Apple introduces new iMacs with more affordable pricing

[hillstones]

Just as expected. All you regulars whined and complained about no new Macs. Then they arrive, and all you can do is complain about them. Apple is not going to add better CPU's that would eat into Mac Pro sales. Double the hard drive, double the memory, and better graphics in the $1,799 model make them a fine upgrade. The previous 2.8 GHz model is now on clearance (not refurb) for $1,399. The average user will be satisfied with the 9400M graphics and a low $1,499 price tag for a 24" model, especially since MacBooks are selling like crazy. LED displays would have increased the price, and you fools would have complained about that too.

[UTisNUM1]

With the economy tanking all over the world, it is hard to make money if you drop the price in another country because it won't reflect the same revenue as the home front.

[GTL215]

Let's put the intangible value of OS X off the table. Let's just look at straight up hardware. Can somebody please configure a comparable machine from Dell, HP, or whoever? Make something comparable to the new iMacs, and post the specs right here. Don't talk about making your own box, I'm talking about commercially available consumer desktops. I guarantee you'll find comparable prices on hardware. THEN we can throw in the intangible value of the OS (and bundled software) and the hardware design Apple is known for.

I'm sick of people complaining about a lack of value and things being overpriced. You'd think people on this site actually knew a thing or two about Apple computers besides their sticker price.

[Anonymous.Shyster]

I guess the point is, it's a pretty lame update. A lot of people, including myself, have been waiting for a new computer from apple. For apple to expect people to fork out more money for specifications that are over a year old is an insult. Putting a Quadcore on a top end imac eat into mac pro sales? Hardly. What if it does? People who want a mac pro will still want a mac pro. 8 cores? Who wouldn't? People who can't afford a mac pro, but they may be willing to stretch their budget for a i7 quad core or something along those lines.

Furthermore, in a few months, having to upgrade to Snow Leopard, as most people will want, will add to the cost. So in this 'economic crisis' wouldn't it make some sense to bring out a real updated machine, so everybody who has been waiting will buy one? The demand seems to be there.

Not sure what I'll do now, I might just buy a Dell (and some noise canceling headphones). Never thought I would say that, I feel dirty, but then again, not as dirty as this update makes me feel.

[UTisNUM1]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

I guess the point is, it's a pretty lame update. A lot of people, including myself, have been waiting for a new computer from apple. For apple to expect people to fork out more money for specifications that are over a year old is an insult. Putting a Quadcore on a top end imac eat into mac pro sales? Hardly. What if it does? People who want a mac pro will still want a mac pro.

Furthermore, in a few months, having to upgrade to Snow Leopard, as most people will want, will add to the cost. So in this 'economic crisis' wouldn't it make some sense to bring out a real updated machine, so everybody who has been waiting will buy one?

Not sure what I'll do now, I might just buy a Dell (and some noise canceling headphones). Never thought I would say that, I feel dirty, but then again, not as dirty as this update makes me feel.

Compare the all in one desktops out there. Put them against the iMac and see which is better and then complain about not liking the update.

[GTL215]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

Not sure what I'll do now, I might just buy a Dell (and some noise canceling headphones). Never thought I would say that, I feel dirty, but then again, not as dirty as this update makes me feel.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! PLEASE DONT BUY A DELL!!!!!

Good riddance to ya, pal. More macs for me.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by nvidia2008

No LED backlighting. Naughty on Apple's part.

I agree as this was their chance to "go all green". Color me disappointed.

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by italiankid

NO JOBS = NO APPLES!

WHAT A HORRIBLE UPDATE!

NO LED? NO BLU RAY? WHAT IS APPLE DOING?

the price of 2199$ US is 2599$ CDN LOL

NO THANKS!

Ps The exchange rate difference is not 40%

APPLE WANTS TO HOSE CUSTOMERS!


I'd pay a 10 to 15% difference not 40% for these specs.

Umm, 2600/2200 isn't 40% - it's 18% and currently that 1.18 ratio is better than the USD vs CAD ratio of 1.286 so, technically speaking, you're getting a better deal than the US.

But yeah, they are really pushing the exchange rates with this update...

[Anonymous.Shyster]

All in one desktops? Didn't know they existed, but then again, I don't know PC's.
I see a Dell with an i7 processor and a 24" display (tower) for $2000AU. I guess that's about what the new powermacs are, without a display for about $4500AU +

You want to compare, go ahead, I'm all ears....

[UTisNUM1]

Originally Posted by italiankid

even at 19% its a rip off.

not for these specs

Look at other all in one desktops then say the iMac is a rip off.

[fraklinc]

Originally Posted by Abster2core

And that is Apple's fault? Any answer but NO is asinine.

