Apple unveils Intel iMacs

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
At Macworld Expo on Tuesday, Apple unveiled the new iMac featuring Mac OS X running on the new Intel Core Duo processor, delivering performance that is up to twice that of its predecessor.



The widely praised iMac design now features dual-core processors, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box, and the breakthrough media experience of Front Row with the Apple Remote for a simple, intuitive and powerful way for consumers to enjoy their content from across the room.



Starting at $1,299, every new iMac comes with iLife ?06, the next generation of Apple?s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring major new versions of iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and introducing iWeb, a new iLife application that makes it super-easy to create websites with photos, blogs and Podcasts and publish them on .Mac for viewing by anyone on the Internet with just a single click. The new iMac is shipping today, and is the first of a new generation of Macs featuring Intel processors that Apple will roll out during 2006.



?The iMac has already been praised as ?the gold standard of desktop PCs?, so we hope customers really love the new iMac, which is up to twice as fast,? said Steve Jobs, Apple?s CEO. ?With Mac OS X plus Intel?s latest dual-core processor under the hood, the new iMac delivers performance that will knock our customers? socks off.?



The new iMac features Apple's Front Row media experience and the Apple Remote, a simple way for users to enjoy the content they have on their iMac?including songs from their iTunes music library, photo slideshows from iPhoto, videos including TV shows, Podcasts, iMovies and DVDs, and popular movie trailers streamed from apple.com?all from across the room.



Every new iMac comes with a built-in iSight video camera for out-of-the-box video conferencing using Apple?s award-winning iChat AV software, or recording a video Podcast or iMovie using iLife '06. The built-in iSight video camera takes advantage of the Intel Core Duo processor to deliver up to four times the resolution over the previous model. Each iMac also includes Photo Booth, Apple?s fun-to-use application that lets users take quick snapshots with the built-in iSight video camera, add entertaining visual effects and share their pictures with the touch of a button.



The new iMac comes standard with a SuperDrive for burning professional-quality DVDs, 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2GB, hard drive storage capacity up to 500GB, and ATI Radeon X1600 PCI Express-based graphics with 128MB of GDDR3 memory for outstanding graphics performance and realistic game play. With the latest high-performance connectivity options, the new iMac includes built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, built-in AirPort Extreme for fast 54 Mbps wireless networking,** built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), a total of five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two FireWire 400 ports. The new iMac now includes mini-DVI video output to connect up to a 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display. With mini-DVI and the new iMac?s extended desktop mode feature, users can more than double their available screen real estate.



The new iMac was designed to be the perfect computer for iLife '06, the next generation of Apple?s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring major new versions of iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and introducing iWeb, a new iLife application that makes it super-easy to create amazing websites with photos, blogs and Podcasts and publish them on .Mac for viewing by anyone on the Internet with just a single click. All the iLife '06 applications are Universal applications that run natively on the new Intel-based iMacs for maximum performance.



Every new iMac comes with the latest release of the world?s most advanced operating system, Mac OS X version 10.4.4 ?Tiger? including Safari, Mail, iCal, iChat AV, Front Row and Photo Booth, running natively on Apple?s first Intel-based desktop. Mac OS X Tiger includes an innovative software translation technology called Rosetta that lets customers run most Mac OS X PowerPC applications seamlessly.



Pricing & Availability



The new iMac is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.



The new 17-inch 1.83 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:

17-inch widescreen LCD display;

1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;

512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB;

8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);

PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;

built-in iSight video camera;

built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;

160GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;

mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);

built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

the infrared Apple Remote, Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.



The new 20-inch 2.0 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of $1,699 (US), includes:

20-inch widescreen LCD display;

2.0 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;

512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB;

8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);

PCI Express-based ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory;

built-in iSight video camera;

built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;

250GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;

mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);

built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and

the infrared Apple Remote, Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.



Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250GB and 500GB Serial ATA hard drives, up to 256MB of GDDR3 video memory on the 20-inch iMac, iWork ?06 (pre-installed), AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme Base Station, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Apple Wireless Mouse, Apple USB Modem and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Man, it's a bitch getting on this site today!



    I'm surprised, and I'm not surprised.



    Apple replaced their best selling iPod Mini with the Nano, so we shouldn't be surprised that the did the same thing to their best selling computer first.



    I hope that the others will follow quickly.



    Since we didn't see the demonstration, I quess we don't know for sure, but there seems to be a question as to when Apple will do the rest of the line.



    One thing I heard was by the end of the year, but the other was by June.



