Apple has not updated the basic design of the iMac in the 16 years since it first introduced an aluminum base with a "floating" screen structure. iMacs have long been in the midst of a major redesign, and the company is now in the process of developing the next generation of iMacs.

The next-generation iMac design is featured in this patent published last month, a visualization created by Jermaine Smit, aka Concept Creator, for Dutch tech publication LetsGoDigital, which I'm eager to lick.

Apple's "Electronic Device with Glass Housing Component" patent describes a single piece of ultra-thin glass that curves at an angle of about 80 degrees from the desk. The bottom of the curve is flat, allowing an integrated keyboard and trackpad to be placed on either side of the work area.

Concept Creator's renderings are exactly that, looking perfectly like parts of a futuristic spaceship with a 60s retro vibe.

Created by Apple designers Keith Hendren, Paul Wang, Adam Garelli, Brett Degner, Christiaan Ligtenberg, and Dinesh Mathew, this new iMac has a polygonal base on the back and the components and ports are housed in it.

Concept Creator has considered the possibility that the keyboard could also be removed from the base.

In 2004, Apple adopted the iMac in its current form, a panel with a screen and gut and an aluminum base to support it. In web terms, it is Jurassic. The basic shape elements have only been refined with thinner and thinner screens and chins throughout the last 16 years.

But beyond that, the 2019 iMac and iMac Pro, which changed the material of the chassis from plastic to metal and added space gray as a color, are essentially the same as the first models from 2004.

The single-body Macintosh has only been redesigned a couple of times in its history (I'm forgetting Performa on purpose because I want to forget about it).

The monolithic design of the 1984 original was reshaped 14 years later in 1998 with the first iMac. That model revitalized Apple, and various tweaks were made to elements, materials, and colors until Jobs and Ive launched a radical change in 2002. Two years later, we have what we have today.

I hope we get this in 2020. Apple, do that.

For the latest developments and announcements of current and upcoming Apple iMac models, see our iMac 2020 news page.