Apple Releases New iMac Before New iPad Pro, MacBook Air, And MacBook Pro

Those of you who want a 21.5-inch iMac with a 4K resolution display are in luck. Gizmodo has the news.

“Now’s the time to finally upgrade that aging iMac sitting on your desk–because this morning Apple quietly announced an upgraded version of the popular 21.5-inch version featuring faster RAM, a beefier processor, improved graphics hardware, and a vastly-improved 4K display.”

As Gizmodo notes, Apple has upgraded its 27-inch iMac, as well. However, it’s the 21-inch iMac that has caused most of the excitement. Ars Technica gave Apple’s latest desktop a very positive review.

“The best thing about the 4K iMac is that you don’t have to use a gigantic 27-inch model if you want to get a Retina display. There are plenty of people who prefer the larger screen, but for those who find it intimidating or just too big for their workspace, the 4K model is here and it’s waiting with open arms. The more-than-doubled resolution and Retina scaling modes give it more multitasking potential than the non-Retina iMacs too,” says writer Andrew Cunningham.

Macworld is impressed with the new 4K iMac, as well.

“It offers a lot of screen space but isn’t awkward to maneuver around a table top… Most importantly, it’s got that screen. 9.4 million pixels of screen, making your photos and your webpages and your word-processor documents and even the text of your emails look substantially better than ever before. Retina has arrived on Apple’s most affordable iMac model. You won’t regret the upgrade,” says critic Jason Snell.

The iMac is just one of the several products Apple is updating. The iPad Pro, which has received mixed reactions, is scheduled to be released the last week of October or the first week of November, with an exact release date coming very soon. Apple’s iPad Pro has a 12.9-inch, 2,732 x 2,048 pixel resolution screen. One can purchase an optional Apple Pencil for digital inking.

The main problem Apple is facing with the iPad Pro is that it may be great hardware wise, but still runs a mobile operating system, iOS. Microsoft’s competing tablet, the Surface Pro 4, not only offers excellent hardware, but runs a full desktop operating system, Windows 10. Perhaps Apple will win more people over with the updated MacBook Air, which could be released by Christmas. According to Realty Today, the MacBook Air could see its biggest update in years.

The Apple MacBook Air will likely be released in both 13 and 15-inch versions, and the screens will finally be updated to either Quad HD or 4K displays. They will allegedly run Intel’s new Skylake processors, which will significantly improve the already excellent battery life. However, Apple’s MacBook Air is no longer a unique product, and will face stiff competition from Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 and Dell’s XPS series notebooks.

Then, there is Apple’s 2016 MacBook Pro, which could be released by Christmas as well. Both 13-inch and 15-inch versions will likely see a screen resolution upgrade, a graphics chip upgrade, and will run Intel’s new i7 or i5 processors. Apple’s MacBook Pro will face stiff competition from Dell’s higher-end XPS 13 and XPS 15 notebooks. There is also Microsoft’s new Surface Book, which has taken away a lot of attention from Apple.

Which Apple device do you want the most — the updated iMac, the iPad Pro, the MacBook Air, or the MacBook Pro? Let us know in the comments section.

[Feature photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News]