    Anyone know? (rather than quess)
  • Reply 2 of 28
    jlljll Posts: 2,713member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    Since we didn't see the demonstration, I quess we don't know for sure, but there seems to be a question as to when Apple will do the rest of the line.



    One thing I heard was by the end of the year, but the other was by June.



    Anyone know? (rather than quess)




    Jobs stated that the transition would be over by the end of this year - one year earlier than annonced at WWDC.
  • Reply 3 of 28
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Is there an alternative means (site) to get the webcast? I get:



    Bad Request

    400



    Maybe it is too soon, but really, I prefer to be told that the server is busy than be given a cryptic error message.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    I don't understand one thing. Apple says that the new iMac can accomodate up to 2 GB of RAM. However, the Apple Store offers the option 2 x 512 MB of memory, which indicates that this model is like the previous, that is with built-in 512 MB and one slot free. If so, then why it cannot take up to 2.5 GB?
  • Reply 5 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    I don't understand one thing. Apple says that the new iMac can accomodate up to 2 GB of RAM. However, the Apple Store offers the option 2 x 512 MB of memory, which indicates that this model is like the previous, that is with built-in 512 MB and one slot free. If so, then why it cannot take up to 2.5 GB?



    No, that's not what they are saying.



    It comes with one 512MB stick.



    You can buy it with two 512 MB sticks, or with one 1 GB stick, or with two 1 GB sticks.



    Max total of 2 GB.
  • Reply 6 of 28
    At first I thought people who had just bought an iMac G5 would be so pissed.



    Then I saw how slow emulated Photoshop appears to be (or maybe they were just very demanding composites?)



    Until native apps are more common, the iMac G5 is probably a better machine to own.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    This iMac finally finally gives me the one thing I've always wanted out of a Mac. It has the ability to attach another monitor and expand the desktop rather than just mirror it (without any kind of hack). Sure you could do this with a Powerbook or PowerMac, but this iMac comes in costing significantly less.
  • Reply 8 of 28
    I really think I'm gonna bite on the new iMac. I currently have a Rev A B&W G3/350 with a G4/800 accelerator in it. A few external FW400 HDs, an external DVD burner, 17" & 15" LCDs, 704 MB RAM, Radeon 7000. If you forget the 66MHz bus and PCI graphics cards, I think I've built a nice setup over the years - 7 years to be precise. I bought this old beast at the MacWorld where they were announced.



    Time to move on! The 17" iMac looks just right. I can hook my external drives to it or use Old Blue for a server. I can hang my 17" DVI LCD off it for dual monitors. Other than 1.0 phobia I really don't see a reason not to buy.



    I kind of wanted a laptop, but the premium for the MacBook Pro just seems like too much. Hopefully the Intel iBooks will come out in a few months and I can scratch that itch then with the justification that I'll get the iMac and iBook for about the same price as a MacBook.



    Although I'm a programmer for work, my home computer use is comparatively light - a little iMovie, a little 3D modeling, a little photo editing, a little web surfing.



    Time to jump to the front of the pack and begin the slide to the rear again.



    - jasen.
  • Reply 9 of 28
    umijinumijin Posts: 133member
    Hmmm... not sure what to do.



    I got my new G5 iMac on 22 December, so I could eat the restocking fee and get the intel iMac. There are clear advantages to the new processor, vid card, external monitoring, and RAM.



    The big issues will be hardware glitches in the rev A product and emulation performance deficits. And migrating stuff to the new machine yet again...



    I have maybe 10 days to hear first hand reports before my 30 days are up.



    Suggestions?
  • Reply 10 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by umijin

    Hmmm... not sure what to do.



    I got my new G5 iMac on 22 December, so I could eat the restocking fee and get the intel iMac. There are clear advantages to the new processor, vid card, external monitoring, and RAM.



    The big issues will be hardware glitches in the rev A product and emulation performance deficits. And migrating stuff to the new machine yet again...



    I have maybe 10 days to hear first hand reports before my 30 days are up.



    Suggestions?




    If you're within range of an Apple store, go and check it out for yourself.



    Otherwise, wait for a week or so. check out both Macfixit.com and macintouch.com, both of them will have extensive reports on both the good and the bad as soon as people get them.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    pbpb Posts: 4,255member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    No, that's not what they are saying.



    It comes with one 512MB stick.



    You can buy it with two 512 MB sticks, or with one 1 GB stick, or with two 1 GB sticks.



    Max total of 2 GB.




