With the development of the 24-inch iMac, Apple ran into problems that no normal computer design company could ever face. Everyone knows that perfection is unattainable, and the best is the enemy of the good. Bloomberg caught Apple in ignorance of these elementary things. As a result, Apple, according to insiders, suspended work over the big brother of the small iMac and threw everything into the iMac 24. And a 30- or 32-inch iMac, possibly with a mini-LED (Liquid Retina XDR?) display, will come out later because of this. Maybe not even this year.
What if the big iMac was like this?
In January, according to information obtained by Bloomberg, the development of all iMacs with Apple Silicon was nearing completion. They had to change not only inside, but also outside. Screen sizes, for the first time since 2009, were supposed to increase, and the frames around them, on the contrary, become thinner. Design changes were not limited to this, but the exact dimensions of the iMac, which were supposed to replace 21.5 and 27 inches, and other details were not named. This was not required, in our Telegram chat everything was calculated by ourselves. The 21.5-inch iMac, in their opinion, was supposed to replace the iMac with a screen diagonal of 23 or 24 inches. The screen size of the 24-inch iMac is 23.5 inches diagonally. Guessed. There are more screen size options for large iMacs, ranging from 29.5 to 34 inches.
What will be the big iMac 2021?
The diagonal screen size of a large iMac is unknown. In the range 30 to 32 inches. Either all large iMacs or only its more expensive models will have a mini-LED display. Such displays are more difficult to produce than displays of well-established types, and it is not a fact that there will be no problems with the production of the necessary components for it.
The structure of the lineup of large iMacs with Apple Silicon inside is also unknown. The big iMac is a professional-household computer. Each generation of Intel iMacs had several models, for consumers with different needs. Some models are simpler and cheaper. Others are real workstations. In the days of Intel processors, there were also intermediate models between the simplest and most powerful. It is known that Apple is trying to simplify and unify everything that is possible. This simplifies logistics and production, reduces the cost of products, the advantages of this approach are obvious. But alas, this approach is not suitable for large iMacs. The circle of their users is too diverse. Therefore, there must be at least two models.
iMac 24 is good, but still not a professional computer
When is the 30″ iMac coming out?
Even the estimated release date for large iMacs is unknown. Most likely, even Apple does not know him. The development of the project is on hold, people mobilized for other tasks (preparing the 24-inch iMac for release) will be able to return to their main task in a week or two. When a new model gets into the hands of those for whom it was designed, anything can happen.
Resuming the development of the project is also a non-trivial task. Project settings are subject to change. There is no doubt about one thing: at the end this year or at the beginning of the next big iMac will be presented to the public. The probability of his presentation at WWDC is close to zero.
iMac 30 price
New iMacs will cost about the same as 2020 27-inch iMacs if they have regular displays. An iMac with a huge mini-LED display will cost $150-$200 more. Bloomberg does not report on the approximate release time of large iMacs, nor on how much they will cost.
Why you need a big iMac
In fact iMac with M1 can be used for serious work. Not all activities require a large screen. And even where a large display is needed, iMac can be connected to a display with a resolution of up to 6K, even the Apple Pro Display XDR. What the M1 is capable of is amazing. But this chip is entry-level. And on desktops, it’s not the best.
A small monster with a really powerful chip inside would be very welcome in the 24-inch iMac lineup. With a Jade C-Die chip, like in the 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro (I believe this MacBook Pro will come out this year), for example. This is a very powerful chip. He supports up to 64 GB combined RAM and up to four Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports. The lack of information does not mean that such an iMac is not being developed. He is needed.
