No PB G5 High Five

Joe Wilcox | June 09, 2004, 02:38 PM

Today, Apple squashed rumors that a G5 PowerBook would be coming soon. Same may apply to iMac.

As good as G5 is, most consumers probably would do well with G4. For basic tasks, I don't see much difference between a G4 iMac and G5 Power Mac. Sure CDs rip faster on the G5. The real performance boost matters for tasks few consumers would need.

So, I would recommend that Apple stick with PowerPC G4 for now. There are sales left in G4 iMacs and reason to keep differentiation strong from G5 Power Macs. That said, today's Power Mac G5 upgrade would certainly clear the way for a G5 iMac. Architectural boost and the addition of dual processors put Power Mac far enough ahead to keep back any serious sales loss to a G5 iMac.

I can't say what Apple will do, because the company is pretty poker face about new products. But, I will say I see no compelling reason to switch to G5 on iMac yet. Just yet.