New iMac and Magic Accessories Tidbits: 'Then and Now', Automatic Pairing, Fast Charging and More

[zone23]

What they should have focused on was making a iMac with a 128gb SSD drive standard instead of how the mouse slid across the table. How could you loose sleep over mouse noise but then sleep fine knowing you put a crappy 5400 RPM hard drive in the iMac. I just saw Samsung 512gb SSD for $150. Take a cutting edge machine and install that garbage in it sickens me. They need to start digging a little deeper into their pockets and not the customers. The cheapness is starting to get old.

Edit:

I just want to know what engineer at Apple said lets throw this piece of crap hard drive in the iMac. He should be fired like today.

 

[neuropsychguy]

The port on the bottom of the mouse isn't much of an issue. If your battery dies (your computer gives you ample warning - it's not like the battery will go from 20% to 0% instantaneously), turn your mouse over, and charge it for a minute or two while you take a break - stand up, use the restroom, go to lunch, get a drink, catch up with a colleague, use your imagination. Then, when you leave for the day (or go to bed), plug it in an charge overnight. It takes less time than turning your mouse over to replace the dead batteries if you have to hunt for batteries and doesn't take much longer than changing them if you have replacements ready.

 

[redscull]

It's all part of the plan to push over-priced upgrades via sub-par starting options.

But who's doing the pushing? Apple stores generally stock only base model computers. In my experience, their staff doesn't push you to choose upgrades when that results in placing an order instead of walking out with a new machine. Because if you actually go into the store in person, the ideal experience is to leave with a product. Not place an order. You'd have done that from home.

And online, the store doesn't pressure you into upgrading. It's just there as an option. And if you're not somewhat technically inclined, you probably have no clue how badly you might need a particular upgrade.

Either way, your average consumer ends up buying whatever Apple's base model is. They just don't know any better. They trust Apple to sell them a nice computer, and therein lies the problem.

Apple's base model computer is a frustrating piece of ****. Mavericks was slightly tolerable on a spinning disk, but Yosemite (and I can only assume El Capitan) is horrid. It accesses the disk too often, in ways that force the user to wait until it's done. Without an SSD, all you do is wait. Frequently. Getting madder. Cursing Apple's crappy products, telling your friends and family that the Apple prestige is bologna. All because they don't default to SSD which yields a night and day user experience difference.

 

[zorinlynx]

>also only compatible with Macs running OS X 10.11 or later.

Does this mean no iOS support? I have a spare Apple bluetooth keyboard laying around that I occasionally pair up with my iPad. It works really well in that capacity too.

 

[trip1ex]

The keyboard is pretty ugly from the side/rear. NOt that I would see anything but the keys once it is placed on my desktop.

 

[flybius]

No, Steve Jobs was a person that cared about innovation, customers, etc. Tim Cook cares about MONEY and MONEY ALONE. If this means reducing the Mac Mini to a ***** Intel Atom computer, then he'll do it. If this means turning the iMac 21.5" into a lazy piece of ****, then he'll do it. If this means turning the rMBP into a computer full of glue to make it unrepairable, then he'll do it. If this means increasing the price of EVERYTHING, then he'll do it. He doesn't give two ***** about customers. He wants to make the company worth a trillion.

I agree about Steve, but he must have realized without himself in the picture, Apple would need an alternative plan to continue to exist. Steve used to refer to Tim's ability to keep Apple afloat... certainly he wasn't referring to Tim's technical acumen.

 

[eyeseeyou]

"Bluetooth 4.0-enabled Mac computer with OS X v10.11 or later"

I guess no forcetouch for my 2011 macbook which runs like a champ.

 

[xienze]

I just want to know what engineer at Apple said lets throw this piece of crap hard drive in the iMac. He should be fired like today.

It's definitely not the engineering department making that kind of decision. Like I had mentioned in another post, they're bounded by cost and capacity. If you go from last year's model having a 1TB HDD to this year's model being 128GB or 256GB, people will throw a fit. If you put a 1TB SSD in, it's gonna jack the price up by at least $300. They're two equally unappealing options from a marketing perspective.

 

[MysteriousStain]

Apple's new business appears to be hobble all base models to squeeze an extra few hundred out of its customers.

 

[Cougarcat]

"Bluetooth 4.0-enabled Mac computer with OS X v10.11 or later"

I guess no forcetouch for my 2011 macbook which runs like a champ.

It works plugged in, or you could get a BT 4.0 USB at the expense of a USB port.

Apple's new business appears to be hobble all base models to squeeze an extra few hundred out of its customers.

They've always done this. It used to be the RAM.

 

[Analog Kid]

I miss my old purple bubble of an iMac...

 

[modemthug]

I never ever thought I would say this (in fact I used to troll Hackintosh users mercilessly): but looks like my 2011 i7 27" iMac will be replaced by a Hackintosh. These options are insulting.

