Apple slims down iMac 40% with 'friction-stir welding' & ditching the disc drive

2456710

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 194
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    People make it sound like there's this huge bulge in the back. Honestly it's not that fat in the back. If it was they'd have a hard time hiding it even showing just a side view.

    iMac_side_shot.jpg
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 22 of 194
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    crimguy wrote: »
    This computer, as one Macrumors user posited, seems geared to a purely consumer/home user demographic, perhaps to segment itself from any future Mac Pro models that come out. 

    Well, i have a few imacs at my law office, and these computers are really not viable designs overall.  I don't know where DED, or Apple, gets the statistic that it doesn't save money to have user-accessible parts inside.  I had to swap out a bum hard drive on my 2007 iMac.  That cost me $70 versus a heck of a lot more through apple (who would have only given me a 250GB drive, whereas I got a 1TB drive instead).  I upgraded ram  on a 27" iMac to 12GB for about $50.  I expect apple to charge $150-200 to go from 8 to 16 GB of RAM.

    I'm not even going into the need for an external DVD, which, I'm sorry to say Mr. Cook, is the "now" and not the "past," at least if you work in any professional field.  All my discovery comes on CD/DVD.  I can live with an external drive, however, as I can throw it in a drawer when not used, and it will doubtlessly offer better performance than what you've put in my iMacs.

    Nice computer, but I think I'd rather get last years model as a refurb.

    Everything you said the iMac should have are reasons why you are not the target customer. Of course this is a consumer machine. It's the iMac. It always has been and everything to it always being geared toward the average user who doesn't use CDs and doesn't ever service their 'PC's' HDD, RAM, GPU, etc.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 23 of 194

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    If you need it you need, but I wonder what you need it for in this day and age? Are you a wedding photographer on the weekends?


     


    I wish... :D  No, I am too far invested in DVDs to give up that function. Besides, DVDs can be legally bought, sold and traded. Movie downloads can't.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 24 of 194
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rogifan wrote: »
    People make it sound like there's this huge bulge in the back. Honestly it's not that fat in the back. If it was they'd have a hard time hiding it even showing just a side view.

    [image]

    Thanks for the image. People need to remember it has 40% less volume than the previous model. That is a huge reduction by any measure. Whether you dislike or not when they could have put in a couple RAIDed HDDs, retained the ODD, added a floppy drive, or whatever is another issue entirely but it's a major update that I've very excited about.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 25 of 194
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I wish... :D  No, I am too far invested in DVDs to give up that function. Besides, DVDs can be legally bought, sold and traded. Movie downloads can't.

    You aren't watching Blu-ray at this point? You aren't using a separate TV/monitor for this function?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 26 of 194
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member


    Removing the optical drive did not allow Apple to make a thinner iMac, because it is not thinner, except for the very edge.  It is still just as fat in the back.  The 3.5 hard drive in the 27" model is thicker than a slot load optical drive.  My 2011 iMac just became more valuable compared to the new iMac.  The 2011 iMac has the SD card slot on the side, where it should be.  It has an optical drive, which is still used on a regular basis.  It has Audio Input.  It has a FireWire 800 port.  The new iMac...none of that.  Apple would prefer you to use dongles and external devices with your sleek new iMac...that you spent a lot of money on.  Hey Apple, since you removed those features, why are you still charging the same price as the previous model that included those features?  When I look at my iMac, I can't see the sides of it, so I could care less how thin it is, or isn't.


     


    The best part of this refresh is the crippled 21.5" model.  Ha!  No memory upgrades by the user (they removed the user-accessible panel), and a lousy 5400 RPM laptop drive instead of a 7200 RPM desktop-class drive.  Brilliant.  Talk about a step-backwards.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 27 of 194


    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post

    [gorgeous picture]


     


    Well, I was wrong. The SD card slot could NOT have fit on that side. But it's still in a dumb place. 


     



    Originally Posted by hillstones View Post

    My 2011 iMac just became more valuable compared to the new iMac.


    Yeah, the black market on Macs with floppy drives is REAL lucrative. ????


     



    It has Audio Input.


     


    Huh. I'm seeing six audio inputs on the new one.


     



    It has a FireWire 800 port.


     


    And two FireWire 800 ports. Well, ten, if you count all the bandwidth. 

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 28 of 194
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,928member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jongrall View Post


     


    The article says it's not designed for users to open at all. The friction welding of the front to the back prevents that. I'm not sure how Apple plans on servicing failed hard drives etc., but I would expect it requires special tools to go in via the screen. Why would you need to open it anyway? If you need to do a repair, best take it to Apple. If you want to upgrade it, you're probably buying the wrong computer.





    i know and in the same breath, "Both can, however, be upgraded if the entire case is opened up." Was this line necessary then? I don't want to pay Apple for RAM. Perhaps there will be a DIY video soon.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 29 of 194
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    People make it sound like there's this huge bulge in the back. Honestly it's not that fat in the back. If it was they'd have a hard time hiding it even showing just a side view.


    That is the 21.5 model which uses a laptop drive.  The 27 is just as fat as the previous model.  Both the 2011 and 2012 iMac have the same depth on the base stand, so who cares how thin the panel is.  You still need the same amount of desk space.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 30 of 194
    It's an impressive design.

    Stunning.

    And you can fit a quad core i7 running at 3.4 (turbo'd to 3.9), a G680MX Kepler (12th fastest...gpu...! In an iMac!!! OMG, what's happening?), 8 gigs of ram upto 32 gigs...

