The Return of an Apple Cube... as an iMac?

[MacRumors]

On November 7th, Kodawarisan posted a curious rumor about a redesigned iMac case... in the form of a Cube. Translation by yamabushi:

A completely new case for the iMac is said to be due to be announced at Macworld SF 2004. According to information from a resin mold manufacturer in Taiwan the completely new case is curiously different and a cube shaped iMac case is currently in production.

By itself, Kodawarisan has had a variable accuracy rate, but combined with some other recent rumors, it makes for an interesting possibility.

Last month, AppleInsider independently claimed that Apple was working on an "entirely new form-factor" for the iMac due in early spring of 2004. No actual details of the case redesign were offered at that time.

Meanwhile, a recent Page 2 rumor predicted the return of the Cube form-factor, with similar claims made earlier this year..

While the likelihood of a iMac Cube remains uncertain, more details may arise as MacWorld approaches.

[arn]

Before people start asking. Page 1 for interest and due to the intersection of a number of rumors.

arn

[Billy_ca]

I love the existing iMac. They just need to throw a 1.6 GHz G5 in there and up the RAM and I will buy one.

[MacsRgr8]

Hmmm... sounds sweet.

Would this be the "new" iMac, or a new anniversary Mac (thus limited quantity)?

[yamabushi]

Originally posted by MacsRgr8

Would this be the "new" iMac, or a new anniversary Mac (thus limited quantity)?

I would say that the tone of the note at Kodawarisan implied the former. However it may be marketed as a special edition.

[Phil Of Mac]

What is it with Steve and his cube obsession? Perhaps his heavy LSD use during his youth? (Sugar cubes were a common means of ingesting LSD in the early days.)

[punter]

yeah i think the current 17" imac is almost perfect. Maybe the ports (fw, usb) could be at the front? But the swivelling display is just BRILLIANT. I want a display I can move like that to plug into my laptop.

But a cube would be nice as well, one with no fan. I'm sure whatever they're coming up with is goign to be good! They seem to be on a bit of a roll.

[yamabushi]

If the new iMac has ATI 9600 graphics or better I will be very tempted to buy one. A cube shape would be fine by me.

[ColoJohnBoy]

Cube? Somehow that doesn't seem nearly a graceful as the hemisphere design used now. Yeah, it'd fit into the whole industrial design scheme of the PowerMac, but put it next to the current iMac and I'd probably take the latter. Oh well, we'll see soon enough.

[Makosuke]

This actually more or less makes sense; people have been clamoring for a headless iMac or less expensive desktop w/o monitor for a while. Some people, now that they're dead, love the Cubes, both for that reason and the style. And we all know that Apple (or at least Steve) liked the cubes, even though the original price was too high for them to succeed.

Put these things together, and there's a real chance of a cube-shaped headless iMac, special edition Mac, or both. Heck, if they didn't reintroduce some cube as a special 20th Anniversary Mac I'd be surprised, so why not just combine that with a headless iMac form to kill two birds with one stone.

I really, really hope that the current form factor iMac persists in some very similar form, though--it's an awesome design, and hasn't been around nearly as long as the original shape, so I'd say it has lots of life left in it.

[arn]

Some conflicting but interesting intersection of rumors...

New iMac? If so, will it have a built in screen? Or not? Maybe the iMac will remain in it's current form and this will be a headless version?

Maybe not iMac at all.... perhaps it will be a 20th anniv Mac special-edition sort of deal.

(Note: 20th anniv of the Macintosh. The previous 20th Anniv Mac celebrated the 20th anniv of Apple itself. The 20th Anniv of the Mac is Jan 2004)

arn

[arn]

From Apple's press release for the original Cube's discontinuation:

"there is a small chance [Apple] will reintroduce an upgraded model of the unique computer in the future, but that there are no plans to do so at this time"

Just a curious thing to add to the press release. Doesn't mean much by itself.

[CraigMiami]

I'm still waiting for the G5 octagon or whatever it was that MOSR was predicting a year or 2 ago. It was the first time i can recall laughing out loud while reading a mac rumors site.

Just rediculous.

[finelinebob]

PowerLogix has released a new aluminum enclosure for Mac Cube owners wanting to upgrade their Cubes as much as possible. I've even seen aluminum "bare-bones" cases at CompUSA for people who want to build their own fanless Wintel machine. It's apparently a big enough scene that Wired has covered the quest for quiet PCs and as recently as last summer has posted a story on the Mac Cube's continued popularity .

If they're going to release a new Newton, might as well release a new Cube, too! Ah, rumors....

[grahamtriggs]

Originally posted by Makosuke
This actually more or less makes sense; people have been clamoring for a headless iMac or less expensive desktop w/o monitor for a while. Some people, now that they're dead, love the Cubes, both for that reason and the style. And we all know that Apple (or at least Steve) liked the cubes, even though the original price was too high for them to succeed.

Well, you're almost right! Many people liked the cubes - I don't think that anyone that likes them now didn't like them then. More importantly though, you can't combine it with 'clamoring for a less expensive desktop'. Because the cubes weren't. They were expensive. Damn expensive. That's why people liked them before, but weren't prepared to buy one.

