Apple debuts colorful 24-inch iMac with M1, upgraded camera and audio

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  • Reply 81 of 283
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member

    elijahg said:
    MacPro said:
    jcc said:
    sflocal said:
    I fail to understand the hate people have towards the iMac's "chin".  It really comes across as petty and that chin I think is what differentiates the iMac instead of making it look like some large, generic monitor.  Get over it people. 

    I actually glad there's some kind of chin there, especially with the new color options, it allows some of that color to come to the front of the unit as well.  Good job Apple.

    I do with the specs for the iMac were more beefy.  I used an M1-based MacBook and while I was absolutely floored by the performance, I expected Apple would give the desktop Macs with ASi chips made for desktop-class machines.  I just hope that whatever Apple has in store for the larger 27"+ iMac, it better include more RAM, and much higher spec ASi chips.
    A chin serves no purpose. It should be removed.
    It's where the computer actually resides.  
    They manage to have no chin on the iPad Pro, and the iMac is basically an iPad Pro. There’s nothing really in the chin except speakers on the intel iMacs, and from the pictures it looks similar on this one. 
    They show you what’s inside of it. The logic board is in the chin only. There are two fans. Six larger speakers. I/O perpendicular to the back plane. Did you even watch the presentation? 
    Then make it thicker? The iPad Pro manages it at 6mm. They have a huge aluminium heatsink they can use too. I usually do but skimmed through this one, can't stand listening to Cook's drawl at the best of times, but the scripted enthusiasm is grating.
    edited April 2021 80s_Apple_Guydee_deedocno42
  • Reply 82 of 283
    mike1 said:
    Put another way, the base Mac Mini is $699.  Pair it with a nice $300 LG 4k display (24") and an Apple keyboard and Mouse and you're only at about $1150.  Same M1 chip, same 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.  But more ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and even the ability to swap out the screen as a bonus if you wanted to later.  Add a webcam for $100 and you're still $50 under this crippled iMac's price point.

    You clearly aren't the customer for this, so please spend your money elsewhere.
    But I am the customer for it.  I've owned three iMacs since 2002.  I'm not asking for something unreasonable, or even something that is in line with what Apple has offered in the past.  The entry level consumer iMac at $1299 has never involved these kinds of petty compromises.  It makes no sense in light of the specs for the Mac Mini for instance.

    There's no need to get pissy about valid criticism.  These are artificial feature removals that are a step backward from what the entry level, non-education iMac has offered in the past.
    elijahgsaarekMplsP
  • Reply 83 of 283
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    cecil4444 said:
    Surprising that the M1 Mac mini is configurable to 10Gb Ethernet but the new M1 iMac is limited to Gigabit Ethernet, no higher configuration options available.
    It's the silver Mac Mini of the iMac line.  Obviously there is more to come later.

    There better be  :#
    wg45678
  • Reply 84 of 283
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    saarek said:
    I had planned on buying one of these iMacs, but I have to say I'm massively underwhelmed. £1649 for the model with 512GB SSD and a paltry 8GB of Ram and last years entry level chip.

    Real nasty taste in the mouth with the £200 jump from the base model which they deliberately neutered to try and force people into buying the middle model.
    I'm with you.  That $1700 model should have 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD in it.  And the entry level one is a joke.  That's the kind of stripped down SKU you'd expect them to sell as an "education version."
    Have you ever looked at the lowest end 21.5” iMac before? That’s precisely what it is, along with stores and grandmas and other lightweight users who only need the bare basics and literally do not care about the missing features. It exists to reach the $1299 price point and serve those use cases. If it makes you mad, then you’re not the target audience for that model. 

    I simply don’t understand the complaints that the cheapest model isn’t the best. It never has been.
    roundaboutnowdocno42baconstangdarren mccoywilliamlondonDetnatorwatto_cobra
  • Reply 85 of 283
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    saarek said:
    I had planned on buying one of these iMacs, but I have to say I'm massively underwhelmed. £1649 for the model with 512GB SSD and a paltry 8GB of Ram and last years entry level chip.

