On Saturday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities stated that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is set to release the budget iMac by 2014.

In Sept 24, 2013, Apple surprised its users with its announcement of an updated iMac.

"iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be. Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing through a press release.

The 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.7-GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz and Intel Iris Pro is available for a suggested retail price of US$1,299.

The 21.5-inch iMac with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M is available for a suggested retail price of US$1,499.

The 27-inch iMac with a 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 755M is available for a suggested retail price of US$1,799.

The 27-inch iMac quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.8 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M for a suggested retail price of US$1,999.

However, there was no remarkable enthusiasm seen from iMac users after these updates.

The analyst, Mr Kuo, predicts that the reported budget iMac will increase the overall iMac shipments by approximately 10 to 20 percent year over year by 2014.

Mr Kuo believes that iMacs prices were set too high that it failed to penetrate non-U.S. markets. Hence, Apple decided to release its budget iMac model to tap these potential markets.

The strategy for releasing a budget iMac will hopefully echo the successful release of the budget iPhone, the iPhone 5c. As reported, the iPhone 5c served its purpose, as it penetrates the emerging market which the expensive iPhone models failed to do in the past.

The release of the budget iMac can also be viewed as Apple's pricing strategy to overcome the impact of the U.S. partial government shutdown, as it is expected to trigger slowdown in the market.

"Manufacturers will put a hold on orders for inventory until they feel assured that customers will have the discretionary income to make new purchases throughout the year," as stated by an analysis of Don Dion of Seeking Alpha.

"The expected halt in personal spending is not good news for large, consumer-driven companies like Apple, who recently unveiled a new version of its iPhone. Though many people now consider their phones a necessity, the shutdown's drag on personal income and confidence in the economy could cause people to delay upgrading to the new model. Other applications and improvements may have to go on hold while the country political parties find a way to resolve differences and get the country on-track again," Mr Dion wrote.