Chicago (IL) – Apple is reportedly planning to update its iMac desktop system on November 10, which may include several hardware upgrades, including Nvidia graphics chips as well as a DisplayPort interface.
Despite the general trend toward mobile computing systems, the iMac remains a driving force in Apple’s overall Mac sales, especially when it is refreshed. So it is not really surprising that we may see new iMacs just in time for the Christmas season.
According to an article posted by Fudzilla and echoed by Electric Pig, Apple will be announcing new iMacs next Monday. The website cites multiple unnamed sources who claim that next week will bring “a revamped and refreshed iMac and Mac Mini," most likely in form of a subtle upgrade that is accompanied by a press release. Macsimum News' Dennis Sellers chimed in and said that November 11 is the likely announcement date, which would fall in line with Apple's preference to announce new products on Tuesdays.
Current iMacs are sold with ATI Radeon HD 2400 or 2600 graphics and optional $150 Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT upgrades. Since iMacs are typically sharing hardware features with Mac notebooks, it is likely that the new iMacs will include Nvidia GPUs that were recently announced as part of a new Macbook and Macbook Pro lineup. We should expect the GeForce 9400M integrated chipset that packs both the chipset and the GPU with 16 parallel graphics cores.
Higher-priced iMacs are expected to ship with the 9400M and an additional 9000-series GPU in a Hybrid SLI setup. However, Mac OS X currently does not support Hybrid SLI in software: The new Macbook Pros using Hybrid SLI allow only one chip to run at a time, requiring users to log out when switching the graphics chip. Apple is believed to enable a smoother application model of Hybrid SLI in future OS X updates, while the 2009 Snow Leopard will also be capable of using GPU resources for general purpose computing tasks.
The processor side of the announcement should be an interesting one. Since Apple received Intel’s fastest dual-core processor, the 2.26 GHz X9100, ahead of its formal release and in time for the last iMac refresh, there isn’t really a faster CPU Apple could get from Intel at this time. However, Apple could get another special SKU processor, which is rather unlikely given the current relationship between the two companies, Apple could simply stay with its current CPU lineup, or make the pricey QX9100 or QX9300 quad-cores an option for its iMacs – which would be the most likely scenario in our opinion.
Beyond the processor, we can expect Apple to follow suit in the DRAM market with at least some iMacs offering 4 GB by default as well as larger hard drives. 250 - 500 GB are standard today, so expect slight upgrades to 320 GB/500GB on the low-end and 750 GB/1TB on the high-end.
The big unknown variable is the Firewire interface, which is suspiciously absent from the new Macbooks. All checks indicate that Apple is gradually phasing out the interface it invented in the first place. The move is not without logic: Most recent video cameras rely on USB to transfer video files to a computer. Apple could opt for the latest specification that allows Firewire over Ethernet connection with a little help from a dedicated adapter. We at TG Daily believe that it would be premature to drop Firewire from iMacs, but Apple is known to make sharp cuts when it loses confidence in a technology.
Pricing will be another interesting topic – and whether Apple will drop the entry-level price from the current $1199 or not will largely depend on the firm’s market assessment and how many computers the company wants to move. The market share of desktop computers has been declining for some time, but Apple’s iMac has shown that it can actually be a growth driver, especially after product refreshes. Following the most recent iMac update in April of this year, Apple wrote in its Q2 earnings report that “the increases in Mac net sales and unit sales were driven by strong sales of iMac, which experienced strong growth in net sales and unit sales in all of the Company’s segments.”
While the firm’s desktop product category is made of the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, Power Mac, and Xserve systems, the “strong growth in net sales and unit sales of desktop systems was due to the popularity of iMac.” From that perspective, a few new iMacs for Christmas make a lot of sense.
Despite the general trend toward mobile computing systems, the iMac remains a driving force in Apple’s overall Mac sales, especially when it is refreshed. So it is not really surprising that we may see new iMacs just in time for the Christmas season.
According to an article posted by Fudzilla and echoed by Electric Pig, Apple will be announcing new iMacs next Monday. The website cites multiple unnamed sources who claim that next week will bring “a revamped and refreshed iMac and Mac Mini," most likely in form of a subtle upgrade that is accompanied by a press release. Macsimum News' Dennis Sellers chimed in and said that November 11 is the likely announcement date, which would fall in line with Apple's preference to announce new products on Tuesdays.
Current iMacs are sold with ATI Radeon HD 2400 or 2600 graphics and optional $150 Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT upgrades. Since iMacs are typically sharing hardware features with Mac notebooks, it is likely that the new iMacs will include Nvidia GPUs that were recently announced as part of a new Macbook and Macbook Pro lineup. We should expect the GeForce 9400M integrated chipset that packs both the chipset and the GPU with 16 parallel graphics cores.
Higher-priced iMacs are expected to ship with the 9400M and an additional 9000-series GPU in a Hybrid SLI setup. However, Mac OS X currently does not support Hybrid SLI in software: The new Macbook Pros using Hybrid SLI allow only one chip to run at a time, requiring users to log out when switching the graphics chip. Apple is believed to enable a smoother application model of Hybrid SLI in future OS X updates, while the 2009 Snow Leopard will also be capable of using GPU resources for general purpose computing tasks.
The processor side of the announcement should be an interesting one. Since Apple received Intel’s fastest dual-core processor, the 2.26 GHz X9100, ahead of its formal release and in time for the last iMac refresh, there isn’t really a faster CPU Apple could get from Intel at this time. However, Apple could get another special SKU processor, which is rather unlikely given the current relationship between the two companies, Apple could simply stay with its current CPU lineup, or make the pricey QX9100 or QX9300 quad-cores an option for its iMacs – which would be the most likely scenario in our opinion.
Beyond the processor, we can expect Apple to follow suit in the DRAM market with at least some iMacs offering 4 GB by default as well as larger hard drives. 250 - 500 GB are standard today, so expect slight upgrades to 320 GB/500GB on the low-end and 750 GB/1TB on the high-end.
The big unknown variable is the Firewire interface, which is suspiciously absent from the new Macbooks. All checks indicate that Apple is gradually phasing out the interface it invented in the first place. The move is not without logic: Most recent video cameras rely on USB to transfer video files to a computer. Apple could opt for the latest specification that allows Firewire over Ethernet connection with a little help from a dedicated adapter. We at TG Daily believe that it would be premature to drop Firewire from iMacs, but Apple is known to make sharp cuts when it loses confidence in a technology.
Pricing will be another interesting topic – and whether Apple will drop the entry-level price from the current $1199 or not will largely depend on the firm’s market assessment and how many computers the company wants to move. The market share of desktop computers has been declining for some time, but Apple’s iMac has shown that it can actually be a growth driver, especially after product refreshes. Following the most recent iMac update in April of this year, Apple wrote in its Q2 earnings report that “the increases in Mac net sales and unit sales were driven by strong sales of iMac, which experienced strong growth in net sales and unit sales in all of the Company’s segments.”
While the firm’s desktop product category is made of the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, Power Mac, and Xserve systems, the “strong growth in net sales and unit sales of desktop systems was due to the popularity of iMac.” From that perspective, a few new iMacs for Christmas make a lot of sense.