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Teardown of New 21.5-inch iMac Reveals Glued Down LCD and Dual Microphones
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LOL I think some of you are missing the point this is purely a design decision to sell more iMacs. Apple doesn't particularly care much for those of us who like to pop the cover off, tinker around and replace things. People like that aren't the target buyers.
In their eyes, the consumer should just pitch the machine when it's obsolete and buy a new one.
I am waiting for the TB display to get upgraded to USB 3.0 and look as sleek as this thing.
As for iFixIt I love that site. If you are even a little bit of a geek, these teardowns are fun to see.
In their eyes, the consumer should just pitch the machine when it's obsolete and buy a new one.
I am waiting for the TB display to get upgraded to USB 3.0 and look as sleek as this thing.
As for iFixIt I love that site. If you are even a little bit of a geek, these teardowns are fun to see.
Many many moons ago on my original iMac I upgraded the HD, memory, and Vram. Fast forward 14 years and nothing at all is upgradable, makes me a bit sad.
Your analogy is correct (cars to computers), although your conclusion is not.
As cars have become more intertwined with advanced technology (just as computers/smartphones have become, etc), they have also become far more difficult for the layman or hobbyist to repair. Tighter-fitting panels, more sensors, more complex wiring, and so on.
i don't see why apple designers couldn't design something that looks awesome, and easy to get into like that hp one, as well as it being thin. a design challenge that the imac designers failed in this model. especially since they resorted to glueing. anyone can glue stuff together.
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this is a failure on the apple design team. pure utter failure. there are no excuses for it. except, if they don't want users to upgrade it, then they should just make every screw and special apple glue to make it impenetrable to the user except for apple genuises that have the tools to do so.
The ZR1 does the ring in 7:19, the 458 does it in 7:32, not to bad in a 13 miles long track.
Oh yeah, the new 70,000 dollar Z06 does it in 7.22,
And the Dodge Viper ACR does it in 7.12.
SOURCE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nürburgring_Nordschleife_lap_times
You silly Europeans, thinking you make better cars, but you don't
The point is, you could buy a ZR1 for 100,000 dollars, thats faster.....handles better...easier to drive....sounds better.....and will last longer ( Ferrari's are terribly unreliable ), and overall be a better car. Then the 458 for 400,000 dollars.
The point I was making is that with the iMac, you can get a better desktop for WAY less money. And it can be upgradeable.
Why couldn't they have just kept the old form factor?
Or do what HP does?
Image
Why can't the iMac be like that? Isn't Apple about engineering and making the best product possible for the money? So why can't an iMac be easily upgraded?
Its all about looks with Apple these days.
Apple doesn't want you tinkering around inside. Period.
then they should be more clearer on this part. use special apple glue or special apple screws. PERIOD!
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think different = think better?
I have mixed emotions about this one. I purchased the 2011 refurbished with an ed discount. I went with the base model because I knew I could upgrade the RAM for cheap. 8Gb is overkill for most casual users. I do a lot of intensive Graphic Design work so I need RAM. Also my 2011 took a back dive off my desk for reasons I won't go into, but I was able to clean off all the shards of glass and purchase a factory front glass for $60. Would this be possible on the 2012? I know most people don't shatter the glass, but it does happen.
However, 90% of the population never even needed a PC in the first place. A smart phone or tablet would have been just fine. People only bought desktop PCs because that is all there were.
So getting down to the issue here I believe the following is at the heart of the matter. If a person is OK with the lack of user access to an iPad or a Retina MacBook Pro and is just going to use whatever the factory provides then I get an iMac.
On the other hand if a user likes or needs to work on a computer's internals and wants to be able to upgrade the machine then devices built in the direction that Apple is heading should be avoided.
As an example my late 2008 MBP has RAM and a HDD that weren't even available at any price when I bought it. The ability to easily upgrade is really important to me. No one side is right or wrong. It just depends on what a user's goals are.
Maybe for apple, but I believe you are too quick to make a statement like that as far as desktops in general. I know I will be a holdout for servicibility until the very end.
Tablets are considerably cheaper and in my mind, that's what makes up for their lack of servicibility. Granted my tablet cost $150. I would dare say that the iPad is less prone to hardware failures than imacs/ traditional PCs as well.
I have mixed emotions about this one. I purchased the 2011 refurbished with an ed discount. I went with the base model because I knew I could upgrade the RAM for cheap. 8Gb is overkill for most casual users. I do a lot of intensive Graphic Design work so I need RAM. Also my 2011 took a back dive off my desk for reasons I won't go into, but I was able to clean off all the shards of glass and purchase a factory front glass for $60. Would this be possible on the 2012? I know most people don't shatter the glass, but it does happen.
my 2007 imac also suffered the same fate w/ the front glass. i was drunk and watching a football game. my team lost and tossed my garbage can to the tv (an old crt) but ricocheted and hit the 20" imac. the tv had no scratches but the imac's front glass broke. the lcd inside was spared. and the penalty for this dumb act was only $60. i bet that if this happened to the new model, that the lcd would have broken.