A cube would be great for a headless desktop. But they need to pitch it right - ie. not try to make it a full blown PowerMac with the price tag that goes with it. But a bit more than an iMac.

Oh, and chances are, it won't be fanless... what's the point? The engineering for a fanless cube (and/or resulting lack of power) would kill it like the old one. With the recent work they've done on the G5 for quiet fan cooling, it would make far more sense to use that knowledge.

[arn]

Originally posted by finelinebob
PowerLogix has released a new aluminum enclosure for Mac Cube[/url] .

You know, it's not impossible that these rumors arose from PowerLogix' production of these. I guess you have to trust that the "sources" knew which company these were being developed for.

arn

[BurntCalc]

Hmm... It hardly sounds likely that Apple would choose a design that has already proven to be a bust. Then again, the iMac is due for a refresh soon. I'm just a bit surprised that they'd redesign it this soon.

My money is that, if true, this isn't an iMac at all but a new device altogether. I just can't for the life of me think what that might be. Maybe it's a new Airport module. Or the famed X-Grid.

[Poff]

A cube would be real cool.
I got interested in them a little while ago, the fanless design would make them great for a home-studio.

The problem then was without a doubt the price. Noone in their right mind would make a computer like that and expect people to look at it and say; "hey! This is a really powerful computer!" No- it would have to be sold like an iMac to succeed. The lack of expansion possibilities also assured that no serious computer user would find it useful.

We'll just have to wait and see, but a fanless cube with one slot for cards so that you could put a decent audio-card in there would be a killer!

[joshbuddy]

the things that made the original cube suck so much are easily overcomable these days. Firewire and USB2 are both adequate technologies for expansion. You COULD build in a PCI slot, even an AGP slot to allow more expansion. SATA is great in terms of less cables blocking airflow, and even then, watercooling (if its even needed) could make a very quiet G5 cube for us....

the price is really the important thing here. i remember reading the review for the cube on ars, and how there were little cracks in the plastic. i mean.. how much money do i have to pay to get crappy little cracks in the plastic? the original cube pricing just looks bizarre in retrospect.

*j*

[Trimix]

Originally posted by Billy_ca
I love the existing iMac. They just need to throw a 1.6 GHz G5 in there and up the RAM and I will buy one.

i am with you all the way - my 800mhz 15' runs every day for 16 hours - had it for 1.5 years now - never ever a problem

[Trimix]

Originally posted by arn
Some conflicting but interesting intersection of rumors...

New iMac? If so, will it have a built in screen? Or not? Maybe the iMac will remain in it's current form and this will be a headless version?

Maybe not iMac at all.... perhaps it will be a 20th anniv Mac special-edition sort of deal.

(Note: 20th anniv of the Macintosh. The previous 20th Anniv Mac celebrated the 20th anniv of Apple itself. The 20th Anniv of the Mac is Jan 2004)

arn

ooops, i remember the first mac, am i that OLD ????

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by grahamtriggs
Oh, and chances are, it won't be fanless... what's the point? The engineering for a fanless cube (and/or resulting lack of power) would kill it like the old one.

Heat rises.

You have an open grill on the top of the cube and heat escapes.

It's the same basic design as the chimney.

That said...if Apple released a special edition Cube every once in awhile, they would sell. The reason they didn't sell in the first place is because we all figured they'd be around forever. As soon as they were discontinued, guess what? They sold!

[joshbuddy]

Originally posted by Trimix
i am with you all the way - my 800mhz 15' runs every day for 16 hours - had it for 1.5 years now - never ever a problem

the problem really isn't with the iMac. the iMac is great. the problem is with having a cheap computer that won't look terribly out of place in people's homes. being able to buy a headless mac would fill a niche that is currently UNFILLED. and who knows, make the new studio displays will incorporate the arm idea of the imac, so you can have the best of both worlds...

*j*

[ipiloot]

Originally posted by BurntCalc
Hmm... It hardly sounds likely that Apple would choose a design that has already proven to be a bust. Then again, the iMac is due for a refresh soon. I'm just a bit surprised that they'd redesign it this soon.

My money is that, if true, this isn't an iMac at all but a new device altogether. I just can't for the life of me think what that might be. Maybe it's a new Airport module. Or the famed X-Grid.

I think, you're all wrong here. The cube form factor wasn't a bust. The problem with cube was the consumer group that it targeted - an upper end home user who are a very small majority. Thus the price and the features that it offered were plain wrong for conquering any significant market. And this is the market where they are traded today.

I really-really hope that it'll be the market-conquering dirt cheap low end headless G5 in $500 price point. iMac would stay a fashionable all-in-one solution as it is today, only it shall be upgraded with new innards. The form is just marvelous.

[Sabenth]

Hmm whos in charge of all the old stuff.. do you think that some one at apple has thought well we were wrong about the time of relasing such products like newton and cube and gone hmm now is the time just having one of my many many many thoughts on this old skool revivel .....


Fanless pcs he he he he bring it on