The next iMac: Liquid Retina XDR display, M1 Pro redesign eyed for 2022
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The 24-inch iMac brought a new design and a faster chip to Apple’s all-in-one machine, but we’re still waiting for its bigger, faster sibling to replace the current Intel-based 27-inch iMac. Bloomberg reported in May that Apple had put the larger iMac aside to focus on the 24-inch iMac’s launch, but since that Mac is now available, the rumor mill for the larger iMac has started churning. Here’s everything we know so far about the next iMac.
2022 iMac: The latest rumors
October 20: Ross Young reports on Twitter that the iMac will get a mini-LED display in 2022.
October 18: The next iMac will likely get the same M1 Pro and M1 Max processor in the new MacBook Pro.
July 26: Twitter leaker Dylan says the “high-end iMac” will launch in 2022.
July 12: Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reports in his Power On newsletter that “a larger, redesigned iMac” is on the way with “an M1X… or an M2X.” He didn’t mention a timeline, but it seems likely to release in 2022.
2022 iMac: Sizes, design, and colors
In January, Bloomberg reported that Apple planned on replacing both the Intel-based 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs with new machines that feature a new design and Apple’s M1 system on a chip (SoC). Apple introduced the first Apple silicon-based redesigned all-in-one with the 24-inch iMac with a new design that shortens the chin, trims the bezels, and shrinks the enclosure down to an impressive 11.5 millimeters.
As for the larger iMac, it will reportedly use the same design as the 24-inch iMac, and speculation is that it could house a display as large as 32 inches. The current 27-inch iMac measures 25.6 inches wide, 20.3 inches tall, and 8 inches deep, and while Apple’s new design helps make the 24-inch iMac smaller than the 21.5-inch iMac it replaced, there isn’t that much of a difference in size (21.5 inches x 18.1 inches x 5.8 inches (with the stand) vs 20.8 inches x 17.7 inches x 6.9 inches). So a new larger iMac could have a similar footprint to the 27-inch Intel iMac.
The next large iMac will look nothing like the current 27-inch model (right) and more like the 24-inch iMac (left).
Apple
Apple offers the 24-inch iMac in several different color choices, but there haven’t been reports on what color choices Apple will use for the larger iMac. The larger iMac is considered to be a “pro”-level iMac, and to create a differentiation between the consumer and pro levels, Apple may decide on different color choices like the iPhone Pro, or stick with the traditional silver like that on the 27-inch iMac or space gray like on the discontinued iMac Pro.
2022 iMac: Display
To get an idea of what we could expect with the display in the larger iMac, let’s look at what’s being used in the current iMac lineup, as well as the Pro Display XDR and Liquid Retina XDR in the MacBook pro.
- 24-inch iMac: 4.5K Retina display (4480-by-2520 resolution) 500 nits brightness, wide color (P3), True Tone technology
- 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro: 5K Retina display (5120‑by‑2880 resolution), 500 nits brightness, wide color (P3), True Tone
- Liquid Retina XDR: 2K/3K Retina display, 1,600 nits peak brightness, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, wide color (P3), True Tone
- Pro Display XDR: 6K Retina display (6016-by-3384 resolution), 1,000 nits (XDR) or 500 nits (SDR) brightness, wide color (P3), True Tone
The upcoming larger iMac will have smaller bezels than the 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro, which could help the display reach a higher pixel density without having to make the display much bigger. A rumor by Ross Young in October following Apple’s “Unleashed” event suggested that Apple will be bringing the same Liquid Retina XDR display in the MacBook Pro and iPad Pro to the iMac.
The 27-inch iMac has a nano-texture glass option (right) that does a better job of resisting glare and reflections.
IDG
The 27-inch iMac comes with standard glass on the front of the display, but for $300, Apple offers a nano-texture glass that provides a matte-like finish and does a good job of cutting down glare. Apple will probably continue to offer this with the new larger iMac. As you can see above, it dramatically cuts down on the gloss and glare.
2022 iMac: Apple silicon
The 24-inch iMac fits in Apple’s consumer product lineup, and it’s outfitted with the M1, the same SoC that’s in Apple’s other consumer Macs. The larger iMac, however, is part of Apple’s pro Mac line, and will have a faster SoC. Apple introduced the new M1 Pro and M1 Max for the MacBook Pro, and it’s likely that Apple will use those same chips in the next iMac. The iMac’s slim profile is similar to the MacBook Pro, which means the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips will work well.
According to Apple’s numbers, the M1 Pro is up to 70 percent faster than the M1 and the M1 Max delivers up to four times the GPU performance of the M1. Those numbers would bring the next iMac closer to the performance Apple delivered with the iMac Pro that was discontinued in 2021.
2022 iMac: Ports and expansion
The 24-inch iMac comes with two USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a headphone jack. After Apple launched the MacBook Pro with HDMI and an SDXC card slot, we expect the iMac to follow suit. The thin enclosure could be an issue, but Apple solved that issue on the 24-inch model by putting hte headphone jack on the side. Apple could position the SD slot similarly to avoid making the iMac thicker. We doubt that Apple will keep USB-C ports around, however.
For the $1,499 and $1,699 24-inch iMac, Apple placed the ethernet port in the power adapter brick. The same power adapter is likely to be used for the larger iMac as well.
The ethernet-equipped power adapter will probably be standard with the larger iMac.
Apple
2022 iMac: Other features
The 24-inch iMac and new macBook Pro have improved FaceTime cameras that use the M1’s ISP to provide better image quality. That same FaceTime camera implementation is expected for the larger iMac as well. It’s possible that the camera could support Face ID, since True Depth references were spotted in macOS Big Sur, though the MacBook Pro doesn’t support Face ID despite having a wide screen notch. If it doesn’t have Face ID, it will likely have Touch ID built into the keyboard like the 24-inch iMac.
The current 27-inch iMac has RAM slots that are user-accessible. With Apple silicon, RAM is built into the SoC, and if Apple also insists on maintaining the thinness of the iMac, there’s a good chance that the RAM will not be user upgradable. However, Apple introduced options up to 64GB with the M1 Pro on the MacBook Pro, so we doubt memory will be an issue for pro users.
2022 iMac: Price and release date
According to Bloomberg, the larger iMac was “paused” so that Apple could get the 24-inch iMac out. No ship date for the larger iMac has been set, with the latest rumor from Dylan on Twitter claiming a 2022 launch because “Apple does not want their devices to compete for attention.” As for the price, it will likely fall in line with the pricing of the current 27-inch iMac, which starts at $1,799 since Apple kept similar pricing to the 21.5-inch iMac when it launched the 24-inch model. However, Apple increased the price of the higher-end MacBook Pro from $1,799 to $1,999, so the new iMac could see a price bump.
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he’s worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.
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