Jony Ive Was Involved in the New M1 iMac Design, Despite Leaving Apple in 2019

[klunernet]

The only design choice that kept me away from this machine is the side audio input jack. I plug my powered speakers into a receiver and having this stick out on the side is a no-go for me. Yes I know I could go with an AirPlay solution, but that just adds complexity to a design choice. If the power brick can accommodate ethernet, why not audio?

This is completely a wild guess on my end:
1) the combination of power and audio might cause interference on the audio bit. ( noise )
2) de brick is designed to be out of sight, you won't be accessing it regularly for plugin in/out. As such, putting the jack there would be impractical.

 

[portland-dude]

The Ethernet port in the AC adapter screamed Jony Ive

*Jony Ive voice*

"How do you....make a desktop computer...worse? What we did was eliminate the ports that the average user needs, and wrapped it in pale al-you-minium. Ironically, the back looks better than the front, but we designed it that way to constantly puzzle our users.
Another revolutionary feature is something you won't find on any other desktop. We've taken the tired concept of ports on a computer...and moved it down. The ethernet port is now on the external power brick for more cable mess. It's truly amazing."

 

[tbirdparis]

This is completely a wild guess on my end:
1) the combination of power and audio might cause interference on the audio bit. ( noise )
2) de brick is designed to be out of sight, you won't be accessing it regularly for plugin in/out. As such, putting the jack there would be impractical.

You're right about the possibility of interference, but with audio wiring near a power brick it wouldn't so much be noise (or hiss), it would be a low hum caused by a ground loop... which is kind of worse and notoriously hard to eliminate, even when the audio wiring and electrical power aren't physically close to each other as they would be in this case.

It can be avoided with good design and shielding, but at quite a bit of increased cost. Also, if the measures taken to eliminate ground loops from the brick/cable design failed (either from occasional faults in manufacture or cable wear over time), then Apple would end up with complaints all over the internet about incessant buzzing and humming from the audio jack - all for a feature that only very few people use in the first place.

I can see why some people might find audio outs on the brick useful, for example if they have a traditionally-wired home sound system they want to plug into. But I doubt this applies to even 10% of iMac customers these days. Also, it couldn't be the _only_ audio jack offered on the iMac because the (far more numerous) users who want to just plug headphones in from time to time would be outraged that it's moved to such a ridiculously inaccessible place as the power brick. So the incentive is even less to add an _additional_ audio output on the power brick (with a significant technical problem to overcome to boot), increasing cost for a feature most customers won't ever use. Even more so when Apple are making such a big deal about including high-quality built in speakers in all recent Mac models anyway...

Really the best solution for someone who wants a wired connection to a speaker system from an iMac (or actually from any computer) is simply to buy an audio interface. If the whole point of using your existing speaker system is because you like high-quality sound, then using the built in audio jacks on a Mac was never a good idea in the first place. These days even the cheapest USB audio interfaces will give you a far higher quality audio signal than the audio jack on any computer, Macs included.

 

[machpost]

*Jony Ive voice*

"How do you....make a desktop computer...worse? What we did was eliminate the ports that the average user needs, and wrapped it in pale al-you-minium. Ironically, the back looks better than the front, but we designed it that way to constantly puzzle our users.
Another revolutionary feature is something you won't find on any other desktop. We've taken the tired concept of ports on a computer...and moved it down. The ethernet port is now on the external power brick for more cable mess. It's truly amazing."

While Ive without a doubt possesses a brilliant mind, I'm always struck by the way he always looks and speaks like he was just hit over the head with a club or just woke up from a coma. "Where...am I?"

 

[nihil0]

It comes in 7 colors. If none of them appeal to you, perhaps there will be a larger iMac coming that will have different colors. Considering the prior iMac came in silver only (unless you wanted to drop $5K+ for the Pro), and this one comes in 6 colors besides the silver, I don’t see the issue here. There is nothing “Willy Wonka” about the silver iMac, and the bezels issue is absolutely absurd IMHO. Others have posted the long list of other Macs with light-colored bezels, including Pro-level displays like a 30” Cinema Display.

White bezel is just not working for me 🤷‍♂️but anyway, I plan to keep my current iMac for 5 more years at least so I guess they will change design at least once meanwhile

 

[Abazigal]

Years ago, the criticism was that Jony Ive wasn't involved enough in product design at Apple and that he had already "mentally checked out the door".

