What makes the Imac thicker than a MBP with same specs?

Because they don't have the same specs. The iMac has a desktop processor, desktop hard drive, and desktop display.

 

What is with your obsession with thinness? The Thunderbolt Display has to be as thick as it is to not destroy itself with heat. Same with the iMac.

 

I worry about the next Thunderbolt Display. My Cinema Display has a burnt-in area on the LCD panel due to the thing somehow being too hot to keep itself from getting destroyed. 

Of course Apple will do nothing about it, so now I'm stuck with a $1,000 display that has a broken panel.

It could be a heat issue. Some large displays use fans. Was it one of the pre 27" ones? The older ones seemed to have way more longer term problems.

 

Nope, a 27". It's definitely a heat issue.

 

I'm quite beyond the 1 year warranty and was unable to get extended AppleCare for it because I did not purchase my Mac Pro at the same time. They're legally absolved.

 

 

Personally I think they could and should give a three year warranty without Apple Care.  

 

I'm in agreement. And it should certainly be worldwide. What better way to retain their nigh-perpetual hold on being top-rated in customer satisfaction and service than to stand behind their products that much further? 

 

It works both ways. Customers are assured of quality longer, and Apple becomes even more self-policing; making sure their products have the quality to last that long.

I'd say so for the displays at least. I've always wondered how much it would add to the cost of every Apple product if they effectively gave everyone AppleCare. They must have numbers for all the repairs and all of the AppleCare sales to be able to figure that out. They charge about $150-350 for AppleCare so say the average is around $250 per buyer and 1/4 of Mac buyers take it = 5 million units per year, that's $1.25b. If everyone was forced to take it, it would add $63 to the price of every Mac if Apple wanted to make the same amount. Obviously their repair costs would increase to be 4x higher (an addition of 3x the normal costs) but this could be a lot less than the $1.25b they make anyway so an additional $100 on Macs ($750m/year) could cover it. It would definitely boost sales if they put 3 year warranty stickers on everything because when you look at a cheap $500 PC with a 1 year warranty and a $1500 iMac with a 3 year warranty, it's easier to justify the extra amount as you know it's covered for 3 years. Apple did resist the 2 year warranty in Italy though so I doubt it's something they'd go for.

There is a lot of empty space inside it:

http://www.mactrast.com/2012/12/first-27-inch-imac-teardown-hits-the-web-beautiful-inside-and-out/

The power supply is over 300W to be able to power the 27" display, a GPU that is up to 100W and a ~80W CPU and thick enough to support a 3.5" drive as well as large enough fans to keep it running quiet. The MBP isn't as quiet when the fans are blowing. Without the 3.5" drive, they could probably shrink it down but that could make the speakers even worse.

Some third party retailers offer Applecare. I wouldn't make any assumptions on how it's skewed anyway. There are other considerations such as educational purchases. $350 is just the standard rate on a 15" mbp, which has the highest Applecare cost. That is probably not the most popular model out of the mac lineup due to pricing. Those numbers don't really tell you anything. Even ther 4x higher repair costs isn't a given.

 

That sucks. Displays are an area where I wish they would focus more on engineering and less on aesthetics.

 

Workstations are typically warrantied 3 years standard from other brands. Displays of higher quality and price points are always warrantied at least 3. You find one year warranties on some cheaper ones, but nothing in a comparable price range. NEC covers them for 4 years. There are exclusions to these things, like they won't cover backlight degradation. Apple's display warranties have their own exclusions, so it's not really any different unless you want to go detail by detail against another brand.