Apple updates iMac 27-inch w/ significant spec bump (1080p camera, Navi GPUs)

Deleted member 43084 · Aug 4, 2020

Apple_imac-magickeyboardnum-magicmouse2-macos-wallpaper_08042020_big.jpg.large_2x.jpg

Press: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/08/27-inch-imac-gets-a-major-update/

Product Page: https://www.apple.com/imac/

Bullet points stolen from a Reddit comment:

1080p FaceTime camera
Nanotexture glass option
Faster Intel processors up to 10 cores
Double memory capacity
Higher-fidelity speakers
Studio-quality mics

It is very apparent this will be the last large iMac (and last Intel iMac) before an Apple Silicon iMac; however this spec bump is larger than expected and since it may take 3 years for AS to be in a good place on the iMac I might just take the dive.

PeakPointMatrix · Aug 4, 2020

Damn, I just got my new iMac like 8 months ago, but I desperately needed it after my 2011 27" couldn't keep up with my work needs anymore. How are the trade-in values for these things? I wonder if I can get a decent amount back and jump for this one...

gabdeg · Aug 4, 2020

Hopefully this will be the last update sporting this design. It's iconic but also over a decade old.

Edit: It's going to be interesting to see how Apple Silicon GPUs are going to stack up against an RX 5700XT. I assume Apple wouldn't bring out an upgrade that doesn't beat the previous version but competing with Navi in terms of GPU speed is going to be tough.

sfedai0 · Aug 4, 2020

Do people actually use the speakers? I cant imagine it being better than some decent 2.0 speakers.

entremet · Aug 4, 2020

They really need a new design. Those bezels look ridiculous today.

Deleted member 17092 · Aug 4, 2020

What kind of Navi? Rdna2?

criteriondog · Aug 4, 2020

Thank god, no fusion drive.
256gb SSD by default.

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

sfedai0 said:
Do people actually use the speakers? I cant imagine it being better than some decent 2.0 speakers.

Haven't had an iMac since 2010, but I remember the speakers on my 27" model being pretty impressive.

Admittedly this was before the "super-slim" design that the computers currently sport, so maybe things have changed for the worse since.

Deleted member 43084 · Aug 4, 2020

ZOONAMI said:
What kind of Navi? Rdna2?

Appears to be RDNA1 (non-mobile GPUs used in the 16" MBP released last year)

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

PeakPointMatrix said:
Damn, I just got my new iMac like 8 months ago, but I desperately needed it after my 2011 27" couldn't keep up with my work needs anymore. How are the trade-in values for these things? I wonder if I can get a decent amount back and jump for this one...

The performance gap between your current hardware and this one is probably negligble; is there some other feature that you're lusting over?

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

Really tempted by this, my wife wants a 27" to replace her 2017 21.5". We have been waiting for ARM but I am worried that the first ARM iMac will be way overpriced and we won't be able to upgrade anything on it post purchase. This could the the last great upgradable iMac.

Blanquito · Aug 4, 2020

Greebman said:
Hopefully this will be the last update sporting this design. It's iconic but also over a decade old.

Edit: It's going to be interesting to see how Apple Silicon GPUs are going to stack up against an RX 5700XT. I assume Apple wouldn't bring out an upgrade that doesn't beat the previous version but competing with Navi in terms of GPU speed is going to be tough.

oh wait, I thought they would still use discreet gpus in certain products?

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

Cookie said:
Really tempted by this, my wife wants a 27" to replace her 2017 21.5". We have been waiting for ARM but I am worried that the first ARM iMac will be way overpriced and we won't be able to upgrade anything on it post purchase. This could the the last great upgradable iMac.

If you can, wait it out a few weeks for sales to start rolling in. Bookmark Apple Insider's price guide and check it out once the 2020 models get added, I find it's usually the best place to find the lowest prices. https://prices.appleinsider.com/current-gen

In addition, a few resellers still don't charge tax in some parts of the country, so you may be able to save a bit more as well.

Floex · Aug 4, 2020

sfedai0 said:
Do people actually use the speakers? I cant imagine it being better than some decent 2.0 speakers.

