2017 models did.

Somewhat likely:

Move to iMac Pro enclosure. This enclosure has far better thermal management, but comes at the cost of user-accessible RAM. If this move happens, then iMacs would likely gain T2 chips and lose the option for the fusion drives. At least, that is all true for the 27 inch iMac. Maybe the 21 inch iMac stays the same, maybe it gets revised to be more like the 27 inch iMac Pro. It’s hard to say.

Who knows how likely:

Full revamp of enclosure. People have been complaining about the current iMac enclosure since before 2017 (honestly, since it was first debuted). Apple did finally address the keyboard issue on the macbook pro, so maybe they’ll listen to the peanut gallery with regards to the bezel, chin, and user-accessibility issues that people have with a new enclosure. Of course, any new enclosure has just as much a chance of having a wide bezel and big chin and being even less repair-friendly, so I’m not enthusiastic about this possibility. I would guess than any new enclosure would result in the inclusion of T2 chips and the loss of fusion drives. I give 50/50 odds on the loss of user-upgraded RAM.