I appreciate when people make bespoke products to suit their needs, but that is not a better look for the iMac. That side view is very unattractive; and while you may not care about the side view, 1) I see plenty of Macs are often used in businesses where the side and upper back are prominently on display, and 2) Apple clearly cares about such things. That looks like something from Dell, IMO.
As for cost, that's always a consideration so it should never be ignored with comments like "Apple has enough money so they should just do what I want at their expense" as often gets plopped on these threads at some point in the conversation.
As look now at a 27" and 21" iMac, the "chin" doesn't bother me. Looking at a "bezeled" ACD connected to a mini and see just the display with the small silver in the middle of the bottom edge, I like it better.
Looking back and forth between the computers and display, I'm still not bothered by the "chins", but I'd take an iMac that looked like my ACD any day over chinned models. The Apple would still be a requirement though. Nobody need know it's Apple gear but I like the look. It's like a artist signing their work in a manner more elegant than an actual signature.
A chinless bezelless logoless would not be my first choice, mainly because of the lack of a . Give me an iconic icon over a printed name any day.
I'm thinking that the "chin" is a little bit of a part of Apple's legacy Macintosh "identity" and design language. I think it's a long shot to go away.
Yup. The chin is part of the Apple's AIO brand identity save for one model, the iMac G4. Every other model has a "chin". The chin in the late 2013 to 2020 iMac models were basically perfunctory as opposed to the iMac 24 chin, where they out the compute components. There was basically nothing in the 2013 form factor, and Apple put it there for the sole purpose of having a chin.
It doesn't mean that Apple won't do anything different. They have. Just look at the iMac G4. As an AIO form factor, they are going to have something in the industrial design to make it unique and familiar. That's the chin. The iMac G4 display section was awesome though. A clear, symmetric frame around the display. An iMac like that panel, with glass instead of plastic, and the computing guts behind it would certainly be unique.
A tapered design where the monitor is basically thin at the top and thicker at the bottom could avoid the need for either a chin at the front or a bump at the back. And Apple has done it before with iMacs, which had a really fat middle, tapered to the edges.
A tapered design where the monitor is basically thin at the top and thicker at the bottom could avoid the need for either a chin at the front or a bump at the back. And Apple has done it before with iMacs, which had a really fat middle, tapered to the edges.
No, A taper is unnecessary. The have a M1 processor in a 6.5 mm thick device that's been shipping for over 18 months now, and that device has a miniLED.
The only reason the chin is there is because they want it there. It's not a technical issue. They certainly can put a fan behind the display in a 11 mm thick device like the iMac 24 if they wanted to. They can put an M1 Pro or M1 Max in the iMac 24 if they wanted to.
I'd be totally cool with a chin-less design and even more so with a two-piece design with the back hump being removal so the entire processing capability of the machine can either be upgraded while retaining the same display or replaced with a stub module that allows the display to be used strictly as a display. Of course this begs the question of why not just use a Mac mini and a monitor like the Studio Display? Fair enough.
The only real issues I have with the chinny iMac designs are the subjective ugliness of using it with supplementary monitors and the fact that the standard stand lacks vertical adjustability. Otherwise they are nice enough looking and easy to fit into limited desk space. Personally, I'd like Apple to put the Apple logo back on the chin. I don't know why, but the missing logo makes it look very boring and generic. In my opinion the back side of the 24" M1 iMac looks much better than the front, which seems rather ass-backwards for those of us who have one placed up against a wall.
So you basically want a monitor with the iMac aesthetics with attachment points on the back for a Mac Mini?
I disagree with part of the article here "would require expensive and complex CNC machining". Think of how a lot of metal today is molded with a die press. The same could be done here. I'd be even so ventured to say that is how the backs are currently manufactured. A metal shell that is mold made is nothing new or unique. I think it assuming that this would be more expensive even if the internals have to be reorganized.
Apple machines their chassis from a block of aluminum though.
iMac could have been made without a chin, proves new hack
That was the headline. But of course there really was never a question as to if they could. The question was if they should, and for many reasons Apple designers decided against it.
I'd be totally cool with a chin-less design and even more so with a two-piece design with the back hump being removal so the entire processing capability of the machine can either be upgraded while retaining the same display or replaced with a stub module that allows the display to be used strictly as a display. Of course this begs the question of why not just use a Mac mini and a monitor like the Studio Display? Fair enough.
The only real issues I have with the chinny iMac designs are the subjective ugliness of using it with supplementary monitors and the fact that the standard stand lacks vertical adjustability. Otherwise they are nice enough looking and easy to fit into limited desk space. Personally, I'd like Apple to put the Apple logo back on the chin. I don't know why, but the missing logo makes it look very boring and generic. In my opinion the back side of the 24" M1 iMac looks much better than the front, which seems rather ass-backwards for those of us who have one placed up against a wall.
So you basically want a monitor with the iMac aesthetics with attachment points on the back for a Mac Mini?
No. I was merely speculating that having a way to retain the glorious display that comes with an iMac once the processing part is no longer good enough for your liking may be a nice option. But this begs the question, “Why not just buy a standalone display in the first place and use a Mac mini for the processing element?”
The people who waste their time doing something like this that is of no benefit need to redirect their time to doing something productive. There are more decisions that go into a product beyond cosmetic ones. One consideration could be cooling and another could be packaging or the functionality of the hinge in terms of its tilt capabilities. The guy who swapped the lightning port for a USB-C port was a colossal waste of time with no redeeming value as it could have been done by Apple if they wanted to do it.