 

[QCassidy352]

If they replace the 1TB HDD with something more comparable in price, like a 256GB SSD they'll likewise be criticized heavily ("WTF APPLE WHY YOU TAKE AWAY MY GIGS IT'S 2015 WE NEED 1TB AT LEAST").

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Total crap. People would be very happy with a 256 ssd option, especially because you can sub in a 1 TB fd (the old one with a 128 ssd) for the same price.

 

[OllyW]

Fusion Drive Changes -- To allow for lower prices, Apple's 1TB Fusion Drive is now a 1TB hard drive paired with a 24GB SSD. Previously, a 1TB Fusion Drive was a 1TB hard drive with a 128GB SSD. Mac users looking for 128GB of flash storage will need to upgrade to a 2TB or larger Fusion Drive. 256GB and 512GB all-flash storage options can also be ordered.

Paying the $100 upgrade to go from a 16GB to 64GB iPhone almost seems a bargain compared to this.

 

[StoneJack]

I never ever thought I would say this (in fact I used to troll Hackintosh users mercilessly): but looks like my 2011 i7 27" iMac will be replaced by a Hackintosh. These options are insulting.

Ever since they killed BW G3 El Capitano, their mid-desktops went inexistent. I now use 2 hackintosh computers at a fraction of the cost, though the family does have two Macbook airs.

 

[StoneJack]

Prices on accessories are ridiculous, btw.
I guess, it does wonders for margin, but most people would never buy em if possible.
Does anyone know good OEM trackpad for Mac?

 

[RMo]

Automatic pairing looks neat (and easy)--I guess that could be why they chose Lightning over "standard" micro USB (although with more than just charging pins that could probably do the same).

Didn't the old accessories pair automatically?

Not really. Your Mac would go through the Bluetooth wizard automatically if a keyboard or mouse aren't found, and new Bluetooth devices would be in pairing mode by default when you turn them on, so it was pretty straightforward if you followed the prompts, but you still had to do it.

 

[xienze]

Total crap. People would be very happy with a 256 ssd option, especially because you can sub in a 1 TB fd (the old one with a 128 ssd) for the same price.

You might be happy with it, I know I would, but the unwashed masses in general don't have an appreciation for how much an SSD impacts overall system performance. All they understand is the size of hard drives, and on the surface 1TB to 256GB standard would look like a major step down.

 

[iReality85]

That old iMac keyboard oozes more style than the new slab of aluminum.

 

[8281]

The reason they're sticking with a 5400 RPM mechanical HDD is because they're bounded by both cost and minimum capacity. A 1TB HDD at retail costs about $50. A 1TB SSD at retail is in the neighborhood of $350. If they replaced the 1TB HDD for a 1TB SSD, prices would go up quite a bit ("LOL APPLE SO OVERPRICED"). If they replace the 1TB HDD with something more comparable in price, like a 256GB SSD they'll likewise be criticized heavily ("WTF APPLE WHY YOU TAKE AWAY MY GIGS IT'S 2015 WE NEED 1TB AT LEAST").

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Or they could use their fusion drive across their entire lineup as a standard feature. A feature they invented to solve the problem you just wrote about.

 

[robbyx]

I kind of like the ability to just put new batteries in when they are low on my Magic Mouse.

I bought a Mobee charging pad for my Magic Mouse and much prefer their solution to the Lightning cable. At the end of the day, or when I leave my desk for a while, I just put the mouse on the charging pad. No batteries to swap. No cables to plug in.

 

[SSDGUY]

Ho

I love to be able to slip in new batteries and use the trackpad and keyboard asap.
Thanks, but no, thanks.

I'd prefer never having to slip in batteries again. Instead, about once a month plug it in at night. Done. Not sure what's easier about dealing with battery swaps, which for me is every week with the fancy rechargeable models, and always inconvenient during work … waiting … for … it to reconnect.

 

[xienze]

Or they could use their fusion drive across their entire lineup as a standard feature. A feature they invented to solve the problem you just wrote about.

It's just degrees of the same problem. FD is obviously much cheaper than an SSD but more than they're willing to take a margin hit on at this time.

 

[QCassidy352]

You might be happy with it, I know I would, but the unwashed masses in general don't have an appreciation for how much an SSD impacts overall system performance. All they understand is the size of hard drives, and on the surface 1TB to 256GB standard would look like a major step down.

So then offer a 1 TB fusion drive with the 128 gb ssd as the base. Yes, it would cost Apple a few bucks (literally, a few bucks) more per machine, but what they're doing now is selling machines that are going to hurt consumers' view of the "Apple experience." You spend $1500 on a desktop in late 2015 and you're probably not going to be happy with dog-slow performance out of the box.

 

[unplugme71]

This is how Apple will pay for Spaceship 2 campus.