[turtle]

At least they called it M1X in the article. I'm good now.

[psmith2.0]

I think any one of us here could've been the "source" in that article.

In related news, water often tends to be wet.

But seriously, I think big, cool things are coming next year and the other Macs will see even bigger leaps (and for the $$$ involved, they should), no matter what the thing is called. Exciting times to be a Mac user, especially those of us who run a lean, clean setup without a lot of third-party reliance/usage and who don't have the need/desire to run Windows on our Macs).

I'm excited.

It feels like I'm coming out of a dark tunnel here lately...Fender is making some amazing stuff, Star Wars doesn't suck and Apple seems to be focusing on more than just iPhones and watch bands.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 It feels like I'm coming out of a dark tunnel here lately...[..] Apple seems to be focusing on more than just iPhones and watch bands.

Yeah, it really felt like Apple made a lot of poor decisions between 2013 and 2016. Trash can Mac Pro, butterfly keyboard (especially not just on the 12-inch MacBook, but every single laptop!), etc.

Then, since 2017, much better decisions like the iMac Pro and Mac Pro, a better keyboard, etc.

Hard to say from the outside looking in how much of this was already in the works in an era that was externally not so popular.

[psmith2.0]

And that those poor decisions seemed to always tie to "design" (specifically "how impossibly - and unasked for - thin can we get this?", which seemed headed up/obsessed over by one person over all the others) was jarring. I've always heard - even from those keynote videos from Ive himself - about how "good design" is the blend of form and function.

Somewhere along the way, the "function" part seemed to take a backseat. And those products you mentioned should be some evidence of that.

No reasonable customer is sweating/squawking over millimeters or grams if it impacts negatively on their day-to-day usage and experience. There is a line, in anything, that is "too far". And I think, on several occasions, they blew right past it at 185mph in some self-imposed race to be The Thinnest & Lightest Everything, Ever™.

And most people couldn't have given less of a rip, big picture. If Apple never made any of their current products one bit thinner, or lighter, than they are right this minute, 98% of the Apple-using population wouldn't care. Or wouldn't even know. I'd wager a lung on that. There is nobody on the planet saying "damn, Apple's stuff is just way too bulky and heavy...why can't they ever design some lighter, sleeker products?!"

"We made the new Apple Pencil 1mm thin. It doesn't work 42% of the time, but that's the price you pay for good design." - Jony Ive

I got fed up with his shit about eight years ago.

Bug off already. Go design a $1,875 coffee urn ($700 wheels optional) that doesn't pour smoothly/reliably, and made with minerals from Jupiter and recycled angel harps, if that's what you think the world needs. I've never been happier to see someone depart the company, frankly.

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Bug off already. Go design a $1,875 coffee urn ($700 wheels optional) that doesn't pour smoothly/reliably, and made with minerals from Jupiter and recycled angel harps, if that's what you think the world needs. I've never been happier to see someone depart the company, frankly.

I love it when you start ranting!

[chucker]

So how do you really feel?

[psmith2.0]

Exactly as I wrote above. Read again, if needed.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by chucker Then, since 2017, much better decisions like the iMac Pro and Mac Pro, a better keyboard, etc.

If Apple really debuts a smaller Ax Mac Pro to replace the iMac Pro, they are truly going to be on a roll.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by Frank777 ...they are truly going to be on a roll.

Yes, they will...for $699.







I'm here all week.

[PB PM]

I missed these types of posts. Makes the place so lively.

[Frank777]

We're already four days into 2021. Where's my Apple Silicon iMac?

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Frank777 We're already four days into 2021. Where's my Apple Silicon iMac?

Well, there are three of them.

If you look close enough.

[psmith2.0]

Just think, if this were still the Good Ol' Days we'd be right on the cusp of a Macworld SF keynote (ideally from a still-alive Steve Jobs and not one of his charisma-challenged, teleprompter-or-bust underlings).

That might be one of the very things unveiled on such an occasion. I do recall a certain dome-shaped iMac with a new processor seeing its debut to the world at that very venue. And even if it wasn't ready to ship quite yet (the iPhone wasn't either, in January 2007), it still might've been announced, given the basic rundown of specs/features/speed, a pre-order date and a "on the street" date?

And then nobody would've bought a new iMac for that entire span, whatever it wound up being (2-6 months).

