Updated iMac with Retina display on schedule for October release?
Apple is expected to release an updated model of its iMac desktop computer in October, likely alongside its next-generation iPhone and possibly a smaller iPad.
As most rumors go, the iMac speculation was on again, off again for the past several months. Apple fans were convinced that the company would release an updated version this fall after nothing was even mentioned at its WorldWide Developer’s Conference in the beginning of June.
It’s been nearly a year and a half since the iMac received any kind of refresh. In the first quarter of 2012, Apple sold 1.22 million iMac units.
While an updated iMac seems plausible, the bigger question is whether or not it will include Apple’s coveted Retina display technology, offering the sharpest screen on a desktop computer to date. Previous reports said that Apple was absolutely planning on bringing the technology to its desktop, but recent reports say that the amount of power Apple would have to put into its machine would force the company to slap an astronomical price tag on the computer.
Apple has been known to surprise us before.
It wasn’t until a week before the WWDC that rumors began to surface that Apple was actually going to release a entire new MacBook Pro lineup that included the Retina display, instead of implementing it into their entire MacBook Pro family. Could the iMac run a similar path?
A report from the occasionally inconsistent DigiTimes says that Apple is indeed ramping up supplies for an October release.
It would fall right in line with Apple’s and late CEO Steve Jobs’ motto of announcing major products in groups of threes. According to a recent Forbes piece:
“Steve Jobs applied the Rule of 3 in nearly every presentation and product launch. In 2007 Jobs introduced the first iPhone as the “third” of Apple’s revolutionary product categories (the first two were the Macintosh and the iPod). He even said that Apple would be introducing “three” revolutionary products—a new iPod, a phone, and an Internet communications device. Jobs repeated the three products slowly until the audience finally figured out he was talking about one device capable of handling all three tasks.”
We’re almost positive an iPhone 5 is coming in the fall. An updated iMac is practically a no-brainer. The ball’s in your court iPad Mini.
July 4th, 2012
It would be really cool to see a new iMac with a Retina Display. I can’t say that I could see something like that going into a desktop though, seeing as desktops aren’t used nearly as much as laptops, tablets, and phones. Also, the latest MacBook pro costs $2100 with no options, so imagine the cost of a 27-inch iMac!