New iMacs May Be Closer Than You Think

AppleInsider believes Apple is getting ready to announce new iMacs sometime in mid-October. According to two unnamed sources, the Taiwanese assembly plant has been producing the new iMac designs for at least the last two weeks.

Courtesy of Apple

AppleInsider offers no real details about what to expect in new iMacs, other than to say they will be “cheaper and thinner.”

I’ve heard this “cheaper and thinner” iMac mantra before, in fact, I’ve heard it so often I tend to think anyone who parrots this information isn’t privy to any real news. That’s not to say Apple isn’t working on new iMacs. They’re overdue for a real update, and Apple does like to update some Mac products in the fall. I expect some type of Mac announcement soon as well.

While we wait, let’s take a look at this generic “cheaper and thinner” proclamation we keep hearing.

Cheaper. I’ll give them that one. Historically, computer prices tend to drop, and Macs are no different. The pressure to lower prices is greater than usual in the current economy. I expect to see a base iMac model with more features, and a price near or below the current entry point of $1,199.

Thinner. I have just one question about this prediction: Why?

The iMac isn’t a laptop. It’s not portable, at least not the way a notebook is. Would anyone really be disappointed if new iMacs were as thick as the current models? I don’t think so. Would thinner be nice? Yeah, it might be, but it shouldn’t be the driving force of iMac design. If thin is the driving force, then future iMacs won’t have any greater performance capabilities than a typical MacBook Pro, whose performance is limited by heat control and energy consumption issues. There’s no need to worry about running an iMac on batteries, but there is a need to manage the thermal envelope. Making the design thinner just makes heat a bigger issue.

I hope we see cheaper iMacs, but thinner? No, thanks. I want some ‘ooomph’ in my iMac’s performance.