New iMac Could Boost Apple's Flagging Desktop Sales
Apple's fiscal first-quarter shipments said to rise by 434 percent quarter over quarter due to new iMac.
Apple's newly unveiled iMac could boost the company's desktop sales, according to one analyst. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a research note that he expects Apple to report 264,000 desktop unit sales in its fiscal fourth quarter that ended in September.
The sales represent a 79 percent decline when compared to the same period in 2011. Kuo, however, believes Apple's fiscal first-quarter shipments will rise by 434 percent quarter over quarter due to the new iMac.
The computer itself is just 5mm thick at its edge and offers a new display that apparently reduces reflection by 75 percent. It boasts a quad-core Intel Core i5 CPU, Nvidia Kepler graphics, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 3 TB of HDD storage or a 768 GB SSD.
The 21.5-inch version of the system will launch next month with prices starting at $1,299. A 27-inch model will release sometime during December with a starting price of $1,799.

Each LED IPS panel will be individually color calibrated to match world standards and also these are style-computers. Those are premium features and will increase the price. I think they may tempt photographers or videographer aficionados, or some CAD and graphic artists and professionals looking for an affordable hi end consumer solution. For a dedicated workstation PC look else where. But these are not intended either as the ultimate professional PCs. However lets find out how good or accurate the screen will be.
I personally wouldn't buy it, but show me any alternative machine that meets similar design and specs of this for $600 less.
At least they're giving enthusiasts who want OS X the option to also play demanding games when they dual boot to windows. I don't think there's any game this computer can't handle.
Literally the only con I can think of is price.
SSD is a nice addition though. And good riddance to the CD/DVD drive.
It ships stock with a GT 650M (on the 23.5-inch model) and a GTX 660M (on the 27-inch model). The 27-inch model is also upgradable to a GTX 680MX (which is a more powerful version of the 680M). It's hardly lacking spec-wise on any front, especially for an AIO.
Yep, analyst from apple.
What is world standards and what are style-computers? Also, if you are into photography, you just need something like the NEC PA271W and not necessarily the whole package.
I hear you and it's always best to never buy a new computer design or OS until it has been out for at least a couple months.
Yes, because photographers, graphic artists, and so forth love nothing more than having a glossy sheet of glass on their screens...
apple just want to tell you what you need, as to give options. Just bought a hp workstation for work.
Its kills every apple in its path.
I did not intended to get into a specific technicality about color representation but anyway:
1. For world color standards there are many for video and for printers. Professional monitors are more accurate and consistent in color representation and they also work in different color gamma, luminosity or white point. A typical consumer IPS panel may represent 72% of the AdobeRGB 1998 standard, witch is a world color standard. A higher end professional or even commercial monitor may be closer to a 100%, and even surpass that standard. Another standard to measure color deviation, the color that is presented and the color that should be represented by the screen is Delta E. The lower the better and is accepted that a color deviation lower than 2 is almost impossible to differentiate by the eye. But there are many standards.
But a good monitor for a printer job may not be that good for video editing because they are calibrated with different standards, actually very different. These standards are word standards because if a client needs to reproduce lets say a company color, a specific Pantone color, they want the color to be consistent world wide and ideally it should be achieved independently of the device or material used to reproduce de intended image.
Apple is promising an individual color calibration (factory calibration out of the box) with every new iMac using 3 high end spectroradiometers. This is not entirely new, I have a 24 IPS panel from Dell that is calibrated out of the box using 2 color standards, but I don't know waht tools they used. And this Dell monitor is considered and entry level professional monitor and I payed more because I work with color reproduction and I need that. Higher end professional monitors from NEC or HP are over $2K or $4K. So again you wont expect these new iMacs will compete with those pro monitors. But the point is for smaller studios, even medium ones and for enthusiasts a decent monitor color calibrated is very attractive because it means the monitor is usable for professional work out of the box without the need to do the calibration yourself and the extra cost of buying good software and hardware tools.
Considering Apple has a long experience with graphic design specifics, has its own color calibration systems and has a long tradition with good color accuracy I personally expect these iMacs to be very well received by graphic studios, photographers or independent creatives.
2. For a style-computer I referred to a device that goes beyond its simple use or function. I mean a computer form that is not a mere box to put components inside. And Apple pays very close attention to use the form on all its devices as another very strong quality, but this increase the cost. If you chose a computer case with a specific style you may be willing to pay much more for that feature as that is pleasant, important or useful to you beyond the simple function it has. The iMac is an all in one computer made from brushed aluminum intended to simplify its use and even attempt to be desired or ideal.