    ...put a SD drive in there (which should be standard along with the i7...for the high end models...) and you've got on beast of a workstation.

    Awesome stuff.

    Shame about the price hike. 100quid more in the UK. Ouch.

    Lemon Bon Bon.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 31 of 194
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    hillstones wrote: »
    That is the 21.5 model which uses a laptop drive.  The 27 is just as fat as the previous model.  Both the 2011 and 2012 iMac have the same depth on the base stand, so who cares how thin the panel is.  You still need the same amount of desk space.
    According to the site I got this from (c|net) that is a picture of the 27" model.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 32 of 194

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    Everything you said the iMac should have are reasons why you are not the target customer. Of course this is a consumer machine. It's the iMac. It always has been and everything to it always being geared toward the average user who doesn't use CDs and doesn't ever service their 'PC's' HDD, RAM, GPU, etc.


    This is a consumer machine?  I don't know many consumers in this day & age that have a minimum $1,299 to just drop on a computer.  This looks targeted more at the prosumer market than anything.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 33 of 194


    Originally Posted by Lemon Bon Bon. View Post

    Shame about the price hike. 100quid more in the UK. Ouch.


     


    Same in the U… oh, right, 1:1 number bumps. Why is the Pound still so highly valued, anyway? ????

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 34 of 194
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    Removed the optical drive?


     


    About damn time. 



    Typical response from an Apple Fanboi drinking the Apple Kool-Aid.  Care to give a reason?  Did the optical drive in the previous models ruin your life of computing?  Apple took away many features from the 2011 model, but still charges the same premium price...but I guess you are okay with that too?  I don't want an external drive sitting on my desk when a DESKTOP computer should retain an optical drive that many people still use today.  Software still ships on CD/DVD, DiskWarrior can only be upgraded by creating a new DVD, DiskWarrior must be booted from a DVD or other drive to make repairs, many DVD games require the disc to be in the drive to play.  People still buy music CDs and rip in their format of choice.  I backup my software installers to DVD, so they don't take up valuable disc space.  Many reasons to include the optical drive, but no valid reason to remove the drive from a desktop computer, especially when they don't lower the price for removing the feature.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 35 of 194
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,954member
    This is a consumer machine?  I don't know many consumers in this day & age that have a minimum $1,299 to just drop on a computer.  This looks targeted more at the prosumer market than anything.

    Maybe not the WalMart consumer, but that's not the breadth of the consumer market.

    A business heading too far down that scale risks extinction. Making peanuts per computer means your profits can be knocked out to oblivion by any wiggle of your supply chain or the market.

    jungmark wrote: »
    i know and in the same breath, "Both can, however, be upgraded if the entire case is opened up." Was this line necessary then? I don't want to pay Apple for RAM. Perhaps there will be a DIY video soon.

    I don't expect it to be a problem, but I'm interested in how it works. My 2011 model isn't hard to open, I don't even need suction cups, just fingernails.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 36 of 194
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    According to the site I got this from (c|net) that is a picture of the 27" model.


    Ars posted the same picture and it is the 21.5 model.


     


    http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/10/hands-on-with-the-thumb-able-ipad-mini-and-the-ultrathin-imac/


     


    The 27s are not even in production yet, since they won't be available until December.

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 37 of 194
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    This is a consumer machine?  I don't know many consumers in this day & age that have a minimum $1,299 to just drop on a computer.  This looks targeted more at the prosumer market than anything.

    It's the same price point that the iMac has been at for years. Call it what you want, but a lot of consumers will buy it. Heck, my first Mac was well over $2 K even for a bare bones entry level machine - closer to $3 K after upgrading the RAM and buying an external hard disk.
    I don't like how disingenuous the pictures of it are, you know? Yeah, it's thinner… at it's thinnest point. I don't see any MacBook Air pictures trying to hide its bulge.

    They're not hiding anything. Look at the picture in the article. It shows every single iMac generation from the side. You can see that even from the side, and even looking at the thickest point, the new iMac is much thinner than the previous version.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 38 of 194

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    I don't like how disingenuous the pictures of it are, you know? Yeah, it's thinner… at it's thinnest point. I don't see any MacBook Air pictures trying to hide its bulge.


     


     



     


    "iMac got back"


     


    Oh, my, god.  Tally, look at iMac's back.


    It is so big.....


    I mean, iMac's back, is just so big.


    I can't believe it's just so round, it's like,


    out there, I mean - gross.  Look!


    Its just so....


     


    I like big backs and I cannot lie


    You other brothers can't deny


    That when an iMac walks in with an itty bitty side


    And a round thing in your face.


     


    ..............


     


    ------------


     


    Just imagine Tally rapping to the beat of "Baby got back" ........

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 39 of 194


    The next question is, how far can they take this design?  It won't get thinner anytime soon.  What is the iMac going to look like in 5 years?  

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 40 of 194


    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post

    It's the same price point that the iMac has been at for years.


     


    The base model went up $100 from the last one.






    They're not hiding anything. Look at the picture in the article. It shows every single iMac generation from the side. You can see that even from the side, and even looking at the thickest point, the new iMac is much thinner than the previous version.



     


    Well, yeah, and that comparison will keep them out of lawsuits' way, but you can't say the images aren't deliberately done to hide the bulge. 

     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
Sign In or Register to comment.