It's been more than two years since Apple released the updated 24-inch iMac with Apple processor. According to new rumors, there could be good news and bad news on this front.
Japanese Apple blog MacOtakara notes that higher configurations and current shipments of the iMac M1 are being delayed . For example, increasing the SSD and RAM may cause the machine to fail before November. However, when it comes to predicting hardware upgrades, delivery dates are hit or miss. Be that as it may, the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro ship dates are also delayed.
MacOtakara, which is often well aware of hardware rumors, believes that the iMac ship dates are an indicator of the upcoming hardware version. According to the site, Apple may be planning to upgrade the M1 chip to M2 and M2 Pro variants. The M1 generation iMac doesn't offer M2 Pro or higher.
The move to the M2 chip released last year will supposedly give the iMac the ability to add more RAM. Until now, the iMac was expected to skip the M2 generation entirely and wait until the M3 was ready.
However, M3 Macs are expected to no longer be in the plans for 2023. Upgrading the iMac now would be an interesting choice given the age of the M2 chip at this point. It's also not a big leap over the M1 chip. The wait for the M3 chip is likely to be more important.
Perhaps the M3 update is further down the road than expected, or maybe Apple is just now ready to make M2 chips a priority for the iMac? Apart from the iMac, Apple also sells the M1 MacBook Air. However, M2 MacBook Air prices are often discounted enough to make purchasing an M1 MacBook Air less easy. Maybe M1 supply is shrinking?
What is your forecast? M2 in new colors and USB-C accessories? Something other? Mute the comments.
