Deals: B&H Photo Takes $200 Off Pre-Orders for New Entry-Level 21.5-Inch 4K iMac

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week we highlighted a few deals for pre-orders on Apple's new iPad mini and iPad Air, and now B&H Photo has introduced a notable pre-order discount for the new entry-level 21.5-inch 4K iMac, which Apple refreshed on Tuesday.

B&H Photo is only providing a pre-order discount on one model of the iMac, but you can find pre-order links to more models below. It's unclear how long B&H Photo will be keeping the offer up for, but the new iMacs are expected to exit their pre-order phase and begin shipping next week.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

21.5-inch 4K iMac Pre-Order Discount

[*]3.6 GHz Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD - $1,099.00, down from $1,299.00 ($200 off)
2019 iMac Pre-Orders

27-inch 5K
[*]3.0 GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive - $1,799.00
[*]3.0 GHz, 8GB RAM, 2TB Fusion Drive - $1,999.00
[*]3.7 GHz, 8GB RAM, 2TB Fusion Drive - $2,299.00
21.5-inch 4K
[*]3.6 GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive - $1,399.00
[*]3.0 GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive - $1,499.00
[*]3.6 GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD - $1,699.00 Head to B&H Photo for the full list of 2019 iMacs that you can pre-order today, and our Deals Roundup has more sales for you to check out.

Article Link: Deals: B&H Photo Takes $200 Off Pre-Orders for New Entry-Level 21.5-Inch 4K iMac

 

[coachgq]

So basically Apple is charging at least $200 more in store than they are charging distributors? I get how it works, but $200 seems crazy. 15% is a big difference.

 

[69Mustang]

Wonder if Microcenter is next.

 

[macduke]

Don’t do it. Don’t order the slow HDD. You will regret it forever.

 

[69Mustang]

Don’t do it. Don’t order the slow HDD. You will regret it forever.

5400 rpm platters. They're damn near criminal in an economy $400 Winbox. In a $1300 computer? That's when an OEM basically says screw you customer, I care about profit and profit margins.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

5400 rpm platters. They're damn near criminal in an economy $400 Winbox. In a $1300 computer? That's when an OEM basically says screw you customer, I care about profit and profit margins.

I think I'd rather have a tiny 128GB SSD in there for the same price than a slow 5400RPM HDD. At least I have speed, and can go cloud for data and/or add external storage for data and still take advantage of the low price point.

Question...on these HDD models, can you take out the HDD and put in a 2.5" SATA SSD? I just did it for a friend in an older iMac 21.5, but not sure on these new models...

 

[69Mustang]

I think I'd rather have a tiny 128GB SSD in there for the same price than a slow 5400RPM HDD. At least I have speed, and can go cloud for data and/or add external storage for data and still take advantage of the low price point.

Question...on these HDD models, can you take out the HDD and put in a 2.5" SATA SSD? I just did it for a friend in an older iMac 21.5, but not sure on these new models...

iFixit has a tutorial on completing the swap on a 2017 model. Not sure how applicable it would be on the latest one. Probably likely, but can't be definitive.

 

[az431]

5400 rpm platters. They're damn near criminal in an economy $400 Winbox. In a $1300 computer? That's when an OEM basically says screw you customer, I care about profit and profit margins.

Most people don’t need an SSD or even a 7200 RPM drive, nor would they notice any real world difference.
[doublepost=1553187207][/doublepost]

iFixit has a tutorial on completing the swap on a 2017 model. Not sure how applicable it would be on the latest one. Probably likely, but can't be definitive.

Probably and likely mean two different things, but I agree that neither means definitive.
[doublepost=1553187338][/doublepost]

So basically Apple is charging at least $200 more in store than they are charging distributors? I get how it works, but $200 seems crazy. 15% is a big difference.

Yes so crazy to spend millions on a store location then charge retail customers more than you charge wholesale customers. Should be illegal.

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

So basically Apple is charging at least $200 more in store than they are charging distributors? I get how it works, but $200 seems crazy. 15% is a big difference.

Distributors get it not 15 percent cheaper but 40 percent, seems You don’t understand.

 

[peglegjack]

Or for the $200 you're saving here, you could buy a 1TB SATA SSD from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T5-P...d=1553187316&s=gateway&sr=8-1&tag=googhydr-20

And run macOS from that. And then use the spinning drive for photos/movies/backup. It's an iMac, it's not going anywhere anyway.

 

[lakerchick4life]

Would be great if this were for the 27 inch..that is the one that I want..Best Buy sent me a 10 percent off in store coupon that I can use on iMacs but its in store only would prefer doing this online so an additional 200 bucks off the 27 inch model would be perfect

 

[Romeo_Nightfall]

I think I'd rather have a tiny 128GB SSD in there for the same price than a slow 5400RPM HDD. At least I have speed, and can go cloud for data and/or add external storage for data and still take advantage of the low price point.

