iFixit Tears Down 24-Inch M1 iMac [Updated]

[Realityck]

Apple’s been conducting vibrations to the iPad chassis for awhile now. I can’t remember which year it started, but you went from tinny sound, non vibrating iPad to much better sound and a vibrating iPad. Some were annoyed by it, but I felt it was justified due to the better sound.

You might be right, as you see four speakers, so where are the two others.

And the iMac also comes with a new speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos audio thanks to its six-speaker array, complete with two pairs of force-canceling woofers. Together, this delivers better bass and accurate highs and mids, the company said, for room-filling sound that’s powerful and free of distortion.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

You might be right, as you see four speakers, so where are the two others.

I think the “two pairs” of force canceling woofers are back to back and the tweeter is alongside. So, I think the two seen in the X-ray are the double woofers and tweeters on both sides.

 

[zorinlynx]

Although I'm not a huge fan of putting the network port in the power adapter, I do like the fact that it's just a pass-through, and that the ethernet controller is still in the machine itself. This means the ethernet address won't change when you swap power adapters.

 

[WestonHarvey1]

That heat spreader looks weird. It just sort of... cuts off? And then the RAM is put in the part that got sawn off.

 

[Cyprusian]

The 2/10 repairability score is worthy of particular note with regard to the battery board holding two CR2016 button batteries (iFixit reasonably speculate these power the CMOS). These will need replacing within a few years - either by an Apple technician or a user brave enough to break the glue sealing the iMac.

 

[Googlyhead]

Although I'm not a huge fan of putting the network port in the power adapter, I do like the fact that it's just a pass-through, and that the ethernet controller is still in the machine itself. This means the ethernet address won't change when you swap power adapters.

I can kinda see why they did it; it gives potential for a minimalist installation of only a single “power” cable; assuming you’re never going to use any usb/tb ports, and wireless kb/mouse (but then you could just use wifi anyway?).

However; there’s now the specific extra weakness of a more complex and fragile cable (and port), which looks like it can’t even be detached from the power brick. So any damage or troubleshooting will require purchase of an entire new brick assembly.

And that’s ignoring any other external PSU considerations/preferences, from aesthetics of strapping it under a desk vs. floor toe-stubber and having at least one unadjustable cable being an unsuitable length, to being technically fussy about the inefficiency and interference of low voltages in power cables…

 

[Apple_Robert]

With a repairability score of 2/10, how will the tech repair your iMac without breaking something that wasn't already broken? Seems like Apple is making it even harder to employees to do their job.

 

[jasnw]

Re battery replacement - how often is this needed? I've own five iMacs, the one I'm using right now is a 2011 27", and I've never replaced any interior batteries in any of them.

 

[Realityck]

I think the “two pairs” of force canceling woofers are back to back and the tweeter is alongside. So, I think the two seen in the X-ray are the double woofers and tweeters on both sides.

From part 2

• If you—like us, and some keen-eyed tweeters—guessed those shiny metal chambers were part of the new speaker system, you were right!
  
  They're impossibly thin (about 1.5 mm at the opening), but their sprawling surface area equates to quite a lot of internal volume, and therefore more air, and fuller sound. Pretty nifty use of what might otherwise be empty space!

 

[Aoligei]

Ask who?

In the vast majority of cases, you as a single (potential) customer have zero impact on any commercial mass-produced product.

You can either buy it as it is, or not buy it.

If enough people don't buy something after a change, the manufacturer is likely to do something different - whether that something fixes what you didn't like will depend on how many things they changed.


It's not about expecting a cash grab, it's about understanding that this is 'standard' for most Macs now, and most existing/potential customers customers accept the trade-off that they don't feel the need to alter their approach for most lines.


We could theorise about Apple's true intentions all day, and still not know for sure.

Why they do it is also somewhat meaningless to the end result. They are not doing it, that's just a fact. If you are happy with that, buy the machine. If you're not, don't. If you feel strongly about it, email Tim Cook and tell him. You might get a response.

Expecting them to do something different because you think it makes sense, and then expecting strangers on a forum to know why apple didn't do what you think they should have, is not going to get you a result.

Apple can throw all the environment, climate change staff. These non-upgradability, user-hostile, repair hostile crap is very apparent that Apple rather take profit over preventing iMac goes to landfill and apparent not include chargers inside iPhone.

Apple say one thing and do apparent opposite. It is disgusting at best.

Apparently, upgradability very important for many people here, not just me. It is ab about forcing people paying outrages amount of money for upgrade. There is no other intention, just money grab.

Please don’t act like Apple is innocent boy with big heart, caring about its customer, human right, privacy, climate change, because Apple is none of these.

P.S. With apparent leak of new MacBook Pro with HDMI port and SD card, Apple could make changes. Your attitude of accepting anything Apple throw at you is very strange.

 

[Stephen.R]

Apple can throw all the environment, climate change staff. These non-upgradability, user-hostile, repair hostile crap is very apparent that Apple rather take profit over preventing iMac goes to landfill and apparent not include chargers inside iPhone.

Apple say one thing and do apparent opposite. It is disgusting at best.

Apparently, upgradability very important for many people here, not just me. It is ab about forcing people paying outrages amount of money for upgrade. There is no other intention, just money grab.

Please don’t act like Apple is innocent boy with big heart, caring about its customer, human right, privacy, climate change, because Apple is none of these.

Did you even read the post you replied to?

 

[ikramerica]

One of the reasons Jobs was forced out in the first place was his desire to build AIO computers like this one: completely soldered and non-upgradable. The first Macs were like this (other than one model having upgradable RAM).

After he left, bays and slots and sockets began to populate the AIOs and then the IBM-like pro boxes appeared.

So it’s come full circle.

 

[1madman1]

Re battery replacement - how often is this needed? I've own five iMacs, the one I'm using right now is a 2011 27", and I've never replaced any interior batteries in any of them.

I had to replace the CR2032 in my 2010 Mac mini last year.

I've seen them die after anywhere between 4 and 20 years. The "official" shelf life on these batteries is usually 10 years, I think the variance is mostly environmental.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Did you even read the post you replied to?

When folks have a good solid “Apple mad” on, all they need to see is the word “Apple” to be set off. They will never feel happy again until AAPL no longer shows up on the stock exchange. All because Apple canceled Aperture or don’t make access points anymore or are more successful than their favorite company!

 

[Unregistered 4U]

One of the reasons Jobs was forced out in the first place was his desire to build AIO computers like this one: completely soldered and non-upgradable. The first Macs were like this (other than one model having upgradable RAM).

After he left, bays and slots and sockets began to populate the AIOs and then the IBM-like pro boxes appeared.

So it’s come full circle.

Didn’t it come full circle… with the FIRST iMacs upon his returning to Apple? This would be more of a full full circle circle.

 

[Bluetoot-]

One other thing that is remarkable is how empty the inside of this computer really is.

 

[zorinlynx]

The 2/10 repairability score is worthy of particular note with regard to the battery board holding two CR2016 button batteries (iFixit reasonably speculate these power the CMOS). These will need replacing within a few years - either by an Apple technician or a user brave enough to break the glue sealing the iMac.

View attachment 1781577

All iMacs have these. They do not drain unless the machine is powered off AND unplugged. They will long outlast the useful life of the machine, and when they do die the machine will still work; it will just lose the time and EFI settings when unplugged from the wall (not just powered off).

Worry not.

 

[Realityck]

One other thing that is remarkable is how empty the inside of this computer really is.

That’s going to be the perception going forward of most of the low end models using SoC’s. It is technology, but you feel deprived still with all that space inside. I actually prefer more headless Mac’s beyond the Mac Mini.