Things I want to see in a ‘Scary Fast’ iMac update

Next week’s “Scary Fast” event almost certainly see a revamp of the 24-inch iMac. Here’s what I’d love to see in the update.

First of all: an M3 processor. Some pundits have predicted that the all-in-one will be upgraded with an M2 or M2 Pro instead of an M3. However, since everyone knows the M3 is coming I don’t think a 24-inch iMac with an M2 or M2 Pro would be “Scary Fast.

Second of all: an improved display. A 27-inch iMac Pro (or better yet, a 32-incher) would be great. However, I’m almost sure that won’t happen next week. However, the 24-inch iMac should be equipped with a screen that supports HDR and ProMotion. 

ProMotion is Apple’s name for the adaptive, high refresh rate, 120Hz display first available on the iPad Pro. While a standard refresh rate will update a display 60 times a second (60Hz), the ProMotion’s adaptive 120Hz screen works at twice this speed. This results in smoother scrolling, improved responsiveness and better gaming performance. If Apple is serious about gaming on the iMac, it needs ProMotion.

Third of all: an improved stand. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that the iMac’s stand’s internal design has been tweaked. I’m not sure what that means, but the ability to raise or lower the height would be nice.

Fourth of all: a 4K FaceTime camera. The 1080 camera on the current model is okay, but 4K would be a great improvement.

Fifth of all: more RAM. I’d like to see the default amount of RAM upgraded from 8GB to 16GB. And I want Apple to give us a 32GB upgrade option.

Finally, and this is a pipe dream, I’d love for Apple to add Face ID to the iMac. In a February 2022 “Power On” newsletter, on whether ‌Face ID‌ will ever come to the Mac, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote: Face ID was in the cards for the original M1 iMac. Naturally, the iMac is the thickest Mac with a built-in display since Apple’s laptops have fairly thin screens. At this point, the technology to embed Face ID into the thin MacBook displays doesn’t exist. So if Face ID comes to the Mac, I think it will be on an iMac or external monitor first. Apple has definitely been working on this, but time will tell if they launch it.

And an even bigger pipe dream: stop making those SSD upgrades so expensive.