Apple spec bumps iMacs, minis, adds 24-inch iMac

Well done, Steve, you've surprised us yet again. While we were sitting around bracing for another day filled with Apple rumors (e.g. "OMG! What's he gonna announce on the 12th? iPhone!!!!), Cupertino has gone and released some actual products today, including upgrades to the entire lineup of iMacs and minis. Most exciting, perhaps, is the all-new 24-inch iMac (we were all looking out for a 23-incher), complete with a 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, 1GB of RAM, 250GB HDD capacity, FireWire 800, and some of that sweet nVIDIA GeForce action in the form of a 128MB 7300GT graphics chipset. Besides the 24-incher, both the 17-inch and 20-inch models now come with Core 2 Duo standard (ranging from 1.83GHz to 2.16GHz), 160GB or 250GB worth of hard drive space, 512MB or 1GB of RAM, 8x dual-layer SuperDrive, and ATI Radeon X1600 graphics (except for the low-end 17-incher, which sports integrated graphics and just a 24x Combo drive, plus no bundled remote or Bluetooth 2.0). As for the minis, they're all part of the dual core family now as well, featuring 1.66GHz or 1.83GHz Core Duo CPUs, 512MB of RAM (2GB max), up to 160GB of hard drive capacity, either a Combo drive or a SuperDrive, but still just integrated graphics. Available immediately from Apple online or retail, pricing on the new models is as follows: $999 for the 1.83GHz 17-inch iMac, $1,199 for the 2.0GHz 17-incher, $1,499 for 20 inches of iMac goodness, and $1,999 for the 24-inch monster, while the minis start at $599 and $799, respectively, depending on the processor. So now the big question is: what IS going to be announced at the "It's Showtime" event? Damn, guess we're in for another week of rumors after all...

Read - iMac
Read - mini
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Joe Smith @ Sep 6th 2006 9:36AM]

Phil Schiller is the best marketer in the world. Kudos.

But are those all meroms, even in the 24 incher?

[G Money @ Sep 6th 2006 9:36AM]

As a consumer in the market for a new mac the Mini's should have got a price drop, since the chips got cheaper, BUT since I am an apple shareholder as well, I am all for maintaing high margins. WAy to go apple.

[Wonderboy @ Sep 6th 2006 9:40AM]

Still no audio options besides the stereo mini-out for the Mac-Mini... that's a huge disappointment for people wanting high quality surround sound from their Mini-based home theater steup... self included.

[Armie @ Sep 6th 2006 9:42AM]

I can see that 24" iMac replacing my 25" HD TV in the living room as an entertainment hub. Bundle in elGato and I'm all set!

[Jon Himself @ Sep 6th 2006 9:45AM]

Now if I could just get a tv tuner on that 24"... or perhaps some other form of video inputs that have absolutely no lag for both tv AND video games...

[UnseenLllama @ Sep 6th 2006 9:45AM]

Wonderboy,

That mini audio out also provides optical out. You just need to buy the right cable converter. I have my mini hooked up to my Sony receiver in full 5.1 bliss.

[ElectroGeek @ Sep 6th 2006 9:46AM]

Just add Windows Vista and then you'll have a real iMac. Complete with security vulnerabilities,auto updates and regular service packs. Sweet.

[aardvark @ Sep 6th 2006 9:48AM]

The minis have optical minijack in/out just like the iMacs.

[CntryDoe @ Sep 6th 2006 9:49AM]

@Wonderboy

The Mini has had optical audio out since the transition to intel...
From the Tech Specs Page.
Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack)
Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)

[bob @ Sep 6th 2006 9:50AM]

WOW, i am actually considering ebaying my dual 2.7 powermac for this baby, with the larger hard drive and gfx card upgrade. ooo baby (ill keep my second monitor though ;p

[quahogian @ Sep 6th 2006 9:56AM]

About time iMac has some serious horsepower. U can upgrade vid to 7600GT and proc to 2.33. I am sure Apple can squize more out of this setup than an average PC maker. It might be time for me to finally get into the macland

[Euan @ Sep 6th 2006 10:11AM]

Oh my, that's pretty sweet.

[alloneword @ Sep 6th 2006 10:16AM]

I still don't get Apple Australia's pricing. The new low end dual core mac mini, the cheapest Mac mini is still $941AUD. That is $727USD for the cheapest end Mac mini. Far too much.

[Steve @ Sep 6th 2006 10:23AM]

Heh, saw Brian May playing live last night, a mention on Engadget today, my life is complete ;-) Sorry for sending in three messages instead of one guys, next time I'll check the whole store instead of reacting to the first bit of news I see.

