Kuo: 24-Inch iMac With New Design to Launch in Fourth Quarter of 2020

Apple plans to launch a 24-inch iMac with a new design in the fourth quarter of 2020, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said today in a research note obtained by MacRumors.

imac 2020 mockup
Earlier this week, Kuo claimed that this redesigned iMac will be one of Apple's first two Mac models with a custom Arm-based processor, with the other being a future 13-inch MacBook Pro.

Following years of rumors, Apple today confirmed its plans to switch to its own processors for its Macs, promising "incredible" performance and features. Apple said that it plans to release its first Mac with custom silicon by the end of 2020, and it expects to transition its entire Mac lineup away from Intel processors within around two years.

In the meantime, Kuo expects Apple to refresh its existing Intel-based iMac in the third quarter of 2020, which encompasses July through September. It is unclear if this model will feature a new design. Apple last redesigned the iMac in 2012.

A last-minute rumor suggested that Apple was going to unveil its redesigned iMac at WWDC, but the keynote did not include any specific hardware announcements.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iMac

Top Rated Comments

gagaliya Avatar
36 months ago
Bought my 27 imac after the redesign in 2010. 10 years later, it still works flawlessly, no slowdown, no issues, just as fast. Incredible for a computer...best money I ever spent.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cheese01 Avatar
36 months ago

Not sure how they'll reach their "incredible performance" goals by the end of the year, though. Right now, the A14Z is dramatically slower than Intel desktop CPUs and graphics performance is nothing compared to (some) dedicated GPUs.
AnandTech did a very comprehensive benchmark ('https://www.anandtech.com/show/14892/the-apple-iphone-11-pro-and-max-review/4') of the A13 last year, including a comparison between it and Intel's top (at the time) desktop processor, the i9 9900K. The A13's single threaded performance (when actively cooled) was between 4% and 13% slower than the 9900K, depending on the test.

Considering that the A13 was drawing 5-6W, and the i9 draws over 20W per core at full speed, these results are jawdropping. Expect a 20-30% performance increase from the A14 (which Apple has consistently achieved each year), plus higher clocks from desktop-grade power delivery and cooling, and it's entirely reasonable to see a desktop variant of the A14 beating the 10900K (only ~6% faster than the 9900K) by a significant margin.

Exciting times.

EDIT: Graphics performance should be interesting to see. Right now, Apple's mobile graphics are impressive but not industry-leading in the way their mobile CPUs are. That being said, there's nothing to stop them from slapping a PCIe controller onto their desktop silicon and connecting whatever desktop GPU they want.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dreamail Avatar
36 months ago
Previous WWDC keynotes were always 2 hours and a bit.
This year they also reserved a 2 hour slot.
And they had the advantage of prerecording the entire presentation, so they could perfectly time it.

Yet this year's keynote was only 1:48:00. 12 minutes short of 2 hours. 12 minutes of unused space.

Does look like a last-minute scrap of a "One More Thing..." presentation.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kalae Avatar
36 months ago

Not sure how they'll reach their "incredible performance" goals by the end of the year, though. Right now, the A14Z is dramatically slower than Intel desktop CPUs and graphics performance is nothing compared to (some) dedicated GPUs.
“A14Z” doesn’t exist (yet?)

The dev kit and the demos today were the A12Z, which is basically a chip from 2018 with an extra gpu core
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cheese01 Avatar
36 months ago

I think you might be surprised, at least i hope you are. While it doesnt make much sense on the surface, the fact is the ARM mac’s wont be competitive with Intel mac’s from jump. I think we’ll see ARM in the lower end products at first. Further, and perhaps more importantly, the professional sector will be slow to release native versions of software for ARM mac’s. That means many design houses and firms will rely on Intel mac’s for years to come.
Just curious - what makes you think ARM Macs won't be competitive?
Personally I don't think Apple would announce a full transition unless they had complete confidence they could overtake Intel's offerings across all their products. Going by my rough calculations ('https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/kuo-24-inch-imac-with-new-design-to-launch-in-fourth-quarter-of-2020.2242365/post-28591777') I'd expect an A14 based iMac to be faster than an Intel iMac, at least in raw performance. Whether or not it's faster in real world use probably depends on how much overhead Rosetta introduces.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pipis2010 Avatar
36 months ago

Not sure how they'll reach their "incredible performance" goals by the end of the year, though. Right now, the A14Z is dramatically slower than Intel desktop CPUs and graphics performance is nothing compared to (some) dedicated GPUs.
I think you are mistaken, because they did announce MAC-SPECIFIC ARM chips, so we will be seeing differences compared to their mobile chips :) And we don't really know as of yet the sort of power-performance these "desktop" chips will have, so just be patient :) But, I wouldn't be surprised if they already have a desktop chip which beats Intel/AMD - don't forget, we don't really know what they have been secretly producing/testing/experimenting all these years, besides their official announcements/product releases - surprises could be in store...
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...
apple park at night 1

Apple 'Tracking Employee Attendance' in Crackdown on Remote Working

Thursday March 23, 2023 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is tracking the attendance of its employees at offices using badge records in order to ensure they are coming in at least three times a week, according to Platformer's Zoë Schiffer. Since April 2022, Apple employees have been operating on a hybrid home/office work policy as part of a gradual return strategy following the pandemic, with staff required to work from the office at least...
iphone 14 pro max deep purple feature purple

iPhone 15 Pro Rumor Recap: 10 New Features and Changes to Expect

Thursday March 23, 2023 6:42 am PDT by
While the iPhone 15 series is still around six months away from launching, there have already been plenty of rumors about the devices. Many new features and changes have been rumored for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max in particular. Below, we have recapped 10 changes rumored for iPhone 15 Pro models that are not expected to be available on the standard iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus:A1...
maxresdefault

Nothing Launches $149 Ear (2) Wireless Earbuds to Compete With AirPods Pro 2

Wednesday March 22, 2023 9:48 am PDT by
Nothing today announced the launch of its second-generation wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (2), which offer many of the same features as Apple's AirPods Pro 2 at a lower price point. We went hands-on with the Ear (2) earbuds to see whether they're a viable alternative to the AirPods Pro 2 for those who want to save some cash. The Ear (2) earbuds are the successor to the Nothing Ear (1),...
TMobile Sprint

Apple Stops Allowing Sprint iPhone Activations, Removes Sprint References From Online Store

Thursday March 23, 2023 12:06 pm PDT by
Apple is no longer allowing customers who purchase an iPhone, cellular iPad, or Apple Watch to activate a device with now-defunct mobile carrier Sprint. Apple has also removed remaining references to Sprint from its online store. When checking out with a new purchase, Sprint is no longer an option for connectivity, a change that Apple appears to have implemented today. Prior to now, Sprint...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 for iPhone Nearing Launch With These 5 New Features

Monday March 20, 2023 11:50 am PDT by
Apple says iOS 16.4 is coming in the spring, which began this week. In his Sunday newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the update should be released "in the next three weeks or so," meaning a public release is likely in late March or early April. iOS 16.4 remains in beta testing and introduces a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone. Below, we have recapped five new features ...
Hero0009

Best Apple Deals of the Week: Samsung's Smart Monitor M8 Gets Massive $250 Discount, Along With Year's Best AirPods Prices

Friday March 24, 2023 10:23 am PDT by
We saw a lot of great deals on Apple products and related accessories this week, including Samsung's iMac-like Smart Monitor M8 for $250 off, a 30 percent off spring sale at Anker, and the year's best prices on numerous AirPods models. All of these deals are still available to purchase right now, so we're recapping them and more below. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these ...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...