Apple Announces Redesigned iMac With M1 Chip and Seven Color Options

[anshuvorty]

I would really love a Jony Ive-style design-video featuring the current Apple designers, arguing for the design-choices they made on this one.

I am fully behind MKBHDs reasoning and suggestions for a better design:

The many shades of the same color on each device are a mess to my eyes. And that white, rather thick white bezel. Yuk.

I am taking a huge sigh at the moment....man, if Apple had the courage to follow current industry design cues and follow the minimalistic bezels seen in PC monitors...that iMac would've been mighty tempting to buy...However, I can rest easy now...

Just plain ugly...the beautiful minimalistic bezels in the current LG/Samsung/Dell/etc, are you just so engaging to look at! Why would you settle for an Apple iMac where the white bezels take your attention away from your content?

Hell, even Apple advertised/mentioned just as much when they redesigned the MacBook Air from the silly white bezels to the now-familiar black bezels in the 13-inch and 16-inch MacBook! See this video:

Why would they backtrack like this? It makes no sense!

Apple, especially in the last 5 years or so, seems awfully good at doing self-inflicted wounds to itself. The butterfly keyboard, the Magic Mouse, the Apple Pencil...and now the redesigned iMac....they could've easily created a near borderless display, like its competitors, it's like an industry-standard now...TVs were the 1st, then monitors followed, and laptop displays (Dell XPS anyone?). It's so easy to do....I just don't understand....Apple surprises me sometimes, and this is once again one of those times...

 

[chucker23n1]

I think in an alternate timeline, where there was no COVID-19 and no chip shortage, I really do think that Apple would've harnessed TSMC full power and released the iMac with an M1X SoC and the iPad Pro with the A15X CPU...Apple would never have put the M1 in all of their new products....but because they can't get TSMC to start manufacturing these new chips and maybe TSMC gave an impossible timeline to Apple of when they could start manufacturing these new chips (M1X and A15X), that Apple acquiesced and just told TSMC just to put the M1 in everything.

I suppose it's possible they would've accelerated shipping their higher-end Macs without COVID-19. But I think the particular Macs they've released were always going to come with the M1, because it's plenty for the audience, and were always going to be prioritized, because these (especially the Air) are the big sellers.

 

[quarkysg]

I think in an alternate timeline, where there was no COVID-19 and no chip shortage, I really do think that Apple would've harnessed TSMC full power and released the iMac with an M1X SoC and the iPad Pro with the A15X CPU...Apple would never have put the M1 in all of their new products....but because they can't get TSMC to start manufacturing these new chips and maybe TSMC gave an impossible timeline to Apple of when they could start manufacturing these new chips (M1X and A15X), that Apple acquiesced and just told TSMC just to put the M1 in everything.

The A15 SoC has not made its debut, so it will not be the A15X that ends up in the just released iPad Pro. I think you are referring to the A14X? I think almost everyone is expecting an A14X, but the iPad Pro got the M1 instead. Well, the M1 is probably what the A14X will look like anyway, so Apple probably used the M1 instead of designing another SoC for the iPad Pro. Apple may have loftier plans for the iPad Pro for WWDC, so let's see.

As for the base iMac getting the M1, I'm kind of disappointed as well, as I was expecting a beefier M1 variant. I think I probably got too excited. I think Apple's plan is sound for the base iMac. They are less than 6 months into the transition, so there's still a ways to go based on their 2 years transition plan.

Apple is reported to have secured their volumes of TSMC's manufacturing outputs, so it's unlikely that TSMC can't produce enough for Apple, unless Apple changed their plans. Tim Cook is known to be a supply chain guru, so I think it's unlikely for this to happen.

 

[ericwn]

Which could be covered by Display glass?

Yes more useless reflections towards the user please.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Going back for any reason looks bad on the marketing slides, as if the perfect forum had been achieved already. A terrible message to send hence not going to happen I guess.

But what they’ve just put out has not changed the design in any form. It’s still essentially the same 17 year old design.

