The 2020 iMac Is Coming – Here’s Everything We Know (and Want)

This seems to be the year of small updates from Apple. Many products, from the iPad Pro to the Mac mini, have received some love from Apple this year. Even the iPhone SE got a much-deserved update this year.

Although, some people might argue that these updates weren’t substantial enough to justify that current customers make an upgrade. And while that may be true, a refresh is always welcomed, even if it’s a small one.

However, Apple isn’t done with its product updates. There are a bunch of rumors pointing at new products, and to some other updates as well. That’s the case for the well-known iMac. This computer has been around for quite some time now, and it seems like Apple could be working on a new model that we might see this year.

The last time Apple updated the iMac was over a year ago. In March 2019, Apple showed us a newer iMac model that disappointed many long-time fans. The same design and the improvements in specs exclusive for the most expensive model left many of us wanting for more. A lot more.

It’s clearly time for the iMac to get a substantial update. The good news is, the all-in-one computer might get the update it deserves this year.

There’s still a lot of information about the 2020 iMac we don’t have, but here are the things we know, the things we expect, and everything we want.

2020 iMac Design

It seems like Apple believes the iMac’s design is flawless since it hasn’t changed it for a little over 10 years. And it’s true that the unibody design on the iMac is so iconic that you would recognize it anywhere. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t gain a few improvements.

We should expect the same design for this year’s iMac. There have been rumors, based on an Apple patent, that the company might be working on a new iMac made from a single sheet of glass. This is just a patent, however, and it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see something like that, at least this year. But I got to tell you, it looks beautiful.

There have been rumors of a new 23-inch iMac to be released later this year. Although, it’s possible that this won’t be a totally new model. Instead, Apple might continue to use the regular iMac models and but with smaller bezels and larger display.

This seems to be the most possible scenario. If we look at Apple’s updates in recent years, most devices’ bezels have been reduced to have a bigger display without making a bigger product.

Speaking of displays, we expect Apple to improve the iMac’s screen resolution, at least on the base model. The cheapest 2019 iMac available comes with a 1920-by-1080 sRGB display, while the other, more expensive models have a 4K Retina Display.

A lower resolution on the cheapest model leaves the iMac a little outdated, compared to other computers on the same price range, so it’s highly possible that Apple will improve the resolution on the iMac.

A Gaming iMac?

The gaming community often looks down on Apple’s computers when it comes to gaming. Albeit, it’s a natural response, since Mac computers are not the best for choice for computer gaming.

Apple knows this and it’s possible that the next iMac will try to change that for good. According to some recent rumors, Apple might add for the first time, a 10-core Intel processor on the next iMac.

It’s worth mentioning that Apple won’t sell this as a “Gaming iMac,” but it will give the computer more power to withstand long gaming sessions. This rumor’s highly possible since Apple released its gaming subscription service called Apple Arcade just last year, telling us that Apple is focusing on the games department as well.

Besides the improved processor, we should see better storage on the iMac as well.

Currently, the iMac comes with a Fusion Drive by default. Although the Fusion Drive is a good hard drive, a solid-state drive, or SSD is the better option for most computers in this day and age.

You do have the option to change your storage from a Fusion Drive to an SSD, but this can cost you up to $700, depending on the model. For that kind of price, you could get a set of wheels instead.

Switching from a Fusion Drive to a solid-state drive would make the iMac even better for gaming. Plus it could also make it safer since Apple could then use the T2 Chip in it.

The T2 Chip is Apple’s security chip for Mac computers. It works as an extra layer of protection that encrypts all of the information on your Mac. Sadly, this chip is integrated on almost every Mac computer. Actually, there’s just one Mac computer that doesn’t have this chip, do you know which one it is?

Yeah, the iMac. Reportedly, the main reason why the iMac doesn’t have a T2 Chip is because of the lack of a solid-state drive. Based on all of that, it should be a no-brainer for Apple to start implementing SSD as the main storage option for this year’s iMac.

Is Face ID Coming to the 2020 iMac?

Face ID is a cool security feature exclusive to the iPhone and the iPad. Rather than adding Face ID to Mac computers, Apple decided to keep implementing Touch ID as a way to unlock your computer.

And while we don’t know when or if Apple will ever use Face ID on its computers, some people are speculating we might see it as soon as this year.

This speculation comes from the Memojis we see in the 2020 WWDC announcement. As some of you may know, Memojis are created with the True Depth technology on the front-facing camera on the most recent iPhones. This technology also lets you use Face ID to unlock your iPhone.

Because of this, some people believe Apple might be hinting that upcoming Mac computers, including the iMac, will make use of their front-facing camera to enable Memojis. And also Face ID.

Although I’m on the fence about this speculation, it could be possible. Just last year Apple filed a patent that mentioned, among other things, a facial detection sensor for the Mac computers.

It’s been almost a year since that patent, so there is a possibility that Apple has been working on a Face ID feature for the newer Mac computers.

2020 iMac Release Date

Speaking of WWDC, it’s been expected that Apple will unveil the new iMac on this year’s event. This is highly possible since we also expect the WWDC will be heavily focused on Mac computers. Plus, just last year Apple used this event to announce the Mac Pro.

If this is correct, we should see the new 2020 iMac on June the 22nd, and we shouldn’t have to wait long after that to order one. According to famous Apple leaker Jon Prosser, there is an iMac that’s “ready to launch.” If that’s the case, we could get the new iMac as soon as next month.

There are still plenty of things we don’t know about the 2020 iMac. And since we’re so close to the WWDC, we’ll have to wait and see what else Apple has in store for us in that event.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]