Rumor: New iMac on August 7

Can I just be a stickler here and correct the posting on its use of "brushed metal enclosure"? If it's going to match the MacBook Pros and the Mac Pros, then it's an anodized aluminium enclosure, not brushed metal. Brushed metal was a skin for an Aqua GUI, never an Apple computer enclosure.

You are kidding, right? The current iMac is one FUGLY MOFO. Sorry, it's just HIDEOUS.

Bring back the iLamp - now that was a GORGEOUS MAC. Functional too with the swiveling display. Now that they are using low heat/wattage Intel CPU's, it should be simple to bring back.

I agree with the idea that the new iMac line will be designed with the "new trend" apple initiated. In particular the use of glossy black plastic in the iPhone, and the same feeling in the new Apple.com. Add to that the window design in the new applications (black and grey, Aperture (full screen mode), and others) and Leopard.
I also am pretty sure the new iMacs will feature widescreens, so that they can be used as a TV replacement, or secondary TV set.

I still don't know, though, if Apple decides to use the "black glossy plastic" for the Pro or for the consumer line.
Thinking about it it is probably going to be as follows:
- use of "anodized" metal for the new iMacs
- use of the "iPhone" style design for the new Pro line (starting with the rumored ultra portable notebook)

That choice would be interesting because, in my opinion, the new Leopard design, doesn't match that much a completely white computer.

Of course we might all be wrong and see a strong return of color in the Mac computers...

I don't envy Apple's situation.

The current iMac design is probably one of the best, if not the best, designs for a desktop PC. It is simple yet elegant. Redesigning it would be a behemoth of a project and frankly, would be like trying to reinvent the wheel (which admittedly, Apple has been known to do). I look forward to see what Apple come up with.

Personally, I think black is the new white and that the next iMac will have black and chrome in its design (like the iPhone). Remember, when the iPod came out in October 2001, the iMac that came out just a few months later was white.

@18: The iMac design is certainly still great, but a lot of Apple's brand image is (like it or not) based on new and shiny looking stuff. Each version of the iMac got its own spot on the cover of TIME, that's pretty big publicity. While they certainly could keep the current hardware for quite a while longer, it's not Apple's way of doing things. They want to stay several steps ahead and keep things fresh. Just look at how they replaced the iPod mini with the Nano, despite the fact that the mini was the current best seller and was raking in huge profits. Most companies would have sat on it and milked it for all its worth.

Yeah, no metal on the new iMacs I bet. Why not a sleek iPhone look instead? Glossy screen, black varnish and a thin strip of metal around the bezel, also to match much of the apple.com redesign. That would make one helluva TV replacement in the smaller rooms -- will we see 20", 24" and 27"?

Maybe they'll make the plastic case of the iMac out of metal and the metal foot out of plastic. :-)

==i can't believe i'm commenting on this==

i just don't buy it. I can see a redesigned keyboard, or a SLIGHT modification to the current design (like allowing the screen to pivot left and right, a glass screen or even incorporating multi-touch) but I just don't think they're gonna redesign the whole thing. IMHO the iMac will be the first computer to become a tablet and until that's ready (which it might be), we're not gonna see a new iMac.

also, has nobody notices that current iMac has an anodized aluminum base? no? no...? oh well.

Apple does have a texture on their aluminum that's often mistaken for brushed look. I think it is blasted with a fine glass bead and then anodized. There is a faint directional structure, that might just be the crystal grain of the metal.

@11 I've head this too. I heard that it was becuase of the fact that htey can make the bigger ones for cheaper now do to lower costs. So you can get the bigger version for the same price as the 17 inch costs, which makes sense.
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