    So it has two memory slots. If so, why it cannot take 4 GB? Or can it?
  • Reply 12 of 28
    umijinumijin Posts: 133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    If you're within range of an Apple store, go and check it out for yourself.



    Otherwise, wait for a week or so. check out both Macfixit.com and macintouch.com, both of them will have extensive reports on both the good and the bad as soon as people get them.




    Apple Store doesn't really work, as they won't have copies of all the apps I use on my Mac, and I won't be able to re-create a real usage situation with multiple apps and windows open, and files. Difficult to do a real-world test.



    I suppose I'll have to rely upon tests by MacIntouch et al...
  • Reply 13 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by PB

    So it has two memory slots. If so, why it cannot take 4 GB? Or can it?



    That's a good question.



    Apple is very strange about these things. I would think that as the OS and chips are 32 bit, the answer would be no. I realize that we think that a 32 bit system can access 4GB of real memory, but it isn't that simple.



    There have been many times in the past when Apple's machines could physically handle larger sticks than they stated, but the memory wasn't pushing the limits of the chips and OS, as this would be doing.



    I think that as a realistic maximum, 3GB of memory is about all that can be used. Individual programs such as PS can only use 1GB or so, from what I remember.



    The memory isn't one contiguous space, but broken up into several areas which puts limits on its usage.



    I haven't done much with this for a while. I'm sure others here could explain it better.
  • Reply 14 of 28
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by umijin

    I got my new G5 iMac on 22 December, so I could eat the restocking fee and get the intel iMac. There are clear advantages to the new processor, vid card, external monitoring, and RAM.



    The big issues will be hardware glitches in the rev A product and emulation performance deficits. And migrating stuff to the new machine yet again...



    I have maybe 10 days to hear first hand reports before my 30 days are up.



    Suggestions?




    The new iMac does seem to be shipping, so you might not have to wait long for user tests, but I wouldn't want to push it too close.
  • Reply 15 of 28
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    No, that's not what they are saying.



    It comes with one 512MB stick.



    You can buy it with two 512 MB sticks, or with one 1 GB stick, or with two 1 GB sticks.



    Max total of 2 GB.




    Yonah is a 32bit chip.



    As I mentioned in a different thread, it's going to be some time until the apps you use support Intel. Probably 18+ Months. If you only buy a computer every 3 years or more, then maybe you should eat the restocking fee, but otherwise, the iMac G5 the better deal. It runs PPC apps a lot faster, it runs single threaded apps faster, and it runs anything with Altivec code a whole hell of a lot faster.



    There's a lot of stuff out there wth Altivec code, believe it or not.



    In 18 months, there will still be a demand for used PPC macs for people using software that is no longer supported. The market price should be high enough to allow you to sell it on eBay for a good price towards your next Merom-based iMac in 18 months.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    Quote:

    Originally posted by umijin

    Hmmm... not sure what to do.



    I got my new G5 iMac on 22 December, so I could eat the restocking fee and get the intel iMac. There are clear advantages to the new processor, vid card, external monitoring, and RAM.



    The big issues will be hardware glitches in the rev A product and emulation performance deficits. And migrating stuff to the new machine yet again...



    I have maybe 10 days to hear first hand reports before my 30 days are up.



    Suggestions?






    I'm in the exact same boat. I got my G5 from Amazon in early December, so I have until January 31st before their "holiday return period" expires. I love the computer as is--but am I going to kick myself down the road for not making the swap?



    Anyone ever returned a computer to Amazon? They say no restocking fee if everything is complete and like new--but if not, it's at least 15%, and they don't tell you until after you make the return. I still have all my packaging, but some of the packaging stickers and wrappers are torn open--could they charge me a restocking fee for that?



    Of course Apple would go and revise their newest model, not--say--the mac mini.
  • Reply 17 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    These purchasing decisions are known to anyone who has followed Apple for at least one year's cycle.



    Why anyone would make a purchase of any major new item less than at least two months before either a Macworld, or Dev. conf. is beyond me.



    If you are in business, and a new machine is needed NOW, that is one thing. I used to have to make purchases that way as well. But I used to try to hold off if I could, unless doing so would cost me more business tham a machine would itself cost.



    But, when you're buying for yourself, and you already have a machine, even if you do some pro work on it, it always pays to wait until after the presentation. Always.



    Even for someone new to the platform, it should be obvious that a major show might mean announcements.
  • Reply 18 of 28
    umijinumijin Posts: 133member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by melgross

    These purchasing decisions are known to anyone who has followed Apple for at least one year's cycle.



