2020 iMac Rumors- Is a Redesign Coming for the iMac?
Apple has focused a lot on their MacBook lineup, but the iMac is now due for an update and the design is getting old. What will be improved with the new iMac?
Will we get a new Design?
The design of the iMac is getting old, and it finally shows. Apple has kept pretty much the same design language for almost 13 years, since 2007, with the introduction of the aluminum design for the iMac. Since then, they’ve reduced the thickness of the iMac in general, and also made it a little more curvy along the way. However, the front of the iMac has been pretty much the same along the way, with literally nothing changing except for a space gray color in the iMac Pro introduced in 2017.
We’re expected to get a design with thinner bezels for the display since these are way too large for 2020. Even if we can trim down the whole black border, that would be amazing, and keeping the silver bottom part would be fine with most people. A well known leaker, named Dickson, has said that the iMac sizes will change to 23 and 29" screens. First of all, that 29" display on the iMac would look pretty sharp, and great for something like photo or video editing. For most people, I think that a 23" size is perfect, and since it will come in the same size as the current 21.5" form factor, it’ll be a win-win situation. I currently have a 23" monitor, and its the perfect size.
Price- How much will it be?
As for the price, if the display resolution remains at 4K and 5K, for the 23" and 29" respectively, these will probably remain the same price as they were. $1299 for a redesigned 23" iMac is a pretty fair price, and the processing that they will bring looks to be improved for 2020. $1799 for the larger one is still a little expensive. I think $1599 is a fair price, but knowing Apple they’ll keep it how it is. As for the $1099 21.5" model, I think that the current $1299 model will become that $1099 entry level iMac. On a side note, please spend the extra $200, you’ll be getting a much better iMac.
Release Date- When will we get it?
Since WWDC already happened a week ago at the time of writing, we were expecting to get these iMacs there. WWDC 2020 wasn’t a letdown, but the lack of hardware was. However, these new iMacs are supposed to come out in a matter of weeks or maybe a month. One thing we all have to remember is that we really don’t know when Apple will release a new iMac since they aren’t consistent with it like the MacBook Pro (Their clear favorite Mac).
Processors in the 2020 iMac
These new iMacs will almost definitely not get the new ARM based processors that Apple called “Apple Silicon,” which were introduced in WWDC. As Apple said in the keynote, there were still some Intel Macs in the pipeline, and this iMac is probably going to be one of those Intel Macs. Whether you buy this iMac is up to you of course, but I’d recommend holding out for Apple Silicon to come to the iMac before purchasing.
The 23" will most likely come with a 6-Core Processor at the baseline, and maybe on a build-to-order configuration you can increase the core count to 8, which is a decent amount for a 23" all-in-one. The 29" iMac will come with a 8-Core Processor to start with, and will go to a 10-Core Intel processor, according to the latest rumors. This processor has been found on Geekbench, and it looks custom tuned to the new iMac. This processor is a 95 Watt 3.6Ghz Core i9–10910, which looks like a complete beast of a processor. I don’t know if even Apple Silicon can beat this. Maybe in a couple of years.
Storage Options and Customization
Apple still uses a hard drive in their bottom two models of the 21.5" iMac to this day. In 2020, it should be a rule of thumb not include a hard drive in a $1300 machine. For people who need a lot of storage, for a lower price, the fusion drive is a decent buy. A lot of leaker believe that Apple will be removing both of these and switching completely to Solid State Drives, which are much faster, but definitely are much more expensive to get a lot of storage like 2–3 terabytes in. I’d expect the base 23" iMac to start with 256GB of storage and 512GB for the larger of the pair.
iMac Pro- Will it get Updated?
The iMac Pro has been very neglected since its initial release in 2017. Since then, it really hasn’t gotten a meaningful upgrade. Two products now overshadow the iMac Pro, and it just doesn’t make sense in the lineup as well. If you buy one of the lower end options of the iMac Pro, a normal iMac will get that job done almost just as well, but if you want a high-end one, the Mac Pro is a MUCH better buy.
Despite this, Ming-Chi Kuo thinks that the iMac Pro will be refreshed closer to the end of the year, with the same new design language, refreshed internals and more. This would make the iMac Pro more competitive, but I still think that at a starting price of $5000, the processor needs to be improved for sure. If you are a creative professional or someone who needs the most power, the Mac Pro is probably a much better alternative, especially since it came out pretty recently, and these pro-level machines don’t need to be updated as frequently as a MacBook Air.
To wrap up, it looks like Apple is planning to breath some life into the iMac lineup, and possible start selling more iMacs with their new design.
