http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ield-keywords=Blu+Ray+DVD+Burner+external+mac
Since I have an old iMac, I have never looked for external options, but I am now. There's a ton of them, at many different price points and capabilities.
This explains why Apple excluded it altogether:
1. the problems of including an inferior DVD Burner that compromised their design and display goals, adding extra weight and component costs to the new iMac... Do not underestimate the savings Apple gets (and apparently is not passing on to us?) from a 30-40% reduction in shipping weight, especially when you an use that weight savings to ship over hi-dollar iPad and iPhones for no increase in corporate shipping costs. Apple's Revenue-per-Shipping Container just went through the roof!
2. Those who seriously need one (like me) would find these aftermarket options compelling esp with Blu-Ray and would have carped about Apple's inferior DVD burner
3. DVD burners are contrary to iTunes and iCloud profit centers.
4. I am guessing that internal surveys that focus on the decision for a customer to buy an AIO in the first place, the number of people putting "dvd burner" in the top 5 reasons to buy is not big enough to compromise all these other considerations. Including a DVD Burner in the iMac for that audience apparently would not sell incrementally more iMacs to offset all that cost savings.
Seems like an easy business decision to produce a better looking machine, achieve huge gains in shipping and component costs, and leave those who need to burn DVD's and could not be satisfied by Apple's choice of DVD burner to shop from this superior list of products.