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There is no excuse for not going bezel-less
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I would rather have thinner bezels over the thinner edge the current design has. A thinner bezel allow my second monitor to sit closer to the main one. The small depth is pointless when the foot has a much larger depth.
But I would rather the iMac be completely redesigned. Put the computing components in the base. Not having the screen in the way means more opportunities for cooling, and plenty of option for access options for accessible RAM and storage. It also means much less weight carried along with the screen, so a less support needed, which can be more elegant and hopefully adjustable for better ergonomics. Some will have realised I am talking about something like the iMac G4, and yes I would love that format with modern design styling.
But I would rather the iMac be completely redesigned. Put the computing components in the base. Not having the screen in the way means more opportunities for cooling, and plenty of option for access options for accessible RAM and storage. It also means much less weight carried along with the screen, so a less support needed, which can be more elegant and hopefully adjustable for better ergonomics. Some will have realised I am talking about something like the iMac G4, and yes I would love that format with modern design styling.
Bezel-less is way overrated in a desktop design IMO. Bezels actually serve a purpose as they provide an eye buffer to block out what is going on behind the screen. If you have it back to a wall or in a cubical etc. it doesn't really matter, but if you have it where it backs up to an active area it makes a HUGE difference. Even with a bezel some people need to get a hood or visor already and that is going to become even more of an issue if they reduce the bezels too much (google iMac Hood or visor).
I'm more interested in Apple providing a height adjustable iMac.
I'm more interested in Apple providing a height adjustable iMac.
All of you got some good points but here is my different view. What if I’m a not-that-pro user and actual specs are sufficient for me and my workflow and I’d LOVE to have a more minimalist, bezelless body. The whole world is not full of pro users, but more casual ones exist too. I don’t care about specs bumps because iMac from 2012 fulfills my workflow easily. Aparat from lack of retina screen of course.
Why the heck should the bezels be smaller? It’s on a freaking desk, not in my pocket. And it’s not a laptop that you carry around.
Besides, the CPU in the iPhone is awesome.
The intel CPU in the iMac is producing a lot of heat. I’d hate it if they make the bezels smaller and it resulted in more fan noise.
Someday we will have Apple’s CPU in the iMac. But it’s not today.
Besides, the CPU in the iPhone is awesome.
The intel CPU in the iMac is producing a lot of heat. I’d hate it if they make the bezels smaller and it resulted in more fan noise.
Someday we will have Apple’s CPU in the iMac. But it’s not today.
I'm more interested in the function over the form. When Apple made the iMac appear thinner it did nothing to make the product more appealing in my eyes, quite the opposite in fact. I would prefer a thicker machine with room for adequate cooling and for them to use the front bezel for something really useful, like putting the SD Card slot and a couple of USB ports on the front of the machine so the can actually be used without having to fumble around the back of the machine. Putting the power button there too wouldn't have been a bad idea.
Having a machine that looks pretty doesn't help me get my job done, having the right functionality does.
Having a machine that looks pretty doesn't help me get my job done, having the right functionality does.
Steve wrote in #30 above:
"It doesn't need to be bezel-less, it just needs a modern updated design."
Huh?
How much more "modern" can you make an iMac look...?
The current design looks, "simply great" to my eyes.
"It doesn't need to be bezel-less, it just needs a modern updated design."
Huh?
How much more "modern" can you make an iMac look...?
The current design looks, "simply great" to my eyes.
It's already in a thermal corner. The iMac "non-pro" design depends on using (at the most) a very well behaved ~90 watt processor, along with a modest-power GPU, in the 27". It works better with a ~65 watt processor. Unfortunately, the 9xxx-series processors everybody wants for significantly better performing iMacs are not as well behaved as the 7xxx series - they are much more likely to exceed their designed power on a regular basis. Increasing GPU performance would also require more power...
The iMac Pro gives some extra power headroom, by trading the 3.5" drive bay and perhaps the RAM hatch for more fan space. The RAM hatch is unclear because the iMac Pro uses full-size DIMMs, while other iMacs use laptop SODIMMs - it would be hard to build a hatch that gives access to the big DIMMs.
