Apple Launches New Cheaper 21.5-Inch iMac Starting at $1,099

[groovyf]

You're pretty confident in making such an ad hominem statement for someone who couldn't pick me out of a lineup . . .

I would give you LONG odds that I know the target market better than you do, and unlike you I don't underestimate that market. The market you're talking about is buying a cheap HP package at Walmart or Target.

This machine is a travesty for the price, offering less performance than a base Mac Mini from 2012 for double the money. It's barely more capable than a Macbook Pro from . . . wait for it . . . Mid-2010.

If this had been priced at $799 I'd agree it would sell well. But being on the wrong side of $1000, many people will stop to realize that the next one up offers twice the storage, is something like 3 times as fast, and is thus likely to be usable for a far longer period of time.

And $799 is what I'd expect it to be offered to educational institutions and the like in bulk.

I'd hazard a guess Johnny-Purchaser wanting to dip his/her toes in the Apple market for the first time won't have a clue (or even care) that it underperforms a computer from a couple of year ago - as your comment on 2012 Mac Mini and the MBP 2010 states. I also think "most" purchasers, ie, those who aren't relatively technical minded aren't thinking about longevity vs cost.
It's a shiny, new (and cheaper) Mac - hits all the spots they need it for. Bingo. Sale!

 

[iMouse]

How horrifying. We have some full circle and we have mobile processors in the iMac, again.

http://ark.intel.com/products/75030

I'm no fan of ULV chips, but at least this chip supports hyperthreading. I'd be curious to see how often this box sits in turbo-boost and under what conditions can it continue to operate at 2.7GHz.

This is a disaster for education who could buy a 3.3GHz Core i3 (dual-core) iMac for $50 more.

 

[thepowerofnone]

The fact that none of the iMacs come standard with a SSD at this point is shocking. I would never buy or use a computer without one now.

Right, because so many other desktops come standard with SSDs these days...

Now, don't get me wrong, when Apple brought out Fusion Drive I expected it to be standard, and I believe it ought to be standard on all iMacs, but SSD in desktops is relatively new. OK so the nMP has one, but its a high end machine and without the room to expand SSD is essential for the boot partition, but if you look at other manufacturers in the desktop market, SSD is by no means a standard option.

I run an rMBP and the primary reason it was so appealing to me was the awesomely good value SSD - yeah, I love the screen, but 512GB of SSD a year and a half ago (early 2013 model) as standard is just aces. SSD has significantly more benefits in a laptop than a desktop, so it doesn't surprise me that it still runs an HDD. Also, no doubt when the riMac comes out it will be SSD as standard and this helps to differentiate the two, as it did between the MBP and rMBP.

Is this overpriced? Yes. But its worth mentioning that the screen is still a great screen and this is more assessable than it once was, so wheres the harm? I think this is signalling the death of the Mac Mini: Apple don't update it in forever and now encroach on its market with a cheaper iMac - a low cost (for Apple) device with everything in the box so it just works when you pull it out, great for those people who use a Mac just for email and browsing and get confused by why the Mac Mini doesn't come with a screen, keyboard or mouse. Mac Mini + Cinema Display + Mighty Mouse + Keyboard comes out at a lot more than £1099 and Apple is trying to encourage users to buy everything from them, rather than get the Mini and then buy a cheap Dell monitor (I have nothing against Dell monitors, some of them are excellent, but Apple does).

 

[brentsg]

Anti climax. Why take down the store for five hours plus and just add the slowest mac in their lineup? A desktop computer with a processor designed for ultra portable laptop. I do not understand this at all, it must be cheaper and faster choises.

Perhaps they needed to do some routine maintenance and product refreshes are a good time to do these things.

 

[designs216]

OK, that's two iMac releases and still no TBD update. I wonder if Apple is delaying for retina? Any predictions?

 

[Thunderhawks]

Anti climax. Why take down the store for five hours plus and just add the slowest mac in their lineup? A desktop computer with a processor designed for ultra portable laptop. I do not understand this at all, it must be cheaper and faster choises.

Plus 8GB is anemic (and pathetic by Apple) these days.

Better options as listed by other posters.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

Was that the update or is there anything else to come? No update on the 27"? I thought there was going to be a CPU speed increase of 100 Mhz. And Thunderbolt 2. And 100€ price drop None of that came…

So does that mean that Apple doesn't install new CPU's as soon as they come out? Would that mean that if Broadwell came out end of the year, we might see a new iMac just in early 2015 perhaps?

I really wanted that 100 Mhz increase, well who knows, maybe in the coming weeks?!

 

[Parasprite]

Why would anyone choose a PC at this point? Apple has insanely affordable laptops, desktops and all-in-ones now to fit every budget.

Bill Gates will be seething with rage. This is the end of Microsoft Windows.

Probably because you can get a decent gaming or general-purpose Office-style PC for the same price or cheaper than even a Mac Mini, and something significantly more powerful at the price of an entry-level iMac.

I love Macs (I don't need the power anyways) but Windows PCs aren't going away any time soon.

 

[Pegamush]

However, for many people the quad core i5 doesn't actually create any benefits. We reached the point where for many users and uses a low end processor is just good enough. Sure, if you need quad core or benefit from it, you should spend the money on it. But if you don't, why would you?

to have a machine that will be able to run software smoothly also 5-6 years from now.
unless you plan on buying a new computer on a shorter timeframe, but on a money saving perspective that wouldn't make sense anyway...

 

[WestonHarvey1]

If touch screens had come first, people would view the mouse as an incredible labor-saving device.

