The 27-inch iMac is dead. But is it really gone forever?
Let’s discuss the future of the iMac in light of the current realignment of the Mac family of products in the Apple Silicon era.
Since 2005, the iMac has always come in two different screen sizes: First 17-inch and 20-inch, then 20-inch and 24-inch, and finally settling into the 21.5-inch and 27-inch configurations we had for over a decade. Last year Apple released the first major redesign of the iMac in ages and also brought the M1 processor to the iMac for the first time when it introduced the all new 24-inch iMac. At the time Apple keep the Intel-based 27-inch iMac in the lineup, leading many to speculate that an update to that model was coming, perhaps powered by an M1 Pro or M1 Max processor. (There was even a rumor there might be a 30-inch iMac at some point.) However, after Apple’s “Peek Performance” event last week, the 27-inch iMac was discontinued. At the event, Apple’s John Ternus (Senior Vice President Hardware Engineering) teased that there was one last Mac left to transition to Apple Silicon: the Mac Pro. Does that mean there will never again be a larger iMac? Let’s discuss the various possibilities:
Option 1: the 24-inch iMac stands alone
The iMac used to be one of the best-selling Macs in Apple’s lineup. But the industry has shifted heavily toward laptops, so desktop Macs of all types have become much more of a niche product. It may be that there weren’t all that many consumers buying 27-inch iMacs, and so the 24-inch size nicely splits the difference between the 21.5-inch and 27-inch screen sizes. It may be that this aligns more with what consumers and education customers are looking for in an iMac. We’ll undoubtedly get an M2-based iMac by later this year or early next year. The biggest question is, does Apple think that iMac customers want more power out of an iMac? If so, would a future M2 Pro chip fit within the thermal envelope of the iMac’s new super slim enclosure?
Option 2: the 27-inch iMac comes back in the future
A lot of people took John Ternus’s words about the Mac Pro being the final Mac to transition to Apple Silicon to mean that Apple doesn’t see a future for a 27-inch iMac. That may be true, but I don’t think his phrasing compels that interpretation. The iMac has already made the transition to Apple Silicon. That doesn’t mean that Apple won’t release a new 27-inch or 30-inch iMac at some point in the future. In fact, it’s odd to me that Apple’s website lists the iMac has iMac 24”. If there’s only one screen size, why bring it up in the header at the top of the website? So it’s entirely possible that we will get a larger iMac again in the future. The question is, would a new larger iMac just be a larger screen iMac with the same internals as the 24-inch model, or would it be a machine meant for prosumer customers with a thicker case to better support an M2 Pro, M2 Max, or M2 Ultra?
Option 3: the return of the iMac Pro
Introduced in December 2017 and killed off last March alongside the introduction of the M1-powered 24-inch iMac, the iMac Pro was an odd machine. It arguably existed only as a stopgap until the 2019 Mac Pro was ready. It came after four years of complaints from pro Mac customers about the inadequacy of the “trash can” Mac Pro. Apple miscalculated what the right product was for pro Mac customers at that time, and it took them several years to shift their strategy back to the right course. That period of time saw a lot of pro customers opt for a 27-inch iMac as the best available product to meet their needs. I think it’s possible we get something like a new iMac Pro in the future, but I’m skeptical given that I feel the iMac Pro was never meant to be more than a temporary solution to a larger problem with the Mac line.
What I think is actually going to happen
I think the days of the iMac being a prosumer machine are dead. I think that if we ever do get a larger screen iMac, it’ll be for that reason alone: consumer and education customers want a larger screen for their iMacs. Apple’s M1 (and soon-to-come) M2 are adequate for most of the iMac’s customers. I think the Mac Pro will mostly be what it is now: the ultimate expression of the Mac’s desktop potential, offering the most performance available but at a significant cost. The just-introduced Mac Studio will fill out the remaining pro and prosumer desktop Mac needs. It can be integrated into any monitor scenario customers want to throw at it, and it has an incredible amount of power for all but the most power-hungry, high-end pro customers. The 27-inch iMac is truly dead. Long live the 24-inch iMac.