Previously, it is expected that Apple will include a new iMac in its Oct. 27 launch. However, the new desktop lineup was a no-show, and speculations suggest that the Cupertino-based tech giant has delayed its debut for major upgrades.
Supposedly, the new iMac lineups have been sent back to the drawing board for an overhaul in the light of the Microsoft's Surface Studio release. With the new improvements that Apple's fiercest competitor has featured in its first desktop, the iMac is said to get major improvements that it will jump from its supposed 2016 edition to a next-year release.
One of the major improvements is that the 2017 iMac is said to don the new, seventh-gen Intel Kaby Lake processors. This is a major upgrade, since the 2016 edition that is supposed to come out is only expected to feature the current 6th-gen Skylake chipsets. With the improved processor, the 2017 iMac is also rumored to get some major features, like an upgrade in RAM and storage configuration options, as well as AMD Polaris graphics units. The latter is also a notable improvement for the desktop lineups, since the new Polaris 10 GPUs from AMD will make it possible for the 2017 iMacs to support VR content. It also dovetails speculations on 4K displays.
Meanwhile, there are also rumors that Apple will take some new features from its MacBook lineups, such as the OLED Touch panel from the 2016 MacBook Pro.
While Apple has yet to confirm the details for the 2017 iMac, a major overhaul for the tech maker's desktop lineup is already expected. Even if Microsoft did not come out with a workstation competitor, iMac users are already asking Apple for improvements. The last major refresh for the iMac lineup is back in 2015, when it featured Retina displays for its smaller iMac versions.
