Apple’s iMac computers could be set for their first design refresh in close to a decade.
The update is due to be announced at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, according to leaker Sonny Dickson. The conference will be hosted online-only for the first time in its history.
The event will see Apple announce a new iMac based on the “iPad Pro design language,” with thinner bezels surrounding its display, Dickson said. This will result in a product that resembles Apple’s Pro Display XDR in terms of its bezels.
The iMac’s design has looked dated for several years, especially now that incredibly thin bezels are all the rage in the industry. As we discussed in our 2019 iMac 5K review, you could look at the device and have no idea what year it was made in, such is the inertia its design has experienced.
In addition to taking cues from the iPad Pro and Pro Display XDR, Dickson believes the new iMac will ditch the Apple Fusion Drives it currently uses, potentially resulting in an all-SSD lineup. Currently, no iMac (including both 21.5-inch and 27-inch sizes) offer SSDs by default. Most start with Fusion Drives, which combine a large hard drive with a small SSD cache. The entry-level iMac, meanwhile, does not even have this. Instead, it is being outfitted with a slow hard drive that is increasingly out of place in 2020. It is possible that Apple may keep this as a cheap entry point to the iMac range, although this would certainly be disappointing.
Dickson reports Apple will also incorporate its T2 Security Chip into the new iMac. This carries out numerous security functions and controls the computer’s SSD, its image signal processor, its audio controller, and more. This would be the first time an iMac has had the T2 Security Chip.
Finally, Dickson’s leak claims the iMac will come with AMD Navi graphics cards. There is some evidence to back this up, as in February 2020, leaked MacOS beta code was discovered that contained references to AMD’s Navi GPUs. At the time it was not known whether Apple was planning on including these in future devices or merely testing them out, but Dickson’s information seems to point toward the former.
WWDC is shaping up to be an exciting event for Apple fans. Earlier today it was reported that Apple will announce its widely rumored switch to ARM processors at the event. Because WWDC will be online-only, it also means that far more people will be able to virtually attend than in previous years.