Anyone waiting for a new iMac may only have a few more months to go. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is preparing an updated model that should be available to buy before the end of 2026.
The refresh is expected to bring Apple’s upcoming M6 chip alongside some new color options. Beyond that, though, buyers shouldn’t expect Apple to reinvent its all-in-one desktop this year. Gurman says the upcoming model won’t change much else, suggesting Apple will stick with the familiar 24-inch design rather than introducing a larger screen, OLED panel, or substantial chassis redesign.
The iMac could be a natural fit for Apple’s unusual M6
The processor upgrade is easily the most interesting part of the upcoming refresh. Apple is reportedly taking a very unusual approach with the M6 generation. Previous reports suggest the company will only release a baseline version of the chip, skipping M6 Pro, Max, and Ultra variants entirely before moving to a broader M7 lineup in 2027.
Apple’s 24-inch all-in-one has never needed Pro or Max-class silicon, making it a natural fit for the baseline M6. The new chip is expected to bring higher memory bandwidth, a more powerful Neural Engine, and a GPU with up to 12 cores. In other words, the new iMac could still receive a meaningful performance upgrade even if almost everything around the chip stays familiar.
The upgrades people really want are still years away
Anyone waiting for a bigger display or OLED panel probably shouldn’t expect either feature this year. Apple is still reportedly experimenting with larger and more powerful iMac models, while separate reports suggest Samsung Display and LG Display are developing 24-inch OLED panels for a future version. Current timelines point toward an OLED iMac arriving around 2029.
The new iMac may not arrive alongside Apple’s upcoming iPhone 18 Pro lineup either. The M4 iMac followed a separate launch schedule in 2024, with Apple announcing it on October 28 and releasing it on November 8, more than a month after the iPhone 16 event. If Apple follows a similar pattern this year, the M6 iMac could instead make its debut sometime in October or November.
Waiting may make even more sense given what happened to the current model in June. Apple raised the starting price of the M4 iMac from $1,299 to $1,499, making it considerably more expensive than it was at the start of the year. Unless Apple starts offering substantial discounts on that machine, anyone who doesn’t need a new desktop immediately may be better off waiting to see what the M6 model brings.