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iFixit Teardown of New 21.5-Inch 4K iMac Reveals DCI-P3 Display, Empty Solder Pads
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You don't solder a "hard drive". You solder the opposite cable end to the solder pad on the motherboard. That's the easy part (soldering isn't difficult once you practice a bit). The PITA is opening up this nightmare of a case. And without a spot to put the actual drive, I'm not sure where you'd mount it, offhand.
Honestly, I'm GLAD they did it. The more fanatics they can cheese off, the better. Your post is just absolutely ridiculous, IMO.
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Really a shame that Apple has gone this route. Not only have they made them "disposable" it really is going to affect resale value IMO. I've already noticed this firsthand with friends selling rMBP (especially the 13"). No one wants a 4gb (or even 8gb) models with 128gb flash drives that are non-user upgradable. So before those who wanted to upgrade themselves could, and those who didn't still got good resale value selling to others who did.
Funny how a lot of posts here have centred on configuring for the best you can get and must get Apple Care. Firstly, as @H2SO4 says, Apple Care is an over priced extended warranty that here in the UK at least have been subject to all sorts of investigations and derision for being barely worth the paper they're written on. The likes of Currys, PC World and Comet (when it was around) were constantly being called out for over priced warranties that hardly gave anything better than the statutory rights to which we're entitled anyway.
As for configuring the machine at the time of purchase to last as long as you can, that's fine if doing a BTO online (and you can afford the ridiculous upgrade pricing) but a lot of first time buyers will be buying from instore where you can't BTO and as I've said before I can guarantee the Apple floor walker won't be saying "yeah you could get that one but to be honest it's not very good and is only there to point you to a better one. You really should spend an extra £800 and get this one, it's so much better than that bog standard one." These people will get their shiny new Mac home and when they're trying to load up their 30,000 photo iCloud library they'll watch the little beachball spin as the components struggle to keep up and be wondering what's wrong with this super duper machine they've just forked out over £1000 on.
A company with over $200 billion in cash reserves can afford to innovate and progress the tech in their machines at a much higher rate than Apple seem to be willing to do in their all consuming drive for profit and pleasing the shareholders while not bothering about the user experience anymore.
As for configuring the machine at the time of purchase to last as long as you can, that's fine if doing a BTO online (and you can afford the ridiculous upgrade pricing) but a lot of first time buyers will be buying from instore where you can't BTO and as I've said before I can guarantee the Apple floor walker won't be saying "yeah you could get that one but to be honest it's not very good and is only there to point you to a better one. You really should spend an extra £800 and get this one, it's so much better than that bog standard one." These people will get their shiny new Mac home and when they're trying to load up their 30,000 photo iCloud library they'll watch the little beachball spin as the components struggle to keep up and be wondering what's wrong with this super duper machine they've just forked out over £1000 on.
A company with over $200 billion in cash reserves can afford to innovate and progress the tech in their machines at a much higher rate than Apple seem to be willing to do in their all consuming drive for profit and pleasing the shareholders while not bothering about the user experience anymore.
EXACTLY!
What is the reason they do this?
It's just a toss away adding to the landfill.
So much for a supposed "GREEN" Company!
Whilst the iMac is pretty much designed so you never take it apart. I do think this is another reason to get a Mac Pro as if anything breaks you just need a screwdriver and not soldering irons and heatguns to fix it.
They should have left the iMac the same thickness and left it using magnets and screws holding it together.
They should have left the iMac the same thickness and left it using magnets and screws holding it together.
*Applecare* seems to be the end all argument for many-until an accident happens and the *care* part of it suddenly gets very expensive Applecare or not. In an Apple monopoly will Applecare premiums keep getting higher due to non-competing repair markets that cannot repair anything Apple or acquire any Apple parts ?.
Then I guess Applecare preachers do not care about non user serviceability or upgradeability which will and has been killing the secondary market in a slow death where reselling your used mac circa 2012 and above that are valued less now than 2011 models and below in many instances?- so much for top dollar for your used Mac to finance your next Mac - I for one am not interested in purchasing a second hand comp that would cost almost equally as much as a new one to upgrade or repair.
