All-In-One Design is Fail IMO

[G4DP]

Apple could easily do professional towers for a decent price. They used to, what were they called again? Oh yeah, PowerMacs. Didn't Saint Steve harp on about faster refreshes and CHEAPER prices with the transition as they would be part of the mass Intel machine?

They choose not too. Because Apple's philosophy, and agree with it or not is right for a listed company. "Maximise profits and screw the consumer."

Personally I think it's disgusting. Remember the chips in he 09 machines were 50% cheaper than those in the 08, yet the price either stayed the same or increased depending on which country you are in.

But the average home user doesn't spend time on these sorts of sites, doesn't find out the true cost of the components that go into the machine.

I would imagine Apple really makes 100% profit on the MacPro, even from launch day. With the cheap labour and economies of scale they would get things so cheap. The estimates from iFixit are complete jokes.

As for the iMac design, it suites peoples needs, if they are happy with it then it must be doing something right. Personally I don't mind it, I would never buy one, but then i'm never buying another Mac again.

 

[iCaleb]

Apple has a door underneath the iMac to change the ram.

Why can't Apple include another door to change the hdd?

The hdd door could be hidden on the bottom.....top....or the side of the iMac.

Sort of like the xbox 360 hdd all you have to do is remove the cover and pull out.

I'm just really tired of sealed parts inside of computers.....It's really stupid.

I wish apple would allow users to change ram.....hardrives......and battery's for all devices.

 

[robgendreau]

Actually, the majority of consumers don't buy iMacs, often for the reasons you list. Especially in business. The iMac is semi-disposable, limited in life by its hard drive. The HD goes, the iMac goes—unless one has insurance.

They are a nice design from a visual standpoint. And the screen is topnotch. It's an iPad on a stand.

BTW, Apple did make a true desktop not-all-in-one called the Mac Pro; remember those?

 

[iMcLovin]

I wish apple would allow users to change ram.....hardrives......and battery's for all devices.

I wish they keep them as they are - and happily they probably will. I don't want want a products full of lids and screws. This is part of why I buy apple. Why do you want to change te battery of a phone yourself. It will last at least a couple of years. If you then don't want to buy a new phone then just ship the phone in for service and buy a new battery. Why have a lid to open for something you maybe want to change once after a couple of years? Same for hard drive... Either it's broken and apple will replace it or the machine is so old it's about time to buy a new computer.

 

[triweaver2]

The all-in-one design is what sold me on the iMac and keeps me coming back for new ones as the old wear out. I use the 21.5 iMac and love the lack of clutter. The base iMac has been everything I needed up till now. I may look at at the processor upgrade on the next on I purchase (2012 hopefully) though I doubt I will need it. Just the upgrade from my early 2008 unit will probably be all I need as that will be a good jump in performance for me.

The world is full of many different people with many different needs. I just hope Apple remembers this and keeps the iMac around a long time.

 

[Doggman]

So people who choose iMacs over Mac Pros or Mac minis are average Joes who are too stupid to plug components into a tower, huh? Thanks so much for enlightening us.

LOL you completely disregard the entire point of my post (my opinion that the AIO design is garbage) and instead take two snips out of my post... add them together and come up with some ridiculous assumption? I didnt even mention a mac mini or mac pro in my post nor did I call you or the owners of said computers average Joe's? Wtf kid?

To clarify my statement about average joes... anyone on this forum isn't really an average joe when it comes to computers or apple products for that matter... Obviously they have an interest in them and probably know atleast a little about them or they wouldn't be on here... When I refer to the average joe I am talking about the millions of people out there that are CLUELESS about computers...

Yes, the iMac has many disadvantages, but wow... why the tremendous hate? Is anyone putting you at a gunpoint to get an iMac? The only dumbass is the one who can't seem to get that different people have different needs and preferences.

I would pick the MacPro if this dream deal exists.

Haha even if someone was holding me at gunpoint, I doubt I'd get an iMac... Lol just kidding but the hate is because I feel like Apple went to an inferior design just because the millions of clueless people (mentioned above^^) would buy it. If everyone knew as much as we did on this forum, I HIGHLY doubt it would sell as well as it does... And furthermore if Apple did offer a mid tower solution at similar prices to the iMac, one could only assume it would sell more. I feel like the enthusiast's have no option from Apple because Apple decided to cater to the majority -> people who haven't the slightest clue about computers (NOT FORUM MEMBERS...)

While I too wish that Apple would make a consumer level tower system again, I completely disagree with you.

Hm I don't really understand why you completely disagree with me. I said this at the end of my original post.