Question...on these HDD models, can you take out the HDD and put in a 2.5" SATA SSD? I just did it for a friend in an older iMac 21.5, but not sure on these new models...

Nope, completely glued

 

[potatis]

The HDD model noone wants...they should offer to install a SSD instead for the $200.

 

[trifid]

My goodness those bezels in 2019, so hideous, I honestly think this would never have happened under Jobs.

Random All-in-one PC looks better than a Mac, how is this possible?

 

[ScooterComputer]

Nope, completely glued

They can be opened and the SATA drives replaced, by a Apple Authorized Service Provider. However, not sure how replacing the drive with non-service-part impacts warranty or AppleCare. And it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 just for the labor and "parts" (the "gasket" kit, aka sticky tape that holds the screen on) not including the price of the SSD. Better off buying new with the SSD.

What especially sucks is that the SSD options are ALL BTO; so customers of places like Best Buy, Amazon, etc, who only get Apple's "good|better|best" tiers SKUs for the floor, are really gonna get fleeced.

 

[house13um]

The 5400rpm HDD makes even basic web browsing abysmally slow. You’d think a browser, cache, etc. once loaded onto RAM would be quick, but macOS is just an absolute dog on a traditional HDD, and Google Chrome as a notable example feels like it’s operating on a 2008 iMac. A 128gb SSD needs to be the default at this point on the base 4K models. If they continue to use these rolling into the next decade... hoo boy.

 

[B4U]

If you configure it in anyway other than the basic configuration, it is cheaper to buy with the education discount.

 

[coachgq]

Most people don’t need an SSD or even a 7200 RPM drive, nor would they notice any real world difference.
[doublepost=1553187207][/doublepost]

Probably and likely mean two different things, but I agree that neither means definitive.
[doublepost=1553187338][/doublepost]

Yes so crazy to spend millions on a store location then charge retail customers more than you charge wholesale customers. Should be illegal.

Agreed...oh wait, was that sarcasm? Why would anyone buy from the apple store instead of the one of these retailers? Hard to recoup those millions if you are being undercut all the time.
[doublepost=1553196082][/doublepost]

Distributors get it not 15 percent cheaper but 40 percent, seems You don’t understand.

"at least". Sometimes being a keyboard warrior is hard. Being nice usually pays off better in the long run.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

2019 and we still get entry-level iMacs with 5400 rpm hard drives?!?

Tim Cook & Co. should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[QCassidy352]

Most people don’t need an SSD or even a 7200 RPM drive, nor would they notice any real world difference.

Sarcasm, I hope?

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Most people don’t need an SSD or even a 7200 RPM drive, nor would they notice any real world difference.

Yet another person who seems to be all-knowing of what most people need. It's amazing.

What's even more amazing are people (like you) who think that "most people" wouldn't know the difference in performance between a 5400RPM drive and an SSD? I can guarantee that unless you're blind, 100% of people can tell the difference between using a 5400 and an SSD.
[doublepost=1553202413][/doublepost]

They can be opened and the SATA drives replaced, by a Apple Authorized Service Provider. However, not sure how replacing the drive with non-service-part impacts warranty or AppleCare. And it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 just for the labor and "parts" (the "gasket" kit, aka sticky tape that holds the screen on) not including the price of the SSD. Better off buying new with the SSD.

What especially sucks is that the SSD options are ALL BTO; so customers of places like Best Buy, Amazon, etc, who only get Apple's "good|better|best" tiers SKUs for the floor, are really gonna get fleeced.

Replacing the drive myself would not invalidate the warranty, by law. Having recently done an earlier model 21.5" iMac, the adhesive tape kit costs me $10 on Amazon, plus the cost of whatever SSD I would put in there.

Earlier iMac's that shipped with a Fusion drive have a PCI-e slot for a SSD also, so one could possibly utilize that slot for an NVMe style SSD and much faster performance. There are adapters that adapt the Apple slot to a regular m.2 slot and those cost less than $20.

The point being that I am capable of doing the upgrades myself, assuming the HDD isn't glued in place, and I don't like knowing that I have to live with whatever size SSD I buy now for the rest of the iMac's life.

 

[simonmet]

Can’t believe they’re still using this ancient (by computer standards) iMac design.

 

[evacristina]

Can’t believe they’re still using this ancient (by computer standards) iMac design.

That's why they invented "dark mode" so those abominable bezels would simply "dissappear" at no extra cost to Phil Schiller.
[doublepost=1553264419][/doublepost]

2019 and we still get entry-level iMacs with 5400 rpm hard drives?!?

Tim Cook & Co. should be ashamed of themselves.

Phil Schiller is laughing all the way to the bank, no doubt. When those 5400 RPM drives begin to lose reading and writing accuracy, they act more like 2 RPM. Talk about built-in obsolescence.