When Apple released the Mac Studio and the Studio Display during the “Peek Performance” event, the company discontinued the 27-inch Intel iMac. With these two new products available, is there any room for a new 27-inch iMac or iMac Pro? Here’s what we know so far.
Table of contents
- Design
- Processor and storage
- When will the 27-inch iMac replacement be announced?
- How much will the 27-inch iMac cost?
- Wrap up
Design
After Apple announced in 2021 the new 24-inch iMac with a brand new design, people were expecting the company to do the same with the 27-inch iMac model replacement.
Rumors pointed out that Apple would keep the same screen size for this model but with miniLED technology and Promotion, reported DSCC.
If the company would follow the trend, this new iMac would probably look similar to the 24-inch model, but with sober colors, such as Silver and Space Gray.
Processor and storage
Since the M2 chip is rumored to launch alongside a new MacBook Air, Apple could use the M1 Pro, M1 Max, or now M1 Ultra with this device.
That said, the company could offer up to 128GB of RAM and up to 8TB of SSD. This Mac could add a 10GB-ethernet port and bring at least the same ports as the new MacBook Pro: HDMI, SD slot, Lightning, and USB-C.
By December of 2021, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, in his Power On newsletter, said that Apple was in the works for 2022 to launch a “revamped, high-end iMac with Apple Silicon.” Previously, Gurman reported that the company had to postpone this iMac as it needed to focus on the release of the 24-inch M1 iMac.
When will the 27-inch iMac replacement be announced?
As of now, DSCC says that the next 27-inch iMac could be announced in the spring. Mark Gurman believes the same. He says that he’s been told Apple is “gearing up for another round of Mac releases around May or June.”
“Apple will want to drum up developer support for the super-powered Mac Pro chips, so I’d guess that the company wants to debut that machine as early as the WWDC event in June and ship it in the fall. A revamped MacBook Air would be a nice holiday seller, so it makes sense to release it around that time of year—even if Apple had originally planned to get it out the door at the end of 2021 or in early 2022.”
On the other hand, 9to5Mac sources say that Apple won’t launch a 27-inch iMac replacement in the near future:
Sources told 9to5Mac that Apple currently has no plans to release a larger-screen iMac in the near future. The information comes from the same sources that revealed to us the plans for Mac Studio and Studio Display in advance.
(…) This not only applies to a larger screen model, but also versions with Pro, Max, or Ultra chips. Based on information seen by 9to5Mac, Apple is working on a new 24-inch iMac expected to be introduced sometime in 2023, but similar to the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, it is unlikely to feature Apple’s high-end processors.
How much will the next 27-inch iMac cost?
The previous 27-inch iMac started at $1,799. Since Apple raised the price of its 24-inch iMac and the new MacBook Pros have also a higher value as they feature a miniLED display, it’s safe to assume that if Apple would release this upcoming Mac, it would start, at least, at $2,000.
Wrap up
After rumors pointed out that Apple was readying a new 27-inch iMac replacement, it doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Although Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman believes Apple could still release a new iMac in the near future, 9to5Mac doesn’t think the same way as the company just released the Mac Studio and Studio Display.
While the 24-inch iMac can be more than enough for most people – and the new M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro is a killer machine – professional users can get the new Mac Studio that will be even faster but won’t cost as much as the Mac Pro.