"However I completely understand why Apple did what they did. The majority of consumers either dont know/or dont care about the stuff above. The average Joe would of course think a screen with no tower is 100x cooler and better..."

Your post just elaborates on this. I agree with you so I'm not sure how you disagree with me lol.

Actually, the majority of consumers don't buy iMacs, often for the reasons you list. Especially in business. The iMac is semi-disposable, limited in life by its hard drive. The HD goes, the iMac goes—unless one has insurance.

They are a nice design from a visual standpoint. And the screen is topnotch. It's an iPad on a stand.

BTW, Apple did make a true desktop not-all-in-one called the Mac Pro; remember those?

Yes I know but the Mac Pro is for professional's only and not to mention the current one is an even worse deal than the iMac... $2500 for base quad core with 3 year old GPU, ha there's another joke and that's before a screen... I would LOVE a Mac Pro but I could never pay that much for it...

-------------------------

@iSayuSay --> thanks for the support man... I kinda figured this would be a heated thread

@everyone who is getting pissed at me...

I never said anything about iMac owners nor did I say anything about forum members since they are not included in the majority. So stop taking my post personally because it has nothing to do with you... I am talking about the All-In-One design. If you post back please atleast have something to say with regards to the AIO design considering that is the thread title...

So far I've only heard a few reasons why people think the AIO is NOT a terrible design.
- Looks (mentioned in my original post)
- Super user friendly for the clueless (mentioned in my original post)
- Wife approves of it
- It's "good enough" (however I think it's a little ridiculous to pay that much for a computer and it be "good enough")

Anyone care to add to this list?

 

[Mr. McMac]

Apple has a door underneath the iMac to change the ram.

Why can't Apple include another door to change the hdd?

The hdd door could be hidden on the bottom.....top....or the side of the iMac.

Sort of like the xbox 360 hdd all you have to do is remove the cover and pull out.

I'm just really tired of sealed parts inside of computers.....It's really stupid.

I wish apple would allow users to change ram.....hardrives......and battery's for all devices.

Agreed, and what about dust build up? I clean my Windows PC every couple of months with compressed air. I can only imagine how much dust my '09 iMac has built up inside. Definitely not a good thing...

 

[ctdonath]

But Apple just doesn't provide that solution.

They did. Consumers preferred the iMac AIO design, save a few price-is-no-object users wanting the MacPro. Moreover, a high-flexibility low-end box complicates support issues ("hey, my UberCheap SupuGPU9000 doesn't work - it's Apple's fault!"). The remaining customers wanting a low-end tower just aren't worth the hassle of another line of boxen for a company focused on a few "just works" products.

 

[joe-h2o]

Only reason Apple even went to an All-In-One is because it would sell. The truth is there is NOTHING beneficial about the All-In-One design beyond it looking pretty and neat and being super user friendly for a dumbass that can't plug a monitor, keyboard, and mouse into a tower...

Personally I wish they would drop the AIO design and make a true desktop... How does, taking a bunch of heat producing computer components out of a box with multiple fans designed to properly cool said components and putting them behind the SCREEN (who the hell wants all that heat behind their screen?!) make any since?

All the while they had to sacrifice a great deal of raw computing power to do so... A mobile GPU in a desktop? Ha that's a joke...

AND last but not least... the only iMac thats really worth getting is the maxxed out 27" and of course Apple wants an arm, a leg, two fingers, and one of your kidneys for it... Don't even get me started on how badass of a super computer you could build using Newegg with a $3,000+ budget...

/end rant

However I completely understand why Apple did what they did. The majority of consumers either dont know/or dont care about the stuff above. The average Joe would of course think a screen with no tower is 100x cooler and better...

Cool story bro.

 

[sectime]

Well if you go read my first post I clearly state that the reason Apple (or should I say "Apple's sales and team") decided to make the AIO is because it would sell. Then I went on to talk about why, regardless of the fact that it would sell, it is a terrible design.

P.S. - thanks for your worthless post... all your saying is I have a different opinion than Apple which is pretty obvious just by reading the Thread Title...

For being a member for about 20 minutes you sure have perfected the all boring/forum/snark response pretty quickly.
The AIO design doesn't bother me, the lack of easy upgrades does. My Dell desktop keeps freezing on Mountain Lion, So who cares? I really like some of the neon, liquid cooled, Alien looking towers but again they keep freezing up on Mountain Lion so Who ....?

 

[Wreckie]

Just love iMac as it is.. In my opinion the AIO design is great as you can use big display back as part of cooling system = silent workstation. Really hate the air whizz of tower PC-s, that's what made me buying iMac. You can also listen to music quietly and don't have to volume up because of PC fans..
Secondly of course because of no cable mess. That is horrible on PC-s. Especcialy when it comes to everyweek cleaning, iMac wins this round completely. And of course the compatibility iMac offers. Usually people forget about it. You have all you need to communicate: 720p webcam, mic, speakers built in, which good enough for conversations and best I have heard on AIO or laptops so far. you don't have to think about obtaining items to add to your PC.

