Mourning Apple’s 27-inch iMac

Nick Heer’s recent post about finding a replacement for his 2017 27-inch iMac was yet another painful reminder that Apple has officially discontinued the larger iMac. Like Heer, I have a 2017 27-inch model with Retina 5K screen, and I love it. It’s not maxed out to the gills, spec-wise, but it easily handles everything I throw at it when it comes to web development, graphic design, blogging, etc. That, and it just looks really cool, and the 5K screen is a joy to stare at.

Unfortunately, Apple’s latest version of macOS, Sonoma, dropped support for all pre-2019 iMacs, so I’m stuck with Ventura. Which still receives updates and will (presumably) continue to do so into 2025. Of course, my iMac will still function just fine even after Ventura stops getting updated, and that 5K screen will continue to look great, so I’m not in any immediate need of upgrading.

Still, reading Heer’s article has got me thinking about my next Mac. If I were going to upgrade today, my options are basically the Mac Studio, a Mac Mini, or a MacBook, all of which would require an external display. (As nice as Apple’s current line of iMacs may be, I just can’t go back to a 24-inch display. As for the Mac Pro, it’s way too much, both price-wise and spec-wise.)

All three options have their pros and cons, and I go back and forth between them. Fortunately, I don’t need to make a decision any time soon. But every time I think about it, I get a little bummed that the 27-inch iMac is no longer an option, because it really was the best of all worlds for me in terms of performance, features, and “cool” factor.

It’s currently possible to buy a post-2019 27-inch iMac on the refurbished market, but there’s no assuming any will still be available when it comes time for me to actually upgrade. Of course, if Apple releases their long-rumored 32-inch iMac in 2025, that could change things entirely, depending on its pricing, specs, etc. — but I’m not exactly holding my breath, regardless of what Ming-Chi Kuo says.