Anyway, just having another look at the UK site, I think the price of some upgrades has dropped a bit too, I seem to remember the 512 > 1024 memory upgrade being £70 not £50 as it is now. Oh, and the 24" iMac has a nVidia 7300GT card not the ATI X1600 as standard.

One thing I don't get after looking at the spec is why Apple launched the low-end iMac. The other 17" model costs £120 more but you get a faster processor, 1GB of memory standard, a dedicated graphics card instead of the integrated one, a superdrive (the base only gets a combodrive) and a remote (missing from the base for some odd reason). Only reason I can think for getting that machine is if you're buying for business / educational / basic workstation requirements.

[Zuhaib @ Sep 6th 2006 10:27AM]

Dang i just got my dad a Mac Mini Solo last week, dont know if its worth to return it with the 10% restocking fee.
Also when will the Core 2 Duo for the MBP will drop? thats the only reason i am still not buying a new laptop.

[macpurc @ Sep 6th 2006 10:27AM]

The 24" model now has an optional VESA mount.

[alex @ Sep 6th 2006 10:30AM]

A correction: 2.33 GHz is the top speed in the lineup.

A few thoughts: I was hoping for the 23" because it's an HD display, the 24" seems to be the same panel as the 24" dell display (speculation). also, anyone know if the chips are conroe or merom?

[alex @ Sep 6th 2006 10:30AM]

I also used my edu discount to get my dad a mac mini literally 3 days ago, its still in the box, unopened. anyone know if a restocking fee still applies? also i just noticed, you can upgrade to a 2GB single-DIMM memory chip!

[fastolfe @ Sep 6th 2006 10:39AM]

ElectroGeek, was that really necessary?

[Diego @ Sep 6th 2006 11:04AM]

Alex,

If you bought it an Apple store and didn't open it then there is no restocking fee, that would only cover opened computers.

[thegrey @ Sep 6th 2006 11:05AM]

@alex
Take it to Apple i'm sure they will be happy to upgrade you to the new ones.

[David @ Sep 6th 2006 11:06AM]

"A few thoughts: I was hoping for the 23" because it's an HD display, the 24" seems to be the same panel as the 24" dell display (speculation)."

Apple's 23" Cinema display, this new 24" iMac and the 24" Dell all use wide aspect panels. Although HD is 16:9 aspect ratio, wide aspect computer panels are almost all 16:10 instead. The 1920 x 1200 resolution verifies the fact that the new 24" iMac is indeed using such a panel.

The question then becomes what type of panel is Apple now using. The 23" Cinema was using an S-IPS panel, perhaps moving to AS-IPS in the latest incarnation. The Dell panel is a PVA panel. S-IPS is known for best color accuracy, with color stability even at wider viewing angles, but doesn't have quite the blacks of PVA and is slower. PVA is faster with better contrast ratio, but has larger color shifts with viewing angle. Photographers and graphics professionals tend to seek out the increasingly rare S-IPS panels while the typical user is generally happier with PVA (unless you are a gamer craving high frame rate, in which case you are willing to give up color accuracy and viewing angle for refresh rate and will look for a TN panel).

[javaflash @ Sep 6th 2006 11:12AM]

My sincere hope... 50" iMac with built in dual TV tuner.

Not that far fetched to be honest.

[mysweetJon @ Sep 6th 2006 11:24AM]

why no bump to core 2 duo for the mac mini's?

im kinda bummed, i was looking to buy one and was waiting for the upgrades, but i was expecting them to update to the newer intel chips. oh well, looks like ill just have to do it on my own...

[Joonas @ Sep 6th 2006 11:28AM]

Steve,

The low-end 17" model is indeed targeted at the education market - it replaced the old eMac. Thus the trimmed features.

[YourNameHere @ Sep 6th 2006 11:28AM]

Here's a freekish problem:

"Typical contrast ratio: 500:1 (17-inch model); 800:1 (20-inch model); 700:1 (24-inch model)"

WHY WHY WHY does the 24" have worse contrast ratio than the 20"????

[z @ Sep 6th 2006 11:35AM]

Can't wait to download movies for my 24'' iMac... Just missing the movieport express to stream the video to my projector and the surround sound to my amp and speakers. Just missing my video iPod to store the movies on the go and transmit it wirelessly to my airport network.