 

[Tankmaze]

Only reason Apple even went to an All-In-One is because it would sell. The truth is there is NOTHING beneficial about the All-In-One design beyond it looking pretty and neat and being super user friendly for a dumbass that can't plug a monitor, keyboard, and mouse into a tower...

Personally I wish they would drop the AIO design and make a true desktop... How does, taking a bunch of heat producing computer components out of a box with multiple fans designed to properly cool said components and putting them behind the SCREEN (who the hell wants all that heat behind their screen?!) make any since?

All the while they had to sacrifice a great deal of raw computing power to do so... A mobile GPU in a desktop? Ha that's a joke...

What about this AIO

http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/workstations/z1_features.html#.UDKVDmthiSM

The hp z1 proves an AIO can be a badass workstation.
And the imac is an icon, you can't change that. And my imac since running mountain lion is running cooler than ever!! With the highest temp in the gpu diode at 55-56C and its running itunes, xcode, textmate, browsers(safari firefox opera), vlc, iphoto, photoshop.

 

[Doggman]

Cool story bro.

umadbro?

For being a member for about 20 minutes you sure have perfected the all boring/forum/snark response pretty quickly.
The AIO design doesn't bother me, the lack of easy upgrades does. My Dell desktop keeps freezing on Mountain Lion, So who cares? I really like some of the neon, liquid cooled, Alien looking towers but again they keep freezing up on Mountain Lion so Who ....?

20 minutes? I've been a member for a few weeks but whatever. And I've been dealing with people posting worthless things in my threads for years now. It's nothing new.

Just love iMac as it is.. In my opinion the AIO design is great as you can use big display back as part of cooling system = silent workstation. Really hate the air whizz of tower PC-s, that's what made me buying iMac. You can also listen to music quietly and don't have to volume up because of PC fans..
Secondly of course because of no cable mess. That is horrible on PC-s. Especcialy when it comes to everyweek cleaning, iMac wins this round completely. And of course the compatibility iMac offers. Usually people forget about it. You have all you need to communicate: 720p webcam, mic, speakers built in, which good enough for conversations and best I have heard on AIO or laptops so far. you don't have to think about obtaining items to add to your PC.

You make some good points. Thanks for your input and response. I didn't think about the webcam, mic, speakers, etc but then again I have all of those already so they don't really mean much to me but I can see how that would be nice for others.

 

[7enderbender]

Market for mid-range desktop

Good and fair post in my opinion. Yes, it sells and it is pretty and practical for the average user. That's good and it works for Apple as can be seen by their increased market share.

I could go on now and state what bugs me about the design and how one of the reasons I haven't pulled the trigger on a 27" iMac is the screen itself which is decent but not great for photo editing.

Instead I want to point out the additional revenue opportunity that I see for Apple: Let's face it, Windows systems are becoming less and less attractive to many users; Linux is not where plug-and-play type professionals want to be. So Apple's OS is a great alternative for a lot of applications (not all though). The Apple hardware is solid albeit expensive and a wee bit quirky at times. But so be it. The laptops alone (for the most part) would make a switch appear worthwhile when considering build-quality.

What's missing is a mid-range desktop solution that is NOT an iMac. I'm still considering getting a tricked out Mac Mini over the iMac simply because it DOESN'T come with a screen and I can add a little more money to include a professional grade screen that works for professional level photo editing (and is not glossy). Problem is that it would lack in performance. Then there is the Mac Pro of course. I'd make the switch to Apple immediately if I could afford that one. It's not feasable though for my budget and my mostly unpaid work I'd be doing with it. You see the gap here where Win users who are willing to spend, say, 2 to 2.5K on a system would be happy to have an Apple product that is closer to the hardware specs they are used to? And in that I agree with the OP that the all-in-one design is exactly that, a design choice. That is important to my mom who just made dad buy an iMac so that the "ugly cables" disappeared. That's great but there are lots of other users in the 80 to 85% marketshare that Apple is after that simply don't care what the box looks like that is under or even on top of their desk or sitting around their studio.

 

[Lancer]

I believe AIO computers will become more common in the years ahead for the majority of users. As I (and others) have said they provide the power and function most users need without a big often ugly tower on or under their desk. If people wanted more power they laptop sales wouldn't be so strong. Most laptop buyers don't take their computer out of the house.