It pretty much already did happen the way you said. Touchscreens and light pens predate the mouse (at least in mass distribution, if not invention). They were very unergonomic on vertically upright displays. The mouse was a superior replacement.

 

[SirHaakon]

I'd hazard a guess Johnny-Purchaser wanting to dip his/her toes in the Apple market for the first time won't have a clue (or even care) that it underperforms a computer from a couple of year ago - as your comment on 2012 Mac Mini and the MBP 2010 states. I also think "most" purchasers, ie, those who aren't relatively technical minded aren't thinking about longevity vs cost.
It's a shiny, new (and cheaper) Mac - hits all the spots they need it for. Bingo. Sale!

Yes, this exactly.

 

[jacobj]

If Mac OS X and Apple's ecosystem has no value to you then a Mac might not be worth it to you. They know you can buy a generic Windows box for much less.

That is nothing like what I said. I have been a mac user for 15+ years and will continue to be. I love their products and the holistic nature of their vision.

My moan was that Apple do not understand the lower end market. The 5c was a failure and I would be surprised if this iMac proves to be otherwise.

But I do thank you for your comment as it really added something to the debate that we can all get our teeth into and discuss.

 

[Parasprite]

Until it ********** jams for no reason a year after you buy it effectively shutting down your entire crow-shooting operation until you can either figure out why it jammed, or get a s***** new crow-shooting gun.

I don't go out a whole lot, but it seems like about ten percent of the time I'm trying to pay and whoever is behind the monitor says "I don't know what my computer is doing it's just being so slow today" and we sit there for five minutes while they click around trying to get their machine to do what they want it to do. I usually glance down at the Dell logo and just shake my head slowly. Most people still don't even know there is an alternative. Not only that, there is still a LOT of scary hocus-pocus out there about Apple & Macs too - even from people who use & like their iPhones! I see it every day! It's not even the expense a lot of times, it's simply complete or willful ignorance. I have seen quite a few businesses switching over to Mac, and every time I ask them about it I get "Oh yeah, I love it".

Funny, I was just looking at the Dell logo on the monitor attached to my Mac Mini.

But more seriously, it's amazing how fast family PCs pick up malware still. Granted it doesn't get as far or is as damaging as it used to be, but it sure as hell slows it down.

 

[brentsg]

I'm no fan of ULV chips, but at least this chip supports hyperthreading. I'd be curious to see how often this box sits in turbo-boost and under what conditions can it continue to operate at 2.7GHz.

This is a disaster for education who could buy a 3.3GHz Core i3 (dual-core) iMac for $50 more.

Why is it a disaster? First off, the performance difference between the 2 on CPU tasks isn't what most are thinking it would be.

Second, there are many, many applications where ANY CPU difference wouldn't have any impact whatsoever. My kids are using a desktop with a 3570k Ivy Bridge for fun and educational purposes and it's a complete waste.

 

[tomtendo]

Using the same processor as the MBA 11" base model. Seems rather small for a desktop - sorry

 

[xgman]

To me it doesn't seem all that "low-cost" at $1099.

$999 would have been the price point to go for, but I guess it'll be available for that after retailer/educational discounts.

For those specs, $499 would be more like it. This is really absurd. Who would buy this outside of China and third world countries?

 

[brentsg]

Plus 8GB is anemic (and pathetic by Apple) these days.

Better options as listed by other posters.

So if you're running the show, the low spec entry level Mac gets 16GB RAM?

 

[gmanist1000]

This is the low-cost iMac...? And that processor.... barf!

 

[azentropy]

As many pointed out- the base refurb September 2013 model is a better deal at the same price since all Apple Store refurbs come with a 1 year warranty.

The only downside is that it is a refurb and if you you like to put it on your AMEX card (or other warranty type extension card) refurbs are excluded.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Versatility. The option to take it with you might be worth it for some people. This system isn't suited for me at all but if I were in for something with lower specs I would rather have options (and a much faster SSD based system) than an all in one, aesthetically based decision.

On top of that a single MBA without extra monitor or any other accessories is 300 cheaper. Much cleaner lines than having a mouse and keyboard broken apart and it's faster for simple processes. If this iMac was closer to 799 or 899 I could see it being worthy of a buy.

That's nice if we are talking about preferences, but overall anyone that is considering a computer like the MBA or iMac really only has two choices to make:

1) do I want to take it with me

2) do I NOT want to take it with me.

After that, the rest of it will be preference sure.

Even with it being $300 less, the iMac gives a larger screen and more HDD space, more USB 3.0 ports, more Thunderbolt ports, and wireless keyboard and mouse included.

Buying an Air, even with an SSD, just to leave it on the desk for most of it's life really does pale in comparison.

We really just shouldn't be comparing an AIO desktop to a MBA in terms of value.

 

[DotCom2]

One would be better off getting a old Mac Mini and being able to get a monitor of choice! GAH!

 

[Fuchal]

They put a MacBook Air (15W) CPU inside a desktop computer meant for 65W CPUs? Without making it thinner?

Hmmm, pretty weird. Would have been cheaper for them to go with a less efficient, more powerful chip.

They probably have a surplus of Air CPUs, and this is cheap/efficient way to dispose of them. On that note, I'd love a 1.4 ghz, intel 4000 mini for $299...

 

[hleewell]

Why can't we have that kind of compartment :

...but for housing & replacing HDD?

 

[Poisonivy326]

Can't innovate my ass. Apple has found fresh, new and innovative ways to make it seem like there are "price drops" on their computers without actually making it a price drop.

 

[solideliquid]

Hmmm, was hoping for price drop on the 27" iMac or make it come standard with a new GPU/Fusion drive combo. Dissapoint. Now what?