It looks like the 24-inch iMac with the M1 processor is going to stick around for a while longer. In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the next generation iMac might not see an upgrade until late 2023.
Gurman wrote that he has not “seen anything to indicate there will be a new iMac until the M3 chip generation,” which would mean the 24-inch iMac skips the M2 generation altogether. The M3 chip will be manufactured using the 3-nanometer process, which could bring performance improvements that are better than the 20 percent we’ve seen between the M1 and M2, both of which are 5nm chips.
Gurman says the M3 models “won’t arrive until the tail end of this year at the earliest or next year.” Apple released the redesigned 24-inch iMac at an event in the spring of 2021, so a 2024 release would be a full three years between models.
While Mac users have learned a lot about the tech behind Apple’s M-series chips and how they perform, there’s still a lot to learn about Apple’s release cadence with the chips. A 32- or 36-month gap would be the longest time yet between updates. For example, the M1 MacBook Air stuck around for about 20 months before the M2 model arrived, but the M1 Mac mini had a near-26-month shelf life. However, Apple and its production partners are still feeling the effects of the supply issues that occurred because of the pandemic, so it remains to be seen if the consumer-level chip release cadence develops a more predictable pattern.
Gurman’s report did not mention any changes in the design or other features of the 24-inch iMac. In past reports, Guman has mentioned Apple’s plans for a larger iMac Pro to complement the 24-inch model, which could be released this year.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.