Not Apples fault at all. A company based in the US can't just go to another country and conduct business and not expect to be tax by their local government for doing business there, if they where to sell the product at the same price as the US the company will lose more money than what they make which is not a good strategy, your government tax the hell out of them and they are more than happy to pass that on to you

[plokoonpma]

Originally Posted by saarek

Listen pal, when you shell out premium money on a premium product it would be nice to have premium spec's to go with it!

I love MAC OS X, but I also enjoy games, video encoding and have a large (126gb) music library, so perhaps I do whine, however taking into consideration the almost extortionate pricing I think that we as customer have the right to complain.

So yes simply put, I expect a high performance system for my £1200, you may not, you may be happy for £500's worth of hardware in a fancy case bumped up to £1200, as for me I feel cheated, especially as I genuinely love the company and it's operating system.

You are such hypocrite, got get your AMD based clone and deal with vista, xp or hackingtosh.

LMAO, genuine Apple lover.... hahaha

This comments get better and better, this is sometimes like Star Wars Fans that only think the first 3 movies (originals) are the real thing.. and hammered George Lucas cause he made the prequels.
At the end he does as Apple what he/they think is they want.

Get over it!

[malax]

Originally Posted by Lorre

Yeah, nothing "wow" about this upgrade. The smaller keyboard is a huge drawback if you live in the AZERTY-part of the world, and I'm not sure if the 9400M is an upgrade over the Radeon HD 2600 Pro.

You can swap out the mini wired keyboard for the extended wired keyboard as a no-cost BTO change. I'd miss the full-sized arrow keys (and occasionally the keypad), so I'd go with the larger keyboard. Presumably that won't be an option if you buy at Amazon or some other reseller.

[UTisNUM1]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

All in one desktops? Didn't know they existed, but then again, I don't know PC's.
I see a Dell with an i7 processor and a 24" display (tower) for $2000AU. I guess that's about what the new powermacs are, without a display for about $4500AU +

You want to compare, go ahead, I'm all ears....

All in one desktops are computer like the iMac where everything is built in one piece of the computer. Look at the HP Touchsmart, look at the Sony Vaio they don't even compare to the iMac in terms of specs.

No other desktop has the same design inside as a Mac Pro. You are paying for a server class machine with the best build in the industry. You can't find that with Dell and you aren't getting the same quality hardware. Also, the i7's are over rated and until Intel opens up support for NIVIDIA, the i7's will fail.

[Anonymous.Shyster]

So, just for the record, you are agreeing that the new star wars films sucked or not?

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by italiankid

even at 19% its a rip off.

not for these specs

As I said, that's a better deal than the current exchange rate. The 19% isn't a ripoff - the $2200 is a rip off (IMO).

[bigmc6000]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

So, just for the record, you are agreeing that the new star wars films sucked or not?

The special effects were better...

[vinea]

Geez...for the iMac it was a speed bump and Apple knows it.

Go to the site and who is getting equal time with the iMac? The mini. How's that for a change? (50-50 you get the new iMac banner and the new Mini banner...I haven't gotten the Mac Pro one yet).

The new mini doesn't suck any more in comparison with the iMac for most things. The iMac will get another bump when the Nahalem Clarksfield mobile quads appear. For whatever reasons Apple decided to skip the Penryn quads.

[shanmugam]

9400M is it integrated graphics? any one can confirm?

is it good enough to play games or even drive 24" monster?

[DyingSun]

Originally Posted by italiankid

the update would have been okay if they included LED displays.

I am hoping Apple fixed the gradient displays or backlighting issues.... if not they are a joke.

That's exactly the point! I'm not complaining about anything else (and everything else about this update seems pretty fine to me), but the fact remains that the only thing bad about current (previous) iMacs is the display quality. I wouldn't find any other reason to upgrade, other than that. As others mentioned above, top of the line specs are rather useless for most users - my current iMac flies in every task I put it through... I just hate the display!

[Zandros]

Originally Posted by GTL215

Let's put the intangible value of OS X off the table. Let's just look at straight up hardware. Can somebody please configure a comparable machine from Dell, HP, or whoever?

The US prices for iMacs are decent, but not the price for the single Quad Mac Pro. Dell's high-end XPS offers equal or better performance in all fields for $1900, and the XPS Studio offers equal performance in everything but graphics for $1100.

[UltimateKylie]

You can get a Dell XPS One 24" for $1599 with includes an Intel QUAD core processor and 4GB of ram.

But also alot of you don't get the point in that with HP or Acer or Lenevo or Dell people have the choice of paying $800 or less for new Quad Core headless desktops. Sure the Mini is cute and small but alot of people just want the best bang (Quad Core or i7) for the money. And headless is the way to go.