    Real nasty taste in the mouth with the £200 jump from the base model which they deliberately neutered to try and force people into buying the middle model.
    I'm with you.  That $1700 model should have 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD in it.  And the entry level one is a joke.  That's the kind of stripped down SKU you'd expect them to sell as an "education version."
    Have you ever looked at the lowest end 21.5” iMac before? That’s precisely what it is, along with stores and grandmas and other lightweight users who only need the bare basics and literally do not care about the missing features. It exists to reach the $1299 price point and serve those use cases. If it makes you mad, then you’re not the target audience for that model. 

    I simply don’t understand the complaints that the cheapest model isn’t the best. It never has been.
    The $1700 model isn't lowest end. That's @titantiger's point.
    edited April 2021 mdriftmeyer
  • Reply 86 of 283
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    mknelson said:
    Big chin, why? A little thicker and no chin is better IMO. 
    The logic board is behind the chin, and some of the speakers.

    Function over form it seems!

    External power supply with Ethernet (in the higher two models) is an interesting choice. Does that mean you can add ethernet to the base model later buy buying a different power supply?
    They don’t need a chin in the iPads. Here they don’t need a battery even.  Make it a little thicker and fit the components behind the screen. It’s a desktop. Thinness is the least important thing. 
    Love all the armchair engineers after every announcement. Why don’t they just toss the whole thing in a beige plastic tower with a built in power supply? Lol 
    docno42baconstangmwhitewilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 87 of 283
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    titantiger said:
    Far from nonsensical.  The issue is, the $1299 price point didn't used to be the crippled K-12 version.  A version like that was in the $1000 range.  When you got to 1300 bucks it didn't have goofy trade offs like only two USB ports and no ethernet jack.  Hell, even the base Mac mini has a damn ethernet jack, 2 USB ports in addition to the 2 Thunderbolt ones, and even an HDMI.  So it's perfectly reasonable to question the specs for the price on this new iMac.
    I don't know what country you live in but in the western world things have been getting more expensive over time for the past 40 years.  And it's accelerated in our COVID blessed world thanks to the now blindingly obvious gross, continued overreaction to the China virus.  The base mini lacks a screen, speakers, bundled keyboard/mouse, etc. so it's hardly an equal comparison.

    Speaking of costs raising over time - I was unwrapping some stuff wrapped in newspapers from the mid 70's and cars costing $30K plus today were around $1500 then.  Thank decades of successful central planning for this "feature".  
    toddzrxwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 88 of 283
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    stuartf said:
    elijahg said:
     It also has no Ethernet port at all on the base model, 

    The specs say the base model has Ethernet as a configurable option. It's probably as simple as swapping the power supply!
    Yes, from Apple. Unfortunately the cable is fixed to the power supply so unless Apple makes the connector available to third parties you won’t be getting a power supply/hub configuration, and if you break the cable, you have to buy a whole new power supply!.
    edited April 2021 williamlondon
  • Reply 89 of 283
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    elijahg said:
    But it has fewer than half the ports of the model it replaced, and the price has jumped $200. So not exactly “entry level” in the sense of the wider computer market. The price of the entry level model is even more galling considering the M1 is much much cheaper than the Intel CPU in the iMac. But unfortunately we’re in the era of Cook’s profit first Apple, and customer satisfaction is secondary. 
    It's also significantly faster, has a greatly improved screen and sound system and offers touch ID.  

    RE: the M1 CPU price I love how people discount the cost of engineering the thing.  We have no idea what the actual per chip cost/break even point is for Apple Silicon, and speculating as if you do is just silly.  

    This is just round two of the netbook argument.  Apple does not produce low end machines.  If that's what you are looking for you are barking up the wrong tree.  

    Now, not saying that I wouldn't mind a $800 really no-frills iMac for kiosk or other lightweight use cases.  But getting mad at Apple for not serving market segments they have never been interested in will only frustrate you.  It makes as much sense as getting mad at the sun shining, wind blowing or gravity keeping your butt firmly planted here on terra firma. 
    fastasleepFidonet127williamlondonDetnatorwatto_cobra
  • Reply 90 of 283
    saarek said:
    I had planned on buying one of these iMacs, but I have to say I'm massively underwhelmed. £1649 for the model with 512GB SSD and a paltry 8GB of Ram and last years entry level chip.

