Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com. Will Apple ever
come out with another 27" iMac? Let's talk about it.
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So usually my videos are all about how to do something on your Mac. But I get asked so often
about a 27" iMac that I figured it would be a good idea to talk about it in a video. So
what we had previously were two iMac models. A 21½" screen model and a 27" screen model.
The 27" screen model was a really good screen. It was a 5K screen. Even today there are only
really two 5K screens that you can get which we will talk about in a minute. But when Apple
switched over to using their own processors they left the iMac models behind and came out with a
completely new one. A 24" screen. So this is kind of in the middle of those two other screen
sizes. In fact it is a 4.5K display. So not quite as good as a 5K and obviously a little
bit smaller. Now anyone that was using a 21½" iMac saw the new 24" iMac as a great upgrade.
It was basically the same price and a much nicer display and a much faster machine. But
if you had a 27" iMac this would have been a step down in screen size. Not by much but
you typically don't want to go backwards. So those users today really want Apple to come
out with a 27" iMac and so far Apple hasn't shown any hint that it is going to do this.
Now let's first look at what you can get today. You can, instead of a 27" iMac,
get a Mac Mini and one of Apple's Mac Studio Displays. Those Studio Displays are
5K displays and they are better than the old iMac ones. They're brighter, higher quality,
and so on. So the base model Mac Mini will set you back $600 and the Studio Display $1600, at least
if you buy it at full price from Apple. Usually you can get it $100 cheaper everywhere else. So,
you're looking at between $300 and $400 more than the old 27" iMac. Now that's just the base
model. Chances are you're going to want something better and, of course, with the old iMac as well
you would have wanted something better than that base $1800 model. Another thing to consider is,
of course, what you get today in a Mac Mini plus Display would be a lot more powerful than
what you got in 2019 or 2020 when the iMacs still used the old intel chips. So you won't
just be replacing same with same. You'll be getting something much more powerful.
Now there is a little detail with the fact that an older iMac would have come with a keyboard,
trackpad or mouse. Getting Mac Mini with a screen. You won't have that.
But you'll probably have your old trackpad and keyboard so you can just keep using those. Also,
the Studio Display isn't your only option. There is an LG screen that is also 5K. It's
got a camera and speakers in it and it's usually priced at around $1150. So you can actually get
that and a Mac Mini for $50 less than what you could have bought a 27" iMac a few years ago.
A lot of people are going to reject this option because they really like the factor of having it
all in one. They don't want that extra box that's a Mac Mini sitting on their desk. Fair enough. If
that is important to you. There's not much you can do. I guess you can put the Mac Mini under
your desk if you want or somewhere out of the way. But on the other hand one of the problems
people have with the 27" iMac's was that you couldn't use the iMac as just a display. In
other words if you were to buy a new Mac Mini or Mac Studio now you can't use your old 5K
iMac as a display. That was available a long time ago with some iMacs but never the newer
really good screen ones. So here's something to think about. If you got a Mac Mini with a Studio
Display now you certainly then could use that Studio Display three, five, or seven years from
now with a new Mac Mini or other Mac model. So the problem of not being able to separate
the display from the computer is gone when you actually have a separate display and computer.
Now I know also that people are going to bring up the iMac Pro. The iMac Pro today would be the
equivalent to a Mac Studio, not a Mac Mini and the new Studio Display. That would be
significantly more expensive. But the iMac Pro, that started at $5000. So the prices are kind of
comparable. So if Apple decided to come out with a new 27-inch iMac what would it look like? Well,
chances are it would look very much like the Studio Display. After all the iMac is similar
to the Studio Display. It looks just like a display. There is no computer in sight. The
computer is actually inside the display. In fact, the Studio Display does have a computer inside
it. It's got an A13 chip. So the equivalent to what you would find in some iPads. That
chip then runs the whole display and the other functions like the camera and speakers and such.
If Apple came out with a 27" iMac it wouldn't just be adding a Mac to the Studio Display.
It would be replacing the computer already inside the Studio Display
with something much more powerful. A M2 or perhaps in the future a M3 processor.
Now another thing to keep in mind is that people liked the old iMac models because you can upgrade
the memory in them. Well, that ship has sailed. It's never going to happen again because Apple's
own processors have integrated memory. The memory isn't separate. Isn't somewhere else
in the computer. It's part of the system on a chip that Apple has developed. This actually
makes the entire machine much faster. Not having the memory far away from the processor. But it
also means you can't upgrade memory. So any new 27" iMac that Apple has isn't going to
have upgradable memory. It is just going to have the memory that comes with it when you buy it.
Another thing to keep in mind was the difference between the two older iMacs was $500. It is going
to be at least that today. So if you look at a $1300 iMac and say Oh, I'd like that but with
a bigger screen, Well remember if Apple comes out with it you're probably going to have to
pay a lot more. I suspect that if Apple did come out with a 27" iMac people have been waiting for
it would take a look at the price tag and then some of them may opt for the 24" screen anyway.
Another thing to think about is would Apple actually come out with a 27" screen or maybe
something bigger. After all having two models at 21.5" and a 27" there was a big difference
between the screens. But if Apple had a 24" and a 27" there is not that big of a difference.
So one option is that Apple just replaces the 24" with a 27". This would be a nice upgrade
and there still would just be one model. Another option is that Apple would come out with a much
bigger display than 27". Maybe a 29 or 30" screen. There would be more of a difference.
Now in trying to figure out if Apple would actually do this, come out with a larger screen
iMac, we have to guess at what the demand is. Now it looks like there is a lot of demand. Anytime an
article is posted that had anything to do with the iMac, even if it has nothing to do with new models
or screen size or anything there are always people that ask when is Apple going to come out with
a 27" iMac again. But it is really hard to gauge demand based on complaints and requests like that.
Is that significant enough to actually translate into sales. I suspect that Apple's marketing
department knows way more about that than I do or you do. So I hesitate to second guess them
if they decide not to come out with a 27" iMac. On the other hand Apple frequently does listen
to user requests and complaints. People complained when there wasn't a new Mac Mini for awhile. Apple
came out with a new one. People complained when they didn't like the format of the 2013 Mac Pro
and they wanted it back in a tower. Apple then put it back in a tower. So sometimes Apple does
actually look at these requests and decides that they should come out with a model like that or
change things. I think that might be the main factor here that could bring a 27" iMac back.
So what would I put the chances at? Well, when Apple first came out with a 24" iMac I would have
said 50/50. I thought maybe the 24" iMac, which is the first model, and that some months or a year
later Apple would come out with the second part of that pair and have a larger screen version.
But when they didn't do that I dropped my estimate down to maybe 10%. But as more time has gone by
and I keep hearing requests for a 27" iMac, I've got to think Apple has to take that seriously and
is maybe considering coming out with a larger screen iMac. Either replacing the 24" or being
the larger screen version of a pair of iMacs. So now I put the chances at about 30%. So still
unlikely but if Apple decided to do it I wouldn't expect anything until later this year. That would
be very unlikely. Perhaps next year Apple might come out with a M3 iMac at 24" and then maybe a M3
or M3Pro iMac at 27" or 29" or 30". I still lean towards Apple not actually doing this and pushing
people towards a Mac Mini with a Studio Display. I think that is the more likely future. But I
wouldn't be completely shocked if Apple changed course at some point and came out with a 27" iMac.
I'd love to hear from you about this. Leave a comment and let me know:
#1) Do you want a 27" iMac. #2) How likely do you think it
is that Apple will actually come out with one in the future. Thanks for watching.