Apple has no plans to build a 27-inch iMac with Apple Silicon

Apple PR representative Starlayne Meza confirmed the company’s plans on the edge. Compared to the Studio Display and the all-in-one design of the Mac Studio or Mac Mini, the company is encouraging those hoping for a bigger iMac to combine a 27-inch 5K screen with a separate computer. iMac.

For years, the 27-inch iMac was Apple’s flagship consumer desktop computer, and its range extended beyond the typical living room or home office into the studios and edit bays of many media houses. But since Apple hasn’t released a version with its in-house silicon processors, many video editors, developers and other creators have switched to Mac Studio and other machines like the MacBook Pro or many modular desktop PCs.

Apple says the 24-inch iMac with a 4.5K display neatly splits the difference between the older Intel models that came in 21-inch 4K versions and the 27-inch 5K model. But the 24-inch iMac doesn’t come with Apple’s most capable processors, instead sticking with its base-model chips. Today’s base Apple Silicon processors are faster than older Intel models, but in years past, you could equip an Intel iMac with very high-end chips and unique GPUs that made it a powerful machine at the time. Now those wanting more performance than the base M3 chip, especially for GPU-centric workloads, have no choice but to look outside of other Macs or Apple’s lineup.

The larger iMac had more power user features, such as a wider range of ports and an SD card slot. The current 24-inch iMac comes with a maximum of four USB-C ports, and that’s it.

I’ve been testing the new iMac for a few days and will post my review later this week. It’s a great all-in-one desktop computer for most consumers, but as someone who uses a 27-inch monitor all day for work, I immediately feel claustrophobic with a 24-inch screen and wish there was an option for a larger model. . But it’s clear that Apple doesn’t want the iMac to be anything more than a family computer, or to look good at the reception desk of trendy retail stores or spas. The move away from power users casts some light around the reality of the all-in-one desktop PC market, which has been relegated to a niche compared to the dominance of laptops or personal devices like phones and tablets.

Today’s news from the company is specifically about the 27-inch iMac, which opens the door to an even larger iMac in the future, which has been rumored for some time. However, I personally wouldn’t put too much faith in it.