But hey, if someone cannot afford Applecare or a new computer every three years, don't buy Apple? (sorry re-purposing for Mom, Pop, education, 3rd world countries) I wonder if that is the dominant message here that might eventually stick worldwide..don't buy Apple?
IMO the more Apple turns into a *high end* disposable goods company, the more disposable the company becomes in the future to many worldwide.
Then I guess Applecare preachers do not care about non user serviceability or upgradeability which will and has been killing the secondary market in a slow death where reselling your used mac circa 2012 and above that are valued less now than 2011 models and below in many instances?- so much for top dollar for your used Mac to finance your next Mac - I for one am not interested in purchasing a second hand comp that would cost almost equally as much as a new one to upgrade or repair.
But hey, if someone cannot afford Applecare or a new computer every three years, don't buy Apple? (sorry re-purposing for Mom, Pop, education, 3rd world countries) I wonder if that is the dominant message here that might eventually stick worldwide..don't buy Apple?
IMO the more Apple turns into a *high end* disposable goods company, the more disposable the company becomes in the future to many worldwide.
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Maybe I'm old school but a Desktop Computer by definition is supposed to be upgradeable in several ways and usually somewhat easily. In my opinion, Apple no longer makes desktops. Even the original iMac had some upgrade options, but Apple has continually removed upgrade options. It's no longer a true desktop. Even if you max this machine out, it's not worth the money in my opinion. And if you don't, it's simply disposable once the bloated newest OS needs more memory than you have.
The iMac should now be called what it is, an ALL-IN-ONE, which is a completely self contained, non-upgradeable, disposable computer with no wires.
A used 2012 Mac Pro or even older is still a better value in my opinion, especially if you find one tricked out with fully upgraded discreet graphics or want to do it yourself.
I consider my iPhone a disposable item, same with my iPad or Macbook, but NOT my "desktop."
The thin, pretty, and fragile Jonathan Ive concept of a desktop has never caught on with me except in other Apple products. This is probably why I've bought so many Apple products, but never an iMac.
My older Mac Pro will outlive some of these iMacs and even 4 years later has tons of upgrade options.
It's not like Moore's Law really exists anymore. Every advancement today is energy/heat related, not performance. I'm impressed with the display, but I could buy that myself.
The iMac should now be called what it is, an ALL-IN-ONE, which is a completely self contained, non-upgradeable, disposable computer with no wires.
A used 2012 Mac Pro or even older is still a better value in my opinion, especially if you find one tricked out with fully upgraded discreet graphics or want to do it yourself.
I consider my iPhone a disposable item, same with my iPad or Macbook, but NOT my "desktop."
The thin, pretty, and fragile Jonathan Ive concept of a desktop has never caught on with me except in other Apple products. This is probably why I've bought so many Apple products, but never an iMac.
My older Mac Pro will outlive some of these iMacs and even 4 years later has tons of upgrade options.
It's not like Moore's Law really exists anymore. Every advancement today is energy/heat related, not performance. I'm impressed with the display, but I could buy that myself.
To be clear, iOS 9 is rife with both bugs and changes which are wreaking havoc for a large number of developers, particularly those who use cross-platform development tools. Perhaps iFixit's app was impacted by these issues.
what drives me mad (not mad ... let'say I don't understand ) is the fact that Apple built its success on iMacs and Laptops and Minis BEFORE this bean-counters moves. Great products, some misstep along the way, maybe pricey for someone but world famous for reliability, standards and integration. It seemed to me that everything was working fine.
Now this trend...
) is the fact that Apple built its success on iMacs and Laptops and Minis BEFORE this bean-counters moves. Great products, some misstep along the way, maybe pricey for someone but world famous for reliability, standards and integration. It seemed to me that everything was working fine.Now this trend...
Honestly, at this point, Apple is behind and in danger of falling far behind the trend in computing.
The Mac Mini is an absolute joke at this point. There are WAY better products for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost. For example, the NUC5i7 is by far a better spec'd machine, much smaller, less power consumption, with 4K support. And you can put in two SSDs, and RAM up to 32GB. When they soldered the RAM for ZERO reason, it was end of the Mac Mini as we know it and it pretty much a product only for Apple kool-aid drinkers...