This was a chance to correct so many flaws in that design. Instead it’s basically a carbon copy but now it’s colourful and with a different shaped stand. If they were going to keep the chin at least leave the Apple Logo on it. Just looks like a cheap knockoff iMac now.

 

[chucker23n1]

The A15 SoC has not made its debut, so it will not be the A15X that ends up in the just released iPad Pro. I think you are referring to the A14X?

Well, the A4 and A5 both first launched in an iPad, half a year before they launched in an iPhone. So it wouldn't be entirely unprecedented.

I think almost everyone is expecting an A14X, but the iPad Pro got the M1 instead. Well, the M1 is probably what the A14X will look like anyway, so Apple probably used the M1 instead of designing another SoC for the iPad Pro.

Yup. This is purely a marketing thing, both in therms of naming and feature set. The M1 and A14 have the same Firestorm/Icestorm CPU cores; the M1 just has more of them (just like a hypothetical A14X would), and some additional features like Thunderbolt. So, whether the iPad Pro's CPU is called an "M1" or "A14X" or whether it has features like Thunderbolt ultimately comes down to marketing decisions, not technical ones.

I think Apple's plan is sound for the base iMac. They are less than 6 months into the transition, so there's still a ways to go based on their 2 years transition plan.

Yup. I would've liked a 32 GiB RAM iMac, and quite possibly bought one ASAP, but focusing on the low-end high-volume Macs makes sense, and having this many product launches to show for it in less than a year is pretty good.

 

[krell100]

Probably going to get shot for this but anyway.. every female I've shown the new iMac to has loved it. For the casual user who wants a colourful piece of furniture tech, this kind of makes some sense. It's like the iWatch of the computer world.

 

[krell100]

Somehow I don't think I'm the target market for this one...

 

[johngordon]

But what they’ve just put out has not changed the design in any form. It’s still essentially the same 17 year old design.

This was a chance to correct so many flaws in that design. Instead it’s basically a carbon copy but now it’s colourful and with a different shaped stand. If they were going to keep the chin at least leave the Apple Logo on it. Just looks like a cheap knockoff iMac now.

If its the same design, why do so many people not like it as much as the current iMacs?

 

[Zaphodz]

Odd colours and no Space Grey option. Maybe they are reserving that for a bigger version later this year.

I think the foot is less elegant than the previous one. It reminds me of the feet on an old electric heater I had years ago.

It reminds me of this 2006 version of iMac in many ways.

 

[Ethosik]

You keep referring to your work computer and your separate gaming rig, the vast majority of people do not own 2-3 different computers. I am referring to the majority of regular customers who purchase ONE Mac for personal use not work.

In cases of a work laptop then you may well get by on 256GB because you are only using it for one thing alone, work. The system will be streamlined only containing work related apps and files. In addition a lot of companies use cloud storage these days to also limit the need for bigger hard drives.

Now, if you are a regular consumer which these lower powered Macs are generally targeted at and you purchase ONE machine which has 256GB, this will be your ONE and ONLY computer, no extra gaming rig, no work laptop given by your company. You only have this singular machine to cater to all your needs e.g. work, gaming, school work, music, movies. In this scenario which many customers fall into, you are telling me 256GB is enough?

Sigh......I CANNOT do ANYTHING personal on my work computer.....PERIOD. Therefore, I am REQUIRED to have more than one computer. And like I have said time and time again, my parents do not game, do not download music, do not download movies, only use facebook and get by JUST fine with 256GB of SSD. Oh they only have ONE system!

And you JUST proved that there is a valid case for 256. So why say 1TB should be MINIMUM for ALL use cases? Schools use these IN THE CLASSROOM, teachers would have these IN THE CLASSROOM. Schools and businesses typically do not let students/employees download whatever they want. So there is valid uses for 256GB of storage. If you are a gamer, download dozens of movies, or hundreds of thousands of music then you obviously need more storage. But to say 1TB should be a minimum is ridiculous.

 

[Royksöpp]

Hmmm. No user upgradeable memory. Acceptable if Apple charge market price for extra memory. Hopefully, this signals the end of charging extortionate markups for memory. Who am I kidding!