As Dewme points out, if you want a chinless design get a Mac mini and a studio display. A chinless iMac would look like just another monitor sitting on the desk.
calling for a chinless iMac is so childish since it will look like a generic display and not identifiable as an iMac. Those who support this do not understand branding or marketing.
And I can tell you if Apple had released a chinless Mac an equal number of people would be gushing over it. Apple has always long been very focused on aesthetics so they have essentially encouraged this type of discussion. In terms of not being identifiable as a Mac, I agree with @jpellino - leaving the apple logo off the bottom generifies the current design.
I’ll also add that the manufacturing considerations are not minor decisions. Good designing for manufacturing can save millions of dollars and more reliable devices. Conversely a poor design can lead to more waste, higher costs and reliability issues. Sure ‘Apple could afford it,’ but why should they or any company make a poor decision?
As a practical matter, for me the space occupied by the chin isn’t very usable, anyway. The screen needs to be up at a comfortable viewing height, so removing the chin basically creates dead space, making the cords more visible behind the screen.
I disagree with part of the article here "would require expensive and complex CNC machining". Think of how a lot of metal today is molded with a die press. The same could be done here. I'd be even so ventured to say that is how the backs are currently manufactured. A metal shell that is mold made is nothing new or unique. I think it assuming that this would be more expensive even if the internals have to be reorganized.
Apple machines their chassis from a block of aluminum though.
That was his point. Apple removes aluminum to form the shape. The removed aluminum is then recycled for use in another Mac. There is no waste. If anything this process ensures the aluminum is very refined as melting it down again n removes any dross missed previously.
As Dewme points out, if you want a chinless design get a Mac mini and a studio display. A chinless iMac would look like just another monitor sitting on the desk.
calling for a chinless iMac is so childish since it will look like a generic display and not identifiable as an iMac. Those who support this do not understand branding or marketing.
And I can tell you if Apple had released a chinless Mac an equal number of people would be gushing over it. Apple has always long been very focused on aesthetics so they have essentially encouraged this type of discussion. In terms of not being identifiable as a Mac, I agree with @jpellino - leaving the apple logo off the bottom generifies the current design.
I’ll also add that the manufacturing considerations are not minor decisions. Good designing for manufacturing can save millions of dollars and more reliable devices. Conversely a poor design can lead to more waste, higher costs and reliability issues. Sure ‘Apple could afford it,’ but why should they or any company make a poor decision?
As a practical matter, for me the space occupied by the chin isn’t very usable, anyway. The screen needs to be up at a comfortable viewing height, so removing the chin basically creates dead space, making the cords more visible behind the screen.
At smaller sizes, yes. But at larger sizes, say 30” or more, the iMac will actually HAVE to forgo the chin for ergonomic and aesthetic reasons.
The chin is fine. Actually, it's better than fine - it's a really nice feature.
Practically every iMac I see makes use of it, it's covered in post-it notes. That chin gives users a place to put them that doesn't block the screen, which is a common problem with other monitors.
No, the real problem with the iMac is Apple's idiotic thin fetish. The current iMac is so stupidly thin that it doesn't even have room for an ethernet port, and it's got a fucking power brick. On a desktop computer, that's just unacceptably bad in 2022.
I've been recommending to my clients that they just buy a mini and a cheap 27" 4K monitor for most users, it's a better value anyway, and they can use iMacs only in public-facing locations where they have room to hide the idiotic power brick.
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As for cost, that's always a consideration so it should never be ignored with comments like "Apple has enough money so they should just do what I want at their expense" as often gets plopped on these threads at some point in the conversation.
Looking back and forth between the computers and display, I'm still not bothered by the "chins", but I'd take an iMac that looked like my ACD any day over chinned models. The Apple would still be a requirement though. Nobody need know it's Apple gear but I like the look. It's like a artist signing their work in a manner more elegant than an actual signature.
A chinless bezelless logoless would not be my first choice, mainly because of the lack of a . Give me an iconic icon over a printed name any day.
It doesn't mean that Apple won't do anything different. They have. Just look at the iMac G4. As an AIO form factor, they are going to have something in the industrial design to make it unique and familiar. That's the chin. The iMac G4 display section was awesome though. A clear, symmetric frame around the display. An iMac like that panel, with glass instead of plastic, and the computing guts behind it would certainly be unique.
The only reason the chin is there is because they want it there. It's not a technical issue. They certainly can put a fan behind the display in a 11 mm thick device like the iMac 24 if they wanted to. They can put an M1 Pro or M1 Max in the iMac 24 if they wanted to.
iMac could have been made without a chin, proves new hack
That was the headline. But of course there really was never a question as to if they could. The question was if they should, and for many reasons Apple designers decided against it.
I’ll also add that the manufacturing considerations are not minor decisions. Good designing for manufacturing can save millions of dollars and more reliable devices. Conversely a poor design can lead to more waste, higher costs and reliability issues. Sure ‘Apple could afford it,’ but why should they or any company make a poor decision?
As a practical matter, for me the space occupied by the chin isn’t very usable, anyway. The screen needs to be up at a comfortable viewing height, so removing the chin basically creates dead space, making the cords more visible behind the screen.
Talk about a solution in search of a problem …