New iMac Models On Track for Release Next Month

May not be delayed after all

Apple's newly redesigned iMacs might launch on schedule, after all.

Apple plans to launch its new 21.5-inch iMac later this month and the 27-inch model next month,Apple news site 9to5Mac is reporting today, citing sources. The blog's sources say that Apple has already started to ship the smaller models to distribution facilities.

That claim refutes a report that surfaced last week, suggesting Apple would be forced to delay its iMac because of producers' issues with a new friction-stir welding process that melds the two major pieces of the iMac's aluminum body together. That report, which came from France-based site MacBidouille, said that Apple would still be able to ship both models by the end of the year.