The most logical way to get the 9xxx processors and decent GPUs into an iMac is to build a thicker computer - but Jony Ive won't permit that. The next most logical choice is to use something like the iMac Pro design, which requires keeping the bezels and the chin. The space saved by eliminating spinning drives goes to cooling, and there's no space left for eliminating bezels or chin.
The iMac Pro gives some extra power headroom, by trading the 3.5" drive bay and perhaps the RAM hatch for more fan space. The RAM hatch is unclear because the iMac Pro uses full-size DIMMs, while other iMacs use laptop SODIMMs - it would be hard to build a hatch that gives access to the big DIMMs.
The most logical way to get the 9xxx processors and decent GPUs into an iMac is to build a thicker computer - but Jony Ive won't permit that. The next most logical choice is to use something like the iMac Pro design, which requires keeping the bezels and the chin. The space saved by eliminating spinning drives goes to cooling, and there's no space left for eliminating bezels or chin.
Exactly. This push for change for change's sake is precisely why I think Apple has gotten so much blowback in the past couple years on their computer line.
Computers are a mature commodity. They don't need to 'change' much. Apple can make nice, stylish, reliable, wonderfully functional computers without ***** too much with the style. People that want the bezels a little thinner, to them I ask, will you give a damn 6 months down the road? You'll be looking at the screen for gods sakes, not the bezels.
And don't even get me started on people who want the iMac thinner. They need to be put out to pasture and shot, then dismembered. And their body parts fried in hot cooking oil.
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Boom. Nailed it. Reducing the size/thickness for style would be deadly. And yep, the current style is already probably too snug to properly cool upcoming chips.
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The whole apple world is already to full of consumers like you who value form over function. Please leave our desktop computers alone. Can we have at least one last bastion where performance and capability is the guiding principal?
Good lord, nothing is safe from the form over function zealots.
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I don’t really care about your needs. For the money I pay I want to meet my expectations and nothing more. I’d like to have internals from 2017 and up with bezelless body. Specs bumps are (atm) not important for me.
Sayin that, Apple COULD keep two design at the same time but we all know they’d never do it. So for now I’d take the redesign.
Haha a good one. However, we have, after all, four decades of function over form attitude to revenge. The iMac as concept was and is a reaction to the function over form design principles.
Remember, the iMac is for a much broader costomer base than the average power hungry macrumourist so thinner and lighter design is possible. Personally, I would like an iMac Pro design for cooling and relatively powerful CPU/GPU option.
Bezels are great, they block out distractions.
Yes I would be disappointed. I would like to see the new iMac with a fresh design that is more aligned with the rest of the product categories. Of course with a solid performance and spec bump as well.
Bezels are needed, and therefore completely okay on an iMac. Did you ever try to actually work on a bezel-less monitor that is around 30 inches away? You have no "barrier" for your eyes when you look at the edge of your screen, which makes working in front of it for hours really weird. My best guess is that bezels are staying, just like touchscreens in MacBooks or on an iMac won't come in the first place. Just ergonomics.
A true believer in form over function. "Forget about what the computer can do ... if it doesn't look slightly different I ain't buying".
P.S. Within a few months you'll be used to the 'new look' and the computer will be boring again. I guess it'll be time to sell it and wait for another redesign.
LOL tell that to my 2012 iMac which I’m still rocking and that I’ve been holding on to until the next redesign. This machine has been glorious to me over the last six years and has been the best Mac I’ve ever owned.
I love how Apple designs their products and I have a deep appreciation for their aesthetics over the competition. I wouldn’t be buying a Mac if I didn’t feel this way and I couldn’t care less what you think of me or how you want to judge me for valuing “form over function” in my Mac. I choose what to do with my money and how to spend it just as much as how you choose what to do with yours.
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My problem with Apple is not the bezels. It’s f.ing their “making always thinner no matter what” habit that turned MacBook Pro into overheating, underpowered device. Then I moved to iMac. Well.. that turned out be my best move. There is simply no need to make current iMac thinner. I would like to get one with a proper cooling and newest chips inside of it. User upgradibility would be perfect like on 2011 iMacs, because when the time passes these iMacs with really really great displays will turn into garbage.
I can definitely see your point. I have never tried it before, but I will be sure to try it whenever I get the chance.
Small addition: It's not much of an issue when you're placing the iMac in front of a neutral wall. In an open office where you face a room, however, it gets irritating really quickly.