Apple says 27″ iMac had it’s last waltz and ain’t dancing back

Sorry kids, it’s the 24-inch iMac or a Mac mini..

Apple will not introduce a 27-inch Apple Silicon iMac, the company has confirmed to The Verge. Which I guess means those in the market for a big-screen consumer desktop will just go grab a Mac mini and display – or wait in the hope that Apple simply plans an iMac with a bigger display. (Don’t hold your breath).

Perhaps the world no longer needs a big iMac?

Apple no longer sells a 27-inch iMac. Nor does it offer an iMac Pro. That means that right now the only all-in-one desktop it offers is the recently-updated 24-inch iMac with M3 chip. The company now recommends its 27-imch Studio Display with either a Mac Studio or Mac mini, said Apple PR representative Starlayne Meza.

In other words, if you need a big screen desktop and don’t need a Mac Pro, you may as well do as the company suggests and grab an Apple Studio Display (or another display) and Mac Studio or Mac mini.

I think it has changed

You know, I have a hard time feeling sad about this. I still have a now incredibly old 27-inch iMac around which I’ve not booted up for a long time. It was an amazing piece of kit when I first used it, as was the Bondi Blue iMac. But, for me at least, the Mac mini/studio alternatives give you everything you need and ship with the advantage that you can use the powerful, discreet box with your choice of display.

It’s also true that things have changed. As far as I’m aware Apple’s biggest-selling Mac these days is the MacBook Air, which also looks pretty elegant underneath an external display. That trend toward mobility I think means that demand for a larger all-in-one has declined. So, why make one?

Never say never, but…

Well, Apple still might, but even the pen that is Mark Gurman says a 32-inch iMac Pro won’t appear until late 2024 at the earliest, while Ming-Chi Kuo reckons it’s going to be 2025 before a larger display iMac appears. And no one talks about the iMac Pro anymore. I can’t help but think that with lead times like those it’s quite reasonable to expect it not to happen.

Saying that, I suppose it is possible Apple is just playing with semantics and has a 32-inch iMac planned, but it would make any of its customers who end up purchasing something else on strength of its latest statement pretty sad if the company released one soon after saying it won’t do that. So, I don’t think Apple will do that.

We are mobile

I think it may introduce something down the line, but the reduction of the iMac line to one model reflects the reality that people’s needs have changed. Yes, the iMac will stick around a while, but computing is mobile, pervasive, and (Apple hopes) wearable.

The entire PC industry is seeing a shift away from desktops, and I’m willing to bet demand for a larger iMac is pretty feeble. For a lot of users, it’s not even about Macs these days, there are people who only use an iPad, right…

So there you go. Farewell big-screen iMac. Thanks for the fantastic times we shared. But Apple Silicon means you’re just not quite as great anymore.

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