Now, people are complaining that he is still "too involved".

Which one is it? You can't have it both ways, unless the intention is to simply shift the goalposts to whatever makes it most convenient to attack Apple at any one time.

 

[iTangerine]

I hope at least Jony got to pick the shades of Orange the iMac M1 offers.

 

[Done Kwotme]

And many Apple fans screamed back.

The Ethernet port in the AC adapter screamed Jony Ive

https://www.anandtech.com/show/2547/2 Only if HP copied Ive 13 years ago...

 

[jefhai]

What’s junky about the screen?

It’s just not great quality.. it’s just ok… The screen could have definitely been upgraded to an OLED or something..

 

[jefhai]

You start with “my opinion” but then insist that “any long time Mac user…” would find this junky. If you want to express YOUR opinion, great. But you don’t speak for all long time Mac users. This particular Mac user who used his first Mac in the 1980s disagrees. These M1 Macs are in some ways a bigger step forward than the PPC to Intel transition.

Oh I wasn’t expressing my opinion about the silicon… I was talking about the M1 iMac being junky… it’s built cheap.. you get what you pay for I guess. And long time Mac users who think about it will most likely agree the M1 iMac took more shortcuts in build quality for the times we are in

 

[SuperMatt]

It’s just not great quality.. it’s just ok… The screen could have definitely been upgraded to an OLED or something..

Have you seen one in person?

 

[jefhai]

Wouldn't it be cool if the screen was separate from the computer, so the screen could be optimized to be adjustable screen with speakers in the chin? Then we could get the computer now, and use it with the TV as a monitor until they sell a screen that isn't junky.

Yeah get a MacMini… but the M1 Screen is just not impressive. You gotta see it in person to notice it

 

[SuperMatt]

Oh I wasn’t expressing my opinion about the silicon… I was talking about the M1 iMac being junky… it’s built cheap.. you get what you pay for I guess. And long time Mac users who think about it will most likely agree the M1 iMac took more shortcuts in build quality for the times we are in

It is not built cheap. That’s just plain inaccurate.

 

[jefhai]

Have you seen one in person?

Yeah, I have multiple times. The screen is a downgrade from the 5k screens on the previous iMac. And the colors / contrast a bit off to me. I wouldn’t use the M1 iMac for any photo work

 

[jefhai]

It is not built cheap. That’s just plain inaccurate.

Oh it definitely is. It’s missing a $3 fan on the entry level M1 iMac. It was all about them cutting out as much material as possible. It’s feels like a MacBook Air just stretched out. Again you get what you pay for. The new iMac is more like the plastic MacMini than the iMac Pro

 

[SuperMatt]

Yeah, I have multiple times. The screen is a downgrade from the 5k screens on the previous iMac. And the colors / contrast a bit off to me. I wouldn’t use the M1 iMac for any photo work

The previous 21-inch iMac didn’t have a 5K screen. 🤦‍♂️

You know you can calibrate the monitor, right?

 

[SuperMatt]

Oh it definitely is. It’s missing a $3 fan on the entry level M1 iMac. It was all about them cutting out as much material as possible. It’s feels like a MacBook Air just stretched out. Again you get what you pay for. The new iMac is more like the plastic MacMini than the iMac Pro

You’re entitled to your opinion, but the new iMac is definitely not cheap nor junky. It’s a superior computer to the 21-inch iMac it replaced. Putting a better cooling system in a higher-end system doesn’t mean the entry level model is junk by any means.

 

[jefhai]

The previous 21-inch iMac didn’t have a 5K screen. 🤦‍♂️

You know you can calibrate the monitor, right?

The M1 iMac is not 21 inch… it’s 24 inch .. and it’s 4.5K instead of 5K… the panel is also not great even if calibrated.. this is not a color accurate photo editing computer.

And missing a $3 part definitely shows where Apples priorities are. It’s definitely more plastic like. If you’re a long time Mac user you’d be better off waiting for the M2 iMac with a 27” option.

 

[SuperMatt]

The M1 iMac is not 21 inch… it’s 24 inch .. and it’s 4.5K instead of 5K… the panel is also not great even if calibrated.. this is not a color accurate photo editing computer.

