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Memory in New $1099 iMac is Soldered and Not Upgradable

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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The 8GB of memory in the new, cheaper 21.5-inch iMac introduced earlier today is permanently soldered to the motherboard and is not upgradable, according to a teardown of the new machine by Other World Computing.

The $1,099 machine includes a 1.4GHz Dual-Core i5 processor from the MacBook Air, but users are permanently locked to 8GB of RAM. There is no build-to-order option to increase it and it cannot be increased later.

imac_21_201436.jpg
Now that we've had time to teardown the new iMac, unlike the $1,299 iMac, we found this iMac has the memory is soldered to the motherboard removing any possibility of adding additional memory. Users will be permanently locked in to the 8GB of memory, as there is no Apple factory upgrade option.
Click to expand...
The other 21.5" iMacs, launched last fall, can be upgraded through the Apple Online Store from 8GB to 16GB. RAM can also be added after purchase, but it requires removal of the screen and is an extremely difficult upgrade.

The current 27" iMac, on the other hand, has a easily accessed door on the rear of the machine that allows for simple RAM upgrades.

Article Link: Memory in New $1099 iMac is Soldered and Not Upgradable
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/18/imac-memory-not-upgradable/
C

Craiglorocks

macrumors member
Apr 4, 2010
76
0
This "Upgrade" only gets worse the more we know. Eddy's "best pipeline in 25 years" better have something exciting stuck in it.
 
casperes1996

casperes1996

macrumors 604
Jan 26, 2014
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Horsens, Denmark
Is there anyone who didn't expect this?

Is there anyone who expected it to be upgradable? I didn't.

Yeah, it's possible in the other 21.5 inch iMacs, but it's not exactly easy. Apple clearly didn't intend for users to do it, and with the new lowest end machine that is essentially more MacBook Air than iMac, nobody could've possibly expected upgradability.
 
N

NachoGrande

macrumors 6502a
Mar 30, 2010
986
1,714
So lame. I Hate that they make it just about impossible to upgrade the HD in the iMac and charge a ridiculous premium on the initial upgrade. Now restricting memory? Maybe people can't afford the upfront cost and want to upgrade over time.... just lame...
 
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Icaras

Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
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casperes1996 said:
Is there anyone who expected it to be upgradable? I didn't.

Yeah, it's possible in the other 21.5 inch iMacs, but it's not exactly easy. Apple clearly didn't intend for users to do it, and with the new lowest end machine that is essentially more MacBook Air than iMac, nobody could've possibly expected upgradability.
Click to expand...

I'm not surprised either. I even think Apple will one day solder the RAM in all the 21.5" iMac models.
 
w0lf

w0lf

macrumors 65816
Feb 16, 2013
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I'm struggling to think of a way that Apple could have made this any worse :confused:

I suppose they haven't soldered the case shut yet...
 
C

Carlosgomes

macrumors member
Jul 3, 2013
48
1
dumastudetto said:
Consumers don't want upgradeable parts. They don't care. This is a sensible move from Apple and I support it 100%.
Click to expand...

That's a false assumption. There are lots of us who would like to be able to upgrade our Apple computers. Specially considering the kinda absurd premium prices Apple asks for if we want to upgrade them prior the purchase.

Edit: And what advantages did this move bring to the consumer, to deserve your 100% support?
 
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Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
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I'm assuming the people buying this model wouldn't be upgrading the memory and those complaining about it would never buy this model in the first place.
 
koruki

koruki

macrumors 65816
Aug 16, 2009
1,346
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I accepted this in the rMbp cause of how thin it is and being a portable device. On and iMac this is unacceptable. I can't think of any legit reason for this.
 
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joshdammit

Suspended
Mar 6, 2013
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Carlosgomes said:
That's a false assumption. There are lots of us who would like to be able to upgrade our Apple computers. Specially considering the kinda absurd premium prices Apple asks for if we want to upgrade them prior the purchase.

Edit: And what advantages did this move bring to the consumer, to deserve your 100% support?
Click to expand...

Those of you who upgrade your computers yourself probably should have a 27" anyway.
 
gmanist1000

gmanist1000

macrumors 68030
Sep 22, 2009
2,832
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Mediocre update... I expect something big this year. Retina iMac, retina Thunderbolt Display, retina MacBook Air... I can only hope. :apple:
 
Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
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edgonzalez32 said:
I still don't see that as a reason to solder the ram in. I really don't.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying its a valid reason. But I've no doubt most of the complaints about it will come from people who have zero intention of ever buying this model.
 
G

GhostRaider

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2014
432
477
8GB of RAM should already be the standard on every new computer shipped so that way people wouldn't need to upgrade it. I still use 4GB but have yet to have a good reason to maximize it.

But don't agree much with the storage capacity. I mean I need at least 1TB. These flash storage chips and SSDs are way to expensive and still provide little storage capacities.
 
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