New iMac Deliveries to Be Delayed Until Early Next Year?

Apple may not begin shipping the new iMac until early 2013, according to the French site MacBidouille [Google Translate]. When the new lighter, thinner iMac was introduced three weeks ago, Apple said the 21.5" model would ship by the end of November, with the 27" model shipping by year-end.

Newimac
The new iMac uses some advanced welding techniques as well as a new manufacturing process for the LCD screen that was rumored to delay the introduction of the iMac. Apple has run into difficulties ramping up production on its more recent product launches as the company pushes the envelope on what is physically possible.

During Apple's most recent earnings call, Tim Cook talked briefly about the constraints the company faces during the all-important holiday quarter:

In terms of general shortages on the iMac, we’ll be constrained for the full quarter in a significant way, part of that is that we’re beginning shipping the 21.5-inch iMac in November and the 27-inch in December. And so there will be a short amount of time during the quarter to manufacture and ramp those and I expect the demand to be robust. So we will have a significant shortage there.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....

Top Rated Comments

realeric Avatar
171 months ago
I don't understand why desktop Macs should be thinner? :confused:
Score: 129 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hbt15 Avatar
171 months ago
So it's going to be 6 months out of spec before it even hits shelves.

Awesome.

Win for Tim.
Score: 73 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iVoid Avatar
171 months ago
I don't understand why desktop Macs should be thinner? :confused:

Because thinner is better!

Or something like that.

I still chuckle at how careful the photos of the new iMac are to avoid that it's only thin at the edge. There's a ugly bulge on the back that kind of makes the idea that this is a thin computer silly.

If they really wanted the display to be thin, then put the computer into the stand and just let the thin screen float in air. Like the old swing arm lamp iMac. :)
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jashic Avatar
171 months ago
well, maybe they should put the older imacs back in the store. It's a better design anyways. Never understood why you need a superthin imac. In reality, isn't even that thin. It's just thin at the edges. In the middle, it has a huge bulge like its pregnant. It's thin if you place it on your desk and stare at it at exactly a 78 degree angle.

lol.

What a complete disaster.

Apple maps that can't map properly, Siri that makes mistakes 50% of the time, iPhone 5 that has limited production, iPad mini that has lower resolution than SMALLER Android tablets, An iMac that's kinda "fake" thin and an iMac that isn't available before the holidays....and of course a Mac Pro lineup that's slower than a Mac mini. Oh, don't forget iOS 6 that basically providing nothing new. We all should re-install iLife 2011 as we enter into 2013. Maybe that'll make us feel better.
Score: 52 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smulji Avatar
171 months ago
If this is the case then I think Tim Cook should be fired.

Yes let's fire him and hire you as the next CEO of Apple.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deanbo Avatar
171 months ago
For Real?

If this is the case then I think Tim Cook should be fired.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)