The iMac will get a design refresh in coming weeks, according to a report from Wall Street analysts, and everyone’s hoping Apple will finally add Blu-Ray.
Wedge Partners predicts the introduction of an updated iMac with “thinner, organic design, likely with smoothed or rounded edges,” reports Tech Trader Daily. Sounds like the iPhone 3GS to me. The iMac is already styled after the iPhone, and the 3GS is more rounded and organic than previous models. (The MacBook will also get a refresh, Wedge says, but design and hardware changes are likely to be minimal)
There have been rumors of new iMacs for several weeks. AppleInsider reported that an iMac release was imminent, and that the machine would get two “compelling new features.” The iMac is overdue for a refresh, according to MacRumors Buying Guide, which says the current models are 197 days old and the average period between upgrades is 220 days.
Most intriguing is whether the refresh will bring new capabilities. High on everyone’s wishlist for compelling new features is Blu-Ray — see this thread on MacRumors with 850+ comments. What could be better than adding high-def movies to Apple’s premier home machine?
Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen any time soon. Here’s why.
While there’s a big surge in sales for standalone Blu-Ray players, Blu-Ray is a bust on computers, according to a new report by market research firm iSuppli released on Wednesday.
Blu-Ray equipped computers are not seeing an uptick in sales, and Blu-Ray will be found in only 16.3% of PCs by 2013, iSuppli predicts.
The main reason is cost. As we’ve reported before, Blu-Ray drives are expensive. This is one of the main reasons Steve Jobs says Blu-Ray players haven’t been added to Macs, along with complex licensing issues, which Jobs memorably called “a bag of hurt.”
While the bag of hurt licensing issues have recently been simplified, there’s still not enough content on Blu-Ray to encourage consumers to switch. Yes, there are new movies every week, but consumers aren’t going to switch until Blu-Ray is the preferred format not just for movies, but music, games and software also.
iSuppli notes that the switch from floppies to CDs, and CDs to DVDs, occurred only when the new format became the preferred media for all kinds of things. That hasn’t yet happened for Blu-Ray and won’t for several years, iSupply says.
Finally, Blu-Ray for movies makes sense on a big, powerful home theater system, but not so much on a PC with a 20- or 24-inch screen and relatively weak speakers.
So don’t cross your fingers for Blu-Ray on the iMac.