    Real nasty taste in the mouth with the £200 jump from the base model which they deliberately neutered to try and force people into buying the middle model.
    I'm with you.  That $1700 model should have 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD in it.  And the entry level one is a joke.  That's the kind of stripped down SKU you'd expect them to sell as an "education version."
    Have you ever looked at the lowest end 21.5” iMac before? That’s precisely what it is, along with stores and grandmas and other lightweight users who only need the bare basics and literally do not care about the missing features. It exists to reach the $1299 price point and serve those use cases. If it makes you mad, then you’re not the target audience for that model. 

    I simply don’t understand the complaints that the cheapest model isn’t the best. It never has been.
    That's not my complaint.  

    The current 21.5" Intel iMac has had 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, Gigabit Ethernet and comes with 4 USB-A ports and two Thunderbolt ports, plus an SD card reader for $1099.  The new entry level is $200 more, has only two USB/Thunderbolt ports, no ethernet, no SD slot and still 8GB of RAM and 256 SSD.  That's my complaint - not that the entry level isn't the top of the line model, but that the entry level went up in price but down several pretty important areas.  And there isn't even a $1099 model option at all.
    crowleyMplsPwilliamlondon
  • Reply 91 of 283
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    This is clearly a consumer machine, but if this is the harbinger of things to come for the larger iMac, I am pretty annoyed. I don't want distracting colors, a silver bezel instead of a black one is horrible for trying to do design work. And as I produce professional audio, I can't use bluetooth to connect amp/speakers because bluetooth compresses and colors audio, so to stick the audio out on the side with a cord dangling. Awful. Looks like I will have to go the mac mini route unfortunately. I can't wait months to replace my aging 2013 iMac workhorse only to find out they repeat these awful decisions in the larger iMac. I historically go pretty easy on Apple's design decisions and am not prone to "fanboi" histrionics, but this does not bode well for the larger iMac, and Thor only knows when that will be released.  And Apple, what's your deal with not putting enough ports on anything?

    If you produce “professional audio”, why the f are you not using a proper USB audio interface instead of 3.5mm analog? Also, you know you can get a $9 USB-C to 3.5mm adapter from Apple? 
    roundaboutnowbaconstangwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 92 of 283
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    saarek said:
    I had planned on buying one of these iMacs, but I have to say I'm massively underwhelmed. £1649 for the model with 512GB SSD and a paltry 8GB of Ram and last years entry level chip.

    Real nasty taste in the mouth with the £200 jump from the base model which they deliberately neutered to try and force people into buying the middle model.
    I'm with you.  That $1700 model should have 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD in it.  And the entry level one is a joke.  That's the kind of stripped down SKU you'd expect them to sell as an "education version."
    Yeah, the more I think about it the more is pisses me off. As an entry level point I have no issue with it being 8GB, but, assuming they charge £200 to up the Ram to 16GB, which is likely, that means that I'd be paying £600 more over the base model for a 256GB bigger SSD and 8GB more of Ram (yes, I know you also get one whole core more on the GPU and some ports that should not have been stripped out I the first place).

    8GB of Ram and 256GB of SSD for £600 is daylight robbery, it just insane.

    It's such a shame, I'd genuinely planned to buy one but I'm not going to bend over and pay £600 more for the long term solution I was looking for.

    elijahgwilliamlondon
  • Reply 93 of 283
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Put another way, the base Mac Mini is $699.  Pair it with a nice $300 LG 4k display (24") and an Apple keyboard and Mouse and you're only at about $1150.  Same M1 chip, same 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.  But more ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and even the ability to swap out the screen as a bonus if you wanted to later.  Add a webcam for $100 and you're still $50 under this crippled iMac's price point.
    Yet for the premium that "crippled" iMac delivers a much more compact and practically cable free computing experience. 

    You may not value experience, but focusing on the sum of the parts instead of individual parts is what made Apple the most valuable company on the stock market and let them blow past Microsoft - something that seemed impossible for over 30 years.

