Refresh incoming? Order a 27-inch iMac now and you'll wait until September for delivery.

What you need to know

• If you order a new 27-inch iMac today it'll probably arrive in September.
• Even the cheapest model won't arrive until late-July.
• This amidst rumors that an iMac refresh is incoming.

If you're in the market for a new iMac, particularly the 27-inch variety, now might not be the time to place an order. As multiple people have spotted, stocks of the biggest iMac are so short that Apple says you'll be waiting until late-July at best and more likely, September.

Taken at face value the lack of stock could suggest that something might well be afoot. This has been known to happen shortly before a product refresh with Apple preferring not to ship older models to customers when it knows that there's new hotness just around the corner. However, this shortage only appears to be in play in the United States – not elsewhere.

Stocks have been low previously – almost a month ago. That led us to believe that a new iMac might arrive at WWDC on June 22 which, obviously, it didn't. Despite claims to the contrary.

Now it's case of waiting to see what happens. Apple's iMac is overdue a refresh but whether it's happening imminently, time will tell. If it is, let's all cross our fingers in the hope it's anything like this concept!