Apple Discontinues Intel-Based 21.5-Inch iMac

[FloatingBones]

That should be "while supplies last", right?

Spelling/usage errors in MacRumors articles should be referred directly to staff.

 

[deconstruct60]

I think Apple must be thinking they need an i3 or i5 dual core replacement chip. Maybe M2 range would have an M2 Mini option with 6 Core (2 fast / 4 slow).

Probably not. This non Retina iMac wasn't really attached to the rest of the iMac line up. It used a 2017 era MBA processor. Apple's primary point here was to attached this "edu" iMac to the highest selling CPU they bought to so reduce the margins by levering economies of scale.

Apple doesn't need an "i3".... they are merely looking for cheapest. Over the next couple of years, a M1 would be an "already paid for" chip. Unlikely they would be out to create something "new" ; just more affordable, For the general "edu" market, primarily they are using the lowest end iPad to compete. That's an A13 at the moment. The "give every student a laptop to take home" movement means the iMac is even less competitive now ( even if they stuck a M1 in a revised one next year ).

Apple would need a more affordable screen to go along with an M1 (A14-class ) for a "stationary" solution. I would not be surprised if they just "walked away" from "edu" iMacs completely. They could just keep an old M1 Mini around for folks who wanted to attach a super affordable 1080p screen ( with a Mini enclosing VESA bracket ).

Otherwise, Apple can just wait 2-3 years and keep the then "old as dirt" M1 , 24" iMac 24" around. Just wait until the screen and SoC get cheaper and incrementally lower the price on a smaller color pallet range.

I mean they have left the low end market open for takeover right now. Maybe M1 would be the M2 Lite.

It is about older and/or higher volumes ; not "Lite". Apple isn't even in the overall mid range of the all-in-one (AIO) market. In Windows AIO market there are $600-700 models from most of the major players. $400-500 if want to get to the low end of the market. Apple's $1K model .

A ChromeOS or Windows 11 SE AIO are options that Apple doesn't really cover before or after they dropped the old "edu" 21.5 iMac.

( W11 SE https://www.tomshardware.com/news/what-we-know-about-windows-11-se )

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

When I see a 27" i9 iMac at sale for full price still when its about to be obsolete, well that sticks in my throat and makes my trust in Apple wane even more these days. iOS 15 is pretty much bloat, I cant see the point in a M1 iPad when the OS gimps it, and I cant even add more ram in the new machines. So no more Apple computers for me. Id be better off with a home built windows machine tbh. That's something I never thought Id ever say.

I mean, this is nothing new for Apple.
They were selling full priced power PC machines throughout the entire Intel transition, until they were all replaced.
You haven’t been able to upgrade the RAM in a MacBook since 2012, and it hasn’t been officially supported for even longer.
None of this is new.

 

[Yebubbleman]

It needed to be discontinued years ago. The fact that the 16-inch Intel MacBook Pro with a 9th Gen H-series processor and a T2 chip was culled, while a non-retina 21.5" iMac sporting a 7th Gen U-series processor was still on offer, made zero sense from pretty much every standpoint.

 

[loby]

iPads now fill the spot in the educational field.

Give an educational bulk discount deal and a year or two more and the entry level 24” color rainbow iMacs fills the spot and the price point of the now discontinued 21” Intel iMacs for the educational field and market.

Good ahead thinking by Apple… Heck, the colors the kids will like.. 🙂 (cough). Ummm…yeah…

A No brain-er.

 

[Flight Plan]

Spelling/usage errors in MacRumors articles should be referred directly to staff.

Yeah, I don't do that. It's like telling me I have to wait in your customer service line just to report that there's an overflowing toilet in the mens' room, or that a truck hit the other side of your building.

Yes, for me, spelling errors are on the same level as raw sewage and gruesome traffic accidents. Aren't they for everybody? 😁

 

[FloatingBones]

Yeah, I don't [report spelling errors in article to the MR staff]. It's like telling me I have to wait in your customer service line just to report that there's an overflowing toilet in the mens' room, or that a truck hit the other side of your building.

The metaphor makes no sense. You don't wait in line, and the MR staff is prompt in fixing errors.

Complaining in forum comments does absolutely nothing to fix the error. Staff do not regularly read comments.

Yes, for me, spelling errors are on the same level as raw sewage and gruesome traffic accidents. Aren't they for everybody?

This metaphor is also a spectacular failure.

The forum rules are clear. If you want errors fixed, report them to MR staff. Simple.