Apple Has a New M3-Powered iMac in the Works | Here’s What We Know

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Fans of Apple’s desktop Macs may have something to look forward to this year, as a new report suggests the company is preparing a new version of the popular 24-inch iMac that will pack in the latest Apple Silicon.

Two years ago, Apple surprised us with a redesigned 24-inch iMac that featured the M1 chip that had debuted a few months earlier in the late 2020 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. It also sported a beautiful new ultra-slim aesthetic that echoed the iPad, thanks to Apple’s much cooler-running chips that eliminated the need to build in larger heatsinks and fans.

While many hoped that Apple would release an upgraded model last year to follow in the footsteps of the M2 MacBook Air, it became apparent that Apple planned to skip an M2 iMac and move straight to the M3 chip instead.

To be fair, Apple hasn’t typically refreshed its iMac desktops annually; there was every indication the M1 iMac was still selling very well, so there wasn’t a huge reason to replace it. Still, Apple had released an M2 version of its 13-inch MacBook Pro that wasn’t exactly a meaningful upgrade to the M1 version that had come before, so a spec-bumped iMac wouldn’t have been out of the question.

The Next iMac

While we haven’t heard much about Apple’s iMac plans recently, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the next iMac is in an “advanced stage of development” and could be released later this year.

It’s almost certain that this new iMac will feature Apple’s latest M3 chip. There’s still no word on a 27-inch iMac; Gurman’s sources only refer to Apple’s consumer-level 24-inch iMac. So, it’s not likely to get an M2 Pro chip, and the standard M2 is now last year’s news. In fact, Gurman suggests this could be “one of the company’s first M3-based machines.”

There’s not much word on what else to expect from the new iMac, and it’s possible the M3 chip may be the biggest change. Gurman notes that the colours are expected to remain the same as the current model, including blue, silver, pink, and orange, although he didn’t say anything about yellow, green, or purple.

We’re not expecting a significant redesign, as Apple already did that with the M1 iMac. However, there may be some minor internal design changes. Gurman notes that some components could get “relocated and redesigned,” and the mounting point between the stand and display differs from the current model.

It’s unlikely we’ll see this new iMac as soon as some of Apple’s other upcoming products; most reports suggest a new 15-inch MacBook Air, an upgraded 13-inch MacBook Air, and even a new Mac Pro could all arrive this spring. On the other hand, Apple’s new 24-inch iMac isn’t expected to arrive before the second half of 2023. Apple may choose to debut it at a fall event, but it could also just quietly slip it out by press release over the summer. It’s even possible it could announce it at the June Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it’s expected to unveil the M3 chip.

[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.]

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