Do you know how old the current
iMac is?
Half a year. Or two years, if we're talking
form factors. In terms of major Apple design overhauls, six months isn't a very long time, but considering that the all-important holiday shopping season is about to kick off, it follows logic to think that Apple would update its most consumer-facing Mac lineup in preparation.
AppleInsider seems to have a pretty good read on a purported refresh, noting that a thinner chassis (predictable, but appreciated) and all-around lower prices are on tap. We're told that the enclosures could closely mimic the firm's new
Cinema Displays in terms of industrial design, and while details on actual specification changes are next to nil, we are told that a few amenities "not previously available" would become so. Who's down for throwing out wild suppositions? (And no, Blu-ray
doesn't count.)
posted Sep 24th 2009 3:01PM
I was expecting maybe the new Core i5 or i7.
Imacs use notebook processers. Mac pros already use core I7s. So the core i7s announced this week fro notebooks will be in them.
"we are told that a few amenities "not previously available" would become so"
Does that include a keyboard that doesn't suck?
@Kris
The Mac Pro does not use Core i7. It uses quad core Xeon "Nehalem" processors.
@michael the Nehalem is the i7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Nehalem_%28microarchitecture%29
Good point but there is barely any difference.
@Cash: I'm using the keyboard right now with my MacBook and a second monitor and I love it. It's simple and to the point.
You're being a bit nit picky aren't you? It's not like the Nehalem chips in the MacPros are all that different. Whooo, I can use ECC Memory and sleep at night knowing my processor's TDP was more thoroughly tested.
Kris, iMacs do not use notebook processors. They use full voltage desktop processors. Do your homework.
@Wizzle
Shutup.
Cash,
What don't you like about the keyboard? Isn't it just a board... with keys on it?
Cranky today Kris? Don't worry, it's cool - lots of things change while you go through puberty, including hormones. Women are like that too.
Seriously, Wizzle, cut the crap. You can make a factual correction without throwing in little remarks like "do your homework" to just try and insult people. Your last comment towards Kris is uncalled for.
Make a 50" iMac w/ blu-ray drive and HDMI inputs, Apple.
There are legions of people who would pay $4K for such a thing.
52" iMac w/ blu-ray and HDMI inputs a'plenty, pleeeeeeaaaaase!
God I want one above my fireplace. mmmmmmm
@ wizzle
You are a moron. iMacs do indeed use notebook processors. Infact, every component in an iMac is a notebook item except the HDD which is 3.5". Get your facts straight before you go flamin' people.
@Fernando
No no no, the i7 and Xeon processors use the "Nehalem microachitecture" the 2 chips themselves are different.
One supports ECC Ram(Xeon) where the other does not (Core i7).
So, no Nehalem is not the i7, the i7 is a Nehalem.
Core i7 does work with ECC RAM.
I've read a lot of reports of people upgrading their quad-core 2.26 GHz Mac Pros with the i7 975 CPU.
crawdad689:
What the hell would you need HDMI for then? To hook it up to your 100" TV? I gues the point of 52" display would be that you don't have to hook it to anything else.
Besides.. 24" iMac already has HD display so it would be double the size with the same resolution? That would s**k.
@Vitt
He said inputs, not HDMI outputs
I'm hoping for some Core i7 love in one of these... I'll be buying a few if that's the case.
Heck yeah. Although, if they slap on a touchscreen too, I wouldn't complain. ;)
I 2nd the Core i7. Core i7 Quad = iMac purchase for me.
Hope.
The core I7 for notbooks from this week probably.
Note that in the main Appleinsider article the production started weeks ago. Unless it’s only for the high-end model where Apple produces a lot less unit, that is not likely as production for the mobile i7s has not ramped up to meet Apple’s excessive needs out of the gate. I think that mobile i7s for Apple’s MBP line come 2010 is about the earliest we can expect to see them in Macs.
But they have had processors from Intel before most other notebook manufacturers. Only by a couple of weeks but it has happened so I'll guess we wait and see.
I was going to say that also - Apple tends to get chips earlier than other PC manufacturers. Probably a part of the deal when they made the switch to Intel processors.
