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I find it hilarious how people will spend money on things like this when they already have one that works just fine.
 
Would have liked to see these brighter colored cables with the iMac. Apple should start selling colored Magic accessories and cables separately.
 
I'm looking at the plugs and I see QR codes on them. Even on the picture with the wired EarPods you posted and that looks to me that these are not genuine Apple. I have bought several EarPods and none of them have QR codes on the plugs. In fact, all other Apple cables like USB-C / Thunderbolt never have logistic codes printed on the plugs - at least I haven't seen that ever before.

Not that it really matters though. In my experience Apple's cables often tend to tear/break easy directly at the plug - both "braided" or solid sheathing. As many other I rather use 3rd party cables. Some even offer angled plugs on them.
 
I like the colorful cables! It'd be great if you could just buy the color keyboards/mice/trackpads/cables without the imac. The imacs are cool and fun to play with though.
 
It’s always bothered me that on the front of the iMac you only see the muted colour and no flash of the deeper hue on the back, so if the keyboard and mouse trackpad were wired, it would be perfect!
 
I did like how my orange M1 iMac came with a matching USB-C/Lightning cable. That and the color-matched keyboard and mouse just makes for a nice package overall. I'm probably gonna do a Mini for my next desktop and I have to admit I will miss these little aesthetic details the iMac has, even if there's zero technical advantage.
Does the iMac wake instantly from sleep? That seems to be the one advantage of getting a MacBook vs a Mac mini plugged into a monitor.
 
I'm looking at the plugs and I see QR codes on them. Even on the picture with the wired EarPods you posted and that looks to me that these are not genuine Apple. I have bought several EarPods and none of them have QR codes on the plugs. In fact, all other Apple cables like USB-C / Thunderbolt never have logistic codes printed on the plugs - at least I haven't seen that ever before.
Those are actually 2D datamatrix, and they are typical for prototype/development hardware specifically. You don't find them on production stuff exteriors because it looks ugly and serves no benefit, especially since many accessories are treated as non-serialized at Genius Bar level anyways. Internally, the datamatrix will just have the product serial number and acts as an asset tag of sorts, sometimes with additional information about its development stages or testing stages or whatever.

Here's a bunch of extra examples:

IMG_5231.jpeg

AirPods usually have it on the stem, as well as inside and outside rear of the case. The specific AirPod for example has it serial number, and is in EVT (Engineering validation testing) stage as denotes by the EV, and likely a 2nd iteration since EV2. AOI likely refers to Automated Optical Inspection, looking for any external defects basically.

IMG_7178.jpegSmall accessories like adapters and cables will often have it on one of the connectors, or if the body is big, then the body. This particular Lightning Camera Kit adapter is actually an amazing example for how to understand some of these.
  • First line is serial number
  • M20 is the internal project codename similar to how iPhone iPhone 13ProMax is D64 internally or Mac Mini m2 is J473
  • DOE is Design of Experiments, which is a stage where they often make really small changes and see if that has any impact on manufacturing or reliability or other areas of problem solving and manufacturing optimization
  • CFG04 just means that it's the fourth configuration a.k.a. fourth variant of this product type
  • MLB CFG19 just refers to main logic board configuration 19, a.k.a. the 19th design variant of the internal circuitry on the logic board.
IMG_2419.jpeg

iPhones often have it along the edges

18c2caff9062fcaa8d4991570360935f.jpeg
Apple watchbands are often on the inner lugs. Sometimes it's just a serial number, sometimes it has a datamatrix as well
IMG_2377.jpeg
MacBooks will be along hinge areas and rear facing bits. This one for example in in DVT (Design Validation Testing) stage as denoted by markings, which is the stage where a lot of the major engineering hurdles have largely been taken care of and this is just validating that the design is reliable structurally and electrically and in terms of safety and manufacturing and all sorts of other aspects of design.
IMG_2420.jpeg

iPads will almost always be on the back of the unit to towards the bottom. Prototype/development iPads and iPhones also will often have a laser icon edged somewhere on them if they are a Face ID enabled product. It's basically something they have to do things to US regulatory bodies whenever any sort of laser or laser-like hardware is involved.

You get the idea. It's not something general public gets exposed to pretty much ever, but it's still a pretty interesting little bit of info. In the prototype collector space, this is basically a super easy way to identify things once you know what to look for. You can actually sometimes spot these datamatrices on certain products during Apple's WWDC and Event presentations if you keep your eyes open
 

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@Stella_Fudge Thanks, that explains it. I'm used to all kinds of barcode types for tracking professional equipment in television broadcasting. About 25 years ago I made some custom software for labeling/tracking (by barcode) several types of magnetic media we used in television broadcasting. Some iterations of this software did use 2D barcodes as well to implement recording metadata like title, camera crew, story ID, etc.
 
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Those are actually 2D datamatrix, and they are typical for prototype/development hardware specifically. You don't find them on production stuff exteriors because it looks ugly and serves no benefit, especially since many accessories are treated as non-serialized at Genius Bar level anyways. Internally, the datamatrix will just have the product serial number and acts as an asset tag of sorts, sometimes with additional information about its development stages or testing stages or whatever.

Here's a bunch of extra examples:

View attachment 2446002
AirPods usually have it on the stem, as well as inside and outside rear of the case. The specific AirPod for example has it serial number, and is in EVT (Engineering validation testing) stage as denotes by the EV, and likely a 2nd iteration since EV2. AOI likely refers to Automated Optical Inspection, looking for any external defects basically.

View attachment 2446015Small accessories like adapters and cables will often have it on one of the connectors, or if the body is big, then the body. This particular Lightning Camera Kit adapter is actually an amazing example for how to understand some of these.
  • First line is serial number
  • M20 is the internal project codename similar to how iPhone iPhone 13ProMax is D64 internally or Mac Mini m2 is J473
  • DOE is Design of Experiments, which is a stage where they often make really small changes and see if that has any impact on manufacturing or reliability or other areas of problem solving and manufacturing optimization
  • CFG04 just means that it's the fourth configuration a.k.a. fourth variant of this product type
  • MLB CFG19 just refers to main logic board configuration 19, a.k.a. the 19th design variant of the internal circuitry on the logic board.
View attachment 2446004
iPhones often have it along the edges

View attachment 2446050
Apple watchbands are often on the inner lugs. Sometimes it's just a serial number, sometimes it has a datamatrix as well
View attachment 2446047
MacBooks will be along hinge areas and rear facing bits. This one for example in in DVT (Design Validation Testing) stage as denoted by markings, which is the stage where a lot of the major engineering hurdles have largely been taken care of and this is just validating that the design is reliable structurally and electrically and in terms of safety and manufacturing and all sorts of other aspects of design.
View attachment 2446048
iPads will almost always be on the back of the unit to towards the bottom. Prototype/development iPads and iPhones also will often have a laser icon edged somewhere on them if they are a Face ID enabled product. It's basically something they have to do things to US regulatory bodies whenever any sort of laser or laser-like hardware is involved.

You get the idea. It's not something general public gets exposed to pretty much ever, but it's still a pretty interesting little bit of info. In the prototype collector space, this is basically a super easy way to identify things once you know what to look for. You can actually sometimes spot these datamatrices on certain products during Apple's WWDC and Event presentations if you keep your eyes open
Really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
 
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Another Frieren fan I see. Regarding the cables I like the colours!
I was about to comment on that as well. Frieren is like my 3rd/4th favorite anime elf (still loves me Deedlit, and Marcille is my #1, Farcille for life!!).

Weeb rambling aside, I love the colors of the cables, it's the one thing I miss when I switched from the M1 iMac to the M2Pro Mini.
 
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