Apple to revamp iMac as HD TV?

Slimmer, big-screen version on way, moles claim

By Tony Smith • Get more from this author

20th March 2007 10:36 GMT

Apple is preparing a slimmer, sexier iMac - if the latest rumours are to be believed. The new line-up is also said to comprise just two, Core 2 Duo-based models with, respectively, widescreen 20in and 24in displays.

So AppleInsider's sources claim - they're pitching the revamp as a change to match the shift from the original iMac to the anglepoise model, and then to the current design.

If correct, the choice of display sizes is interesting, since it positions the machine in the same size bracket as a small LCD TV. It's tempting to speculate that Apple, now it's building up movie content on the iTunes online store, wants to push the new model as a cross-the-board entertainment unit. Maybe not a living room system - it's pushing Apple TV into that role - but as a bedroom or den system.

If so, we could see the first Macs with a built-in TV tuner since the short-lived black Macintosh TV in 1993, the Performa 5200 in 1995 and the 20th Anniversary Mac in 1997.