[Ben Freedman @ Sep 6th 2006 11:43AM]

WHAT! Still no TV tuner? Didn't they see this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_kJPxhOd8U

Best,

Benjamin

[vectorbug @ Sep 6th 2006 11:48AM]

now lets get a mac that doesnt have integrated video or an integrated display that isn't as over kill as the pro but not as retarded as the mini.

already have a 23" acd i dont need an iMac for graphic design / source games.

[Little Joe @ Sep 6th 2006 12:08PM]

:o

[chenry @ Sep 6th 2006 12:11PM]

i want one.

[AEMV @ Sep 6th 2006 12:14PM]

Someone asked for a Mac TV tuner??

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetv250

any more questions?

[MacsAre1 @ Sep 6th 2006 12:32PM]

vectorbug,
these iMacs have support for extended desktop on their video out, so you could always just get one and hook up your cinema display for some massive screen real estate...

[jojo @ Sep 6th 2006 12:46PM]

So its showtime on Sept 12, with a new version of iTunes movie downloads to compliment this iMac

[shon @ Sep 6th 2006 1:02PM]

well all the "reasonable" items for the event just showed up, so lets hope for something more significant at the event. I'd be happy with the new vid ipod and ecstatic for an iPhone. screw the nano...

[nfranz @ Sep 6th 2006 1:43PM]

Hey dudes wanna help me get a free mac book and yourself one too? I'll scratch your back if you've already doing the conga line of free stuff. ?

[Joe Alien @ Sep 6th 2006 1:50PM]

Intel chips was the best decision Apple has made in recent years.

[Steve @ Sep 6th 2006 1:59PM]

Guys...
One more thing...
You aint seen nothing yet...

[Parker @ Sep 6th 2006 2:05PM]

As far as the Mini audio stuff goes, I'll just add that I've been using my G4 Mini for 5.1 channel surround sound for a while. I'm using an external USB sound card.

Granted, it's a workaround but it was cheap and sounds great. I wish I had an Intel Mac though. :-)

I really want a laptop but that new iMac is sweet. If I only had a bigger budget...

[Rowlander @ Sep 6th 2006 2:17PM]

Yes, a glorious 24 inch iMac! But wait... What´s this? NO VIDEO INPUT??? WHAT THE ...?!
Would have loved to connect this to a Xbox 360 or HD-DVD player. Now those 1080p go "to waste" with "only" the MAC OS and standard DVD playback. :-(

I completely agree with vectorbug. If there was a decent midrange mac with no built in display, I could get a Dell monitor. They have plenty of inputs! I thought Apple was about choice?

[Raider @ Sep 6th 2006 2:45PM]

The iMacs have "Merom" chips inside. They use those over "Conroe" because of the heat of that processor. It leads to better thermal temps throughout the machine by going "Merom".

[AEMV @ Sep 6th 2006 3:16PM]

You can play XBOX or WHATEVER you want on your iMAC wit this

http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetvhybridna

[John Andrews @ Sep 6th 2006 3:38PM]

Whatever upgrades they do the Mac Mini nothing changes the fact it is still a Mac, if you want a real Mini PC then get something like these units: http://www.stealthcomputer.com/littlepc.htm

[Rowlander @ Sep 6th 2006 3:48PM]

Quote: "You can play XBOX or WHATEVER you want on your iMAC wit this..."

No, you can´t!
The device you seem to be referring to is a USB solution for analog antennas, composite and S-Video. You can´t display HDTV over composite.
I´m talking about 1080i/720p via component or VGA!

[SP Leung @ Sep 6th 2006 4:26PM]

Apple makes the move to provide better movie experience
http://stylemac.blogspot.com/2006/09/apple-makes-move-to-provide-better.html

[Russell @ Sep 6th 2006 4:28PM]

Rowlander - LOL, since when has apple been about choice? Choosing Apple has always meant less choice.

Not worth it, IMO.

[Ben18 @ Sep 6th 2006 4:33PM]

Ok, so I have a laptop, but no desktop and this new 24" imac seems to fit the bill. My only question, should I wait for leopard? Am I missing out on much of the new os's abilities if I just stick with tiger? What do you guys think I should do.

[Evan Doyle @ Sep 6th 2006 5:05PM]

i love they screw us over on the iMac $999 seris

no apple remote
no bluetoooth
2mb of cache
combo drive lol

[Eric @ Sep 6th 2006 5:40PM]

Quote "if you want a real Mini PC then get something like these units". Have you seen the price, the specs and the design.
It was probably a joke..

[Brian @ Sep 6th 2006 6:12PM]

Why not 1920x1200 instead of 1900x1200?