M1 Motherfucker Extreme, according to some recent leaks I read about on MacRumors.
I think they might run into some PR trouble, but what do I know.
I'm with Drew...I truly don't know any of this connection stuff. I've tried and tried and it's become so confusing. And if it's confusing to
me - someone who follows Apple, reads the Mac news/rumor sites and spends time at a place like this - then who knows what the average Joe is dealing with.
Just those four ports on the back of the 24" iMac...when you read the simple spec listing at Apple's site, it's confusing and gibberish (to me).
I do miss the days of when USB was just that flat thing you connected your thumb drive and cameras to. Very easy. If I got a new M1-based Mac today, I honestly wouldn't know what to get in terms of accessory cable. I'd really have to read the stuff and then seek that out, vs. just stopping at Walmart or Best Buy and snagging something I actually understand (a regular ol' jellybean iMac era USB cable, etc.).
The thunderbolt versions, the USB versions, often on the same Mac, etc., just never clicked with me and, for the first time in 25+ years, I'm a bit fuzzy on some specs/ports on modern Macs. I don't like it one bit.
I've had a few friends, in the past year, get an M1-based Mac of some sort and hated that they had to get an adaptor, or, not knowing adapters existed, had a slight mini-panic, wondering "how do I connect all my stuff?!". And then I have to send them a few links...those USB-C to USB adapters and so forth.
"They change this stuff every few years, just to monkey with people!"
I don't think that's it, but I can see where it might feel that way to some folks.
I know the modern, Tim-era Apple isn't going to leave one dime on the table, but I think it would be decent of them to maybe include a silly USB-C to USB adapter in the box, just to ease that move a little. Instead they charge $19 for it, and many folks may have no idea they even need it..."W(here)TF am I supposed to stick this thumb drive?!" (no jokes, please). And if you live in a smaller town (no Best Buy or maybe an older, smaller Walmart that doesn't stock all the Apple accessories/cables), then you're online ordering something so you can use your printer, thumb drive, camera, etc. (which will be at least another 1-3 days before arrival). I know that's got to cause some frustration with people..."I just spent $1,499 on this purple iMac and I can't connect a damn thing here to it...".
PS - Yes, I know...someone spending $1,499 on a new computer
should do their research and learn about what specs/ports it has, and if they're compatible with their current peripherals. And, if needed, order the proper adapters/cables as they're ordering their new $1,499 Mac. In a perfect world people would, but we all know that's not the case...so many people just buy stuff totally blind/clueless. I'm surrounded by some...constantly ordering stuff off Amazon or wherever, and then always shocked/disappointed when it arrives, for some reason or another. My response of "maybe read the entire page/info/specs before clicking the 'buy' button?" always goes over like two farts at a funeral.