    So they must be doing at least a few things right  :*
    fastasleepwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 94 of 283
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    elijahg said:

    elijahg said:
    MacPro said:
    jcc said:
    sflocal said:
    I fail to understand the hate people have towards the iMac's "chin".  It really comes across as petty and that chin I think is what differentiates the iMac instead of making it look like some large, generic monitor.  Get over it people. 

    I actually glad there's some kind of chin there, especially with the new color options, it allows some of that color to come to the front of the unit as well.  Good job Apple.

    I do with the specs for the iMac were more beefy.  I used an M1-based MacBook and while I was absolutely floored by the performance, I expected Apple would give the desktop Macs with ASi chips made for desktop-class machines.  I just hope that whatever Apple has in store for the larger 27"+ iMac, it better include more RAM, and much higher spec ASi chips.
    A chin serves no purpose. It should be removed.
    It's where the computer actually resides.  
    They manage to have no chin on the iPad Pro, and the iMac is basically an iPad Pro. There’s nothing really in the chin except speakers on the intel iMacs, and from the pictures it looks similar on this one. 
    They show you what’s inside of it. The logic board is in the chin only. There are two fans. Six larger speakers. I/O perpendicular to the back plane. Did you even watch the presentation? 
    Then make it thicker? The iPad Pro manages it at 6mm. They have a huge aluminium heatsink they can use too. I usually do but skimmed through this one, can't stand listening to Cook's drawl at the best of times, but the scripted enthusiasm is grating.
    I literally just explained the reasons it’s not like the iPad Pro and you responded that they could’ve made it like the iPad Pro. 

    You don’t like it. Fine. But at least do the tiniest bit of research on the product before erroneously complaining about it. 
    docno42baconstangwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 95 of 283
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member

    mike1 said:
    Put another way, the base Mac Mini is $699.  Pair it with a nice $300 LG 4k display (24") and an Apple keyboard and Mouse and you're only at about $1150.  Same M1 chip, same 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.  But more ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and even the ability to swap out the screen as a bonus if you wanted to later.  Add a webcam for $100 and you're still $50 under this crippled iMac's price point.

    You clearly aren't the customer for this, so please spend your money elsewhere.
    But I am the customer for it.  I've owned three iMacs since 2002.  I'm not asking for something unreasonable, or even something that is in line with what Apple has offered in the past.  The entry level consumer iMac at $1299 has never involved these kinds of petty compromises.  It makes no sense in light of the specs for the Mac Mini for instance.

    There's no need to get pissy about valid criticism.  These are artificial feature removals that are a step backward from what the entry level, non-education iMac has offered in the past.
    Did you consider the fact that it’s an entirely new industrial design and larger screen and doesn’t use a 4200rpm hard drive or any number of other features that would make it more difficult to reach the same price point of the previous low end model with all the features of the higher specced models? It’s not uncommon for newer improved models to come out at higher prices to recoup development and component expenses and later drop as those things improve. It’s not a new thing. 
    baconstangwilliamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 96 of 283
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    mike1 said:
    Put another way, the base Mac Mini is $699.  Pair it with a nice $300 LG 4k display (24") and an Apple keyboard and Mouse and you're only at about $1150.  Same M1 chip, same 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD.  But more ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and even the ability to swap out the screen as a bonus if you wanted to later.  Add a webcam for $100 and you're still $50 under this crippled iMac's price point.

    You clearly aren't the customer for this, so please spend your money elsewhere.
    Or perhaps they're just not a mug. £200 price jump for the bigger screen and redesigned Keyboard, yes, I can justify that. But £200 more over the Intel models with a deliberately neutered model now as the base model......... In reality they've just hiked the base iMac price by £400 (because we all know the mid range model is the real base replacement for the Intel iMacs)  and people like you are happy to defend them. 
    elijahg
  • Reply 97 of 283
    I am hearing people keep saying "Oh this is the consumer model, the larger one will have everything this one is missing". Nope. No it won't. Apple is extremely stubborn and always "know what's best for us". What will happen is, it will be months from now, will be overpriced, not enough ports, overcharge for SSD and RAM by 100%+, and missing key features while giving us these bad design decisions (i.e. white bezel, audio jack on the side).
    elijahg
  • Reply 98 of 283
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member

    elijahg said:
    saarek said:
    I had planned on buying one of these iMacs, but I have to say I'm massively underwhelmed. £1649 for the model with 512GB SSD and a paltry 8GB of Ram and last years entry level chip.