Rocking a 2017 iMac from work and the speakers sound brilliant.

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

Blanquito said:
oh wait, I thought they would still use discreet gpus in certain products?

We don't know for sure.

xxracerxx · Aug 4, 2020

sfedai0 said:
Do people actually use the speakers? I cant imagine it being better than some decent 2.0 speakers.

Of course people use the built-in speakers.

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

maximumzero said:
If you can, wait it out a few weeks for sales to start rolling in. Bookmark Apple Insider's price guide and check it out once the 2020 models get added, I find it's usually the best place to find the lowest prices. https://prices.appleinsider.com/current-gen

In addition, a few resellers still don't charge tax in some parts of the country, so you may be able to save a bit more as well.

That's exactly what I'm doing.

PeakPointMatrix · Aug 4, 2020

maximumzero said:
The performance gap between your current hardware and this one is probably negligble; is there some other feature that you're lusting over?

After waiting so long without upgrading, I wanted to jump on the "best" model, or right off the heels of a fresh update at least. If this update came a year or so after my purchase and wasn't as big of a jump, it would sting a little less, but that's the tech world I guess.

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

Cookie said:
That's exactly what I'm doing.

Cool, I'm so used to folks just blindly buying from Apple because they assume the computers never go on sale.

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

maximumzero said:
Cool, I'm so used to folks just blindly buying from Apple because they assume the computers never go on sale.

Yeah, me too. I don't remember the last time we paid full price for an apple product and we've bought like 7 of them in the last year or so lol.

entremet · Aug 4, 2020

xxracerxx said:
Of course people use the built-in speakers.

I'd say the opposite--attaching speakers is a much smaller use case.

Normies don't care about this stuff.

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

Blanquito said:
oh wait, I thought they would still use discreet gpus in certain products?

Once Apple Silicon rolls out, I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple using the iMac Pro as the demarcation as to whether or not you're getting a discrete GPU.

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

entremet said:
I'd say the opposite--attaching speakers is a much smaller use case.

Normies don't care about this stuff.

There was a thread over on macrumors where some guy who needed better sound refused to hook speakers up to his iMac because "that's not the way it's supposed to be used" lol

fontguy · Aug 4, 2020

Seriously hoping the ARM iMac includes FaceID. The number of times I get up and down from my computer, I just gotta have it.

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

entremet said:
I'd say the opposite--attaching speakers is a much smaller use case.

Normies don't care about this stuff.

Back in my CompUSA days (2005-2008) I remember using "completely wireless" as a selling point for the iMac. Back then wireless networking wasn't as prevalent and a wireless keyboard & mouse weren't standard, but once you remove the cables for networking, mouse and keyboard the only cord coming out of your computer was power, and that's really nice from a minimalist standpoint.

These days Apple includes a wireless keyboard & mouse as standard, most printers come with wireless connectivity on-board and network attached storage, while not widely adopted, is a great solution as well, so this dream is more attainable than ever.

Cookie said:
There was a thread over on macrumors where some guy who needed better sound refused to hook speakers up to his iMac because "that's not the way it's supposed to be used" lol

If you've got the cash to throw around, you could always pair the iMac with a Homepod or two and use them wirelessly in stereo playback mode, though the homepods themselves still need to be connected to power, obviously. (I've seen this in a few desk photos, in fact.)

fontguy said:
Seriously hoping the ARM iMac includes FaceID. The number of times I get up and down from my computer, I just gotta have it.

Not an Apple Watch owner I assume?

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

maximumzero said:
Back in my CompUSA days (2005-2008) I remember using "completely wireless" as a selling point for the iMac. Back then wireless networking wasn't as prevalent and a wireless keyboard & mouse weren't standard, but once you remove the cables for networking, mouse and keyboard the only cord coming out of your computer was power, and that's really nice from a minimalist standpoint.

These days Apple includes a wireless keyboard & mouse as standard, most printers come with wireless connectivity on-board and network attached storage, while not widely adopted, is a great solution as well, so this dream is more attainable than ever.

