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New iMac Tidbits: Headphone Jack on Side, Ethernet Port on Power Adapter, Spatial Audio and WiFi 6 Support, No SD Card Slot
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But there's no option to add an SD port like there is to upgrade SSD and RAM, so . . . apples and oranges. Again, dongles aren't proprietary, so I don't think this is some sort of major income source for Apple Inc. Yes, Apple makes dongles, but so do tons of other companies. As for space, like I mentioned, the ethernet port IS included but on the power brick . . . so if there is just oodles of space behind that chin for these ports, why didn't it go there?
I'm sure lots of things go into these decisions that we're not privy to, and my guess it's not as simple as "we just didn't feel like it" or "we can make a little extra money on dongles." Using that logic, why include a dedicated audio jack? Make people buy the dongle instead.
I WILL say that I'm scratching my head on that audio jack location for an iMac.
Also the ethernet port being moved to the power port is a symptom of the thinness. 11mm is too thin to put a one piece ethernet port. And Apple has not opted to use one of the hinged ones in any of their devices.
And it's still a desktop computer, which generally has an Ethernet as a requirement even today. So they did what a few other companies have done and put it on the power brick. Google did similar with their chromecast devices and it's a decent compromise considering how infrequently most users unplug either power or their ethernet from their machines
Well I like the form factor I am dissapointed by what is inside and the lack of SD card slot. I use SD cards all the time it is probably the most used port on my conputers. If I buy this machine I have to get one of those dangly card readers hanging from a USB-C port (How un-Apple, Apple was always about keeping things looking neat).
There are no performance differences between this machine and the Mac-Mini and you can't even order more Ram (Why?). It looks to me as though Apple rushed the M1 out of the door, the architecture has huge potential but they are not ready yet for pro-machines. So I wonder if they are sand-bagging to keep sales of Intel machines going. I have an office full of 27" iMacs from 2011 and I am sitting waiting to upgrade them all. As it happens M1 27" iMacs would be fine for my office but we cannot buy 24" as the ERP system we use demands huge screens. I had contemplated going MacMini but buying third party screens always puts me off because they all see so low res compared to Apple iMac screens.
There are no performance differences between this machine and the Mac-Mini and you can't even order more Ram (Why?). It looks to me as though Apple rushed the M1 out of the door, the architecture has huge potential but they are not ready yet for pro-machines. So I wonder if they are sand-bagging to keep sales of Intel machines going. I have an office full of 27" iMacs from 2011 and I am sitting waiting to upgrade them all. As it happens M1 27" iMacs would be fine for my office but we cannot buy 24" as the ERP system we use demands huge screens. I had contemplated going MacMini but buying third party screens always puts me off because they all see so low res compared to Apple iMac screens.
There's more. and unfortunately I don't really feel like giving ytou a complete business 101 course and rundown on how removal of choice and options are used in modern day business to steer other product sales that typically have higher margins to them.
The locked down, complete soldered devices with resctrive ports is absolutely a decision made first to drive other business unit sales. Especially in the situation where devices have the technical and physical capability of having it.
Listen, i'm not saying that this iMAC should have USB-A or SD Card. I was merely contending that the decision to not have them in this device is a business decision. not technical.
One of the things a lot of users, especially of the laptops were doing was buying the lowest storage tier they could (Because of the cost of the upgrades) and buying a small SD card to add expandible storage for their files. Without SD Card built in, if they want to expand but still keep the "internal" self contained footprint, they have no choice now but to purchase the upgraded larger storage model.
With the limited SKu's, that means someone who is opting to buy the lowest model at $1600 will now need to buy the $2099 sku just to get the internal 512 storage. They might not need or want the faster CPU, but will be forced to pay for the $400 upgrade for 256gb of storage. Especfially when modern NVME storage can easily be found for 1-2tb at that price point
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I think a lot of people were confuzzled and really didn't know what they wanted until Apple revealed their true inner desire yesterday.
They may not actually be "jonesing" for it. It may be that they have to support a particular piece of equipment for which there is no other option. Just because Apple, or any computer manufacturer, leaps forward doesn't mean that all of the peripheral and equipment manufacturers move with them at the same pace. It's inappropriate to denigrate someone just because they're stuck in the unenviable position of having to use and support a piece of equipment that the "cool kids" have decided needs to just go away and die, already.