Hmmm, maybe it's better, sometimes, when they just keep their lips zipped...

[kscherer]

I think it was back in or around 2007 that Apple announced they would no longer be doing Macworld. There was an expectation that products would be ready, and Apple kept getting roped into a corner if things weren't finished. You know they wanted to hold the iPhone until the last possible second (right before they sent it up to the FCC), and Steve Jobs made that very statement I think to Walt Mossberg.

Not being tied down to media-dictated release schedules allows Apple to [mostly] finish their products before they are announced.

Mostly.

[psmith2.0]

No, I fully get that. Got no problem with Macworld no longer being a thing (or Apple anchoring it). Just that, 10+ years ago, this very week, we'd possibly be seeing something. We always got new goodies that first 1-2 weeks of January.

Left to their own timeline/schedule, Apple still puts out some not-fully-baked products (in the OS/software department, primarily). I shudder to think what we'd get if they were having to rush things out based on trade show schedules.

[Frank777]

The tech does exist for a virtual Steve Jobs to introduce the new Apple Silicon iMac.

Could you imagine the worldwide media circus that would follow?

[psmith2.0]

I'd feel a bit better if it were just a de-aged Luke Skywalker.

The whole "dead celebrities brought back via tech" creeps me out. I don't wanna see John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe in a Coca-Cola commercial, and I don't wanna see "Steve Jobs" on stage unveiling anything. Ever.

Fortunately, such a thing would have to be okayed, at the very least, by his widow and Cook, so I think we're okay because I can't picture either of them ever being that crass and tacky. I hope not.

Sadly, I bet at least half the population would love such a thing, and think it's cool.

[Stanyz]

Originally Posted by PB PM Not sure what they'd do change the Mini, make it smaller? That's really all that has ever changed with the Mini, other than going from a plastic case to aluminum.

Definitely agree with you!

[kscherer]

Hi, Stanyz. How's the weather in Toledo?

[psmith2.0]

No way to know if this is true, but this article makes it sound like the other MacBook Pros (the higher-end smaller ones, which may go to 14", and the 16") aren't coming until the second half of 2021.

If those aren't coming until then, there's no way an even more powerful Mac Pro comes before that. So that leaves the iMac as the only possible first-half-of-2021 M1 transition we might get.

Wasn't expecting that. And there's no guarantee the iMac isn't coming until the second half either. From now until June 30 might be a bit quiet on the Mac front (Frank777 is gonna lose his mind ). My initial gut hunch says I can't imagine them giving the iMacs or higher-end MacBook Pros another Intel-based update, but there's a solid chance that's exactly what they'll do, giving these popular models one final "as good as it can get" Intel-based update for those who can't/won't do the M1 thing, for whatever reason(s), for another year or more (Windows and other software-based reasons, etc.).

Are there things in the Intel stable for these current upper-end 13" and 16" MacBook Pros and the iMac line to go to? I don't follow the chip releases/availability like some here.

[Frank777]

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 And there's no guarantee the iMac isn't coming until the second half either. From now until June 30 might be a bit quiet on the Mac front (Frank777 is gonna lose his mind )

Originally Posted by Frank777

Case, rested.

I sure hope I'm wrong (don't worry, there's always a better-than-average chance that I am on any given issue: tech, entertainment, etc.).

Surely the iMac gets some attention in this first half. The larger model got a few tweaks in August of 2020, but the smaller 21.5", aside from a hard drive transition to SSD on that same day, hasn't been touched since spring of 2019, so it's coming up on two years.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by pscates2.0 Surely the iMac gets some attention in this first half. The larger model got a few tweaks in August of 2020, but the smaller 21.5", aside from a hard drive transition to SSD on that same day, hasn't been touched since spring of 2019, so it's coming up on two years.

I've used and loved the 27" iMac for a long time.
But let's be honest, any new iMac at this point is going to have its internals glued, soldered and stapled down.

Which deletes all the fun of eventually going in and adding RAM, a new SSD - even a video card if you're brave enough.

So when I saw Dell's new 40" monitor yesterday, I started thinking how a higher-end Mac Mini paired with it might be my next purchase.

Might have to get used to the Dell logo in front of me all day long,
but it would mean I can keep the monitor and upgrade the Mac side of things more regularly.

