Apple Expected to Launch New iMacs With Improved Processors and Display Quality This Quarter

Monday August 3, 2015 12:55 am PDT by Eric Slivka
imac_27_angleApple's iMac line is set to receive a significant boost this quarter in the form of a refresh including new processors and improved display quality, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Display improvements are said to arrive in the form of greater color saturation, but Kuo makes no mention of whether Apple is planning to extend Retina display options to the smaller 21.5-inch iMac lineup.
We believe Apple will introduce new iMac models in 3Q15, which are expected to have key selling points such as more powerful processors and much better display quality. We predict the panel will use a LED phosphor material called KSF to notably boost color saturation.
While Apple has released several 27-inch Retina iMac models since last October, the remainder of the iMac lineup has not been updated since September 2013 as Apple has had to wait for Intel to release new desktop processors that could allow for a substantial update. With Broadwell processors starting to trickle out and Skylake right around the corner, it appears Apple will finally be able to offer a substantial upgrade for the entire iMac family.

Kuo believes that an inventory draw-down in the second quarter, the upcoming new iMacs, and promotions such as the current Back to School program will drive strong sequential growth in iMac shipments for the current quarter, perhaps doubling quarter-over-quarter to one million units. The third calendar quarter is typically very strong for Apple's Mac segment with much of the world in the midst of back to school shopping.

Related Roundup: iMac
Tags: KGI Securities, Ming-Chi Kuo
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)
[ 192 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
Cole Slaw
57 months ago
For God's sakes Tim, climb down from your mountain of money and make ssd's standard on new Macs!
As a professional beancounter I'm sure you just love 5400 rpm spinners but the rest of us don't.
It 2015 for crying out loud.
Rating: 22 Votes
Avatar
DingoDance
57 months ago
Please be Skylake... please be Skylake... please be Skylake...
Rating: 19 Votes
Avatar
TSE
57 months ago
Very excited. I always think iMac is the most iconic "Mac" Apple has.
Rating: 18 Votes
Avatar
Menopause
57 months ago
How I keep dreaming about a Retina Thunderbolt Display... but alas.
Rating: 17 Votes
Avatar
JXShine
57 months ago
maybe they will finally smarten up and put ssd as the default configuration. Oh who am I kidding, apple really needs money, they have to continue with the 5400rpm HDD or else they can't fund their spaceship campus.
Rating: 16 Votes
Avatar
swingerofbirch
57 months ago

('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/08/03/imacs-faster-processors-improved-displays-kgi/')



Apple's iMac line is set to receive a significant boost this quarter in the form of a refresh including new processors and improved display quality, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Display improvements are said to arrive in the form of greater color saturation, but Kuo makes no mention of whether Apple is planning to extend Retina display options to the smaller 21.5-inch iMac lineup.While Apple has released several 27-inch Retina iMac models since last October, the remainder of the iMac lineup has not been updated since September 2013 as Apple has had to wait for Intel to release new desktop processors that could allow for a substantial update. With Broadwell processors starting to trickle out and Skylake right around the corner, it appears Apple will finally be able to offer a substantial upgrade for the entire iMac family.

Kuo believes that an inventory draw-down in the second quarter, the upcoming new iMacs, and promotions such as the current Back to School program ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/07/23/back-to-school-promo-beats-2015/') will drive strong sequential growth in iMac shipments for the current quarter, perhaps doubling quarter-over-quarter to one million units. The third calendar quarter is typically very strong for Apple's Mac segment with much of the world in the midst of back to school shopping.

Article Link: Apple Expected to Launch New iMacs With Improved Processors and Display Quality This Quarter ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/08/03/imacs-faster-processors-improved-displays-kgi/')


I understand the all-in-one ethos, but when the displays are so gorgeous I wish they would sell them separately alongside Mac minis with upgraded internals (such as quadcore processors and discrete graphics cards). I suppose iMacs with their internals have fairly good longevity, but to me it just seems wrong to tie a gorgeous display to a machine with so many other components that could fail and not be repairable at some point in the not too distant future. Or at least continue offering the iMac, but sell it alongside the iMac's stand-alone display with upgraded Mac minis.

EDIT: I wanted to add that even with Apple's all-in-one ethos, Apple knows customers aren't idiots. Before Bluetooth keyboard and mice, they had to plug those into Apple's all-in-ones. You have to plug the Apple TV into an HDTV. And of course they already sell the Mac mini. So they know customers are capable of taking the one step of plugging a display into a desktop computer.
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
bladerunner2000
57 months ago
They better put some Nvidia GPUs in there. AMDs are hot garbage for such poorly design airflow considering how much heat AMD gpus create. Worse yet, attempting to do anything at 4k on a mobile GPU is spitting in the face of consumers.

Geat your act together, Apple.
Rating: 12 Votes
Avatar
Gaspode67
57 months ago
Someone needs to take Cook and Ive to one side and slap some sense into them about their obsession with "thinness" on desktop machines. They've taken it so far that they're actively choosing to make devices less user-friendly. I know I've mentioned it before, but because they are so obsessed with making the edge as narrow as possible, they moved the SD card slot on the iMac from an easily accessible side location to the rear, where you either have to turn the Mac around/to the side, stand up, or reach around under the unit, folding your wrist back trying to find the slot by touch. It's an idiotic decision, as anyone could tell you after a couple of minutes of basic ergonomic testing. I've actually had to go and buy a separate card reader as I got fed up with the hassle of trying to put the card from my DSLR into the back of the Mac.

Style has its place in design, but Ive particularly has got to the point of having a fetish about it to the detriment of useability. It's Form over Function taken to the extreme. Add in their desire to remove the ability for people to upgrade the simplest of components and you get to the point where you start to seriously p-off people.
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
MacBH928
57 months ago
Why does Apple continue to refuse adding powerful GPU's in their systems? I never understood this? Your hardware is expensive as it is, you just might as well add the extra horsepower
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
tomnavratil
57 months ago
Skylake update and switch back to Nvidia for GPUs - that would be really nice, thank you Apple!
Rating: 10 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]