Teardown of Apple's low-end iMac reveals non-upgradeable soldered RAM

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  • Reply 21 of 102
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post

     

    What's pathetic are the posters here hammering Apple for this. It's a low-end Mac. Get over it.  People here on this forum for some reason think that what's best for them surely should be the standard for everyone else.  Not.


     

    I agree. What part about "low end" do these whiners not get?

     

    Is English not their native language, or do they simply need to remove their heads from their butts?

     

    Would I personally buy this iMac? No, I require more power, but luckily I'm not moronic enough to live inside my own delusional bubble and declare it a bad machine, simply because it doesn't meet my particular needs. For many people, this will be all that they need for their tasks.

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  • Reply 22 of 102
    evilutionevilution Posts: 1,399member
    bdkennedy1 wrote: »
    The Geekbench marks for this machine are equivalent to my 2007 iMac.

    Yeah, I can imagine all of those women, OAPs and casual users who just surf the web, read emails, FaceBook and Skype friends, who want to get a new computer.
    The first they are going to do is check out and compare Geekbench scores.:rolleyes:
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  • Reply 23 of 102
    joshajosha Posts: 901member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Evilution View Post





    Yeah, I can imagine all of those women, OAPs and casual users who just surf the web, read emails, FaceBook and Skype friends, who want to get a new computer.

    The first they are going to do is check out and compare Geekbench scores.image

    So true.

    iMacs are not for us here.  Now in addition to a screen failure trashing it, ram failure can too.

    This is a volume Mac for the casual masses!

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  • Reply 24 of 102
    danox wrote: »
    Apple learned nothing from the 5c, going cheap won't cut it.

    Yeah, as with the 5c, Apple is going to be so disappointed when people go in the shop, attracted by the low price option, and then are easily upsold to an even better machine. What are they thinking?!
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  • Reply 25 of 102
    spaceraysspacerays Posts: 116member

    Breaking News - Apple has introduced the first desktop with no way to upgrade the RAM.

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  • Reply 26 of 102
    bobschlobbobschlob Posts: 1,074member

    Absolutely fine for this unit. (and most certainly for Mac OS X)

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  • Reply 27 of 102
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

     

    [...] What part about "low end" do these whiners not get?


     

    I don't know if I count as a whiner (I think 8GB is plenty for this machine and soldering it in is fine), but the part about low end I don't get is the price.

     

    I think (and it's just my opinion, not a scientific analysis) that the price point this unit hits is too high to attract the kind of buyers at which it seems to be targeted. How many of the people who only want an internet appliance are shopping in the >$1000 range? I'm sure there are some who see the value of Photostreams and other iCloud benefits, but I don't think MOST computer-as-appliance buyers are going to see this as good value. I'm not even sure *I* do. That's pretty long coin for such a basic machine.

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  • Reply 28 of 102
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by freediverx View Post

     

     

    In a couple of years 8GB will feel like 4GB today.


     

    ..and 4GB feels absolutely fine today, so am not too worried about that. Also, I doubt it. Memory requirements, especially for desktops, are not going to keep doubling linearly. I do heavy lifting in all the adobe applications daily on 4GB of RAM - the average user doesnt do 10% of what I do. What mainstream task exactly do you presume will need 16GB of RAM 2 years from now? Nothing. Also, OSX is getting MORE memory efficient, not less. This is a complete non-issue for the target audience. 

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  • Reply 29 of 102
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    apple ][ wrote: »
    I agree. What part about "low end" do these whiners not get?

    Is English not their native language, or do they simply need to remove their heads from their butts?

    Would I personally buy this iMac? No, I require more power, but luckily I'm not moronic enough to live inside my own delusional bubble and declare it a bad machine, simply because it doesn't meet my particular needs. For many people, this will be all that they need for their tasks.
    How is $1099 low end?
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  • Reply 30 of 102
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    spacerays wrote: »
    Breaking News - Apple has introduced the first desktop with no way to upgrade the RAM.
    Or a MBA with a 21.5" display. :)
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  • Reply 31 of 102
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member

    It's fair enough to say there are plenty of potential users for whom this machine will have adequate specs, but it is also fair to say the price is too high for something with those specs.

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  • Reply 32 of 102
    lightknightlightknight Posts: 2,312member
    I for one totally agree with Apple][ and SolipsismX!

