Amid rumors and hints of a forthcoming update for the iMac, supplies of Apple's current 27-inch iMac continue to dwindle with mid- and high-end stock configurations now seeing shipping estimates pushed back into September.
The 27-inch iMac has seen tight supplies and extended shipping estimates for months now, but the situation has been gradually worsening to the point where new buyers can now expect to wait nearly two months to receive their machines.
Rumors of an imminent iMac update date back to March when reliable leaker CoinX indicated that one was coming "soon." A few weeks later, word of a new 23-inch iMac coming in the second half of the year surfaced, while Bloomberg's Mark Gurman noted that a "substantial" iMac refresh potentially including a redesign would be coming later in the year.
As WWDC approached, occasional leaker Sonny Dickson claimed that a redesigned iMac with "iPad Pro design language" would be arriving at the conference, but it failed to materialize, leaving considerable uncertainty about when we should expect an update to arrive.
MacRumors mockup of an iMac in the style of an iPad Pro
Kuo also said that the current Intel-based iMac will get one more update in the third quarter of this year, which would be between now and the end of September, and we have in fact seen a recent Geekbench benchmark for an apparent unreleased iMac equipped with unreleased Intel Comet Lake-S and AMD graphics processors.
So when will we see the next iMac update? It's hard to say at this point. We've heard no specific rumors of an update coming in the very near future, but with Apple rumored to be releasing an Apple Silicon-based iMac before the end of the year, it would seem this last Intel version should come sooner rather than later. Even a refresh right now would leave a relatively short update cycle unless the Apple Silicon-based iMac coming at the end of the year is intended to be sold alongside Intel-based models during a transition period.
Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch.
The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Wednesday November 27, 2024 1:05 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is expected to kick off 2025 by launching an all-new smart home hub, also referred to as a "command center," as early as March.
The hub is expected to feature around a six-inch display that can be attached to a tabletop base with a speaker, or mounted on a wall. The device is said to run a new "homeOS" operating system with a customizable widget-focused home screen, and it is expected...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
Friday December 6, 2024 4:07 pm PST by Juli Clover
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
Friday December 6, 2024 5:14 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 lineup may bring some of the most significant display improvements we've seen in recent years. While the iPhone 17 series isn't expected until late 2025, multiple rumors suggest Apple is working on substantial screen upgrades across its entire smartphone range.
From enhanced refresh rates to advanced materials and improved power efficiency, these display...
Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for.
Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Thursday December 5, 2024 10:03 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, two weeks after releasing the fourth betas. Alongside the release candidate versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac operating system updates, Apple has also seeded the watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and HomePod Software 18.2 RCs....
Thursday December 5, 2024 4:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
OpenAI today announced the launch of ChatGPT Pro, a $200 per month subscription service that provides unlimited access to OpenAI o1, the company's newest and most advanced large language model.
The plan includes unlimited use of OpenAI o1, o1-mini, GPT-4o, and Advanced Voice, along with o1 pro mode, an o1 version that uses more compute to provide better answers to the hardest problems. In...
“ERMAGRRRRRD SHIPPING DATES SLIPPED NEW IMAC COMING”
“WWDC IMAC COMING”
“AAAAAAARMMMMMM IMAC RAWR”
::Insert inaccurate Jon Prosser tweet here::
“SHIPPING DATES SLIP AGAIN IMAC IMMINENT BUT DON’T BUY NEW ONE COMING LATER SO DONT UPDATE ARMMMMMM”
Ad nauseam.
So over it at this point. I’m probably just going to go Windows... Lol actually no. I’ll just complain, but then rejoice in excitement whenever Apple ends the cockblock of the century and releases a redesigned iMac.
I've got three that are due to be delivered today that were ordered on June 8th. Fingers crossed that they arrive with a silently updated config with a i9-10910 and a Navi GPU.
They released the first generation Intel iMac with the exact same design as the previous iMac G5, it’s not impossible that the new iMac design will be able to accommodate ARM and Intel.
I'd been holding out for as long as possible, anticipating a redesign in March or at WWDC, but my 2011 iMac started failing in December. So I caved and bought a 2019.
I opted for a 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM. And god, it was not worth the over $2k. The 5K screen is awesome but everything aside from that just feels exactly the same. The performance is really, really disappointing. It stutters under my graphic design and music production workload. It is not smooth.
This is not a fun waiting game... anyone who needs an iMac is getting "DON'T BUY" screamed in their ears but with no real end in sight.
1.) Another update to the 27" iMac in it's current 2012-era design with 2009 bezels/front face ? 2.) A 23 or 24" all-new ARM-based iMac in the fall as a replacement for the 21.5" entry level and just powerful enough to entice prosumers that would typically opt-for a 27" iMac 3.) An ARM-based replacement for the 27" iMac in late-2021/mid 2022 that is 29-32" with the power to meet or more likely exceed historical Intel performance
Basically, anyone holding out hope for a redesigned 27" iMac should probably be prepared to wait yet another year or more. Hopefully the benefits of Apple Silicon in a desktop form factor will be worth the wait.
Why does everyone jump to the ARM conclusion? Apple has already said more Intel macs on the way, there was already a rumored Intel update to the iMac, and we just saw benchmark numbers for a new iMac two days ago. Seems obvious its an Intel Comet Lake iMac