[UTisNUM1]

Originally Posted by shanmugam

9400M is it integrated graphics? any one can confirm?

is it good enough to play games or even drive 24" monster?

It is integrated. I played COD4 with 256MB just fine, of course the settings weren't up but i didn't have a lot of slow down.

[Anonymous.Shyster]

So then, now that we're all disappointed.

When is the real update coming?

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by DyingSun

So, there you have it... same old display technology... horrendous 20'' TN LCD with narrow viewing angles and brightness gradient and sort of average 24'' LCD with a few problems of its own as well... why on earth didn't they upgrade the displays to LED, like on every other recent Apple product?! It doesn't make any sense...

Definitely an upgrade to ignore... something better will come.

Agreed.

[Lorre]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

So then, now that we're all disappointed.

When is the real update coming?

March 24th!

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by GTL215

Let's put the intangible value of OS X off the table. Can somebody please configure a comparable machine from Dell

Apple iMac $1500
24 inch
2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 6MB shared L2 cache
4GB memory, 1066MHz DDR3 (max of 8GB)
640GB hard drive (7200 rpm)
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

Dell XPS One $1600 (after instant discount)
XPS One™ with 24-inch widescreen display
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz 4MB L2 Cache
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800Mhz - 2 DIMMs
Integrated Intel® GMA X4500HD Graphics
320GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM)
8-in-1 Media Reader Included

Apple iMac $1800
24 inch
2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 6MB shared L2 cache
4GB memory, 1066MHz DDR3 (max of 8GB)
640GB hard drive (7200 rpm)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory

Dell XPS One $1900 (after instant discount)
XPS One™ with 24-inch widescreen display
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz 4MB L2 Cache
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800Mhz - 2 DIMMs
512MB NVIDIA GeForce® 9600M GT
750GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM)
8-in-1 Media Reader Included

Apple iMac $2200
24 inch
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 6MB shared L2 cache
4GB memory, 1066MHz DDR3 (max of 8GB)
1000GB hard drive (7200 rpm)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 with 512MB memory

[plokoonpma]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

All in one desktops? Didn't know they existed, but then again, I don't know PC's.
I see a Dell with an i7 processor and a 24" display (tower) for $2000AU. I guess that's about what the new powermacs are, without a display for about $4500AU +

You want to compare, go ahead, I'm all ears....

What u think the processors of the new Mac Pro are? Go google Nehalen or the Wikipedia.
Lets see.. the Dell you mentioned.

Does it have dual quadcores? -----> probably not
How much ram supports? NO regular windows support more than 3.26 GB of ram Mac Pro = 32
The Case of it is made of Premium Grade anodized aluminum?

Your Dell will cost 2k after you close the call? REALLY after 15 - 30 minutes with a sales rep that only wants to score upsales? Really?

hehe

[Anonymous.Shyster]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Agreed.

Agreed x2.

So is there any advantage of paying the extra money for this new 'update'? Or would one be wise to buy an old stock iMac at a reduced price or a refurbished one? Are the improvements actually worth the extra $$$?

[trevc]

Hmmmmm.....a 'Lack-Luster' update that took FOREVER to come out.

Is it me, or am I the only one that really can't justify the cost of a mini ... is it the form factor that entices anyone? I think it was a cool form factor when it first came out, but, based on pricing alone, is a tough sell (to me anyways).

I'm glad they worked on their pricing strategy as at today's exchange rate, that $1199 computer should cost $1,545.51 in Canada, instead of the $1399 they're charging. Even at that ....there's a lot of hardware out there, expecially with a SALE that Apple NEVER has ... that people in this 'Recession THingy' that we're having that won't plop that money down.

Over the last few years I always said that when Apple updated the iMac, the features/price point was VERY comparable to the competition. I can't say that today and that I think is a big thing. That with the Recession, people will buy the 'More bang for their buck' and Operating System, etc. won't be as big of a criteria.

Unless they come out with 'NEW' hardware and a wow iPhone update ... I'd say sales overall are gonna be flat (even without the big 'R') .... so what's coming out on the 24th then?

[DaveyJJ]

Originally Posted by poke

Cheapest iMac is up £50 in the UK. The cheapest Mac Mini is up £100! Damn this currency!

Up $80 here in Canada for the low end mini, and the high end one went up $150. There goes my son's chance of buying one any time soon.

The "low end" 24" iMac will run you $2,000 taxes in here. Yikes.

Still, Apple user since the late 1970s so I'm happy as hell with my new 13" MacBook.

