We have previously confirmed that the new 2012 iMac is more of a minor update, which will lack a Retina display and a few other upgrades that some Apple users wanted, so this meant a wait until 2013 for those of our readers that want some major changes. It seems there will be at least one significant change on the 2012 iMac and also Mac Pro, although there is a possibility that the Mac Pro could see a launch date in early 2013 with something really special.

Losing the optical drive on both the 2012 iMac and new Mac Pro – considering rumors had surfaced late last month that the new iMac would be leaving factories this month, we should expect the iMac refresh to arrive in September at some point. Hints found in Mountain Lion config code make it pretty clear that the refreshed iMac will not include an optical drive, which specifically came from a Boot Camp plist file.

You can read more about the new optical-free Macs in an article here, and also see an image below that shows the very plist file. The image shows a few Mac codes, which includes IM130 for a 13th generation iMac (aka 2012 model), and also MP60 that relates to a new sixth generation Mac Pro (2012/2013 launch). These findings and previous statements from Apple show that the Mac Pro will not be discontinued anytime soon.

There are many benefits to moving away from optical drives and MacBook Air users have experienced these for a while, although an external optical drive is available to users that still needed discs. Apple has been planning the move away from optical for a while now, and this helps to create a cooler and slimmer computer that is less hungry for power.

Are you happy to see the 2012 iMac and new Mac Pro drop the optical drive? There will be a number of Apple fans that won’t like the sound of this news, and this is especially the case for the Mac Pro that certainly has the room for such hardware. Apple promise something special with the new Mac Pro, so this might make up for it in other ways, although when it comes to the 2012 iMac we hope Apple include an anti-glare made-to-order option.

You might have been fooled into thinking there had been a new Mac Pro released after WWDC, which is even more confusing considering you can see Mac Pro under the “New to the Store” section on the Apple Store. This update had just been a minor refresh for the Mac Pro, which doesn’t even include the new Xeon E5 chip launched 3 months ago, and the iMac hasn’t seen a refresh in 2012 so far.

The need for a new iMac in 2012 with Retina is clear and after the MacBook Pro received the Retina display it seems like a natural upgrade for the iMac this year. One-way to find out more is to contact Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, directly and ask when the new Mac Pro and iMac will arrive? While most of us would never expect a reply to an email, it seems one reader of MacRumors did just this and got a response explaining Apple are “working on something” and it will be coming in 2013.

The email in question only explains Apple is working on “something really great” for the Mac Pro, and there is no mention of the iMac, so this could mean a new iMac in 2012 or even a delay until 2013.

Would you like to see a new iMac in 2012 with a Retina display? The good news is those that were thinking Apple’s Mac Pro would be discontinued can relax now, although this depends on the authenticity of one MacRumors reader.

You can also read about the new MacBook Pro with Retina in our earlier article, and new iPhone 5 render photos that we hope turn out to be similar to the real thing when it arrives later this year.

It seemed hard to believe that Apple would update its complete Mac lineup, although the growing collection of rumors before Apple’s 2012 WWDC next week are pointing to this fact. It seems that the best news has come today thanks to a price matrix for the new 2012 MacBook Pro, iMac, Air, and Mac Pro.

The image shown below lists new versions of Apple’s computer hardware with a price in Australian dollars, although we’ve expected a 2012 MacBook Pro to release within the next few weeks, but the new MacBook Air isn’t expected until later on this year, so if this means an early launch is on the way, why the big push all at once?

You will see the price matrix includes four new MacBook Air models and two MacBook Pro’s, and the Mac Pro refresh is something a number of Apple fans have been crying out for, so this is also welcomed. The list comes thanks to this popular blog, but sadly doesn’t come with specs for the 2012 models.

The 2012 iMac is something we touched on a few times before and it’s hoped the specs will include SSD as standard with a Retina display, the new Ivy Bridge chips, along with other improvements. The price matrix shows two new 27-inch iMacs and a new 21.5-inch iMac.

If this price list really shows the products being revealed at WWDC 2012, are you happy to see a Mac Pro on that list? We’ll be covering the World Wide Developer Conference next week, so keep up with PR for the news as it happens. The growing list of MacBook alternatives might mean Apple is trying to push out a big list of new products to entice non-Apple users, although it will be good to find out the finer details, especially if any of these Macs contain a touchscreen, which some users still want.