Has the M1 iMac been a failure?

[JazzyGB1]

in May it will be a year (edited from 2 years in my original post) since Apple launched the coloured M1 iMacs, but I've yet to see one 'in the wild' accept for in Apple retailers.
IMacs are ubiquitous generally and are spotted everywhere from gyms, estate agents, hotels, solicitors, and accountants to music studios and graphic design studios/printers.
However I've yet to spot an M1 iMac in use like I've seen many, many times with the previous models.
I'd have expected with there now being more colours, that they'd be used more in more installations as they could be themed to match up with the designs of the room, but this (in my admittedly very small geographic sample area) doesn't appear to have been the case.
Has the new iMac been a failure in terms of unit sales compared to its predecessors?

 

[chabig]

in May it will be two years since Apple launched the coloured M1 iMacs

Fact–it was launched in 2021, just one year ago. As for sales numbers, nobody knows but Apple. I think it would be a mistake to generalize based on your personal observations. The Aluminum Intel Macs are still good machines, and businesses where you think you'd see iMacs don't necessarily update based on style, especially in this pandemic financial climate. If their old machines are still working fine, they'll keep them.

 

[JazzyGB1]

Fact–it was launched in 2021, just one year ago. As for sales numbers, nobody knows but Apple. I think it would be a mistake to generalize based on your personal observations. The Aluminum Intel Macs are still good machines, and businesses where you think you'd see iMacs don't necessarily update based on style, especially in this pandemic financial climate.. If their old machines are still working fine, they'll keep them.

You're right, it was Mac mini's that came out in 2020 - I'll amend my first post accordingly.
So yes, probably unfair then to expect to see new iMacs everywhere in just 10 months.
It'll be interesting to see if their number start to increase over the next 12 months or so.

 

[chabig]

I have a dentist friend whose entire office runs on iMacs. It's expensive to replace them all. So they only do it when the machines are too old to run the latest software. The aluminum iMacs aren't at that point yet. But I agree with you, it will be interesting to see businesses switch over the next few years.

Part of it could also be that the jump from Intel to M1 represents a risk. No smart business will upgrade until they are certain that the software they depend on will work flawlessly.

 

[azentropy]

Sales have been pretty good, but remember the old design was classic and lasted 10+ years. It is going to take a while to replace all of those and in many of those environments they aren't in any hurry. I personally think Apple did however make a mistake in not having a classic sliver/black model. Many businesses rule out the pastel colors immediately and even the Silver with whiteish bezel can be off-putting. I'll be surprised if they don't introduce a sliver/black model (hopefully with a black keyed keyboard and mouse) in a future revision.

 

[MajorFubar]

What you've got to remember is iMacs looked basically the same for ten years, so with regards to seeing new ones in the wild, you're comparing the quantity of machines which have been on sale for ten months against the quantity of machines which have been on sale for ten years.

On a side note, based on the fact you said you said "IMacs are ubiquitous generally and are spotted everywhere" I figured you was in the US, but you declare your location as UK, like me. Which surprises me. I have never seen Macs literally anywhere except in creators' workspaces (artists, photographers, videographers, musicians, some app developers). Literally no one I know except myself, ex-wife and two sons owns a Mac.

 

[marcushe]

Too soon. Assuming they are selling at about the same rate as the Intel iMacs. No 27" model yet either (should really be a 32" by this point). I have adjusted to a 32" and 24" or 27" seem / outdated small now.

 

[JazzyGB1]

What you've got to remember is iMacs looked basically the same for ten years, so with regards to seeing new ones in the wild, you're comparing the quantity of machines which have been on sale for ten months against the quantity of machines which have been on sale for ten years.

On a side note, based on the fact you said you said "IMacs are ubiquitous generally and are spotted everywhere" I figured you was in the US, but you declare your location as UK, like me. Which surprises me. I have never seen Macs literally anywhere except in creators' workspaces (artists, photographers, videographers, musicians, some app developers). Literally no one I know except myself, ex-wife and two sons owns a Mac.

Yes I'm in the UK.
I've seen iMacs quite often. Maybe it's just because as a Mac user I tend to notice Macs more than I would a PC, but I have seen them in an estate agents, a beauty salon, restaurant, hotel, gym, printers and a few other places too, but as you say I suppose the previous models have had time to proliferate.
Still, when the coloured CRT iMacs were released back in the day, you very quickly noticed them everywhere - the same definitely cannot be said for their contemporaries - at least not yet.

 

[mpetrides]

If we're measuring on the basis of anecdotal observations (alway a bad thing to do), all of my friends who have bought a computer in the last year have purchased the new iMac. That said, the n is very low and all my friends are Mac geeks like me. My point--made in the first sentence--is that anecdotal observations have very little utility in the world of statistical analysis.

 

[Allyance]

I see one every day, in fact I am typing on it now! It replaced my used 2012 iMac which was beyond upgrading. Love it.

 

[imanidiot]

As someone who purchased one (it replaced a 2015 27" iMac) the answer is most emphatically no. I love mine.

 

[ignatius345]

As someone who purchased one (it replaced a 2015 27" iMac) the answer is most emphatically no. I love mine.

I had a 2014 27" iMac and bought the M1 iMac as well. The difference is just night and day, this new one is so smooth and fast. The only thing I miss is the extra screen space.

