Next Gen iMac

I know the new iMac just launched last week, but I'm wondering when the next generation iMac is due.

Specifically, based on Mac product lifecycles, when is an all-new (including cosmetics) iMac due out? I think the current design is beautiful, but Apple has a way of introducing new versions of their products which immediately makes the then current models look aged and obsolete.

Thanks in advance for your input.

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truetifoso said:

I know the new iMac just launched last week, but I'm wondering when the next generation iMac is due.

Specifically, based on Mac product lifecycles, when is an all-new (including cosmetics) iMac due out?

Click to expand...

We could take some guess's (based on previous history)...when the next iMac update would be...but come on...how in the heck would we know when the next cosmetic update will be???

I mean (while you're at it)...why not ask what the exact cosmetic changes will be, and how about photos as well. How would we know this stuff...only the design folks at Apple would even have a clue...and even they probably have 3-5 different designs to choose from at the moment (and that's even IF any cosmetic changes are due in the near future).

If we knew this stuff...we would be working at Apple...and if we let this info out...we would be fired!!!

- Nick

I know the new iMac just launched last week, but I'm wondering when the next generation iMac is due.

Specifically, based on Mac product lifecycles, when is an all-new (including cosmetics) iMac due out? I think the current design is beautiful, but Apple has a way of introducing new versions of their products which immediately makes the then current models look aged and obsolete.

Thanks in advance for your input.

I think that you asked this question once already! No need to crosspost...threads merged.

- Nick

sometime between now and the end of 2012.

....

pigoo3 said:

We could take some guess's (based on previous history)...when the next iMac update would be...but come on...how in the heck would we know when the next cosmetic update will be???

I mean (while you're at it)...why not ask what the exact cosmetic changes will be, and how about photos as well. How would we know this stuff...only the design folks at Apple would even have a clue...and even they probably have 3-5 different designs to choose from at the moment (and that's even IF any cosmetic changes are due in the near future).

If we knew this stuff...we would be working at Apple...and if we let this info out...we would be fired!!!

- Nick

Click to expand...

Why so bitter and sarcastic? I was merely asking if anyone could extrapolate future trends based on historical ones.

For example, if your post is characteristic of your past posts, then I could with a fairly good degree of certainty that your future posts will continue to show you as an jerk.

pigoo3 said:

I think that you asked this question once already! No need to crosspost...threads merged.

- Nick

Click to expand...

Cross posting in more than one forum is against the rules here at Mac Forums and as a Moderator he had every right to point that out.

Also, We have no idea when any new iMac or any other Mac will be released.

Yeah cmon man, I understand your motivation, but you gotta understand what your asking. Who knows, the current iMac might be successful enough that they can just tweak the internals for another 3 years. Or maybe they'll do a major revision in 6 months. Who knows? Its hard to look at past product cycles and extrapolate anything of substance. Just because you have past data doesn't mean you can extrapolate. Think about the stock market. We have a 100 years of data, but can anybody tell you with even close to certainty what stocks to buy? (sure, many will try, but nobody knows for real, and the biggest hedge funds go broke too).

Fascinating post. Sadly it still sheds no light on new iMacs.

I'm failing to see anything either bitter or sarcastic in the response posted by pigoo3. What I do see though is an individual who seems to think we should all provide some sort of magical information that we are not privy too and who is upset because they can't get an answer. The web is a big place. If you don't like the answers you get here there are plenty of other places to go find them. Happy searching.

The question posed in this thread is a good one. The answer would be a guess. So, based on available technology modulated by Apple's past behavior, there might be some good guesses. If you were the VP of marketing for product evolution (or whatever he's called) for Apple, what options would you be considering? Which options might be practical by the end of 2011 or mid 2012? But, answers and guesses that are motivated by hardness of heart and bitterness, are not constructive. Polite, cheerful answers would help to evolve this thread. If you have no clue, and find the question irritating to you, then the best thing would be for you to go somewhere else. So, any guesses for the rest of us to debate?

Here is a link if you want to try to make your own guess

Determining when their will be a refresh is fairly easy but knowing when they will do a redesign is quite a bit harder. About the only way to know that is when they start redesigning other parts of their line.

Redesigns are usually predicated on significant technological changes.

For example, let's say that AMOLED screens of a size large enough for iMacs suddenly bottomed out in price thanks to a breakthrough that made them cheap as chips. At *that point,* Apple would consider the feasibility of designing a system that would feature AMOLED screens, which in turn (because AMOLED generate less heat, I'm imagining) would mean that the machine could be significantly thinner, PLUS around the same time a bunch of Thunderbolt adapters become available.

Okay, NOW you've got the ingredients for a major redesign! Give it six months to a year for design and testing, followed by ramping up the manufacturing, inventory and PR machines, and there you go.

Based on that insight, it's flatly impossible to say when the next major redesign of the iMac is coming with ANY degree of certainty. The Mac Pros have held onto the same basic external design since they were Power Mac G5s, which is five years now! When's that re-design coming? Nobody knows! Maybe this June! Maybe next June! Maybe Apple will get out of the Mac Pro business altogether (gasp, blasphemy!!).