Apple Announced the 24-Inch iMac Three Years Ago Today

[seek3r]

No it says that the market of consumers who have disposable income won’t spend it on this product. Most people are complaining about the screen size.

The iMac has the M3 chip for crying out loud, you can’t get a better chip unless one is waiting for a pro version. The real issue is the screen size followed by the color, material choices.

Make this design 27 or more, put black bezels and give us a silver color and you have my money. I’ll pay the premium price for the ram and ssd but not for this version with white bezels, smaller screen.

Except sales are generally down, not just imacs… there was a surge of people who bought M1 machines, both because of pent up demand for folks waiting and because of a large surge of demand for home computers during the pandemic. Those machines will easily serve most consumers through like 2028-2030, so that massive group of consumers, the chunk most interested in iMacs and MacBook Airs, arent looking to upgrade yet. Combine that with massive inflation, which means pretty much everyone’s cash for this is lower, and it makes sense sales are down

It’s not because the iMac is a bad product. This may surprise you but most people are fine with a 24” screen, this forum is not the general public

 

[Mr. Nice]

I remember when I bought my first Mac, an entry-level iMac on sale for €899 (€999). Now the devices start at €1,599. Apple has simply overdone it with the price screw.

 

[audiophilosophy]

My wife’s Cinema Display crapped out in February after about 13 years of use, so we got a replacement for her whole setup with one of these m1 iMacs from the Apple refurbished store. Ordered an “orange” one since that was the only fairly inexpensive one at the time that had 16GB ram. Was a little disappointed to see upon opening the box that it’s more of a pink than an orange. Otherwise, happy with it.

 

[seek3r]

I remember when I bought my first Mac, an entry-level iMac on sale for €899 (€999). Now the devices start at €1,599. Apple has simply overdone it with the price screw.

how long ago was that? Inflation’s been pretty high globally for a bit now…

 

[Adelphos33]

Even though I disagree with almost all of the criticism of the 24" iMac - A traditional silver/space grey colorway with darker borders would seem to cost nothing to deliver and would satisfy a lot of people.

 

[jdoyle]

So annoyed that they refuse to have a bigger screen iMac than 24in.

 

[Adelphos33]

So annoyed that they refuse to have a bigger screen iMac than 24in.

Would you be happy with a bigger screen, but with the same chipset/ram as the 24"? A lot of people are taking their frustration out on the screen size. But even if Apple made a 27" iMac, they wouldn't be providing this version with Max/Ultra chips, it wouldn't be upgradeable after the fact, etc. At most a 27" iMac would offer the M Pro Chip, like the Minis.

 

[ZiBart]

I think they did exactly what they were instructed to do...

The iMac was purposely changed and moved down market to push 27" iMac owners looking to upgrade into a much more expensive Studio Display + Mac Studio

(or Mac Mini I suppose ... those also get really spendy when speccing them up)

The "Tim Cook Special"

Maybe - but i dont know. The massive cost in research, design, development, tooling etc just to purposely create a low selling niche product goes against the historical Tim Cook strengths in supply chain efficiency. The fact that its an all in one will always separate it from a Studio or a Pro Mini. And keeping it with consumer grade M series soc would create further separation. But who knows. They created a pointless Mac Pro with Apple SOC as well, and that baffles me more.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Maybe - but i dont know. The massive cost in research, design, development, tooling etc just to purposely create a low selling niche product goes against the historical Tim Cook strengths in supply chain efficiency. The fact that its an all in one will always separate it from a Studio or a Pro Mini. And keeping it with consumer grade M series soc would create further separation. But who knows. They created a pointless Mac Pro with Apple SOC as well, and that baffles me more.

Who said it’s “low selling”? iMacs are on display at every Best Buy in America.

 

[kwikdeth]

Select All - Transform - Scale 140%. Now gimme your paycheck Phil.

 

[ZiBart]

Who said it’s “low selling”? iMacs are on display at every Best Buy in America.

As per CIRP, the iMac comprised 4% of total Mac Sales in 2023. 1% above the lowest selling Mac- the Mac Pro.

MacBook Pro and MacBook Air overwhelmingly drive Apple Mac sales

New research claims to have details on exactly how dominant MacBook Pro and MacBook Air sales are, versus desktop contemporaries.

appleinsider.com

 

[BeatCrazy]

As per CIRP, the iMac comprised 4% of total Mac Sales in 2023. 1% above the lowest selling Mac- the Mac Pro.