    This is an entry-level machine for people who don't want to even know what "RAM" means, or who don't intend to ever tinker with what's inside the aluminium.
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  • Reply 33 of 102
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,585moderator
    If it had 4GB RAM, it would be more of a concern but 8GB is plenty for an entry machine and I'd even say 4GB is adequate. The RAM in the other 21.5" models is stuck behind a glued-on screen so although it can be upgraded, it's not easy and given the move to DDR4, DDR3 might be stuck at 16GB max anyway. I wouldn't be surprised to see more models solder RAM in with DDR4. I could see them making the two entry 21.5" models with 8GB soldered and the top 21.5" with 16GB or have it BTO; the 27" ones with 16GB and just the top-end with a 32GB upgrade but all soldered.

    The laptops make up over 75% of Apple's sales and except for the cMBP (should be dropped soon), they all have soldered RAM so the vast majority of Apple's customers don't mind buying machines with soldered RAM.

    An alternative to the entry iMac would be to buy a Macbook Air for $899 with a $200 IPS display. For the same price you get the same performance, 128GB SSD, portability and a larger display but 4GB RAM - it's $100 more for the 8GB. I'd personally go for the Air + display but for someone just getting a basic desktop, you'll get a similar experience to the Air.

    PC manufacturers are pushing AIOs and the sales volume is increasing quickly. They now go below $500. A $1099 model isn't going to rival that price but it's a lot better than $1299.
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  • Reply 34 of 102
    marvfoxmarvfox Posts: 2,275member

    It is a good machine for the money and has good value also.

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  • Reply 35 of 102
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post



    And...that's article number four image

     

    Each article on this is for a particular time zone. Sometimes you jump into a thread when it has already died because you are in a different time zone.

    This way, people from every time zone can complain about this iMac!

     

    You can say that AI is an equal opportunity click-bait site!

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  • Reply 36 of 102
    misamisa Posts: 827member
    sflocal wrote: »
    What's pathetic are the posters here hammering Apple for this. It's a low-end Mac. Get over it.  People here on this forum for some reason think that what's best for them surely should be the standard for everyone else.  Not.


    I can count on one hand the number of people I've known that have ever upgraded the RAM on their PC's since they purchased them.  It's the norm, not the exception.


    8GB is fine for the folks the market the iMac is meant for.  As long as Apple doesn't do this to their higher-end models, I couldn't care less.  


    "If" Apple does decide to do this to the higher models, they better price the memory competitively or there will be a rebellion.  From a reliability standpoint, I think soldering it to the board is a good idea simply because it eliminates yet another potential issue caused by the interface connection.


     
    I've maxed out the RAM in every computer I've ever owned, given availability. That includes two macmini's and a laptop. You're right people generally don't upgrade their devices, but that's usually because by the time the device is showing it's age, the availability of upgrade parts have disappeared or now are more expensive than buying new. We have a really wide window right now for upgrading because the performance increase from the Sandy Bridge parts through to the current parts is negligible, while the DDR3 memory have been going down in price. So if you can, you max out the RAM before DDR4 comes out. Once it comes out there will be a fire sale on DDR3 parts. DDR4 will be expensive for 3-4 years. When I worked for a computer store, only two upgrades were ever asked for. RAM and Hard drive, and the latter was usually because they dropped the laptop and killed the hard drive.
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  • Reply 37 of 102
    josha wrote: »
    evilution wrote: »
    Yeah, I can imagine all of those women, OAPs and casual users who just surf the web, read emails, FaceBook and Skype friends, who want to get a new computer.

    The first they are going to do is check out and compare Geekbench scores.:rolleyes:
    So true.
    iMacs are not for us here.  Now in addition to a screen failure trashing it, ram failure can too.
    This is a volume Mac for the casual masses!

    Apart from the fact that Apple can replace the RAM if it fails, and that the RAM is more reliable than that used in any other desktop because it’s soldered, and is therefore less likely to fail.
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  • Reply 38 of 102
    This is not a big deal for reasons already stated. The average user never upgrades anything. 8GB is plenty for the average user. I always love how power users argue this point but they are always wrong. One thing Apple does well is spec the machine for who the machine is intended for. Not just to satisfy the spec chasers who need the enhanced performance.
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  • Reply 39 of 102
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Danox View Post

     

    Apple learned nothing from the 5c, going cheap won't cut it.


     

    What exactly was there to learn from the 5C? 

     

    Oh, I know...the 5C is a failure, right?

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  • Reply 40 of 102
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,759member

    It's a low-end iMac for ~$1000. It's an entry point into the Apple ecosystem that will last the *casual* user quite a long time. Entry level iMac is entry-level iMac. 

     

    It is an iMac (well-made, well-designed), and it is a platform from which to enjoy the Apple ecosystem. Seems a perfectly reasonable price for what it is and for all you're getting. This isn't some OEM junk-PC with the latest awful version of Windows. 

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