Only with machines that are sold in “relatively" low quantities. The best case scenario with a new iMac running i7 that has apparently started production weeks ago is that the high-end iMac will get it. Dell and Hp and other sell a lot more PCs than Apple, but Apple uses a lot more of the same, brand new CPUs right off the starting line. As Apple grows they will have to diversify their product line and/or wait for Intel to get production into full swing. We’ve already seen delays of products when we use to have everything available the day it was announced.
Apple gets favours from Intel, and in return, won't switch to AMD or another x86 processor manufacturer.
I heard that several Intel engineers helped Apple tune Leopard's code for x86 processors, and Apple gets prerelease compilers and stuff even Microsoft doesn't get. They also got a specialised processor for the MacBook Air. I'd totally believe they got the mobile i7 chips before anyone else.
If Intel wanted Apple's business that badly, they could have easily agreed to give them higher volumes of new chips up front. Apple machines get more publicity than most (whether or not they should), and that translates into more publicity for Intel.
That specialised processor was in other notebooks too. It wasn't apple only.
No Blu-ray? What a bag of hurt.
consider the whole itunes movie 'extras' feature released a couple of weeks back. why would they do that if not to push downloads.
so yeah it is very possible that internal blu won't happen. software support for an external is still up in the air.
HIVEMIND!
Which OS has 8% marketshare and which has 90%?
Good job.
Is further thin-ness really that valuable? I mean, how much benefit is one really going to get from a desktop that's a half a millimeter thinner?
Be nice to see that notebook Core i7, but I doubt it, Apple tends to be a bit behind the curve processor-wise.
I don't argee that Apple tends to be a bit behind the curve processor-wise.
Apple MacBook Pro is the first Intel Core Duo notebook, they announce it even before Intel officially introduce Core Duo.
Apple Mac Pro use Clovertown a few months before Intel supplies it to other OEMs.
Again, Mac Pro use the Nehalem Xeon first.
The MacBook Air use a Custom made Intel SFF processor, well before Intel make it available to the other OEMs.
Thinness is obviously valuable to this audience since looks are the only reason to buy such a gimped desktop.
@Chris
Explain how they are "gimped."
Using GAEMAN as an example is invalid, since that isn't the audience Apple is targeting.
@ Epsilon-Not,
A thinner machine can reduce weight in shipping, size of the box and less material for building the unit which can add up over time and outshine the initial cost of increased R&D. But probably most importantly, it’s appealing to the consumer. There is a reason these AIOs that use mostly notebook-grade components are growing while towers are shrinking in percentage.
PS: saying it’ll be a half mm is hyperbole, which ruins an otherwise valid argument on your part.
@ Raymond,
All the processors you mentions are correct, but they are also the “black sheep” of the bunch. The ones that aren’t sold with the same bulk that Apple requires for their main machines. Intel is using Apple’s Macs as a platform for advertising their new processors when they are highly specialized, but the C2D that Apple gets 3M now a quarter for their Mini, iMac, MB and MBP are not those chips. The exception being the first MB/MBPs with Core Duos, but remember those were a staggered release along with machines with PPC and Apple was only selling less than a million total machines per quarter back then. Production for having mobile i7 ready for all new Macs and for the other vendors just isn’t feasible.
You do realize the avalanche of fanboy renderings you guys just kicked off. Right?
Including yourself!
I believe the company I work for is manufacturing a part for these models that a Mac has never had before. At first I thought it would be in the iPhone 3GS but it wasn't.
You can't tell us that and not tell us who you work for. Otherwise talking bull.
@ Kris120890 : Not necessarily. A lot of times companies have policies that open a world of hurt for their employee's if one of them runs of and says 'I work for Company X.'
So if I were him, I wouldn't have mentioned my employer name either. Besides, you can't believe everything you read on the internet. That's how WWI got started.
Well, my hesitation has more to do with being wrong about the iPhone. I told lots of folks I had parts in there and ended up NOT being a part of it. Our manufacturing ramp just happened to coincide with a period before the GS's release. But it makes more sense that it was a product a bit further out.
I've mentioned before where I work in Engadget comments.
Touch screen...... In anticipation of the appletablet......
After the avalanche of tech blogs, and commentators, telling us that touch-screen desktops are stupid and that people's arms will get tired from using them, they are going to all of a sudden say it's perfectly cool just because Apple does it?
Nevermind.
If you sit at a traditional desk and hold your arm up to touch your screen, your arm will get tired after just a few minutes. Touchscreen computers would have to be similar to drafting tables in order to be comfortable.