[psmith2.0]

As much as I love the iMac AIO (or the idea of going back to a notebook), I've considered that sort of thing a few times over the years as well. In some ways, it makes sense. A bit of an upfront outlay for the Mac mini, a decent display, keyboard and mouse and to get it all up and going. But then, after that, you just update/replace the Mac mini for about $899 (for me, anyway...256GB SSD/16GB RAM) every 2-3 years. Much cheaper than a new $1,299-1,499 MacBook or iMac.

As with all their offerings/prices, there are pros and cons. But that new M1-based mini is appealing...it has the new Apple guts, but still has two regular USB ports, plus HDMI, Ethernet, etc. It wouldn't require a dongle-buying spree just to connect to all the things I currently have (thumb drives, etc.).

And while I don't mind the presence of a third-party display the way I might have at one point, I wish Apple sold a nice standalone display as they used to, in the 20-24" range. But that's not a dealbreaker...I'm sure there are third-party displays that are either as nice as anything Apple would offer, and for far less money, or, for the same money as an Apple display, superior specs/performance.

I can't seem to bring myself to pull the trigger on anything because something about it eats at me, and isn't "perfect" for the money I'm looking to spend ($1,499, tops). I feel like I won't truly be able to make an honest "okay, this is it" decision until I see these new M1 iMacs. At which point I'd have that, the Mac mini and the 13" MacBooks (Air and Pro) to all fully weigh/consider. I could get whatever I wanted, right now, today...but it would bug me because that piece of the puzzle is missing (the M1 iMac).

I'm a little worried that if I buy that lower-end MacBook Pro now for $1,299 ($1,499 with the 16GB upgrade), the M1 iMac will hit in about two months and represent a way better experience for roughly the same money...larger display, etc.) and then I'll be angry at myself for not waiting.

I hate buying anything over about $75, because this is what I do... I overthink it, I talk myself out of it, I dwell on the "what ifs", I start thinking about the money being spent and feel like a fool, I think about what other models represent a bigger-bang-for-thebuck, etc. This is why I go 5-8 (or more) years between Macs (and the reason my iPhone will be turning five in three months). I'll finally pull the trigger on something, work through the guilt, weird feelings and all, but then I hang onto/use the crap out of it for years, just to assure/convince myself that it was money well spent and that I'm getting the full use/value of it.

I need help. I seem to have a flaming, terminal case of purchase anxiety.

But I know if I don't give the M1 iMac an honest look, I'll regret it. So I'm kinda waiting on that one model as well, I guess...

[kscherer]

Originally Posted by Frank777 Might have to get used to the Dell logo in front of me all day long,

Black electrical tape FTW.

Otherwise, it's a nice-looking display.

[PB PM]

Given the coming shortage of many parts for computers, due to fires and floods in various Asian manufacturing facilities during the past fall, Apple May hold off any new products until the supply chain gets back on its feet.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by PB PM Given the coming shortage of many parts for computers, due to fires and floods in various Asian manufacturing facilities during the past fall, Apple May hold off any new products until the supply chain gets back on its feet.

Hadn't really heard before now that this was a serious thing. Did the murder hornets attack them as well?

[psmith2.0]

Everything. Fires, floods, murder hornets, the clap, bad egg salad, etc. We’re not getting new Macs until early 2023, according to my sources.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by Frank777 Hadn't really heard before now that this was a serious thing. Did the murder hornets attack them as well?

No hornets. It was all supplier level stuff. Fire at a large facility in Taiwan in October, still under repair. Flooding at a plant in Japan. I have no idea how TSMC (Apple chip maker) was effected by these, but industry wide price hikes are expected. Asus for example already announced just that.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by PB PM USB4 is not thunderbolt, and there are multiple versions, just like 3.x. Yeah it's just USB3 renamed to 4, with one version supporting thunderbolt 3 tech. They should have just left all the older stuff on USB3.x and kept USB4 for the Thunderbolt 3 like stuff, so stupid.

Thunderbolt 4 is USB 4 + Thunderbolt 3, though. The "full fat" USB 4, I mean, not some subset of it.

Originally Posted by PB PM It's not really thunderbolt though, because it is using copper wire, not fiber.

As far as decades-old decisions go, I'm still kinda upset that the industry didn't move in that direction.