    Why anyone would make a purchase of any major new item less than at least two months before either a Macworld, or Dev. conf. is beyond me.



    If you are in business, and a new machine is needed NOW, that is one thing. I used to have to make purchases that way as well. But I used to try to hold off if I could, unless doing so would cost me more business tham a machine would itself cost.



    But, when you're buying for yourself, and you already have a machine, even if you do some pro work on it, it always pays to wait until after the presentation. Always.



    Even for someone new to the platform, it should be obvious that a major show might mean announcements.




    I'm not new to the platform (started w/an SE/30), and I frankly resent your 'holier than thou' attitude.



    Yeah, I knew there was a risk, but I've never seen Apple outmode a 3 month old line of computers in one fell swoop. And the degree of 'outmoding' was extraordinary. This isn't a speed bump for the iMac, it's a complete architecture upgrade in three months of introducing a successful, highly acclaimed model. I credit Apple with the where-with-all to achieve this task so quickly. However, I can't help but wonder that they so heavily marketed the G5 iMac just prior to outmoding it.



    Plus, Apple really needs to right it's LAPTOP ship, not it's iMac line. It's gone in the right direction with the MacBook Pro (or whatever lame name they gave it). However, I'd argue they haven't really done a great job with it. Yeah, it may be faster, but this machine lacks a PC card slot, S-video port, FireWire800, has an inferior DVD drive, smaller standard hard drive, and the screen ain't so hot. This is surprising given that Apple is so far behind PC makers in laptop features. And they are still behind, in my opinion. It makes me wonder why they messed with the iMac line at this point... just because they could?



    So, yeah, I made the wrong guess as to which direction Apple would go. But I'd argue that my reasoning was not faulty and was supported by many of the better Mac pundits (except for last minute AppleInsider posts). I dunno if I'd say I'm angry with Apple, but I'm certainly puzzled and frustrated.



    But that's life.
  • Reply 19 of 28
    Hi. I'm a bit excited about the new video output options on the iMac.



    At first I thought I was going to get the 20-inch and sell my ACD.



    However, now I think I should get the 17-inch, just stash it out of sight, and use my 20-inch ACD.



    However, do you think I'd be able to "turn off" the 17-inch display and dedicate all the VRAM to my ACD. Or am I going to have to have them both on in extended mode, making my VRAM slashed?



    How do you think it would perform, if I'm forced into having the 17 inch display on at the same time as my ACD? Do you think it would be very noticeable? Do you think it would make games unplayable that would otherwise had been playable without an external? I'm not a gamer now, but I thought if some are released in the future I might give it a whirl, since this is a more capable machine.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by umijin

    I'm not new to the platform (started w/an SE/30), and I frankly resent your 'holier than thou' attitude.



    Yeah, I knew there was a risk, but I've never seen Apple outmode a 3 month old line of computers in one fell swoop. And the degree of 'outmoding' was extraordinary. This isn't a speed bump for the iMac, it's a complete architecture upgrade in three months of introducing a successful, highly acclaimed model. I credit Apple with the where-with-all to achieve this task so quickly. However, I can't help but wonder that they so heavily marketed the G5 iMac just prior to outmoding it.



    Plus, Apple really needs to right it's LAPTOP ship, not it's iMac line. It's gone in the right direction with the MacBook Pro (or whatever lame name they gave it). However, I'd argue they haven't really done a great job with it. Yeah, it may be faster, but this machine lacks a PC card slot, S-video port, FireWire800, has an inferior DVD drive, smaller standard hard drive, and the screen ain't so hot. This is surprising given that Apple is so far behind PC makers in laptop features. And they are still behind, in my opinion. It makes me wonder why they messed with the iMac line at this point... just because they could?



    So, yeah, I made the wrong guess as to which direction Apple would go. But I'd argue that my reasoning was not faulty and was supported by many of the better Mac pundits (except for last minute AppleInsider posts). I dunno if I'd say I'm angry with Apple, but I'm certainly puzzled and frustrated.



    But that's life.




    It's not "holier than thou". It's been said many times before, by many people. Go look at the Mac threads on Ars, you will see what I mean. Even threads here.



    It holds true for almost anything. When companies have cycles, you have to pay attention to them. There were signs that Apple might want to speed this up. Since no one really knew for certain what Apple would do, it made sense to wait and see. Certainly, if the wait was just a few weeks, and surely just a few days, the wait wouldn't hurt, unless you needed to get a machine before a school year.
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