Yes. And the screen is like what? 16 by 10? The iMac is like 4 by 3. It’s also an aesthetic thing.
Plenty of people will buy their dongles and cables from the Apple Store (online or physical) whether they're Apple-made or third party.
Apple maybe save a buck by not having to include a SD card reader. Doesn't affect the retail price which is only loosely correlated with the bill-of-materials (unless you think that the total cost + standard margin of a completely re-designed iMac just happened to come out, to the cent, the same as the old 21.5"). Apple sells a lot of Macs. The bucks add up.
...maybe the iMac Pro/5k replacement will have extra ports. Some people for whom the 24" would have done the job will buy the more expensive machine...
Going beyond just the SD slot, the $1300 model is pretty blatantly artificially "knobbled" by the exclusion of the 2 extra USB ports and Ethernet to justify the price point. A couple of extra USB ports and Ethernet are not luxury items and there's no other justification for excluding them from a $1300 computer. The cost of the extra logistics involved in having two physically different models probably exceeds the BOM savings of removing the ports - but strategically it gives Apple the advantage of advertising a "from $1299" headline price while (hopefully) up-selling a large number of customers to the $1500 or $1700 model.
Without Intel's i3/i5/i7/i9 choices, clock speed options, GPU/VRAM choices I suspect that Apple is reaching a bit for ways of justifying different price points for essentially the same M1 machines...
Apple designs for the masses, not the outliers with special requirements. Those who have special requirements can purchase the appropriate cable or adapter. Easy and inexpensive. My USB-C cables cost around $7 four years ago. They are even cheaper now.
If a USB-C cable is too expensive for the outliers, the good news is there are many other computer manufacturers with legacy ports that outliers can reward with their currency.
This is very clearly intentional and not technical from waht I can tell (unless Apple is lying about complete SOC)
if the USB / Thunderbolt chipset is integrated in the SoC and they're using a single SoC design accross the entire M1 lineup, than it makes absolutely zero difference between the Sku's. removing the USB ports would absolutely again, be a business decision and not technical in nature.
The only thing I can thin of is that Apple is taking the lower binned chips and hobbling them to use in the lowest model. Similar to what Intel does with a lot of their lineup. Single die, but lower quality chips that don't test well get cores disabled and sold as a lower sku.
Another way to look at that...
14 years ago we moved on to a better and more functional bezel color
Just because we did something in the past does not mean it was great
What does a professional color look like? Is it the absence of color?
They have one that has the same color as the previous model. It’s the grey natural anodised aluminium one. I don’t understand why everybody is yapping about those colors when you have the choice. It’s not like they are forcing you to get the yellow one or something.
I have looked into the Mac Mini M1 myself in anticipation of the new iMac but I was unable to find a monitor that didn’t look like a piece of plastic. There was the LG Ultrafine series but they are no longer available and they started at $799. Add the cost of the Mac Mini, an Apple keyboard and mouse and a 1080p camera (that sticks out like a sore thumb) and that puts you way over the price point of an all-in-one iMac with the same specs. So I decided to wait. Glad I did.
Indeed, makes you wonder why people have been craving for a new design, they should have just kept the old design and slapped an M1 it 😂
Not a fan of the new look. but I definitely feel like this 24" new iMAC is a throwback to the old coloured CRT based devices that Apple sold really well to home users and first time buyers.
it looks like a modern take on the front of the old devices like this, including keeping the chin
the colours and white borders make me feel like this is the spirit they are trying to rekindle with these devices.
I like the colours. I just have so many other little things that I think they could have done to truly innovate on the iMac space.
Looks pretty much like the mini or iMac second tier models, no? Except no 56k modem. Damn you Apple, bring back the modem!
Indeed, all the professional reviews are wrong, you are right, this M1 is terrible, it all went downhill after the 486!
Some of that space has been taken by Chromebooks. They're cheaper. Updates are a fifteen second reboot. But without Google Cloud Print now, printer support is an ugly time-sucking support issue.