Odd colours and no Space Grey option. Maybe they are reserving that for a bigger version later this year.

I think the foot is less elegant than the previous one. It reminds me of the feet on an old electric heater I had years ago.

It reminds me of this 2006 version of iMac in many ways.
View attachment 1762056

It looks nothing like the 2006 iMac. The G5 features a sophisticated and well realized design. The entire design is cohesive and understated. Not one single element screams for attention, whereas the 2021 iMac makes your eye travel all over the place. The back is bad enough as it is, but the front is a complete disaster. I mean come on.. The stand alone is an eyesore, and the off centered positioning is unflattering. It looks even worse from the side, like one of this HP iMac knockoffs. The old design is timeless. I don't see the new design aging well. It's not particularly beautiful or quirky like the G3 iMac or sophisticated like the G3 and Aluminum versions. It's cold and strange. Hopefully this will push Apple to go back to the days of releasing a redesigned iMac every few years. I'm already looking forward to the next revision. Hopefully they won't screw the pooch with the rumored 32 inch model.

The headphone cord sticking out of the side will add that extra pizzazz.

Just take a look at this picture. It literally looks like a cheap TV.

 

[limo79]

And you are forced to buy anything from Apple exactly why?

This is not an argument. We comment Mac products here.

 

[steve123]

If you watched the video, the computer is in what you call the "chin." Everything above that is the display.

And the speakers ... no way to get a good speaker in there without the chin.

 

[Warped9]

It looks nothing like the 2006 iMac. The G5 features a sophisticated and well realized design. The entire design is cohesive and understated. Not one single element screams for attention, whereas the 2021 iMac makes your eye travel all over the place. The back is bad enough as it is, but the front is a complete disaster. I mean come on.. The stand alone is an eyesore, and the off centered positioning is unflattering. It looks even worse from the side, like one of this HP iMac knockoffs. The old design is timeless. I don't see the new design aging well. It's not particularly beautiful or quirky like the G3 iMac or sophisticated like the G3 and Aluminum versions. It's cold and strange. Hopefully this will push Apple to go back to the days of releasing a redesigned iMac every few years. I'm already looking forward to the next revision. Hopefully they won't screw the pooch with the rumored 32 inch model.

View attachment 1762059

View attachment 1762058

The headphone cord sticking out of the side will add that extra pizzazz.

View attachment 1762064View attachment 1762065

Just take a look at this picture. It literally looks like a cheap TV.

View attachment 1762060

The 2006 looks like cheap plastic. The 2009 was a huge improvement. The 2021 is an evolution of the current version even if I can quibble over details of it. Everything evolves in design and not every evolution is a winner in everyone’s eyes—I really didn’t like the Sunflower design. The more I look at the new iMac the more I’m okay with it.

I loved my G3 iMac. I replaced it with an eMac that was a great computer and better than the G3, but I didn’t like the design as much as my Indigo G3. As I said above I didn’t like the Sunflower Mac or the white Pizza Box Mac, but I liked the 2009 redesign. This new iMac isn’t quite what I expected or hoped for, but I don’t find it a massive disappointment and I don’t dislike it.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. I will add the every version of the iMac has been light years ahead of PC desktops in terms of design. For years upon years mainstream desktops were black, grey or beige nondescripts boxes hidden under desks and connected to generic nondescript CRT and later flatscreen displays. The first iMac was a breakout design showing personal computers need not be eyesores just plonked onto and under a desk. Each successive version continued that even if some of us didn’t care some of the design directions. In my eyes the 2009-2019 iMac is still a very nice design that can stand even with recent AIOs from other brands.

And ultimately the performance is what really matters.

To each his/her own.

 

[snorkelman]

You keep referring to your work computer and your separate gaming rig, the vast majority of people do not own 2-3 different computers. I am referring to the majority of regular customers who purchase ONE Mac for personal use not work.

In cases of a work laptop then you may well get by on 256GB because you are only using it for one thing alone, work. The system will be streamlined only containing work related apps and files. In addition a lot of companies use cloud storage these days to also limit the need for bigger hard drives.

