Apple’s 32-Inch iMac Could Revive the Idea of Having a Home Computer

A do-it-all machine for the smartphone age

Fact checked by Jerri Ledford

Key Features

• Apple is still working on a large, probably 32-inch, iMac.

• It could replace a TV, home hub, stereo, and of course, be a computer.

• All-in-one computers can be environmentally wasteful.

Apple has a 32-inch iMac in the works, and it could be the perfect way to return to a single home computer shared by the whole family.

More and more people use a phone as their main computer, and if we have a Mac or a PC at all, it’s probably a laptop. And yet there is still space for a big-screen “family” computer, even if you don’t have a family. And as we shall see, in many ways, it actually makes more sense to share one big machine than to buy a bunch of computers that won’t be used that often.

“A 32-inch iMac could easily find a niche as a family workhorse and entertainment center. While phones and tablets can do a lot, sometimes you just need the full-sized keyboard and functionality of a PC. Integrating it with Apple services for photos and other media can be a great way to watch shows in common areas like the kitchen or family room, to share family pictures, or to do some heavy-duty creating with sound mixing or visual art apps,” Troy Portillo, director of operations at online learning platform Studypool told Lifewire via email.

iMac for Smart Home Automation

Years ago, if a household had a computer, it had a single desktop Mac or PC shared by everybody in the home. Today, for many people, the phone is the primary device for communication, browsing, buying, work calls, and even some writing—emails especially. But the small screen isn’t great for everything, and that’s when we usually move to a laptop, even if we only ever use that laptop to do Excel at the dining table, watch movies on the sofa, or Zoom and FaceTime with coworkers and family.

“This is a product that could also fill a gap in the market—many family homes are packed with smartphones and tablets, but they lack a truly powerful home computer for more intensive tasks such as video editing or complex gaming,” UK-based electronics…