New iMac - what are we expecting with this years refresh?

[Atty]

I've got a late 2013 15'' Retina Macbook Pro that I want to get rid of because it hasn't left my desk for a few months now and probably won't ever again.

At this rate I want to buy a mid range 5k 27'' iMac and just use that as my new home machine. I'm considering selling my 15'' now because its configuration (512 SSD/16gb memory) and over a year of AppleCare being left on it puts it at what I think would be a good resale value that would cover enough of the cost of the new iMac that my budget for a new machine this year would have enough left over to buy an iPad or Macbook to use on the go, if I decided I needed it later on.

My only concern: What do we expect from this years iMac refresh? As far as I know the current batch has no known issues or troublesome areas.

The only cons I can think of is a reduced cost in SSD options or a better fusion drive options. As it is I'll probably get the iMac with a 512 SSD on its own and use USB 3 drives for expanded storage.

What I don't know is what the new Intel processors are going to do and what potential draws Thunderbolt 3 may have. Can anyone weigh in on what to expect from that side of this years refresh? Is the new family of processors waiting for?

Thanks!

 

[rugby]

I can't wait until thunderbolt 3 hits. Not sure if a desktop model would get it before the rest of the laptops but who knows. My official stab in the dark is that the macbook pros will get it along with 5K displays.

iMacs will go all 4K/5K with hopefully major upgrades on the low-end. The bottom end iMacs and Mac Minis are terrible machines, bordering on worthless.

 

[Commodus]

My educated guesses:

- Intel's Kaby Lake (a refresh of Skylake), leading to modest speed boosts

- USB 3.1 (Type-C connectors, of course) and Thunderbolt 3

- Upgraded GPUs and storage options

After that, it's hard to say. This basic design has been around since 2012, so it's arguably due for a refresh... but where does Apple go? Thinner bezels would be nice, but that only works so long as it leaves enough internal space. And I don't know that the iMac's target market is ready to go SSD-only to reduce the size and weight.

 

[TheStu]

My educated guesses:

- Intel's Kaby Lake (a refresh of Skylake), leading to modest speed boosts

- USB 3.1 (Type-C connectors, of course) and Thunderbolt 3

- Upgraded GPUs and storage options

After that, it's hard to say. This basic design has been around since 2012, so it's arguably due for a refresh... but where does Apple go? Thinner bezels would be nice, but that only works so long as it leaves enough internal space. And I don't know that the iMac's target market is ready to go SSD-only to reduce the size and weight.

I'd love to see a return to something like the iMac G4, LOVED that design. But that's unlikely. Most likely thing is them finding a way to remove the chin, so that it's all screen in front of your face, with a small silver apple along the bottom bezel.

 

[Commodus]

I'd love to see a return to something like the iMac G4, LOVED that design. But that's unlikely. Most likely thing is them finding a way to remove the chin, so that it's all screen in front of your face, with a small silver apple along the bottom bezel.

Sadly, an iMac G4 remake is likely impossible. It worked because display sizes at the time were small enough that there wouldn't be any balance issues. I remember that Apple had to gird the neck on the 20-inch model because of how much weight was involved. Can't imagine trying to support a 27-inch screen!

Getting rid of the chin would be nice, but it's not as much of an issue as it used to be. I'd certainly keep it if the alternative was shedding some performance.

 

[Ice_Dragon]

The 4K will get Iris Pro 580 I'd think since I don't know if the Kaby Lake quad core will be ready.

I'd also like to see Pascal mobile cards in the 5K.