Now, if you are a regular consumer which these lower powered Macs are generally targeted at and you purchase ONE machine which has 256GB, this will be your ONE and ONLY computer, no extra gaming rig, no work laptop given by your company. You only have this singular machine to cater to all your needs e.g. work, gaming, school work, music, movies. In this scenario which many customers fall into, you are telling me 256GB is enough?

Aren't you storing over 180GB of music locally on every machine? Throw in some video on top of that and chances are you'd have little more by way of available space to play with on that particular 512GB SSD, than anyone with the 256GB SSD who doesn't store media files on their local drive, but opt to stream it or throw it onto an external device.

As a result they'd have similar amounts of room for productivity apps, drivers, documents, projects, casual games and OS files on those 256GB machines as your 'two-fifths-full-before-you've-started' 512GB SSD would

Until Apple reach a point where basic business and educational buyers (and a fair pcntage of home users) are getting close to not getting their tasks done with 256GB, then the base config isn't likely to change.

The trouble is a lot of apps that regularly drove base config storage levels upwards in the past have already reached 'peak bloat' and the old stalwarts for putting pressure on storage space - music and commercial video are increasingly being streamed

Add to that the general perception of using external storage solutions for media files have gone from 'a hassle' in the bad old days of USB 2, traveled along through 'acceptable' and has now reached the point of 'pretty much a given'

Folks are often more put out these days if they find themselves having to hook up a printer because X or Y govt department etc wont accept a digital copy, than finding they have a need to add an external drive

 

[anshuvorty]

The A15 SoC has not made its debut, so it will not be the A15X that ends up in the just released iPad Pro. I think you are referring to the A14X? I think almost everyone is expecting an A14X, but the iPad Pro got the M1 instead. Well, the M1 is probably what the A14X will look like anyway, so Apple probably used the M1 instead of designing another SoC for the iPad Pro. Apple may have loftier plans for the iPad Pro for WWDC, so let's see.

As for the base iMac getting the M1, I'm kind of disappointed as well, as I was expecting a beefier M1 variant. I think I probably got too excited. I think Apple's plan is sound for the base iMac. They are less than 6 months into the transition, so there's still a ways to go based on their 2 years transition plan.

Apple is reported to have secured their volumes of TSMC's manufacturing outputs, so it's unlikely that TSMC can't produce enough for Apple, unless Apple changed their plans. Tim Cook is known to be a supply chain guru, so I think it's unlikely for this to happen.

Yeah, I think I meant the A14X. My mistake!

 

[ericwn]

This is not an argument. We comment Mac products here.

Its a forum. So again, you were forced exactly when?

 

[Harry Arkady]

I was really looking forward to the reintroduction of the 24-inch model. And the "leaked" guesses at the colors intrigued me. I admit: I like Space Gray. The Apple reveal disappointed me. I like the vibrant, bold colors Apple placed on the backs of the iMacs, but the pastels and the white bezel on the front leave me cold. I can't look at that all day. Looks like a Barbie Dream House iMac. I guess I'll just plug along until something different shows up.

 

[Apple4U]

they really made sure that these would not be taken seriously by adult users and businesses. it's and opinion, but old imacs looked much more professional.

Love to criticise your comment but I think its spot on. This is before we even get a proper breakdown of the 24in. iMac or a proper bench test to see what its performance is.

In my opinion Apple let this iMac in knowing its unfinished business, and as an entry level its priced OK, but with no real performance tests shown, not one I will be using.

If you are going to put ethernet on a brick (which in my opinion is a bad mistake) let alone if the power supply shielding isn't up to scratch. The last thing you really want to do is have a power cable within an ethernet or vice versa with the exception being POE.

I will wait for the real new iMac to come out with M2 chip, as I see the iMac 24in. announced as a stop gap entry level machine that will appeal to new Mac users although it seems OK value.

If you are going to divest the ethernet from the iMac, divest it with the ports into the base or the back of the stand. Its out of sight and perhaps we'd get rid of that chin too.

What it does tell us in my opinion, is that there is no space grey for a reason. That reason being the next set of iMacs with M2 chip aimed at the business user.