[MacMad]

It seems that it's the Gamers who have such a problem with the chips and speeds... errr... so go buy a WII or a PlayStation.

[fezzasus]

Originally Posted by ApplePi

Seems decent, but is the 9400M a good enough chip for a $1200 machine? I'm asking.

It is when the user doesn't want a computer with 3D graphics capabilities.

[Anonymous.Shyster]

Originally Posted by plokoonpma

What u think the processors of the new Mac Pro are? Go google Nehalen or the Wikipedia.
Lets see.. the Dell you mentioned.

Does it have dual quadcores? -----> probably not
How much ram supports? NO regular windows support more than 3.26 GB of ram Mac Pro = 32
The Case of it is made of Premium Grade anodized aluminum?

Your Dell will cost 2k after you close the call? REALLY after 15 - 30 minutes with a sales rep that only wants to score upsales? Really?

hehe

For the record, I was only joking about getting a Dell. I know one should never joke about such things, as sometimes they do happen

Yes, the mac pro would be better, but the dell does have better specs than the imac for cheaper is the issue. I will probably still be getting a new mac, I'm just bummed, I'm entitled to that.

Can't say I didn't toy with the idea of a hackintosh though...

[breeze]

Originally Posted by italiankid

NO JOBS = NO APPLES!

WHAT A HORRIBLE UPDATE!

NO LED? NO BLU RAY? WHAT IS APPLE DOING?

the price of 2199$ US is 2599$ CDN LOL

NO THANKS!

Ps The exchange rate difference is not 40%

APPLE WANTS TO HOSE CUSTOMERS!


I'd pay a 10 to 15% difference not 40% for these specs.

You'd pay a 10 to 15% for a "HORRIBLE UPDATE" ??? Yeah right..., you really know what you're talking
(or having a temper tantrum) about...

[hillstones]

Originally Posted by Zandros

The US prices for iMacs are decent, but not the price for the single Quad Mac Pro. Dell's high-end XPS offers equal or better performance in all fields for $1900, and the XPS Studio offers equal performance in everything but graphics for $1100.

However, the Dell is a poorly made computer compared to the Mac Pro. So stop comparing the two. If you want a cheap computer, buy the Dell.

[bloggerblog]

Originally Posted by plokoonpma

You are such hypocrite, got get your AMD based clone and deal with vista, xp or hackingtosh.

LMAO, genuine Apple lover.... hahaha

This comments get better and better, this is sometimes like Star Wars Fans that only think the first 3 movies (originals) are the real thing.. and hammered George Lucas cause he made the prequels.
At the end he does as Apple what he/they think is they want.

Get over it!

Every corporation in the world would love to have customers such as yourself, they would never be able to do anything wrong!

[UltimateKylie]

Originally Posted by MacMad

It seems that it's the Gamers who have such a problem with the chips and speeds... errr... so go buy a WII or a PlayStation.

What a JOKE... a Wii, Xbox 360, or PlayStation can't match up to a Quad Core with ATI 4850. You can get so much better performance out of a good PC or Mac.

The Wii has similar specs probably to the AppleTV or the old Celeron based Xbox.
The Xbox 360 has 3 fairly limited cores and quite an older GPU. The total RAM of the system is only 512MB.
The PS3 which is theoretically the best still has a older GPU that is WORSE than the Xbox 360. Still limited to a total of 512RAM. The Cell Processor has yet to be conquered or proven that it has all this almighty power. Games still generally perform as good if not better on the Xbox 360.

So yes I will be buying a custom built quad core with ATI 4850 or 4870. If Apple had released a quad core I would have seriously considered it even though it probably would have cost alot more than what I plan on spending on my custom build.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Anonymous.Shyster

Agreed x2.

So is there any advantage of paying the extra money for this new 'update'? Or would one be wise to buy an old stock iMac at a reduced price or a refurbished one? Are the improvements actually worth the extra $$$?

A clearance rather than refurbished sounds good if you got to have it now. I'll just keep waiting with my 20" white matte, who's screen is far better than the current 20" and it's 3 years old!

[guinness]

Seems like your typical Apple speed bump, I would've at least included the 9600M over the 9400M in the starter iMacs, but that's Apple for you.

Oddly enough, I do see the updated Mini as a slightly better value, yeah it's suffering a very slight bit in the CPU (BTO option for a 2.26 GHz C2D), but it still can use up to 4 GB of DDR3 and the Nvidia GPU.

Surprised at the lack of real differentiation between the $600 and $800 models too, as even with the Apple BTO pricing, I'd rather load up the $600 model with 4 GB of DDR3 and get that at $750 over the $800 version, that only has 2 GB and a 320 GB HD.