Wed, 13 Jun 2012 13:29:20 PDT
Back in mid-May, a pair of Geekbench 2 benchmarks that claimed to be from
unreleased MacBook Pro and iMac models appeared, setting off speculation
that updates to both lines might be imminent if the entries were indeed
legitimate. But with Apple not updating the iMac earlier this week at its
Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, those looking for an upgraded all-
in-one desktop Mac have been left waiting.
With updated MacBook Pro models reaching the public, Primate Labs
highlighted some of the benchmarks yesterday, and the details for the non-
Retina 15-inch MacBook Pro match up nearly exactly with what appeared in the
entry from last month, all but confirming that it was indeed a legitimate
leak.
Now with that information in hand, it pays to revisit the iMac benchmark
that appeared around the same time, and while the two benchmarks aren't
necessarily linked, it could generate hope that an updated iMac may still be
right around the corner. The iMac benchmark referred to an "iMac13,2"
model running a 3.4 GHz Core i7-3770 quad-core processor with 4 GB of 1600
MHz RAM, and while it is possible that the information could have been faked
, Primate Labs previously reported that it believes the entry to be
legitimate.
Further fueling speculation of a near-term iMac update is recent confusion
in which it was initially reported that Apple representatives had told
reporters that new iMac and Mac Pro models would likely be arriving in 2013.
But following publication of those reports, Apple press relations staff
specifically clarified those remarks to note that only the Mac Pro would be
seeing the 2013 update. The assumption related to that clarification is of
course that an iMac update is very likely to come sooner than the end of
this year.
It has already been over 400 days since the iMac was last updated, and Ivy
Bridge processors appropriate for the iMac have been available since late
April. Consequently, it seems likely that the iMac will still be receiving
an update in the relatively near future despite not making an appearance at
this week's conference.
As for what improvements the next-generation iMac will see beyond Ivy Bridge
, at least one mainstream news report has claimed that Apple is working on
Retina displays for the iMac, although we previously analyzed how daunting
of a task it would be to support four times the number of pixels found on
the current models, particularly on a 27-inch display. Other sources have
claimed that Apple is working on anti-reflective glass for the iMac, rumors
that may have gained some support with Apple having touted this week that
the Retina MacBook Pro's display produces 75% less glare than non-Retina
models.
