[PB PM]

Originally Posted by Brad I'd bet two nickles that if these compute units ever come to fruition, they will have a totally custom interface that slots only into the next-gen Mac Pro because $$$. No Thunderbolt. No USB. New proprietary Apple nonsense. I want to be wrong, but I doubt I will be.

They'll call it the ASC port = Apple Speed Connect. And you'll need a $199 dual thunderbolt to ASC dongle for that.

[dglow]

Originally Posted by Brad I'd bet two nickles that if these compute units ever come to fruition, they will have a totally custom interface that slots only into the next-gen Mac Pro because $$$. No Thunderbolt. No USB. New proprietary Apple nonsense. I want to be wrong, but I doubt I will be.

I suspect you will be right – at first. Internal cards for the Mac Pro, to start, will expose devs and supply a development platform to work on.

Once software has been tweaked to support this architecture, and maybe after interface speeds double again with USB4 v2, perhaps then we’ll see ‘external’ modules introduced.

[Frank777]

Where is this mythical March event? Are we really going to have to wait until WWDC now?

[PB PM]

It’s not even the middle of the month yet, plenty of time.

[Frank777]

Hopefully.

I'm start to think Apple will include a 5.25" bay for an optional BluRay drive, since that's the only expansion idea they could come up with.

Kick's take on the compute units thing seems about right.
But it's likely to be a Thunderbolt 5 thing, and it's still a Thunderbolt 4 world.

[709]

If there's no GPU or RAM user upgradeability there's no point to a Mac Pro. Throw some new MxUltras in a Studio case, coat it Space Gray and there you go – that's what I expect the new Mac Pro will be. The compute units sound amazing but they'd be useful for such a tiny, tiny sliver of the market that I really can't see Apple going there. Daisy chaining a bunch of product for additional oomf, sure, maybe.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by PB PM It’s not even the middle of the month yet, plenty of time.

I'm starting to lose hope that the March event will happen...

[chucker]

brb reminding Tim

[Bryson]

The March event was announcing the WWDC dates. A pre-event event, if you will.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Frank777 I'm starting to lose hope that the March event will happen...

Smart bet! One day left and all.

There may never been an AS Mac Pro as we're expecting/assuming. They may very well just say "get a tricked-out mini or a Studio and shut up already." As for the iMac, who in the world knows? Probably M3 at the end of this year, making it a very long wait.

I've kinda reached a nice "don't really care" point, as I'm in no position to buy much anyway. Makes it easy. Being semi-busted makes a lot of decisions for you.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 There may never been an AS Mac Pro as we're expecting/assuming. They may very well just say "get a tricked-out mini or a Studio and shut up already."

Maybe, but it'd be super weird of John Ternus to say, "oh, and yes, the Mac Pro is still coming" at the end of the Mac Studio introduction and then decide "haha, just kidding".

It's possible, but it would indicate a) that Mac Studio went very different than expected (much lower, maybe? Or maybe they surveyed buyers and found out even fewer than expected give a crap about internal expansion, because it's not 1993?) or b) something went catastrophically wrong with the design — some unforeseen limitation of the M series of SoCs, maybe.

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 As for the iMac, who in the world knows? Probably M3 at the end of this year, making it a very long wait.

That would be my guess.

[kscherer]

We saw a pretty dramatic pause in iMac shipments at the start of March and thought for sure an M2 version was imminent. Then, all of a sudden, everything we had on order went to manufacturing this week.

So definitely nothing in March, but Apple is no longer constrained by the old Intel release calendar. I mean, they just released the M2 MacBook Pro and mini in the middle of January, so nothing is restraining them any longer. They will release whatever it is whenever they're ready.

iMacs could land in April or May for all we know. Or they could have something special coming at WWDC.

At this point, I won't be surprised if the iMac gets entirely reimagined.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by kscherer At this point, I won't be surprised if the iMac gets entirely reimagined.

Again? I think that'd be weird. Especially since it was basically the same design between 2004 and 2021.

[Kickaha]

What are they going to do at this point, put it on a stand that slides down into pseudo-tablet mode, and make the screen touchable? "Runs macOS and iPadOS apps!"

Didn't MS make a Surface desktop that did that? Someone did...

[kscherer]

Perhaps the chin goes away?

I don't think they're going to do anything, it just wouldn't surprise me if they did. I cannot come up with any other reason for the iMac to not already have an M2 in it, other than "all new" and "Pro version/27-inch coming any second now".

[Kickaha]

They have to make the plastics.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by chucker Maybe, but it'd be super weird of John Ternus to say, "oh, and yes, the Mac Pro is still coming" at the end of the Mac Studio introduction and then decide "haha, just kidding".

Yep. Apple has had several chances to walk it back, and has doubled down on a forthcoming Mac Pro. It's definitely coming, in some form.

Originally Posted by kscherer iMacs could land in April or May for all we know. Or they could have something special coming at WWDC. At this point, I won't be surprised if the iMac gets entirely reimagined.

From the rumours, it looks like M3 is a really big jump over the previous architecture. That alone may mean it misses the summer.

