New iMac models aren’t coming this year, says leak - but there is a surprise waiting for us in 2025

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By Christian Guyton
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Apple has big plans for the iMac

Beijing, China - 26 May, 2021: Brand new 2021 colorful iMac’s in Apple Store. Customers are waiting in line to get new products from Apple.
Et nylig innvilget patent avslører Apples store planer om en futuristisk nyskapning av iMac. (Image credit: abolukbas via Shuttertsock)

Despite previous rumors pointing to a 2023 release, it looks like we probably won’t be getting a new M3 iMac this year - and I’m upset.

A new post on X (formerly Twitter) from known Apple hardware leaker Ming-Chi Kuo has claimed that an M3 refresh of Apple’s excellent 24-inch iMac all-in-one computer won’t arrive until 2024. This is a revision of a previous leak from Kuo that correctly stated we’d get new Mac Pro and Mac mini models this year, but was wrong about Apple’s iMac plans for 2023.

I strongly suspect that Kuo was in fact right on the money with his original predictions, and that it was Apple who opted to push back new M3 iMac models - something partially corroborated by a separate recent report that claimed we’d see an M2 iMac refresh this year.

Further evidence to strengthen Kuo’s updated prediction comes in the form of an apparent M3 MacBook Air delay. Apple has reportedly run into issues with chipmaker TSMC regarding the timeframe in which the new M3 chips can be manufactured, resulting in M3 products getting pushed back to 2023 in favor of the A17 chip found in the iPhone 15 Pro. But that’s not the only nugget of information Kuo had for us…

A big-screen iMac is finally coming

Yes, the second half of Kuo’s newest claim concerns an upcoming iMac featuring a 32-inch mini-LED display, something I’ve been anticipating for a while now. Prolific Apple leaker Mark Gurman posited the existence of a new iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches earlier this year, and now Kuo’s leak all but confirms it.

The bad news is that Kuo doesn’t expect this bigger iMac to arrive until 2025 - a crying shame, given that the currently available M1 iMac only has a 24-inch display. The delay could be due to chip shortages, or it might involve Apple’s difficulties with display manufacturing given the new mini-LED screen. There’s also no mention of a possible M3 iMac Pro, but it should be noted that Kuo describes the 32-inch iMac as a ‘higher-end’ model, meaning it might feature an M3 Pro or M3 Max chip.

In any case, even a standard 24-inch iMac equipped with the M3 chip could potentially be one of the best Macs ever made, since Apple’s upcoming processor is expected to deliver a greater generational performance leap than we saw with M2. Needless to say, I’m excited to see what Apple delivers - I just hope it’s not another iPhone 15-style debacle. 

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Christian Guyton
Christian Guyton
Editor, Computing

Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.

Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.