If you've got the cash to throw around, you could always pair the iMac with two Homepods and use them wirelessly. (I've seen this in a few desk photos, in fact.)

Not an Apple Watch owner I assume?

That's actually one consideration we have for my wife's new office. I have a HiFi Amp with Q-acoustic speakers hooked up to my Mac Mini but she wants something more minimal.

I get it in a way but the wires are so hidden with my Mini that I prefer the superior quality.

Loud Wrong · Aug 4, 2020

Was in the market for another, but I'm not giving them that much money for bezels that damn ugly. They've been so slow in updating the look of their hardware while at the same time maintaining or increasing the cost.

gimmmick · Aug 4, 2020

Damn We purchased our Mac around Sept 3019 when they were doing a back to school special amd got free beat headphones. It sucks they updated so fast but we got our moneys worth out of our iMac during the 4 months we were at home during quarantine.

it's good they are finally doing away with super drive, still kick myself for not going ssd:(

Infinity Times Two · Aug 4, 2020

Iconic design, but those MASSIVE bezels gotta go next time.

prophetvx · Aug 4, 2020

entremet said:
I'd say the opposite--attaching speakers is a much smaller use case.

Normies don't care about this stuff.

The speakers in an iMac are actually pretty damn good for inbuilt ones as well. They certainly sound better than your average TV does and many don't bother with sound bars, so they certainly wouldn't bother getting speakers for a desktop computer.

Those who do care go with headphones, most people don't want to make their home office louder for other members of the household.

entremet · Aug 4, 2020

gimmmick said:
Damn We purchased our Mac around Sept 3019 when they were doing a back to school special amd got free beat headphones. It sucks they updated so fast but we got our moneys worth out of our iMac during the 4 months we were at home during quarantine.

it's good they are finally doing away with super drive, still kick myself for not going ssd:(

iMacs are fantastic machines. Yours will last for a while. I'm still rocking my 2017 one and it runs like a champ at 5k resolution. I added extra RAM and will replace the Fusion Drive eventually.

secretanchitman · Aug 4, 2020

Great spec bump and happy to see the matte display option come back! $500 be damned, it's a matte display! They are clearly saving the redesign for ARM.

My ideal spec would be 27", matte display, Core i9 10C/20T, 8GB (upgrade to 32GB via Amazon/Newegg), 5700XT 16GB, 1TB SSD, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

FliX · Aug 4, 2020

What about the 21" one? 27 is a little overkill for my mother.

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

FliXFantatier said:
What about the 21" one? 27 is a little overkill for my mother.

They now come with SSD as standard which is a huge upgrade. Same processors.

Tobor · Aug 4, 2020

Cookie said:
There was a thread over on macrumors where some guy who needed better sound refused to hook speakers up to his iMac because "that's not the way it's supposed to be used" lol

There is a large group of Apple customers who are looking for minimalism. I talked to my Dad about possibly upgrading his old 2011 iMac with a Mac mini and external monitor, but he went with another iMac. More expensive, but he wanted the least amount of crap on his desk.

lifeviasatellite · Aug 4, 2020

A pleasant tside effect of this is that the iMac Pro's base specs got bumped from 8 to 10 cores--the same setup I had spec'd last week just got almost 1k cheaper.

FliX · Aug 4, 2020

Cookie said:
They now come with SSD as standard which is a huge upgrade. Same processors.

That seems like a minor bump compared to the 27. How likely is it that the 21 will be fully upgraded any time soon? Any ideas? My Mom's iMac concked out a few weeks ago, and I told her to wait for what is on the horizon.

henhowc · Aug 4, 2020

updated camera 👀

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

FliXFantatier said:
That seems like a minor bump compared to the 27. How likely is it that the 21 will be fully upgraded any time soon? Any ideas? My Mom's iMac concked out a few weeks ago, and I told her to wait for what is on the horizon.

The current 21.5" won't get any more updates. The next one will be ARM with a redesign. There's a lot of speculation on what that might be. Some rumours suggest a 24" ARM iMac could be one of the first ones. However, nobody really knows. If you want Intel and the current design go ahead because it won't get another Update.

