iMac 2017 Rumors: Is Apple Going for a VR-Capable Desktop?
Recent speculations say that Apple is designing its iMac 2017 to function with ample specifications to support virtual reality.
According to reports, it would be somewhat impossible for Apple not to use Intel's Kaby Lake chips - which were announced in the Consumer Electronics Show last month - for the next generation of iMacs. That being said, Inquisitr suggests that since the device is likely to have a chipset with a processing speed of 4.2-gigahertz (GHz) up to 4.8 GHz, Apple is certainly targeting a desktop well-equipped to support virtual reality.
The same report mentioned that it is also highly possible for Apple to enlist a powerful AMD Polaris-based graphics processing unit to achieve their goal.
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Meanwhile, Apple has been quiet about its plans for the iMac. However, there have been good indicators that the product line is still alive.
It can be recalled that Best Buy's online shopping website previously leaked the iMac 2017 despite the lack of confirmation from Apple. In a placeholder page, Best Buy said that the 27-inch iMac 2017 will sport a 5K Retina display and will run with the Intel Core i7 processor, even before Kaby Lake's chipsets were officially launched.
The placeholder also claimed that it will have a 32 GB random access memory. To top it all off, the iMac 2017 will probably be pre-packed with up to 2 TB Fusion Drive.
Another strong indicator that the Cupertino-based technology giant is still planning more for their desktop line is when Tech Crunch obtained a transcript of an internal discussion between Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook and other employees last month.
In the recorded Q&A, Cook recognized that the media and Apple employees are both asking if the iMac still has a future.
Cook addressed the issue by saying: "The desktop is very strategic for us. It's unique compared to the notebook because you can pack a lot more performance in a desktop — the largest screens, the most memory and storage, a greater variety of I/O, and fastest performance. So there are many different reasons why desktops are really important, and in some cases critical, to people."
Cook also reportedly reassured their employees: "If there's any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that."
However, after a couple of months, Apple has yet to tell the world what's next for the iMac.