The iMac is heading down the path of being a joke also. Its laughable when Apple puts on their website the description of "Impossibly Thin" Are you kidding? Its the same thickness and just marketed as thin by picture angles. Soldering RAM on the 21" models and making the system drives not user replaceable (due to "proprietary firmware" on all models) is another money grabbing scheme by a very wealthy company. Slapping its consumers in the face.
Macbook, Macbook Air, or Surface Pro 3/4? WOW, have you used a Surface pro? Try it for 1 week and the Macbook and Macbook Air will look like 5 year old technology. Apple seems to think "thin" or colored cases is the main marketing point. Whoever at Apple is driving that train should be let go immediately. Thin is nice but functionality is way more important.
Don't get me started on the connectors, chargers,etc. All just another way to make money but forcing obsolescence.
All of these products are MUCH less for your money than a PC.
I am sure I will get the responses telling me that PCs won't run MAC OS. I would have been one of those posting that response a few years ago. Now, give me a choice of Yosemite or Windows 10. Windows 10 is a much better product. I run both on several systems and I am sorry but Yosemite is a bug festival, even at it's 1 year birthday. Windows 10 is a very user friendly and stable, at its 2 month birthday.
The Mac Mini is an absolute joke at this point. There are WAY better products for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost. For example, the NUC5i7 is by far a better spec'd machine, much smaller, less power consumption, with 4K support. And you can put in two SSDs, and RAM up to 32GB. When they soldered the RAM for ZERO reason, it was end of the Mac Mini as we know it and it pretty much a product only for Apple kool-aid drinkers...
The iMac is heading down the path of being a joke also. Its laughable when Apple puts on their website the description of "Impossibly Thin" Are you kidding? Its the same thickness and just marketed as thin by picture angles. Soldering RAM on the 21" models and making the system drives not user replaceable (due to "proprietary firmware" on all models) is another money grabbing scheme by a very wealthy company. Slapping its consumers in the face.
Macbook, Macbook Air, or Surface Pro 3/4? WOW, have you used a Surface pro? Try it for 1 week and the Macbook and Macbook Air will look like 5 year old technology. Apple seems to think "thin" or colored cases is the main marketing point. Whoever at Apple is driving that train should be let go immediately. Thin is nice but functionality is way more important.
Don't get me started on the connectors, chargers,etc. All just another way to make money but forcing obsolescence.
All of these products are MUCH less for your money than a PC.
I am sure I will get the responses telling me that PCs won't run MAC OS. I would have been one of those posting that response a few years ago. Now, give me a choice of Yosemite or Windows 10. Windows 10 is a much better product. I run both on several systems and I am sorry but Yosemite is a bug festival, even at it's 1 year birthday. Windows 10 is a very user friendly and stable, at its 2 month birthday.
I have been proved wrong earlier in the thread – apologies – I thought I read somewhere that Apple sold less Macs than the year before, not true.
Hence – they're doing the right thing. At least short term. Galaxy S III was a massive success for Samsung. So many flawed phones were sold, damaging the brand, that the Galaxy line never really recovered from the damage.
I don't think the glued-in and soldered iMacs are the way to go. But I also am not employed by Apple, nor do I earn billions. (Or millions.) My opinion is irrelevant. Still, I have never seen anyone proudly proclaim "sure I can't add RAM, rip a CD or replace my hard drive but my DESKTOP computer is like so thin you wouldn't believe!"
Hence – they're doing the right thing. At least short term. Galaxy S III was a massive success for Samsung. So many flawed phones were sold, damaging the brand, that the Galaxy line never really recovered from the damage.
I don't think the glued-in and soldered iMacs are the way to go. But I also am not employed by Apple, nor do I earn billions. (Or millions.) My opinion is irrelevant. Still, I have never seen anyone proudly proclaim "sure I can't add RAM, rip a CD or replace my hard drive but my DESKTOP computer is like so thin you wouldn't believe!"
And don't forget how quick Windows 10 boots compared to Yosemite or El Capitan. It seems every generation of
OS X is getting slower in comparison to ever generation, which Windows is only getting faster.
We shall see where things go. I'm not tossing the towel just yet, but things are getting shaking.