But the factor that is swaying me is the Glasses. Apple doesn't like products tripping over each other in the media. And WWDC seems to be the showplace for the glasses. If Apple really goes into a fight with the other AR/VR players, it will demand the product get a lock on media attention.

January 2007: iPhone demoed at MacWorld. Apple TV got named, but no Macs shown or released.

January 2010: iPad demoed at an Apple special event. No Macs shown or released.

Since the Glasses will require a new OS/coding play, it makes sense to demo them at WWDC. I find it hard to believe that Apple will enter a new category of devices and then say "Oh...BTW, here's the new Mac Pro." [or iMac.]

There's an event coming before WWDC. April is Easter, maybe the Mac Pro comes back from the dead. Or [more likely] it debuts around that Pro Video event since that's where the usage of the Mac Pro is targeted. But it's not stealing the limelight from Cook's shiny new Virtual Reality thingy.

Originally Posted by Kickaha They have to make the plastics.

And it takes much longer when the plastics are made of Aluminium.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by kscherer I don't think they're going to do anything, it just wouldn't surprise me if they did. I cannot come up with any other reason for the iMac to not already have an M2 in it, other than "all new" and "Pro version/27-inch coming any second now".

Well, we've seen models skip a CPU generation before. Could just be a case of "yeah, we could do it, but we don't think upgrading the SoC will improve sales in a meaningful way".

I'm not sure the bigger one has a future.

[PB PM]

Either that or iMacs sales aren’t as strong as they like so they are letting it dangle like the Mini used to? Strange that for once the Mini is getting more updates than the iMac, to me that says something.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by PB PM Either that or iMacs sales aren’t as strong as they like so they are letting it dangle like the Mini used to? Strange that for once the Mini is getting more updates than the iMac, to me that says something.

I wonder if that means people perceive the iMac as too limited now.

Which in turn would suggest kscherer could be right.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by chucker I wonder if that means people perceive the iMac as too limited now. Which in turn would suggest kscherer could be right.

Or people are more satisfied with the headless options between the Mini and the Studio. Glossy glass iMac screens are not great for anyone doing colour sensitive work for example (illustrators, photographers, video editors). Now that other good options are available from Apple they can get the screens they want.

[kscherer]

We sell a LOT of iMacs.

[709]

Do you get a lot of iMac buyers asking if you carry a larger model?

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by 709 Do you get a lot of iMac buyers asking if you carry a larger model?

Yes. Something like 20%.

Especially people that have already owned a 27" iMac and want to replace it. Those folks are not terribly happy that they have to buy a Mac mini and a display that costs almost as much as the 27" iMac they wanted that had the same display in it.

[Frank777]

Every time I go into Costco I shake my head at the iMac display.

Okay, the home of the $1.50 hot dog doesn't want its sticker prices to look higher that everybody else. But do Costco shoppers really want iMacs and Minis with the bare minimum specs? Costco should be able to negotiate a bulk buy with Apple that lifts the specs a bit. Isn't that their whole deal? I've made up my mind that my next Mac will have at least 32GB RAM and a 2TB hard drive. I don't care about 8/256 machines. At all.

I'm not the average consumer. But SSD capacities haven't progressed like HDDs did, and now RAM must be ordered at launch or forever be inadequate. Everything locked in at first sale certainly makes a Mac purchase seem like a much more expensive proposition than they used to be.

At least at Costco, where the Mac table is 10 feet away from much cheaper PC options and with a lot of people flat broke, I can see why iMacs may have slowed.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by PB PM Or people are more satisfied with the headless options between the Mini and the Studio.

Right, but people in the market for the small iMac could've gone with the mini before. And they aren't in the market for the Studio.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by kscherer We sell a LOT of iMacs.

We don't.

We're also not a store, but we also don't sell a lot of iMacs.

[turtle]

Target customers make a huge difference. B2B sales I would imagine less iMac vs home use where AIO would be seen better. Businesses want to be able to replace the display when it goes bad, not the whole computer from my personal experience.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by kscherer We sell a LOT of iMacs.

The thing is, that’s not the demographic buying direct from the Apple website, or Apple stores. That may paint a different picture.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Frank777 Every time I go into Costco I shake my head at the iMac display. Okay, the home of the $1.50 hot dog doesn't want its sticker prices to look higher that everybody else. But do Costco shoppers really want iMacs and Minis with the bare minimum specs? Costco should be able to negotiate a bulk buy with Apple that lifts the specs a bit. Isn't that their whole deal? I've made up my mind that my next Mac will have at least 32GB RAM and a 2TB hard drive. I don't care about 8/256 machines. At all. I'm not the average consumer. But SSD capacities haven't progressed like HDDs did, and now RAM must be ordered at launch or forever be inadequate. Everything locked in at first sale certainly makes a Mac purchase seem like a much more expensive proposition than they used to be. At least at Costco, where the Mac table is 10 feet away from much cheaper PC options and with a lot of people flat broke, I can see why iMacs may have slowed.

True. Stuff just seems comically "price-y", Just Because™.

I wouldn't buy a two-year-old, non-updated M1, 8/256 iMac for full price either. I don't care what color it was, or what lame streaming TV package or mobile phone/plan they tossed in.