Apple has said it will continue to roll out its ARM chipsets for the next two years. These chips have been very successful in their iPhone and iPad Pro versions and I expect they’ll be better than Intel in their first iMac version. I need to replace my 2008 MX Pro and had hoped to replace it with the new Mac Pro but they’re just too expensive to justify. It would seem the iMac is my most desirable option but I want an ARM version which is unlikely to be on the new iMac. I know it’s good to wait as long as possible to replace any electronics and then buy the best you can afford but the question is how long can I or must I wait?? Will you be buying the new iMac with Intel or wait for the ARM chip? What about a MacBook?

If I needed a computer soon I'd go Intel. It's 2 years until the product line is switched over and say another couple years past that until support for x86 starts to go away so you'd get a decent life out of it. Compare that to ARM where you'll have a 6-24 month wait until the form factor Mac you want comes out with that kinda processor and then it could be awhile until the programs you use run natively so you're seeing a loss in performance.

The one area this might differ is the MacBook Air where the ARM chip even under emulation has a much better chance of competing. But really it's all a guess since we only have benchmarks from essentially iPad Pro processors.

One reason I don’t worry about getting an ARM version early is that I mostly use Apple software and don’t rely on any specialized software programs. I’m sure I wouldn’t be disappointed either way but would rather have ARM. I just think it’s going to be a pretty big step up in performance. Maybe not initially but within a year like you said. Seeing that I’m currently using a 2008 apple product I’m fairly confident any new version will be a step up. My Mac Pro has certainly help up but it’s no longer supported and I can’t run the latest software and over time I’m finding more and more incompatibility issues. It won’t be lack of performance on speed or graphics that’ll cause me to replace it.

In that case you're set. I use Lightroom Classic and one thing I noticed is that while Apple demoed Lightroom running on ARM it was the version already on iPad's which is a different program with fewer tools. Adobe had such an issue with optimizing the code of LR Classic for multithreaded x64 my fear is how long it'll take to get to ARM and what emulation will be like.

Yeah many professionals are better off sticking with Intel and maybe buying their business one ARM computer just to see what can and can't run well on it. I'm not a professional so I really don't have any concerns. I also no longer use boot camp because I just couldn't take the problems with Windows OS anymore. Thanks for the headsup though, you sure seem to know your Apple stuff. Do you use lightroom for serious personal photography or for work?

And remember - V1.0 of anything computing has always been a great success ... no ... wait ...

I haven't even jumped to 64bit OS yet. It ain't broke so I'm not fixing it till it becomes 'mandatory'.

I'm plenty happy with the speed of the intel and 10.14.6 on my 5k iMac - Photo and video rendering.

Work mostly, though I'm actually on Windows a lot of the time. I have an iMac 5k but the Adobe Creative Suite is really what matters so I jump to whatever system is best for my workflow at the time. But that hasn't kept me from playing around with the Mac to see what it can do, I've split the fusion drive and did some OS installs on both the internal/external SSD's to test out the speed differences. Overall it's been a great platform with the only shortfall being the screen retention though that is a pretty big one. If you do get a new iMac I'd just check out the reviews to see if it's still an issue with their displays though since you're not doing photo work it might not even be a big problem for you.

Edit: If you don't need something with a ton of compute power I'd probably just get a laptop and a nice thunderbolt display. You can have a similar desktop experience with the added benefit of being able to take it around the house or on the go.

I wasn’t aware of image burn in or retention before you mentioned it. That’s not good and a serious concern because I keep my computers for a long time.

I prefer a large screen and good graphics for an online cycling program called zwift. That means I don’t have an interest with a laptop.

Thanks for turning me onto Zwift, I just went down the rabbit hole on it and this looks like something my girlfriend would love. Sorry to side track a bit but do you have any suggestions on a good starting setup cycle wise? And how is the community for people who want to ride but more to enjoy it as a game at their own pace VS a full on race?

For a computer the specs look pretty light so I wouldn't use that as a reason to write off the MacBook Pro 16 (or an upcoming ARM macbook/iMac since they likely will have solid GPU's looking at what the iPad Pro already has and this already runs decently on a 4k Apple TV and that's an older chip even today).

My mind is already churning on a setup for this, screen wise I'm thinking of actually going a good bit larger than the 27" on the iMac starting with our 40" TV but 50" 4k sets are ~250 now and that could really fill your field of view while having the resolution to hold up to you only being a few feet away if you set it up that way. And this is where a laptop would come in since you could just plug it in to your exercise area and then grab it after and bring it to your desktop. This might not apply to you if you already have a setup that works for both but for us it could be awesome.

Vilen wrote up some good articles and commentary about Zwift on Cake so have a look for those. A MacBook would work well for Zwift as it’s plenty capable and mobile. The Apple TV HD With a tv is a good setup as there’s an Apple TV app for Zwift. It doesn’t allow the highest level graphics but it’s still good and allows a big picture without the need for a high end computer. It helps to have a tv with low lag numbers (essentially a tv that’s good for gaming).

Keep in mind Zwift has a monthly subscription fee. I use it a lot and think it’s a great deal.

Zwift really allows every kind of user with a wide range of riding and training goals. I often ride with friends and meet people from other countries. Racing can be done at all levels and there are also many group rides. The options are endless and a user won’t be disappointed.

I just found out that the new Apple silicon chips will be able to play any iOS game out of the box. It'll also be better for gaming. More reasons to hold off.