MacBook Pro and MacBook Air overwhelmingly drive Apple Mac sales

New research claims to have details on exactly how dominant MacBook Pro and MacBook Air sales are, versus desktop contemporaries.

appleinsider.com

"....CIRP does not detail its research methodology." Uh hmmm...

Low-selling compared to what? Tens of thousands of units sold per month, per year? Only Apple knows..

 

[Student of Life]

Except sales are generally down, not just imacs… there was a surge of people who bought M1 machines, both because of pent up demand for folks waiting and because of a large surge of demand for home computers during the pandemic. Those machines will easily serve most consumers through like 2028-2030, so that massive group of consumers, the chunk most interested in iMacs and MacBook Airs, arent looking to upgrade yet. Combine that with massive inflation, which means pretty much everyone’s cash for this is lower, and it makes sense sales are down

It’s not because the iMac is a bad product. This may surprise you but most people are fine with a 24” screen, this forum is not the general public

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. The people who got M1 iMac are not going to be looking at updating anytime soon. The real issue and problem for Apple is the sizable % of users, who in this instance are still using intel iMacs. Apple just updated the chip to the M3 so thats not an issue or excuse for people not to buy them. In the M3 iMac presentation they were purposefully targeting intel owner. Inflation is an issue but that been one for years so thats not going to magically stop someone who really needs or wants to get an iMac. With a little bit of effort one can get good deals on an M1 iMac in BestBuy (open items), Woot, here or heck even eBay etc, so that would negate the price issue for a good part.

That brings us to the big 27 inch elephant in the room. What people want is a bigger screen size. For home computers bigger screen size is preferred. Not to long ago we had 21 and 24 iMac, most people favored the 24. Then Apple gave us the option of a 24 and a 27, most favored the 27. Sure 24 is ok like you said (technically it's 23.5) but when one places a priority on screen size it's hard to reconcile that with getting a smaller size. I have no inclination to get the Apple Display as it goes against the ethos of what an iMac is and what was one of the reasons I got an Apple computer in the first place.

 

[Biro]

At most a 27" iMac would offer the M Pro Chip, like the Minis.

It’s quite possible you underestimate how many people would go for a 27-inch iMac with an M Pro chip and 32 GB of RAM.

 

[joecomo]

That's the saddest part, the older iMacs have excellent screens and Apple purposely does not let people use them as external monitors. Then they go and call themselves eco-responsible. Sure!

I have a MBP and I would love to use my iMac as an external screen for when I work on video at home, but no, Apple wouldn't let me and the 5K iMac that's in an excellent shape just sits there gathering dust.

Might not have been 100% on purpose as initially there was a reason.
I also really annoys me, that there is nothing I can do with my beautiful 27 iMac anymore. Options I have tried:

1. Opencore: You can even get Sonoma on this machine - but the fan will roar like a turbine
2. Linux: No way to get 5K - also the fan (fan can probably be solved but not 5K)
3. Restoring the initial OS: Best option so far - can serve as a Surveillance station etc.

Options I have not tried: Buy a display driver on Aliexpress and work a week to convert it into a monitor - although that would yield the most satisfactory result ….

 

[Scoob Redux]

This chassis feels like the last dregs of Jony Ives design language. I read an article suggesting that he was involved in the early stages of its development.

Form over function.

It is a perfectly fine machine, but a touch compromised, unnecessarily.

Beyond the base model that feels like a sad machine Apple doesn’t want people to buy…

The headphone Jack and ethernet placement are purely because the case is pointlessly thin. Also this might be why this the only desktop Mac without USB-A.

The saddest part, from a product design perspective, is that the “upgraded” power supply isn’t even wired as a USB dock, but rather the connector just passes through Ethernet wires.

We’ll see what the next AiO chassis looks like in 2 to 5 years

Exactly. Who ever said "I wish my desktop monitor was thinner!"?? No one. Yet Ive removed features like multiple ports and power supply just for the sake of thinness. Of course, the colors are garish and the bezels are ugly, too. Just a crippled machine. Maybe Apple can recover with the next redesign, but I'm not holding my breath, given that Cook doesn't have vision or technological competence.

