Apple Announces New iMac With M3 Chip

[bluecoast]

Thinking over who the target market now is for the iMac:

Older people (40+) who have always used a desktop, have a nice desk for it and a home office & use the iMac for light productivity/ creativity (family photos & videos).

Older professionals who have always … you get the idea - and use it for writing, invoicing etc.

Receptions at fancy hotels, media companies and design advertising agencies for reasons of style.

(All of whom will likely be fine with the base level model.)

Apart from the above, I struggle to see who else the iMac is now for.

 

[TallManNY]

“It’s the perfect size and resolution to replace both the 4K and the 5K Intel based models.”

There goes all the hope that 27” iMac users had left, at least for a good while.

Sorry guys!

Yep. But between the mini and the studio, Apple has told us what to do: split your monitor and your CPU.

 

[Dionte]

I can’t do those bezels, it looks too distracting. I just knew they were gonna say and now in space black.

 

[ninecows]

Never said anything about you using your iMac wrong.

Someone said nobody uses 24 inch monitors anymore and I replied saying plenty do.

That was all.

I think my answer came out wrong. I do agree with you. Plenty of users for 24.

Not just among those that are “productive”. There 24 is often too little.

 

[Warped9]

I struggle to see who else the iMac is now for.

Critics of the iMac don’t see it appeals to a broad variety of users with varying needs. I’ve been following the M1’s reviews as well as comments around here. It’s a very capable machine that, like the MacBook Air, can do a fair degree of pro work like video editing and 3D modelling. And it has fans for active cooling unlike the MacBook Airs.

The old Intel MacBook Air was a limited use device built around the idea of being lightweight. But the M series chip changed all that and effectively made it a Pro Lite. In the past some buyers were pushed to the Pro because the Intel Air wasn’t powerful enough for them. But now the M series Air covers a wider variety of users including those with some degree of Pro needs.

The 24 iMac is much like that, but in an AIO desktop form. It’s powerful enough for a wide variety of uses including a fair degree of pro level work.

For those who want an even more powerful desktop then the option is a Mac Mini Pro or Mac Studio paired with a display of your choice. And those users tend to want to upgrade their computer more frequently for a more powerful device so cost wise it makes sense to swap out just the computer than an expensive AIO and keep the same display.

It seems pretty self-evident Apple sees they can sell more Mac Minis and Mac Studios than a large AIO iMac.


Also the abject disappointment of some fervently wishing for a bigger iMac really shouldn’t be surprised given all the indications were Apple wasn’t going to introduce a bigger iMac. The signs were already there even if many chose to ignore them.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Which end are Apple talking out of? They are buying themselves time until they have the 32" iMac. Stop making TV shows and get back to focusing on hardware, ffs.

 

[Steve121178]

Thinking over who the target market now is for the iMac:

Older people (40+) who have always used a desktop, have a nice desk for it and a home office & use the iMac for light productivity/ creativity (family photos & videos).

Older professionals who have always … you get the idea - and use it for writing, invoicing etc.

Receptions at fancy hotels, media companies and design advertising agencies for reasons of style.

(All of whom will likely be fine with the base level model.)

Apart from the above, I struggle to see who else the iMac is now for.

I use my iMac daily for everything. Even when I am not physically using it, then its on my desk playing music/podcasts/streaming a show in the background as I work.

I don't edit video or do anything fancy so I don't need to pay for loads of horsepower I'll never need.

 

[rajador]

What a missed opportunity to release a 32” 6k@120hz m3 Imac 😅

 

[bluecoast]

Critics of the iMac don’t see it appeals to a broad variety of users with varying needs. I’ve been following the M1’s reviews as well as comments around here. It’s a very capable machine that, like the MacBook Air, can do a fair degree of pro work like video editing and 3D modelling. And it has fans for active cooling unlike the MacBook Airs.

The old Intel MacBook Air was a limited use device built around the idea of being lightweight. But the M series chip changed all that and effectively made it a Pro Lite. In the past some buyers were pushed to the Pro because the Intel Air wasn’t powerful enough for them. But now the M series Air covers a wider variety of users including those with some degree of Pro needs.

The 24 iMac is much like that, but in an AIO desktop form. It’s powerful enough for a wide variety of uses including a fair degree of pro level work.

For those who want an even more powerful desktop then the option is a Mac Mini Pro or Mac Studio paired with a display of your choice. And those users tend to want to upgrade their computer more frequently for a more powerful device so cost wise it makes sense to swap out just the computer than an expensive AIO and keep the same display.

It seems pretty self-evident Apple sees they can sell more Mac Minis and Mac Studios than a large AIO iMac.


Also the abject disappointment of some fervently wishing for a bigger iMac really shouldn’t be surprised given all the indications were Apple wasn’t going to introduce a bigger iMac. The signs were already there even if many chose to ignore them.

Oh yeah, I’m not criticising the iMac at all.

For those who get a new mac simply when it gets too slow and / or doesn’t run their software and who want a nice looking desktop mac, it’s a great computer.

And totally buy your argument that it’s a productivity lite machine.

Although I could imagine businesses buying an mba or Mac mini + third party display for their productivity lite employees - web designers and web devs etc - as the iMac is very expensive for what it is.

Maybe the iMac should be called ‘iBoomer’ ?

Tongue is definitely in my cheek.

 

[bluecoast]

I use my iMac daily for everything. Even when I am not physically using it, then its on my desk playing music/podcasts/streaming a show in the background as I work.

I don't edit video or do anything fancy so I don't need to pay for loads of horsepower I'll never need.

That’s great, so glad that your iMac works out for you!

I’m making the point really, that the default computer for most people is now a laptop of some sort.

(And I owned two iMacs).

