iMac Update Imminent, Mac Pro and MacBook Pro Complete Redesign

Submitted by lalit on April 25, 2011 - 7:16pm.

Rumor mill is running in full force when it comes to iMac rumors. Various blogs are reporting that iMac update is nearing and we should see the new iMacs within a week. 9to5mac reported that iMac supplies are constrained and Apple delayed new orders till May 2nd. The website also reported that Apple has stopped shipping iMacs to retailers for past few days. MacRumors also concurs with iMac update plans for next week. They reported that Apple would be changing the promotional materials in its retail stores for a launch on May 3rd.

Rumors are that iMac update will bring major hardware changes but the external design will remain same. Apple will use the new Sandy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors from Intel and AMD Radeon HD 6000 series graphics. The new iMac will also get recently launched Thunderbolt port.

9to5mac is also reporting that next generation Mac Pro will get a complete redesign to make it more rackable and stackable. Seth Weintraub of 9to5mac posted:

This possible new design could alleviate some of the system administrator distress caused by Apple’s discontinuation of the Xserve. The new machine is said to carry “stacked” drives with two drives per sled which will allow a higher drive density than what’s already out there.  These stacks are not only built for conventional hard drives, but faster, more reliable SSDs in different configurations. The width of this system configuration is said to be 3U (U = 1.75 inches).

Other rumors about Mac Pro say that this new system should come to the market in June (most probably Apple will announce it at WWDC) and feature new Xeon server chips from Intel, along with Thunderbolt port.

Finally MacBook Pro rumors, Apple just updated the MacBook Pro lineup in February, but rumors about completely redesigned MacBook Pro have already started. MacRumors is reporting that they have heard from reliable sources that next revision of MacBook Pro will have a new case design. The website had no information about what the next MacBook Pro might look like, but rumors are Apple is working to decrease weight of the Pro laptops by taking cues from MacBook Air design.