I hope they do a 24in. M2 though rather than a much larger M2 only version, as in my business we don't need larger than a 24in. monitor, but we do need the horsepower.

 

[Apple4U]

Ethernet is in the power cable.

Never surprise if there's a recall on the new iMacs. Should never put ethernet in a power cable with exception of POE. No matter how good the shielding it will affect performance.

 

[alexandr]

Love to criticise your comment but I think its spot on. This is before we even get a proper breakdown of the 24in. iMac or a proper bench test to see what its performance is.

In my opinion Apple let this iMac in knowing its unfinished business, and as an entry level its priced OK, but with no real performance tests shown, not one I will be using.

If you are going to put ethernet on a brick (which in my opinion is a bad mistake) let alone if the power supply shielding isn't up to scratch. The last thing you really want to do is have a power cable within an ethernet or vice versa with the exception being POE.

I will wait for the real new iMac to come out with M2 chip, as I see the iMac 24in. announced as a stop gap entry level machine that will appeal to new Mac users although it seems OK value.

If you are going to divest the ethernet from the iMac, divest it with the ports into the base or the back of the stand. Its out of sight and perhaps we'd get rid of that chin too.

What it does tell us in my opinion, is that there is no space grey for a reason. That reason being the next set of iMacs with M2 chip aimed at the business user.

I hope they do a 24in. M2 though rather than a much larger M2 only version, as in my business we don't need larger than a 24in. monitor, but we do need the horsepower.

i can't stand this brick ethernet choice — it's going to make it harder to keep your space seem cable free. and yes — i hope there will be a larger, more powerful imac later in the year(hopefully)...

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Sigh......I CANNOT do ANYTHING personal on my work computer.....PERIOD. Therefore, I am REQUIRED to have more than one computer. And like I have said time and time again, my parents do not game, do not download music, do not download movies, only use facebook and get by JUST fine with 256GB of SSD. Oh they only have ONE system!

And you JUST proved that there is a valid case for 256. So why say 1TB should be MINIMUM for ALL use cases? Schools use these IN THE CLASSROOM, teachers would have these IN THE CLASSROOM. Schools and businesses typically do not let students/employees download whatever they want. So there is valid uses for 256GB of storage. If you are a gamer, download dozens of movies, or hundreds of thousands of music then you obviously need more storage. But to say 1TB should be a minimum is ridiculous.

Your parents are probably elderly and therefore make up a small percentile of Apple customers in that age group. Not the main target customer with their products. They won’t be using the computer for a lot of uses other than browsing.

1TB should be the minimum, it’s just Apple being cheap. They are not longer that expensive to include in systems. It should not raise the price.

You have just admitted not all customers would get by on 256GB those who download alot, game etc need larger drives.

Putting in a larger 1TB as standard caters for the vast majority of use cases. You can use only 256GB of that if you wish, which you seem to love. Those who do more with their computers will benefit as well.

 

[NT1440]

Your parents are probably elderly and therefore make up a small percentile of Apple customers in that age group. Not the main target customer with their products. They won’t be using the computer for a lot of uses other than browsing.

1TB should be the minimum, it’s just Apple being cheap. They are not longer that expensive to include in systems. It should not raise the price.

You have just admitted not all customers would get by on 256GB those who download alot, game etc need larger drives.

Putting in a larger 1TB as standard caters for the vast majority of use cases. You can use only 256GB of that if you wish, which you seem to love. Those who do more with their computers will benefit as well.

Have you ever configured a BTO machine before? 1TB SSD’s can be bought elsewhere for cheap, but they are rarely (if ever) cheap from the OEM.

I just configured a standard Lenovo T15...it’s base is 128GB. Check the pics for the upgrade pricing 😂

 

[ericwn]

Never surprise if there's a recall on the new iMacs. Should never put ethernet in a power cable with exception of POE. No matter how good the shielding it will affect performance.

As someone mentioned earlier, there might not be sufficient thickness in the chassis to put the port elsewhere so for those who need it it’s at least available (extra order on some configurations) and I guess you could still experiment with a usb-c dongle if you need that but if extra performance.