The latest Apple educational newsletter that just came out in March reveals the existence of an $899 17-inch iMac that is part of the company’s iMac family. As most know, with the latest iMac updates Apple has been offering a 20-inch iMac as the low end model in the family.

It was thought that the overhaul of the product family phased out the 17-inch model, but it would appear that the $899 17-inch model continues to be available to educational institutions. The 17-inch model does appear to be the older aluminum iMac at a discounted price with no updates.

While we can’t confirm that Apple didn’t just recycle a picture, the 17-inch model does indeed feature at least some of the updates of the newer model; thus, we think it is likely that it is the same old 17-inch iMac that is now available at a price point that educational institutions can afford.

Some looking for a lower-cost iMac because they don’t want the Mac Mini may be unhappy to find out that this 17-inch model exists, but that they can’t get their hands on it. We are in the process of confirming the specs of the 17-inch model, but it is likely that the high-end Mini might indeed outperform the 17-inch iMac and obviously this isn’t something that Apple wants to discuss.