Do you have something to back up that statement. I do not believe the warranty is voided unless you damaged something in the process and expect it to be covered.
A failure is something that won't sell, the iMac WILL sell and it WILL outsell all the other AIO's as it always has and upgradability had nothing to do with the iMac's past success.
What you mentioned in regards to the screw has already been tried (well sort of) by Apple. The Macbooks came with a specialized screw that required a special tool to open it and your average hardware store would not carry it. This tool was only given to the geniuses to use. Well guess what, iFixit got a hold of this special tool and then shortly thereafter anyone could find it on the web from a 3rd party.
And as far as the glue, isn't that what iFixit's complaint was, they said Apple used a overly strong glue which made it almost impossible to open the iMac. I think Apple is making their point very clear here but some people are purposely ignoring that.
This is a great point. I bring work home frequently so $1000 for an upgradable iMac was a no brainer for me. This was the first "desktop" I ever purchased and I love it. The only thing I don't like is that if I waited for refurbs of the 2012 to show up, there's no way I'd be able to get a 16GB of RAM model for $1000. They're $1499 now so I imagine the refurb will be at the lowest $1199? I think that any refurb 16GB won't stay long.
it will sell. but it won't sell as well if it were DESIGNED better. it's selling potential, in my view, is hampered by a design flaw or design limitation.
Okay, just think about this, be honest about it. The majority of people that buy an iMac do it because it's simple, easy to use, looks good and has Apple's branding. Apple didn't put in a Blu-ray drive (when Sony tried to push that technology in everyone's face trying to convince people that they need a Blu-Ray drive in a computer) in the iMac, but did it hurt the iMac's sales? No way. In fact the sales numbers have increased well over competitor's AIO's that had a Blu-Ray drive.
The tinkerer's and geeks on this forum believe that they are in the majority in regards to everything they hate about Apple. The simple truth is most people that are buying Apple's products are not the people on MR. Said.
Okay, just think about this, be honest about it. The majority of people that buy an iMac do it because it's simple, easy to use, looks good and has Apple's branding. Apple didn't put in a Blu-ray drive (when Sony tried to push that technology in everyone's face trying to convince people that they need a Blu-Ray drive in a computer) in the iMac, but did it hurt the iMac's sales? No way. In fact the sales numbers have increased well over competitor's AIO's that had a Blu-Ray drive.
The tinkerer's and geeks on this forum believe that they are in the majority in regards to everything they hate about Apple. The simple truth is most people that are buying Apple's products are not the people on MR. Said.
there is no software in os x to support blu-ray anyway. and if it did, i bet you imac sales would be higher than it is. and if the 2012 imac was designed better--sales would be higher. just saying.
Personal experience and anecdotal evidence from others. It appears to be up to the Apple employee inspecting the machine. Outcomes appear random. Like I said, they may look the other way if you don't screw anything up.
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Apparently, he did not need to remove the logic board.
Okay, just think about this, be honest about it. The majority of people that buy an iMac do it because it's simple, easy to use, looks good and has Apple's branding. Apple didn't put in a Blu-ray drive (when Sony tried to push that technology in everyone's face trying to convince people that they need a Blu-Ray drive in a computer) in the iMac, but did it hurt the iMac's sales? No way. In fact the sales numbers have increased well over competitor's AIO's that had a Blu-Ray drive.
The tinkerer's and geeks on this forum believe that they are in the majority in regards to everything they hate about Apple. The simple truth is most people that are buying Apple's products are not the people on MR. Said.
You act as if apple would lose the interest of typical Mac consumers if the computer was servicible. A lost sale is a lost sale. I doubt current customers would run away if they found out that the iMac was servicible.
To be safe, it would appear anyone planning on buying a BTO iMac should spec their machine right from Apple. Personally, I'm not a fan of disassembling a finely tuned machine like the iMac. Spending plus $200 for 16 gbs of memory from Apple is a no-brainer.
Saw the 21.5 model at Best Buy. It is beautiful and thin compared to the last model which I owned. And, it is much lighter.
How much higher did you want them to sell? Doesn't Apple have enough money?
. Sorry man, you're making a losing point here.
How much higher did you want them to sell? Doesn't Apple have enough money?
I doubt stockholders would like that logic.
I'm making a point, I couldn't care less either way. I have a 2011 user-serviceable iMac and even with my high technical knowledge all I wanted to do is upgrade the ram to 16GB and I did and that was all I wanted to do.
And I doubt customers will walk away from a non-user-servicable iMac. Don't get upset man, the other companies are going to follow suit. Don't think they won't, they will, that have. Almost every decision Apple makes the other companies follow right behind.
Fair enough, but you act like there's a choice. Apple doesn't have a regular, user-serviceable desktop. The Mac Pro doesn't count, because it's an insane overkill, has an astronomical cost, and only gets updated every 7 years. The Mac Mini would be nice, if it had a video card, a 512GB SSD plus a couple of HDDs. The case would have to be a little larger for that. But such a product doesn't exist. Something the size of an Xbox, which we could easily upgrade to replace the memory, the video board and the drives. Even if it only supported a handful of Apple-approved video cards.