2020 iMac – The Ultimate Upgrade?

Concept image by Apple TLD

Last year, the most awaited Apple computer was the Mac Pro. It was announced with great specs, upgradable components with a modular design. Up to now, we’ve seen major overhauls of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Pro, but we’re still waiting for iMac updates.

Although 2019 saw a minor spec upgrade, it was boring. If Apple announces an upgrade to the iMac this year, we expect it to be major. The general design should remain the same – a unique, thin aluminium body with the Magic Mouse and Keyboard. What will be different is the front: specifically the display. Apple will hopefully shrink the bezels on the sides, to make an all-screen front, similar to nearly all monitors and all-in-one computers these days.

Concept image by Apple TLD – could the Magic Keyboard gain Touch Bar?

If the bezels decrease, the screen will increase, so it’s likely that we could see a larger screen in the same size bodies – 23″ and 28.5″ up from 21.5″ and 27″? It’s not thought that Apple will make a move to 6K quality (as the Pro Display XDR is), but we could see 5K as standard on all models. We’re not experts in this matter though, there could be – probably is – technical constraints with the internals.

This one change alone will make the iMac look and feel like and breakthrough new product, but there’s more. Although it’s more than likely there will still be one colour, Apple could use the Space Grey finish from the iMac Pro. They will also update the ports on the rear – minimising the USB-A ports to one or two, and increasing Thunderbolt 3 usage. Concepts have envisioned a ‘dock’ in the stand of the iMac – this is convenient, but could add more weight to the machine, and if wireless charging is implemented, could draw more power and therefore, heat.

Concept image by Apple TLD – two variations, but maybe different display sizes

It’s quite predictable, but we’ll probably see Apple move to SSDs rather than hard drives or their own Fusion Drives, with the capacity significantly lower than what’s currently available in a baseline iMac. We’ll see the move to Intel’s 10th-generation processors (i5, i7, i9?), which will assist improved ventilation and fans. Maybe we’ll get accessible RAM slots on all models, too.

So the 2020 iMac is certainly worth the wait if you’re thinking of upgrading to a newer desktop machine from Apple, but if leaks are to go by, we won’t be seeing any announcement until the Summer – or otherwise next year. The images are our vision of what Apple could do to the iMac, but they’re not realistic, and don’t consider any technical issues that could be encountered with this design (corners need to match, for a start).

Apple TLD wants to know what you think! Let us know your thoughts on the iMac at the moment and if you think it could do with a much-awaited upgrade in every way. We’re on Instagram and Twitter.

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Ben Ward

Senior Editor, discussing everything Apple and supporting other writers and members of Apple TLD's team of volunteers.

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