IMO what we'll see in the not too distant future is computers built into TVs, access via bluetooth KB/mouse, touch and gesture. Most will use tablets to do much of their work, only going to a 'normal' computer KB/Mouse when needed. The days of the traditional computer tower are numbered apart from those at the high end or in back rooms but even then with TB external drives do we really need all that storage inside the PC case?

Don't get me wrong is I had the money I'd get a Mac Pro every 2 years to work along side a MBP or iMac, but most of us don't have that kind of money and are happy to use the iMac, in what even form it takes in the coming years.

 

[joe-h2o]

umadbro?

Well, you did just call me a dumbass for my choice of computer. I figured this was a troll thread.

Since that's your opinion of me, I have to assume that your argument boils down to "nya nya! you have stupid hair! lolololol". I've yet to see any debate skill above that level.

 

[alias99]

I think you can look at this a different way.

The AIO Design in relation to the iMac has some flaws to it which have been mentioned as well as its advantages.

However what the real issue is the AIO concept (which is what the thread is about) in general. The concept IMO is great. It reduces clutter has everything you need all in one monitor. What needs to be done is not get rid of the AIO concept, instead Apple and other AIO manufacturers should spend some more time developing the design to address the issues that have been brought up (which I hope they are doing right now). All designs are never perfect straight away. The PC box has been around for decades and evolved over time ironing out the issues. There no reason why the same cant be done for the AIO and iMac in particular over the next few years.

 

[iSayuSay]

They did. Consumers preferred the iMac AIO design, save a few price-is-no-object users wanting the MacPro. Moreover, a high-flexibility low-end box complicates support issues ("hey, my UberCheap SupuGPU9000 doesn't work - it's Apple's fault!"). The remaining customers wanting a low-end tower just aren't worth the hassle of another line of boxen for a company focused on a few "just works" products.

O rly? Says who? ? MacPro doesn't sell as much because of the price point, then also there is the slow spec bump and updates to make things worse, not because consumers don't want it.

Like I said, had a quad MacPro were sold for $2000 including the 27" display, would you still buy the iMac?
Answer honestly and it would be an easy indicator if consumers really don't want the MacPro, or they want one badly, but simply can't justify the price.

There were affordable MacPros, when they were PowerMacs. But Intel happened, and Xeon CPUs bullcrap skyrocketing the price tag.

Talking about joke, same thing can be said for the iMac
"Hey my iMac iSaighte doesn't work - so now I gotta bring back the whole machine and I have to be computer-less for days just because the silly camerah stops working. It's absolutely Apple's fault!" .. Bleeeh

 

[harcosparky]

I figured this was a troll thread.

I think you hit the nail on the head!

Everybody wants a little attention and their 15 minutes!

 

[Slow Programmer]

This thread is the perfect example of why the down voting option needs to return.

 

[munkery]

yes actually better. better mobo and better cpu cost 500

apple gives you 4gb ram so I will give my machine 16gb ram total for ram is 100 you are at 600

100 for a case you are at 700


100 for a psu you are at 800

300 for a top of the line gpu you are at 1100

400 for a 500 gb ssd you are at 1500


but wait that is more then 1000 . yeah but apple charges sales tax and you are going to get applecare so the 2000 machine is more like 2500. second link shows the apple imac that I picked to compare my build to.

lastly you can have 2 even 3 1080p screens . 21 inch versions cost 400 to 600 . or you can find a 27 inch dell for 800 .

You are missing a lot of parts in that list.

Wireless Adapter, Optical drive, Keyboard, Mouse, Webcam, Speakers, and ... what else?

Already established that a 27" Dell IPS display is $900-1000 if doing a fair comparison. The iMac displays have greater than 1080p resolution, BTW.

You also added applecare to the iMac but didn't add extended warranty coverage to the parts in the list as shown by your screenshot.

How does that make for a fair comparison?

 

[s15119]

Only reason Apple even went to an All-In-One is because it would sell. :

Without which, Apple would not exist. Millions of thrilled iMacs disagree with your premise.

 

[Yester5]

All-In-One Design is WIN IMO

 

[d0nK]

I'm a consumer and I use my computer to make music, video, render 3D, games and loads of other stuff, as well as development work.
Why do Apple (and a lot of users on this forum) see "consumers" as not doing all these things?
Must "consumers" only surf the web whilst being social-media addicts or is this just an image that Apple wants us to believe in for it's products?

I want a desktop with desktop components. Desktop components are what keeps computer technology growing. This is a good thing. Until laptop components can compete then make a desktop computer with desktop components.

 

[s15119]

And I've been dealing with people posting worthless things in my threads for years now. It's nothing new..

You might want to look internally for the cause of that.