iMac 2023
Apple (Hacker News):
iMac with M3 is up to 2x faster than the prior generation with M1. And for those upgrading from an Intel-based iMac, the new iMac is up to 2.5x faster than the most popular 27-inch models, and 4x faster than the most powerful 21.5-inch model.
[…]
iMac features a 24-inch, 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, a P3 wide color gamut, over a billion colors, and 500 nits of brightness.
[…]
iMac now features Wi-Fi 6E, which delivers download speeds that are up to twice as fast as the previous generation, and Bluetooth 5.3, which allows users to connect to the latest Bluetooth accessories. It also features up to four USB‑C ports, including two Thunderbolt ports for superfast data transfer; support for Gigabit Ethernet standard on select models[…]
The iMac now supports up to 24GB of memory and the M3 chip’s all-new GPU brings hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing to the iMac for the first time.
[…]
The iMac starts at the same $1,299 price of the previous model.
This is all fine, but the bad news is that Apple seems to be saying that there are no plans for an iMac with a larger display. There is nothing in Apple’s current lineup that offers what the old 27-inch iMac did (either in display, RAM, ports, or CPU relative to the rest of the lineup). You can get a Mac mini or a Mac Studio with a Studio Display, but you’ll pay a lot more for a more awkward setup.
The newly announced M3 iMac is still accompanied by peripherals with a Lightning port for pairing and charging, rather than USB-C as rumored.
They still have the bad design with the full-height left/right arrow keys, and the Magic Mouse still can’t be used while it’s being charged.
Overall, it’s good to see the iMac finally get an update—there never was an M2 iMac—but it just doesn’t seem like Apple cares very much.
All they had to do was replace the Lightning port on the Magic Keyboard with USB-C and I would have bought one but nooooooo.
This was going to be my dream machine after a long time of not upgrading. However, the 8/256GB standard, no USB-C accessories, and still charging extra to have Touch ID and a Magic Trackpad really leave a bad taste in my mouth.
To be completely frank the memory and storage in the iMac configurations is insulting for those prices in 2023.
There is no reason Apple should be selling a computer over £1000 with anything less than 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
As always, the up-charges for extra storage seem exorbitant. And, holding the prices constant, I continue to think that most users would be better off with SSDs that are slower but higher capacity. The user experience of adding extra external storage later is bad and getting worse.
Previously:
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@John I thought there was a line in the video about this replacing the 27-inch iMac. That combined with waiting 2 years for no change is disappointing. But, yes, Apple doesn’t discuss future products, except in those rare cases where they say they won’t make something and then go on to actually make it.
Not shown above, but in the video event John Ternus said regarding the 24" 4.5K display: "it's the perfect size and resolution to replace both the 4K and the 5K Intel-based models."
I'm not sure how else to read this other than there are no plans for at least specifically a 27" 5K display in an iMac. Or generously with Apple's secrecy and possibility of change: "don't wait for it."
I've never seen any explanation for the full-height arrow keys. They were a plainly bad idea that seemed to just be following a bad idea from the rest of the notebook industry, they were so clearly bad that they were reverted in newer keyboards, but then that bad idea continues on in even newer keyboards well after that realization.
@John
I'll infer what is implied by Apple when it says "it’s the perfect size and resolution to replace both the 4K and the 5K Intel-based models in an even more versatile design."
I'm expecting a 30" 6K and 32" 8K iMac Pro next year, and I don't expect Apple to give any hints that such a thing is coming before it's official.
-jcr
I wonder what drives the Touch ID decision.
If the iMac were bought by a lot of education customers, perhaps those would rather not have a fingerprint sensor. But I imagine it doesn't sell well there.
The 27" iMac is now officially confirmed as not coming:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/6/23947196/apple-no-27-inch-apple-silicon-imac
"Apple seems to be saying that there are no plans for an iMac with a larger display"
They've said nothing of the kind. Apple never discusses future products, and you shouldn't infer anything from that secrecy.
-jcr