tenthousandthings

Alex1N said:

I’m getting a bit frustrated. I was going to replace my ageing mid-2010 i7 iMac with a more recent Intel iMac when Apple Silicon was announced, so I held off. The M1 iMac eventually appeared, but not in a 27” version, so I waited some more for a 27” M1 iMac, only to find that the 27” Intel iMac was discontinued and no sign at all of a possible 27” M1 replacement. The Mac Studio then came out - only for the M2 processor to be announced hot on its heals.

I am now waiting for December to see what is released then, nothing of interest for me having been released in June (that was a long shot anyway). The thought of acquiring an M1 Max only to find not too far down the track that the M1 series might not be supported by MacOS major versions has also put me off springing for an M1 Studio given the price.

After December this year, it looks like waiting till March 2023, December 2023, March 2024…, before I eventually decide. Fingers crossed that my 2010 iMac doesn’t expire in the interim. Reports of Apple’s ‘roadmap’ are doing my head in. And no, I really am not acquiring a 24” M1 iMac.

Not sure why you are concerned the M1 will lose support more quickly than usual. I’ve been thinking the exact opposite, that the M1 Max will be the longest-supported silicon in Apple history.

Everything else about your case is predictable, and there’s no doubt you are not alone. Though likely many 2010 iMac owners replaced theirs before 2020, and currently own 27" 5K Retina iMacs. And another group of families is happy with the 4.5K 24" iMac. So you’re kind of stuck in a gap that Apple is unlikely to address until that enormous contingent of 5K Intel iMac (in production for eight years, 2014-2022) owners starts looking to replace. 

FWIW, new 5K iMacs are still available from resellers. Like Adorama, etc. So you could just travel back in time to early 2020… Or, maybe don’t go back quite as far, to late 2020, and get a good deal on a new 16 GB M1 Mini, then travel back to the present and put a Studio Display literally on top of it. Viola! A 27" 5K M1 iMac!

Otherwise, I don’t know. You’re stuck. You can wait for the likely-redesigned M2 Mini late this year, or just go with an entry-level M1 Studio right now. The first Studio refresh may well be M3. As you say, it’s going to be a long wait for that, like late 2023 at best. 

keithw said:

What's the delay on the M2 Mac Mini? I can only assume they don't have enough extra chip capacity at this point. 

I still think it will get a redesign, possibly a radical one. 

Something Apple has done lately, twice now, is reusing older, established hardware that was once state-of-the-art — I’m thinking of the M1/M2 MacBook Pro 13" and the Studio Display 27" — both are cost-effective for Apple, with no surprises with regard to production, quality, and so on. Apple knows exactly what to expect from both.

This may simply be a response to global constraints in the pandemic era, but it is still good business. 

Well, Apple still lists the “iMac 24"” instead of just “iMac” — so that’s a sign the door is open to other sizes.

The most challenging aspect is probably the XDR ProMotion display or displays. I doubt design is the problem, it’s the sourcing and costs that are difficult.