When Matsu makes a wild prediction, he makes a wild prediction!
I've always been one of those talking about a "headless iMac" (iChabod
) - a respectably-powered small box/tower - situated, performance/price-wise, between the $699 mini and $2,499 (and up) Mac Pro.
It's looking like that will never come to be. The Mac mini has gotten more powerful (and more expensive), so it's not the $499, severely-lacking/neglected little machine it once was. But I can certainly understand people - like those in Eugene's situation - wanting something like this.
iMac-level performance (discrete graphics, 7200rpm hard drive, etc.)
but with no display attached. There is, I believe, a market for it. It simply doesn't seem to fit into Apple's plan or view. Unfortunate, because I know several situations and individuals who'd be a shoe-in for such a product.
The Mac mini, while much improved, isn't going to cut it for some. And the iMac, while a fine performer, also doesn't fit into everyone's life (crazy as it sounds). And even on practical terms (if the iMac guts take a dive, then, like Eugene, you're left with a fine, working display that you can no longer use and then you have to figure out what to do with it).
While I would never go so far as to kill the AIO iMac design, I'm fully into the idea of a display-less box/tower/wedge of some sort offering iMac-level performance for those middle-ground people...those not fully served by the mini, but who don't need a $2,500 tower with hard drive bays and card slots they'll never use. And who don't want a display attached.
Apple is already halfway there, in fact. Maybe if they just created a second version of the mini, tweaked as needed (design, size, etc.), to offer standalone graphics and the faster hard drive, maybe that would satisfy many? Discrete graphics, 7200rpm drive, room for
one additional hard drive, no cards or anything like that, HDMI, Thunderbolt, etc.? $999 or $1,099?
Seems pricey, but, psychologically, it would have to sit between the $699 Mac mini (because it's got More Power & Stuff), but it couldn't be more than the entry-level $1,199 iMac because it doesn't have a screen and it just would seem weird if it was going for $1,200 or more.
$999 seems about right...Apple has a couple of products already there, with displays attached, but they're portables.
As mentioned above, however, I just don't see it happening. And it's a shame, as it would probably be a solid seller. As neat and clean as the three-tier desktop lineup is, I know for a fact that it doesn't serve everyone, and there
is a glaring gap in there, price/performance-wise.
Instead of looking at it like Mac mini, iMac (display attached) and Mac Pro, it should be more like Mac mini, Mac+ (temporary placeholder name for the sake of discussion) and Mac Pro - three "headless" desktops, sort of viewed as part of the same family...entry, mid and pro - with the iMac standing separately, on its own, as a nice "well, you get all the performance of the Mac+,
but with a nice flat screen, webcam, keyboard and mouse included" offering. That's always going to appeal to many (myself included).
Plus, nothing says Apple like the iMac (computer-wise). I'll cry the day they do away with it...
The iMac could be the "design playground", always being the test field for new I/O, materials, design cues, etc. People like me would still buy them (because I'm more than served by the performance/features, and I prefer a clean, sleek AIO setup), but a lot of others would go for the Mac+ because they've already got a nice third-party display they love, etc.
Sadly, it's all just an academic wang-yank at this point because, chances are, it ain't ever gonna happen.
But that's why this thread is called "wild predictions". And this certainly qualifies...go nuts, gang!