 

[ian87w]

in May it will be a year (edited from 2 years in my original post) since Apple launched the coloured M1 iMacs, but I've yet to see one 'in the wild' accept for in Apple retailers.
IMacs are ubiquitous generally and are spotted everywhere from gyms, estate agents, hotels, solicitors, and accountants to music studios and graphic design studios/printers.
However I've yet to spot an M1 iMac in use like I've seen many, many times with the previous models.
I'd have expected with there now being more colours, that they'd be used more in more installations as they could be themed to match up with the designs of the room, but this (in my admittedly very small geographic sample area) doesn't appear to have been the case.
Has the new iMac been a failure in terms of unit sales compared to its predecessors?

Probably many reasons.

My guesses is that most businesses simply don't need anything better, and the M1 iMac was just released. The intel aluminum looks is already premium, and the color scheme is neutral enough to match most interiors. So any aluminum iMac they already had probably does the job just fine.

I'm sure in the next few years, we will see more of the new Apple Silicon iMacs as the upgrade cycle slowly rolling in.

 

[satchmo]

I haven’t seen very many M1 iMacs either. Then again with Covid, many are working from home so maybe that’s where they’re all hiding!

But I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ll see more iMacs in the wild once the larger 27” model arrives. I sense there’s pent up demand for that model.

PS. If the new larger iMac comes in Space Grey, that would also attract more users.

 

[GoetzPhil]

For me after 5 monzth I would say yes!

Logicboard had to be renewed after only 4 month.
THe USB ports on the back are unstable. I mean I use the VESA edition and everytime I move my iMac I have tobe gentle as even slight movements can get the cables disconnected and thus the external SSD and Timemachine drives get thrown out. DESIGN is crap if its not working!

 

[ZipZilla]

The M1 iMac is a failed product. All they had to do was ask their users. Nobody wants the chin, the colors, form over function, etc. Disaster. Steve Jobs is spinning

 

[Martyimac]

Got mine back in Aug. Has been a pleasure to use. No problems or issues. Runs all the programs I need and even if they need Rosetta, they work just fine. I went from a 27" to this 24" and truthfully, don't even miss the extra screen size. So for me, the new M1 iMac is a resounding success.

 

[AxiomaticRubric]

Sales have been pretty good, but remember the old design was classic and lasted 10+ years. It is going to take a while to replace all of those and in many of those environments they aren't in any hurry. I personally think Apple did however make a mistake in not having a classic sliver/black model. Many businesses rule out the pastel colors immediately and even the Silver with whiteish bezel can be off-putting. I'll be surprised if they don't introduce a sliver/black model (hopefully with a black keyed keyboard and mouse) in a future revision.

Space Gray & black M1 iMac: Dream machine described. ?

 

[theluggage]

Space Gray & black M1 iMac: Dream machine described.

Probably reserved for whatever replaces the 5k iMac (unless that goes down the Mac Pro steampunk route).

 

[Bazza1]

...Nobody wants the chin, the colors, form over function, etc. Disaster. Steve Jobs is spinning

Actually, all those features speak directly to what Jobs offered (via his chum Ive) upon his return to Apple and until his death - and beyond, thanks to Ive. And what the Macoyltes clamoured for.
Let's not forget the fruit-coloured toilet seat iBooks, for example. Or, with the current iMac, the Magic Mouse that can't be charged as you use it - instead requiring you leave it like an upended turtle overnight for charging. And leaving you without that means of navigating until charged. And so many models that crashed and burned because their form superseded their function.

Apple users have had to be very cautious - or contrariwise, just say, 'Screw it' and hope - a design 'feature' doesn't impede their work, or structurally or electronically fail and they then end up with a $2000 - $5000 doorstop.

 

[Arctic Moose]

Add to all this the fact that practically all the types of businesses where you’d typically see an iMac in a reception or being used as a register have been suffering under covid restrictions. Replacing perfectly good computers is probably not high on their list of priorities.

 

[Isengardtom]

I've only had mine for about 3 weeks but I love it. It's a great machine.

 

[Dozer_Zaibatsu]

If you were a Mac user and needed a new Mac desktop, the M1s presented a certain upgrade at the basics. But. It felt expensive for what it was. I would maintain the iMacs were a soft launch. They weren't revolutionary heavy-duty machines. Also, fairly light on on-board storage, and no way to easily add-on storage. So these exist for precisely to fill the role if you want a new one for a receptionist desk or maybe a computer lab, which probably get swapped out far less frequently. And maybe not nearly as much with the economic brakes over the last couple of years.

 

[MajorFubar]

Still, when the coloured CRT iMacs were released back in the day, you very quickly noticed them everywhere - the same definitely cannot be said for their contemporaries - at least not yet.

Sales are slowing because within the last 10 years a plateau has been reached in computer architecture which most people don't ever need to surpass until their machine is forced into technical obsolescence by its makers. (Or when it breaks, whichever is sooner.) Back when the coloured iMacs were first launched, technology was moving so fast that most home computers over 5 years old were hopelessly unusable for anything contemporary. So people bought new kit more often. I'm sitting here typing this on an 11 year old iMac. When the first coloured iMacs were released in the late 1990s it would have been unthinkable to be still using an 11 year old computer for any kind of contemporary task.

 

[Tumbleweed666]

Or, with the current iMac, the Magic Mouse that can't be charged as you use it - instead requiring you leave it like an upended turtle overnight for charging. And leaving you without that means of navigating until charged. And so many models that crashed and burned because their form superseded their function.

More than hyperbole since they dont require you to leave it overnight.
IIRC its something like 2 minutes charge will give 8 hours use so if it does run out charge it for 2 minutes which is hardly oppressive and then leave until you can charge for longer when not using it.