Deleted member 8166 · Aug 4, 2020

FliXFantatier said:
That seems like a minor bump compared to the 27. How likely is it that the 21 will be fully upgraded any time soon? Any ideas? My Mom's iMac concked out a few weeks ago, and I told her to wait for what is on the horizon.

if you're not willing to wait for ARM iMacs this version of the 21" is imho probably as good as its gonna get with intel CPUs.

FliX · Aug 4, 2020

Cookie said:
The current 21.5" won't get any more updates. The next one will be ARM with a redesign. There's a lot of speculation on what that might be. Some rumours suggest a 24" ARM iMac could be one of the first ones. However, nobody really knows. If you want Intel and the current design go ahead because it won't get another Update.

Sesuadra said:
if you're not willing to wait for ARM iMacs this version of the 21" is imho probably as good as its gonna get with intel CPUs.

Thanks both. Probably good enough for my ma.

RadioJoNES · Aug 4, 2020

I thought for a sec BOTW was on Mac

Deleted member 8166 · Aug 4, 2020

FliXFantatier said:
Thanks both. Probably good enough for my ma.

there is a 6-core version. My mother could probably use that one for centuries :D

BPHusker · Aug 4, 2020

secretanchitman said:
Great spec bump and happy to see the matte display option come back! $500 be damned, it's a matte display! They are clearly saving the redesign for ARM.

My ideal spec would be 27", matte display, Core i9 10C/20T, 8GB (upgrade to 32GB via Amazon/Newegg), 5700XT 16GB, 1TB SSD, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

How difficult is it to upgrade ram in iMacs?

Cookie · Aug 4, 2020

BPHusker said:
How difficult is it to upgrade ram in iMacs?

On the 27" there's a RAM slot on the back that you just take off to put it in. On the 21.5" you have to take off the screen to access the RAM. I've upgraded it on a 21.5" and it isn't as difficult as it sounds.

secretanchitman · Aug 4, 2020

BPHusker said:
How difficult is it to upgrade ram in iMacs?

Very easy! There is a door above the power connector on the back which houses 4 slots of upgradeable SO-DIMM. Always buy the base RAM and upgrade yourself.

Example - Corsair 32GB (16GBx2) DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM is $130 on Amazon so $260 for 64GB of RAM is a fraction of what Apple charges ($1000!).

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

BPHusker said:
How difficult is it to upgrade ram in iMacs?

Depends on the model.

The 27" iMac has a removable door on the lower rear of the computer that pops off with a button and gives you immediate access to the RAM slots.

The 21.5" has no such door, and you have to unseal the front glass of the computer to get access to the RAM slots. It's not terribly difficult to do (but time consuming) if you're careful and familiar with working within computers, but you'll need to order replacement adhesive to reseal the glass to the front of the computer.

This will void your warranty, obviously, so if you need more RAM than the stock amount within the one year warranty that the computer ships with (three years if you opt for Applecare) it's best to plan ahead and order what you need upfront.

This is at least an improvement over prior iMac models which had soldered in RAM modules.

bionic77 · Aug 4, 2020

BPHusker said:
How difficult is it to upgrade ram in iMacs?

You just have to be careful of the screen. Other than that it is really easy. I think it took me like 5 minutes.

The retina iMac is such a great computer IMO. Mine is from 2015 and I bet I can get another 2-3 years from this one before I need to upgrade.

Futureman · Aug 4, 2020

Don't mean to be a negative nance but this doesn't seem very "significant" to me. How much faster is the RAM and processor compared to last gen? That's the only thing here jumps out as possibly significant.

maximumzero · Aug 4, 2020

Futureman said:
Don't mean to be a negative nance but this doesn't seem very "significant" to me. How much faster is the RAM and processor compared to last gen? That's the only thing here jumps out as possibly significant.

The opening post spells them out pretty well. Better facetime camera, optional antiglare coating (that was previously only available on Apple's new XDR displays), faster processors, better graphics, higher maximum memory capacity, better speakers and microphones.

Apple updates iMac 27-inch w/ significant spec bump (1080p camera, Navi GPUs)

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