Amidst widespread rumors of a looming new iPad-esque iMac, supplies of Apple’s current 27-inch iMac continue to decline with mid- and high-end stock configs now carrying shipping estimates that reach into September.
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…
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.
MacDailyNews Take: The coexistence of Intel and ARM-based Macs will be very interesting. Will iMac be the first to make the leap before the end of this year? Will customers eschew Intel-based Macs or gobble them up for the two years or so Apple will take to transition the Mac? Certainly some percentage of Mac customers will choose the less efficient, hotter, and slower Intel Macs because they’re forced to run some Windows-only application(s), but others will want the speed, battery life, and other benefits that only Apple silicon Macs will be able to deliver. It’ll be interesting to watch — and for Apple to manage Mac inventory — during this transition!