While all the tech world is raving about Apple's upcoming iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks, the rave about 2017's iMac seems to be a bit toned down. Still, that doesn't change the fact that Apple's desktop iteration is highly anticipated, with fans clamoring for various upgrades. Let's look at what might or might not come when Apple releases this year's iMac.
Display specs
Last updated in 2015, the iMac surely needs new updating. Macworld says Apple might introduce Retina displays for all iMacs this year – a 4K Retina display for the 21-inch iMac and a 5K Retina display for the 27-inch behemoth.
While 2015's iMacs already offer better displays compared to the competition, it won't harm Apple to further improve the iMac's displays by adding a few more tweaks like a DisplayPort 1.3 and Thunderbolt 3 (or USB-C). Adding these will allow users to hook up their iMacs to another computer to use it as a display. The iMac's display is terrific, and adding these would add a big selling point especially for designers.
Speaking of designers, it would be good if Apple added touch functionality to the iMac's display, Macworld noted. Microsoft did so with the creative-intensive Surface Studio, and hopefully Apple would follow suit.
Processors
It is generally believed that Apple will release the iMac with Intel's new Kaby Lake processors, PC Advisor reported. The 27-inch iMac will likely sport S-Series processors, namely the Core i5-7500, Core i5-7600, and Core i7-7700K. As for the 21-inch iMac, however, it is still unknown.
A report from Architosh, however, stated that Apple might make the switch from Intel's Kaby Lake chips to AMD's new record-breaking Ryzen chips. AMD's newest offering surpassed Intel's top performer in Cinebench, and boasts that it did so while consuming a lot less power. Simply put, AMD's beats Intel's based on power per watt.
Apple might choose to switch to Ryzen because it will consume a lot less power compared to Intel's chips. But since the iMac is a desktop and doesn't run on batteries, Apple just might go ahead and make use of Intel's Kaby Lake processors – or even Cannon Lake if the iMacs are released later this year.
The iMacs are rumored to arrive later this month.
