Good news for all those iMac fans who are pounding the table for another all-in-one device from Apple. An oft-quoted Apple analyst said we may see another iMac drop later this year, much sooner than previously expected and possibly with an M3 chip.
Mark Gurmans Bloomberg Newsletter noted on Sunday that the next iMac is on its way and that while Apple won’t ramp up production for another few months, we should see new iMacs hitting store shelves in the second half of this year. The analyst wrote that the next iMac is “in an advanced stage of development” and production testing is underway.
The next Apple all-in-one desktop platform will remain at 24 inches, the same size as the current model, and will carry “a new M-series chip”, replacing the 2021 edition’s M1 processor. We still haven’t seen any real hint of this M3-powered iMac, or any real M3-powered devices, but we’re hear rumors about the chip since 2021. We also expect a few other minor changes to the the rather solid design of the older iMacmostly making this latest version look like a faster iteration of what we already have, despite the more than two-year release gap.
Gurman’s word has proven true on a number of occasions, but his latest prediction goes against his own previous post that the iMac wouldn’t come until late 2023 if not 2024. Previous reports had noted that the The M3 iMac should be released this year. If true, this could be the first device with the new chipset, though it’s unclear if Apple will put the latest M-series processor in any of its other upcoming devices.
Gurman’s newsletter also noted that several more Apple laptop designs are on the way, including a MacBook Pro that will reportedly be powered by an Apple-designed chip (namely the M2 Ultra), to complement the current 2023 MacBook Pros with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. The Cupertino company is also reportedly pursuing a new, long rumored 15-inch MacBook Air together with a updated 13-inch model. It is not known whether Apple plans to release internal components (such as add any kind of heat sink) on these latest ultralight laptops, or if they contain new or updated chipsets. Current MacBook Airs still run on a base M2, but Gurman speculated that Apple could put an M3 in the Air.
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So will 2023 be the big year for the M3? With so many devices still running last year’s M2and with other major upcoming releases like the widely anticipated ones mixed reality headset still relying on the same chipset, it’s hard to say. The OLED iPad Pro is reportedly getting an M3 chip, though Gurman said we won’t see it until the first half of 2024. OLED MacBooks may not arrive until 2025 despite hopes of a 2024 release.
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