Is anyone disappointed by the lack of ports on the new iMac? It’s a desktop computer that only has three more ports than a tablet.
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M1: iMac lack of ports
- Thread starter Bill Av
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I was disappointed, if I’m honest. Not sure why USB A couldn’t have been included. If and when I buy an iMac again though, it’ll be the 27” version. It’s a shame there isn’t an M1 27” yet.
USB A is too deep for the chassis, maybe it could have been fitted on the power brick...
Big disappointment for me. No additional ports, large chin, large bezels again and no option for 16 GB as well
Yes, there are additional ports. Upper models have two USB 4 (Thunderbolt) ports and two regular USB-C ports for a total of 4 ports, plus ethernet on the power brick.
Yes, there is a 16GB option as well as SSD options up to 2TB.
I am guessing these base models are intended for the casual home user and not hardcore enthusiasts who need to have several things attached at all times.
You can use an adapter and it won’t get into your way because it’s a desktop, I’m fine with the lack of ports honestly.
I have little need for plugged in peripherals any more these days, especially on something like an iMac.
Ethernet - ok, yes, that needs to be plugged in (conveniently on power brick on the new iMacs). Most people get by fine with wifi anyway.
Printer - even my crappy laser printer I use less than once a month is wireless and three rooms over.
Webcam & Mic - built-in
Keyboard/mouse - bluetooth
Camera card reader - ok, possibly. Though a lot of people are iPhone-camera based (thus wireless via iCloud) and are not using a DSLR.
Speakers - Apple clearly prefers you use the built-in speakers on the iMac. But even if you want something else you can AirPlay to HomePods or Sonos or similar.
So unless you've got "pro" (prosumer, professional) needs for things like video editing panels, MIDI interfaces, etc., odds are you're likely to be mostly wireless these days. Thus having only 4 ports on the back is ok.
I'd love to get back to the simplicity of an iMac with built-in speakers, webcam, etc. Promise me you won't look behind my desk... it's a rats-nest of DisplayPort, HDMI, USB cables and extensions, ethernet cables, audio cables, power cables, etc.
Ethernet - ok, yes, that needs to be plugged in (conveniently on power brick on the new iMacs). Most people get by fine with wifi anyway.
Printer - even my crappy laser printer I use less than once a month is wireless and three rooms over.
Webcam & Mic - built-in
Keyboard/mouse - bluetooth
Camera card reader - ok, possibly. Though a lot of people are iPhone-camera based (thus wireless via iCloud) and are not using a DSLR.
Speakers - Apple clearly prefers you use the built-in speakers on the iMac. But even if you want something else you can AirPlay to HomePods or Sonos or similar.
So unless you've got "pro" (prosumer, professional) needs for things like video editing panels, MIDI interfaces, etc., odds are you're likely to be mostly wireless these days. Thus having only 4 ports on the back is ok.
I'd love to get back to the simplicity of an iMac with built-in speakers, webcam, etc. Promise me you won't look behind my desk... it's a rats-nest of DisplayPort, HDMI, USB cables and extensions, ethernet cables, audio cables, power cables, etc.
But the hard core enthusiasts aren't limited. All of these ports daisy chain or expand through hubs.
The 24” iMac is not a pro machine. It’s a baseline consumer machine. The average consumer doesn’t need more than 4 ports on their Mac, and more and more tech has become wireless.
There is an option for 16gb. Go to the compare page and select the 24” iMac. It says up to 16gb of ram.
Honestly most of the complaints I’m seeing are from people who are not part of the target demographic for this iMac. If you want more ports, wait for M1X. If you want more ram, wait for M1X. If you want space grey, wait for M1X. If you want more external displays, wait for M1X. If you want a more professional design, wait for M1X.
The 24” iMac is meant for families, reception desks, offices, colleges, students, kids: essentially anyone who is not a power user.
That is true.
I wonder if the casual home user, which they may get geared towards, have a regular need for something besides an external attach drive.
I doubt it. Four ports is fine for the majority of consumers. Anyone with more peripherals than that will use a hub.
Third parties will make a hub that wraps around and attaches to the front like this in all the colors. Guaranteed. Hopefully they’ll be decent.
Definitely! But exactly this demographics has lots of USB-A stuff lying around and would like to use it without a dongle.
My Mac mini M1 has USB-A and I use it every day. Headphones, Garmin GPS, sticks, whatever. OK I have dongles but life is easier without them. Not sure if it was a good idea to skip USB-A in the consumer M1 iMac.
My parents, brother and sister in law, and other friends/family do not use ANY of the USB ports. They use the wireless keyboard and mouse that comes with the iMac. I think the port selection is fine. Apple probably has telemetry to know how often the USB-A ports were used.
USB-A ports just don’t fit in the new iMac design. Headphones are usually not USB. Not sure why the average consumer needs a GPS for their stationary desktop. More and more newer storage sticks/drives are becoming USB-C.
Most collages, offices, reception desks don’t even use any of the ports besides maybe Ethernet. Printer, mouse, keyboard, many headphones, are all wireless now. The only thing most consumers may use is an external drive and those often come with usb-A to C cables anyways.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see USB-A ports, but I’m not the demographic for this iMac and I think those ports are honestly more useful for people who are going to buy a Mac mini, or an M1X Mac later on.
Four ports is enough for me (technically it has five), but I'd just get a hub if it were an issue.
If I had anything which required USB-A I'd just replace its cable with USB-C. Probably keep an adapter in the desk drawer for the odd thumb drive.
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If you want a desktop M1 Mac with the same 27" 5k that is in the Intel 27" iMac, just buy the M1 Mini and the 5k LG Ultrafine. You can even spec a 100GB ethernet port on the Mini now and it has two USB-A ports and you get to chose your own keyboard and mouse too. It's even got a real cooling system and will be much easier to repair.
I have to say I am surprised how expensive the M1 iMac is relative to the M1 Mini. When I bought my 2020 27" iMac last year I looked at the Intel Mini. It was just too expensive relative to the 27" iMac. The CPU is the same as the one in the 21" Intel iMac that has just been replaced and the GPU is a joke. With the M1 OTOH, the Mini is clearly the better option.
I don't understand why everyone hates the chin though it might look better with an Apple Logo. I don't like the white bezels though.
I was disappointed. Not at the lack of ports, as I'm not in the target market for this machine. I was disappointed that the higher end machines are still in the future.
I was not. I expected the higher end machines to still be in the future. The M1 is basically an iPad Pro class of SoC with some Mac friendly enhancements such as Thunderbolt and more RAM. With one SoC Apple has been able to update five different product lines. It was not surprising to me at all that they would announce M1 based iPad Pros and smaller iMacs. Both those product lines were long overdue for a refresh.
It will take more time to equal the higher end GPUs in the 2020 iMac, Mac Pro and even the 16" MBP. The M1 is giving the CPUs in the 16" MBP a hard time but the desktop Mac's Intel CPUs are faster and have more cooling and power available to them. The Mac Pro in particular can be configured with a 28 core CPU and 1.5 TB of RAM with 64GB of video RAM. Even the iMac can be configured with 10 high speed cores and 128GB of system RAM and 16GB of Video RAM.