Not sure what world you live in but an iMac with a crap CPU and an SSD would be nothing like an iPad. I mean they could put in a core 2 duo and an SSD and it would still have a keyboard, a mouse, USB ports, open to software other than from the app store, able to manage files, not touch...so basically nothing like an iPad and more like an old iMac that actually feels faster than a new one simply because it has an SSD
Green/Global Warming all marketing term used by big corporation to get the poor guys money.EXACTLY!
What is the reason they do this?
It's just a toss away adding to the landfill.
So much for a supposed "GREEN" Company!
Use less/save resources, that is the way to go.
I am not running boot camp right now but may go back to it. I did run windows 10 for a while and it was eye opening. I had to move yosemite to an ssd to get it to even run properly, runs MUCH better. I ran windows 10 on the stock spinner and it was faster on it than yosemite on an ssd in all ways. I do like osx, but I do not see me staying here in a couple of years when it's time for something new unless something changes. But by then mac's will probably be completely disposable and prices will have doubled.
I know, for people like you is difficult to interact with someone not coming here to say "apple sucks ... Tim Cook is greedy ... Macs have poor quality".
Dude I DONT CARE.
I'm here, since a while, and Im going to stay and to give my opinion nevertheless.
On this forum if you aren't an OCD serial complainer you automatically are a blind fanboy.
Again, I don't care.
Don't like, don't buy. This is actually THE ONLY thing to do when you facing a multinational corporation like Apple.
Tim isnt here to read a few complains by a couple of android users or vocal unsatisfied users.
He doesn't gives a crap about numlock not buying the new iMac.
But he would surely be worried about a drop in Mac sales after the introduction of the new iMacs.
So the "vote with your wallet" is the only thing to do.
But Im quite sure the new iMac are going to sell very well....
windows didn't sell ... it was either pre-installed on every computer, included the vast majority of cheap crap computer that flooded the market in the last 30 years, or pirated .
It wasn't my decision.
It was Apple's decision.
You know, you choose. If I'm buying an iMac today, I'm expecting it to last 5 years at best, so I would BTO accordingly (16 Gb of RAM and 256 Gb SSD).
If I can't afford it, I would buy another computer.
I think it is reasonable to spend $2068 every 5 years for an iMac. And with $2068 I just configured a suitable configuration on the US Apple website.
I think 3 years are reasonable for being serviced by Apple.
I have no faith if not in God.
I'm not seeking for problems, so I ALWAYS extend the warranty of my purchases whenever is possible.
AppleCare is a must for hardware you are going to keep for at least 5 years.
satisfaction reports are done yearly, so YES, "soldered" Mac are included.
You either are a very unlucky guy, or there is a problem in the way you treat your devices.
I owned all the devices you listed here, and many many more, and in my 27 years as an Apple customer I only have an issue with:
iPod Nano 1st Gen (DoA, replaced by Apple)
Time Capsule (died and replaced OUT OF WARRANTY by Apple for free)
iPhone 4 (Home button not working after 14 months, replaced with a 4 months old refurbished under AppleCare)
I stand my position: Apple Quality is the best
Here is how I manage my purchases to avoid the problem you described--if I am about to buy a new Mac and I expect a soldered component to fail 53 weeks after purchase, I'll wait two weeks before buying it just to be certain that the failure will be covered by the warranty.
If we're doing this... I broke the camera on iPhone 4 by using it at the forge (dust + iPhone are not friends) and I ruined an iMac 27" late 2009 (IIRC) by trying to clean the dust gathering inside the screen. I should have bought the iFixit tool or invested in AppleCare. I didn't. My bad. While ruining a phone by exposing it to dust is my fault, I don't think that dust gathering inside the screen of my iMac is a sign of Apple Quality being the best. Of course I take responsibility for breaking it, if I wasn't a cheapskate I'd get it repaired by a pro and still be using it. Could have had a SSD installed at the same time. Oh well. Lessons learned.
or invested in AppleCare. I didn't. My bad. While ruining a phone by exposing it to dust is my fault, I don't think that dust gathering inside the screen of my iMac is a sign of Apple Quality being the best. Of course I take responsibility for breaking it, if I wasn't a cheapskate I'd get it repaired by a pro and still be using it. Could have had a SSD installed at the same time. Oh well. Lessons learned.