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The headphone jack on the side makes sense for headphones, but will be annoying for speakers.

Most people are probably using wireless headphones these days, so I can see the validity in the complaints about the side headphone jack ruining the aesthetic when external speakers are constantly plugged into it.
It already has speakers. And probably really great ones. The number of people plugging in some other set of speakers into this thing are going to be vanishingly small. Why would you bother?
 
It already has speakers. And probably really great ones. The number of people plugging in some other set of speakers into this thing are going to be vanishingly small. Why would you bother?
This thing is thinner than a macbook pro. It'll have laptop quality speakers. Far from great. I'd bet there will be more people using external speakers than will be using wired headphones.

The only reason it's on the side is because the headphone jack is longer than the thickness of the imac.
 
Really - a consumer format? Top notch mirrorless cameras have SD card slots still, for example Z7 II or Sony a7 III. The latter even using two of them. Even dSLRs like Nikon D850 have one slot for SD card.

The Z7ii and D850 have a second slot which is also referred to as the backup slot for SD. The primary slot is XQD/CF Express and once an SD card goes in the camera slows down because you care more about redundancy. The pro models such as the D6 and upcoming Z9 are dual CF Express B.

Sony is moving to CF Express A and was using SD even on their A9 with all kinds of issues, seemingly waiting for CF Express Type A cards instead of using the XQD format and CF Express A.

Its presence in the older Sony bodies and as secondary/backup slots in Canon and Nikon bodies does not change its status as a consumer format. It was designed for consumer cameras and therefore present in everything from a point and shoot to APSC format DSLR's like the once-popular Canon Rebel line.

You can't shoot 20 - 30 fps 45/50 MP images on SD cards. And even dual SD cards are less reliable than a single durable CF Express card.
 
This thing is thinner than a macbook pro. It'll have laptop quality speakers. Far from great. I'd bet there will be more people using external speakers than will be using wired headphones.

The only reason it's on the side is because the headphone jack is longer than the thickness of the imac.

Antidotal I am sure: I have never once seen a iMac with external speakers. I have seen vast computer labs of them, I have seen them on a desk with nothing else but a wireless keyboard and mouse, I have seen a pair of headphones next to one. But I haven't ever seen a iMac (at least not since 2010, and excluding iMac Pro's in a sound studio) have a pair of speakers connected to it.
 
That Ethernet power brick should be their standard across the lineup now. Maybe just a shift in position to the “top” if you’re using the prongs on the brick itself.
 
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Antidotal I am sure: I have never once seen a iMac with external speakers. I have seen vast computer labs of them, I have seen them on a desk with nothing else but a wireless keyboard and mouse, I have seen a pair of headphones next to one. But I haven't ever seen a iMac (at least not since 2010, and excluding iMac Pro's in a sound studio) have a pair of speakers connected to it.
I had one connnected to a Mission Cyrus II and some speakers.
 
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I am certainly no hardware engineer, but seeing the amount of available space on the inside it would appear this was a conscious choice, not a limitation. I can understand why this is disappointing for many. If the rumors hold true and the redesigned MacBook Pros regain the SD card slot, it would appear Apple might be reserving this as something only "pros" use. Hence the omission in this iMac.

I think it's the same for the "chin," tbh. It looks like there's plenty of space inside the computer, so the fact that they kept the chin tells me they want it there for some reason.
 
I had one connnected to a Mission Cyrus II and some speakers.
From what I can gather, thats a £400 amplifier and say £100 speakers at worst. It'll sound better than the built in speakers for sure, but it doesn't vibe as the target market for a AIO iMac that the dedicated a good bit of marketing about how great the built in speakers are. I actually imagine they expect if anything you'll connect a HomePod to it.
 
You forgot the most important thing: WHITE BEZELS!

what a disgrace!
To be fair, the original iMac G3, the 2nd gen iMac G4, the third-gen iMac G5, and the first Intel iMac all had white or light gray bezels. The black bezels only started with the aluminum iMacs in 2007.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Timeline_of_the_product_Apple_iMac.svg

Same with the iBooks / Macbooks. Heck the Macbook Airs had silver bezels until just a few years ago.
 
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So now the the iMac is just a Mac Mini with a built in display? No dedicated GPU?

I don't know why they have a chin, but if they could put the components behind the display instead of below it that would have made much more sense.

Components behind the display would have heat from the display as well as themselves. The chin puts all the computer and cooling for that in one place. This also means an upcoming mini LED version that emits more heat wont suddenly warm up the computer components.

As for the dedicated GPU, we've replaced the entry level model and not the high end dGPU model. And the M1 GPU is faster than what it is replacing, so why care if it is dedicated? It is faster.
 
I don't get the point of this device. If you're not going to add in more ports, built-in Ethernet, etc - why even make a desktop? The bigger display, some colors, and better speakers? Those are really the only selling point over just getting a MacBook Air. Same number and/or lack of ports, less portable, same number of dongles needed. I've used Macs personally and professionally for over 30 years, and this is by far the least functional, worst thought out design for a desktop I have seen them deliver to date. Imagine trying to use this in a school setting. No USB-A = no wired keyboard without a dongle that will get stolen. Same for the ethernet power brick - I can imagine watching as these walk away. Couple all that with the lack of firmware password, and I don't think the M1 iMac is going to survive in schools or universities.

"What's a computer?"
I wonder if Apple is giving up on schools with these computers. They’re expensive and lack some things that schools would really want. And really, who is the argent audience with these? Kids? Most of them want laptops, and Mac sells the MacBook Air for less. I have been advising some high school graduates to consider iPads if all they want to do is write papers and research on their computers. These new iMacs are just a world of odd design choices, IMO. It seems that in trying to make a general purpose all-in-one they’ve managed to design something that will only fit a small number of general user needs. It will be interesting to see what the more “high end” iMacs bring in the future.
 
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