    Real nasty taste in the mouth with the £200 jump from the base model which they deliberately neutered to try and force people into buying the middle model.
    I'm with you.  That $1700 model should have 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD in it.  And the entry level one is a joke.  That's the kind of stripped down SKU you'd expect them to sell as an "education version."
    Have you ever looked at the lowest end 21.5” iMac before? That’s precisely what it is, along with stores and grandmas and other lightweight users who only need the bare basics and literally do not care about the missing features. It exists to reach the $1299 price point and serve those use cases. If it makes you mad, then you’re not the target audience for that model. 

    I simply don’t understand the complaints that the cheapest model isn’t the best. It never has been.
    The $1700 model isn't lowest end. That's @titantiger's point.
    Great; that’s not what I was responding to. 
    baconstangwilliamlondon
  • Reply 99 of 283
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    docno42 said:
    elijahg said:
    But it has fewer than half the ports of the model it replaced, and the price has jumped $200. So not exactly “entry level” in the sense of the wider computer market. The price of the entry level model is even more galling considering the M1 is much much cheaper than the Intel CPU in the iMac. But unfortunately we’re in the era of Cook’s profit first Apple, and customer satisfaction is secondary. 
    It's also significantly faster, has a greatly improved screen and sound system and offers touch ID.  

    RE: the M1 CPU price I love how people discount the cost of engineering the thing.  We have no idea what the actual per chip cost/break even point is for Apple Silicon, and speculating as if you do is just silly.  

    This is just round two of the netbook argument.  Apple does not produce low end machines.  If that's what you are looking for you are barking up the wrong tree.  

    Now, not saying that I wouldn't mind a $800 really no-frills iMac for kiosk or other lightweight use cases.  But getting mad at Apple for not serving market segments they have never been interested in will only frustrate you.  It makes as much sense as getting mad at the sun shining, wind blowing or gravity keeping your butt firmly planted here on terra firma. 
    It's faster using a CPU that's much much cheaper than the Intel one it replaces. The screen is bigger, and slightly higher resolution (roughly same PPI), else it's the same. Touch ID is not in the base model.

    We know the M1 is an evolution of the Ax iPad chips, it performs very similarly and some of the iPads are very cheap. The M1 is also used in all of Apple's ASi Macs (and now iPad Pro too), so economies of scale will be good. AI has an article about how Apple may be "saving" $2.5bn by using the M1. In other words, making more profit on each iMac thanks to the M1, shafting customers again. 

    Never said they did. But their base model is more expensive than the one it replaces, with less ports and a cheaper CPU.

    Thing is, they were interested in the $800 market in the early '10's. They had education and business machines for around $800. They were pushing point of sale software on the business store and iMacs as perfect for that. And a few years before that they had education iMacs that were just £650. Component costs have been faling for a long time, not increasing, but Apple's prices are going the opposite direction. Certainly increasing faster than inflation. Even if the price of the M1 iMac was the same as the Intel iMac it replaced, it would be pricey. Hell, even the Mac Mini had a $100 price cut when it was introduced, and it has all the same ports as the Intel Mini it replaced.
  • Reply 100 of 283
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    jcc said:
    sflocal said:
    I fail to understand the hate people have towards the iMac's "chin".  It really comes across as petty and that chin I think is what differentiates the iMac instead of making it look like some large, generic monitor.  Get over it people. 

    I actually glad there's some kind of chin there, especially with the new color options, it allows some of that color to come to the front of the unit as well.  Good job Apple.

    I do with the specs for the iMac were more beefy.  I used an M1-based MacBook and while I was absolutely floored by the performance, I expected Apple would give the desktop Macs with ASi chips made for desktop-class machines.  I just hope that whatever Apple has in store for the larger 27"+ iMac, it better include more RAM, and much higher spec ASi chips.
    A chin serves no purpose. It should be removed.
    Except in this case the chin actually stores the entire computer. Above the chin is the display.
    baconstang
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