What I’d like to see in Apple’s next-gen iMac

“When Apple met with select members of the media to talk about the Mac Pro, Apple VPs also mentioned that the company plans to update the iMac this year,” Roman Loyola writes for Macworld.

“The gap between updates for the iMac isn’t as long as the Mac Pro, but it’s been a while. The current iMac was released in October of 2015, well past the yearly updates Apple used to issue,” Loyola writes. “So the iMac is due.”

“Apple offers multiple models of the iMac, with 21.5- and 27-inch display,” Loyola writes. “You’ll probably see Core i5 or Core i7 processors in the 21.5-inch iMacs, and then a Xeon processor in the 27-inch model. Let’s hope those Core processors are from Intel’s 7th generation.”

Much more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Thunderbolt 3.

28 Comments

    1. Yes, at least one USB C port with easy access,

      The RAM and the HD should be easy to swap/upgrade/replace.

      Give us room for two HDs and we’ll be in heaven!

      There is really no reason the edges have to taper to a razor’s edge–give us room to upgrade stuff without lifting the entire screen off! (been there/done that successfully, but it is a scary procedure.)

    1. Agreed! The old Mac Pros were a joy to open up, especially the cheese grater. I used to open it up just to see the look on peoples’ faces when they saw the artistically clean interior and the slide out drive bays. Just two simple latches provided great access to all of the critical components. That was a design that worked.

  1. I hope to keep my mid-2007 iMac going until Apple delivers a new desktop that is worthy of my money. I just replaced the HDD and everything looks good for now. It is possible that I may never buy another desktop, and just get a new laptop in a couple of years.

    1. As another proud mid 2007 iMac owner, I completely agree. My next setup might be a laptop with a Mac mini acting as a server. Of course, if the next mini is as compromised as the current version, then I’ll get a generic box and use Linux instead.

  2. Well, I guess let’s go pie in the sky. I don’t think a fingerprint reader would work on a non-integrated keyboard because securing the connection between it and the secure enclave would be difficult. So how about putting a finger printer reader on the back edge of the iMac. Thunderbolt 3 is a given. I don’t really care about USB A ports since dongles on a desktop aren’t a problem for me. I’d sort of like a forward looking feature that would add a mode that was present in a few iMacs: Target Display Mode. In this mode, when your computer is several years old, rather than retiring it, you’d turn it into a secondary display or even a TV. I’d also have it add in Target Disk Mode so you could use its hard drive on your new computer, as well as the ports. I have an iMac that I don’t like to use because it’s several years old. Yes the resolution isn’t modern, but I wish I could use it as a secondary display rather than trashheaping (recycling) it.

  3. I’ll join any others wanting some accessibility to the interior, and please, please, not by removing the display. Out of the several hundred successes I have had a fail- the edges of the new display are really fragile. And the whole inside, not just the RAM and the drive. A back plate that removes, why not? I’d like to see a no-bezel front as well. Adjustable height would be a real boon to ergonomics, and a legged or wire-frame base with an open back, for cable-routing. I do not want to see any plastic. Full wireless keyboard, please, and the magic trackpad standard. Someone mentioned a lightning connector and that seems like a fantastic idea, as long as the iProducts still use it. I don’t need a touch screen, but some sort of photo/finger/retina security would be nice. The 21/22 inch size is nice too, no real need to make anything larger the base model.

  4. Easy upgradable RAM and HD/SSD by user

    Hybrid Hard Drive option

    New adjustable base or “neck”

    Should easily work as simple stand alone tv
    or monitor when needed

    Ambilight as seen on Phlips TV 🤗

  5. I would like the next iMac to come in two boxes. In the base, a user configurable, upgradeable, and repairable unit that is a bit bigger than the current Mac Mini and more capable in every way. Also in that box should be the user choice of a usb-c wired full keyboard or wireless. In addition, box 1 should include a fully adjustable arm with integrated Thunderbolt cable that bolts onto the base unit and supports what comes in box 2: a cutting edge display in either 24″, 27″, or 32″ in at least 4k resolution and with antireflective coating.

    Similar matching displays should be available as standalone docking stations for MacBooks and Mac Minis with a vesa mount. Let iMac users add a display or two for goodness sakes!!!!

    Screw these stupid ideas for breakout gpu boxes and daisy chained aftermarket addons. The base needs to be big enough to support regular Apple and aftermarket upgrades inside. Squeezing all that into an anorexic thin Ive sealed case behind the screen is a limiting design that needs to be abandoned asap.

    One more thing: the iMac is the one desktop Mac , period. The new Mac Mini needs to be more versatile, able to be put on a shelf, rack mounted, or under a desk. And the next Mac Pro needs to be a proper workstation that sits on the floor and will outrun anything else on the market.

    And there is still room in the lineup for a Mac tower with half the expansion of a Mac Pro and i7 chips to bring down the cost.

  6. Oh forget Thunderbolt. It’s stupidly expensive and the only thing it will ever connect to is SATA adaptors, so it has no advantages over SATA. Just give us space to put our hard drives and maybe a slot.

    Shaving another millimeter from the back of the machine is such a stupid waste. Let us do something productive with that space, like putting cards and HDs there so that Macs aren’t always surrounded by a rats nest of cables.

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