 

[antonrg]

Might not have been 100% on purpose as initially there was a reason.
I also really annoys me, that there is nothing I can do with my beautiful 27 iMac anymore. Options I have tried:

1. Opencore: You can even get Sonoma on this machine - but the fan will roar like a turbine
2. Linux: No way to get 5K - also the fan (fan can probably be solved but not 5K)
3. Restoring the initial OS: Best option so far - can serve as a Surveillance station etc.

Options I have not tried: Buy a display driver on Aliexpress and work a week to convert it into a monitor - although that would yield the most satisfactory result ….

Thank you for the tips. I was thinking of going the opencore route, but wasn’t sure about the fan. You’ve cleared it up for me now. I think I will keep it as my home media device and just watch films off it. It’s sad that I cannot use it as external for my MBP, but I am not going to give it away for recycling as it is literally in a perfect physical state. These computers were built very well.

 

[upthetoffees]

Still never seen one in public and I still see new 27 inch imacs regularly.

Absolute garbage these were in my opinion.

 

[joecomo]

Thank you for the tips. I was thinking of going the opencore route, but wasn’t sure about the fan. You’ve cleared it up for me now. I think I will keep it as my home media device and just watch films off it. It’s sad that I cannot use it as external for my MBP, but I am not going to give it away for recycling as it is literally in a perfect physical state. These computers were built very well.

You‘re welcome.
Just one remark: My observations are on a 5K Late 2014 iMac 27 (with an i7), later machines might do better.

 

[gsmornot]

lets hope the new iMacPro will be usable as a monitor as well - unlike my 2014 retina iMac 27.

If you dont mind taking it apart and installing a display driver board in place of the motherboard, this can be done. I’m not ready yet with my 2017 model but maybe at some point. I also agree with your statement. It would be great to have a secondary mode that allowed it to be used as a monitor when not used as an iMac and have both available. I would buy into that for sure.

 

[guzhogi]

Things I'd like to see in a new iMac:

• Lose the chin
• Make it thicker so you can put an ethernet port back in it
• Maybe bring back the G4 iMac aesthetic. With the size of the base, could be an iMac Pro, basically a Mac Studio with built in monitor
• Won't happen, but fun to hope: M.2 expansion slot for *additional* storage. Maybe have OS & apps on the M#'s built in SSD, and user data on the M.2? Closest thing I could see Apple doing is making it a proprietary connector, and only allow Apple-branded drives at a huge margin
• Touch screen, at least for Apple Pencil support for the creative types who use apps like Affinity and Photoshop

 

[darngooddesign]

Things I'd like to see in a new iMac:

• Lose the chin
• Make it thicker so you can put an ethernet port back in it
• Maybe bring back the G4 iMac aesthetic. With the size of the base, could be an iMac Pro, basically a Mac Studio with built in monitor
• Won't happen, but fun to hope: M.2 expansion slot for *additional* storage. Maybe have OS & apps on the M#'s built in SSD, and user data on the M.2? Closest thing I could see Apple doing is making it a proprietary connector, and only allow Apple-branded drives at a huge margin
• Touch screen, at least for Apple Pencil support for the creative types who use apps like Affinity and Photoshop

If they go touchscreen it’s going to need an arm design like the lampshade iMac so the screen can be angled almost horizontal. Of course it will be hilarious if there is a touchscreen Mac, but the iPads don’t get MacOS.

 

[cocky jeremy]

3 years later, white bezels were still a stupid and ugly idea.

 

[seek3r]

3 years later, white bezels were still a stupid and ugly idea.

It works for the purpose of the imac, which is to define an area of screen in a single device that stands out rather than blend in or merge better with another display. And, honestly, I've been using my iMac G4 a lot recently for retro gaming, which also has a white bezel obviously, and I'd forgotten how much I loved it. Best design of an iMac ever and the white bezels are totally fine. For that matter the OG iMac, the G5s, and the first round of Intel ones all had white bezels. In case you forgot what those looked like:

 

[guzhogi]

If they go touchscreen it’s going to need an arm design like the lampshade iMac so the screen can be angled almost horizontal. Of course it will be hilarious if there is a touchscreen Mac, but the iPads don’t get MacOS.

I know you can Airplay to iPads. Kinda wish you could use touch input while doing that.