And missing a $3 part definitely shows where Apples priorities are. It’s definitely more plastic like. If you’re a long time Mac user you’d be better off waiting for the M2 iMac with a 27” option.

The new iMac is the replacement for the 21-inch. This is well-documented. It’s pretty obvious too since the 21” is discontinued while the 27” Intel iMac is still for sale.

Plastic-like? The machine is made of aluminum. How is that “like” plastic in any way? And again - higher end models of every computer (and car and many other products) actually add things to the package in order to justify the higher price. That doesn’t make the entry-level model “junk” at all.

Sorry, calling something “plastic” when it’s obviously aluminum and intentionally comparing the 27” iMac to the 24”, which is the replacement for the 21”, seems to indicate this is bashing the product just to bash it, with very little evidence or basis.

 

[icisz]

well considering that most people already hated this design, there's no difference

A completely foolish comment. Have you seen one in person yet? These are hands down the nicest all in one desktops ever made and scream the future in a way no other does. And now he works for Ferrari. What do you do to make the world a better place bud?

 

[icisz]

The M1 iMac is not 21 inch… it’s 24 inch .. and it’s 4.5K instead of 5K… the panel is also not great even if calibrated.. this is not a color accurate photo editing computer.

And missing a $3 part definitely shows where Apples priorities are. It’s definitely more plastic like. If you’re a long time Mac user you’d be better off waiting for the M2 iMac with a 27” option.

Lol. Except the 27” option won’t be an option. It will likely be a 30” with over 5k. Your comment is way off track on so many levels

 

[Johnny907]

A completely foolish comment. Have you seen one in person yet? These are hands down the nicest all in one desktops ever made and scream the future in a way no other does. And now he works for Ferrari. What do you do to make the world a better place bud?

I have. The white bezel is atrocious. These things look like toys, not serious professional tools.
Apple should have release a version for adults with black bezels and chassis colors that look like they belong somewhere other than a kids playroom.

 

[icisz]

The new iMac is the replacement for the 21-inch. This is well-documented. It’s pretty obvious too since the 21” is discontinued while the 27” Intel iMac is still for sale.

Plastic-like? The machine is made of aluminum. How is that “like” plastic in any way? And again - higher end models of every computer (and car and many other products) actually add things to the package in order to justify the higher price. That doesn’t make the entry-level model “junk” at all.

Sorry, calling something “plastic” when it’s obviously aluminum and intentionally comparing the 27” iMac to the 24”, which is the replacement for the 21”, seems to indicate this is bashing the product just to bash it, with very little evidence or basis.

i honestly don't understand the thought process here. they had a choice between slightly thicker screen with no chin or a thinner screen with a chin. when using the computer, you will always see the chin while the only time you will notice the thickness if you are walking from the side.

I guess we haven’t met…

I haven’t heard that. I have seen it on these forums though. It is a very chauvinistic statement.

The obsessive

not even in the market for a new iMac, but it looks significantly better in person than photos, stock photos, or video imo

For one I hadn't a clue the bottom chin was colored glass and seamless with the white glass bezel, not aluminum, until I saw it in person.

For another I just think it looks better than I expected

?. I was on the fence about the new lineup until I saw them. They are incredible and compliment the entire product lines design language. Those who criticize should really see them up close. I switched to MacBook Pro but This new machine has me actually considering the new iMac 30” (presumed) once it is ready for release. They are hands down the most beautiful all in one ever made. All this banter about Chins and thinness issues are ridiculous.

 

[icisz]

I have. The white bezel is atrocious. These things look like toys, not serious professional tools.
Apple should have release a version for adults with black bezels and chassis colors that look like they belong somewhere other than a kids playroom

Hear hear! Better to have back the guy who designed the 2010-2015 Macs amirite?

Man you guys whine about the dumbest things. What will you all do when computers become a slate of translucent or transparent glass. I guess the chin complaints will disappear but the thinness will always be an issue for some. Yeah… I’d far rather have a notebook or all in one the same width as my parents’ encyclopedias. ?

 

[icisz]

I have. The white bezel is atrocious. These things look like toys, not serious professional tools.
Apple should have release a version for adults with black bezels and chassis colors that look like they belong somewhere other than a kids playroom.