 

[Amishpriest]

Thinking over who the target market now is for the iMac:

Older people (40+) who have always used a desktop, have a nice desk for it and a home office & use the iMac for light productivity/ creativity (family photos & videos).

Older professionals who have always … you get the idea - and use it for writing, invoicing etc.

Receptions at fancy hotels, media companies and design advertising agencies for reasons of style.

(All of whom will likely be fine with the base level model.)

Apart from the above, I struggle to see who else the iMac is now for.

Hey now!

Spoiler

 

[ProfessionalFan]

Which end are Apple talking out of? They are buying themselves time until they have the 32" iMac. Stop making TV shows and get back to focusing on hardware, ffs.

Pretty sure Apple is a big enough company to do both at the same time

 

[Warped9]

Adjusting for inflation the 24 iMac isn’t much different cost wise than when I bought my G3 iMac in 2001. Indeed it costs less.

In 2001 I paid $1199 CAN for my 500mgz G3 iMac with 40GB HDD and 4GB RAM. Thats $1927 CAN today. In that light the current iMac isn’t badly priced and its level of performance simply didn’t exist twenty years ago.

 

[cwwilson]

The people wanting a 32" iMac are the same ones who were adamant about an iPhone mini and we saw how that went, they didn't put their money where their mouth was and it died on the vine. Apple is not the business of placating to the vocal minority anymore. The one time they went out of their way to make a product that "everyone" was screaming for the numbers didn't match up. These same people went out of their way to criticize the iPhone mini and tear apart all of its 'flaws' that after two generations it was gone entirely.

A 32" iMac will never happen. Apple learned their lesson, they go with what they know and what they know is that the 24" iMac sells well enough to keep updating and producing more. The market has decided that's the perfect size for a modern AIO and the pricing is right. A 32" iMac Pro or whatever it would be called would be what... 1.5 to 2% of total iMac sales? Much like the iPhone mini before it? It would be lambasted for its expensive pricing or weak specs, crappy screen or whatever else would be cried about. Then, it too would die.

The Mac Studio exists now, that's the direction Apple went. There will be no iMac Pro. We had one in 2017 and I guess it wasn't good enough then and a new one won't be good enough now. The naysayers will find every excuse possible not to buy one and that's why Apple will not make any more.

Either buy this new iMac or don't, Apple won't care because plenty of other people will.

 

[macpro2000]

I would have totally bought an iPhone mini if it would have had all the features in the Pro model. Instead, they stripped it down and they weren't comparable at all.

 

[cwwilson]

I would have totally bought an iPhone mini if it would have had all the features in the Pro model. Instead, they stripped it down and they weren't comparable at all.

See that's the go-to excuse I always hear. It was an iPhone mini, not an iPhone Pro mini. The iPhone and iPhone Pro are two different lines. The Pro phones were always going to be the bigger ones, like they are in every other Apple product.

 

[azentropy]

Have you used a M chip with 8GB of RAM as a basic user? it's perfectly fine. I have a M1 Mini with 8GB/256 SSD and it's doing a ton of stuff all day with no issues. Not everyone needs a massive amount of RAM or Space, but if you do, pay and upgrade. Armchair consumers think they know better than Apple which has every but of data at their fingertips is still mind blowing.

Yes I have (I use a base M1 MBA as my travel system and I bought my parents the middle configuration iMac M1 when they first were released) and I hit a memory bottleneck long before I hit a processing power bottleneck. But still not the point. Sure a base 8GB is fine for some but when BOTH upgraded “standard” configurations are still 8GB and to get more you have to BTO which is a joke at this point. You can’t get a 16GB version at retailers (that typically discount) like Best Buy, Costco, and Amazon. And frankly I find it mind blowing people defending it for way too long.

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

I find threads like these so amusing. Because you inevitably get people screaming 'OMG Apple didn't make EXACTLY WHAT I WANT!!!', and then go onto explain how Apple are doomed etc, how you can't do ANYTHING on an iMac, blah blah blah. And more resonable voices from people who've actually thought about things a for little more than 5 seconds, patiently explaining how actually, Apple kind of do know what they're doing and how the iMac is in fact a pretty decent little machine, that suits the needs of many people very well indeed.

It's quite clear that many of those complaining don't understand marketing at all, or the fact that they might not actually be the target consumer. And many seem to not understand that they do in fact have loads of choice in the computer market, and that they aren't forced to buy just one brand's products. Yes, you do have a choice!!

I could take the time to easily disprove pretty much all the claims about how the iMac fails on this or that point, but I really can't be bothered. I'll just keep on enjoying using mine. And I'm pretty sure the world will keep on turning regardless.

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

Sure. If all you need to do is email, word documents, web and YouTube 24 is all fine. And this is what Apple is targeting here. Just look at the marketing pictures and lack of Pro options for the M3.

If you’re doing anything more creative or productive (like actual work) it’s not enough and clearly the iMac is not suitable for this anymore.

Ah, damn! So all that 'actual work' I've been doing on my iMac (and earning money for...) has been for nothing??

Woe is me. 😪

 

[bluecoast]

Hey now!

View attachment 2304878

Spoiler

I’ve owned two iMacs - a g5 and a 2009 intel iMac.

I really liked them!

The iMac g5 gave up the ghost as it essentially fried itself to death.

The intel one just kept going and going. It was very slow in the end with its HDD, but it worked fine with sierra.

I’m just saying really the computing has largely moved on from desktops and the default computer is a laptop.

But I certainly wouldn’t turn down a new iMac.

 

[Steve121178]

That’s great, so glad that your iMac works out for you!

I’m making the point really, that the default computer for most people is now a laptop of some sort.

(And I owned two iMacs).

Yeah, I get your point. I also have a M1 MBA but rarely use it. I think working from home and being home based most of the time a desktop makes complete sense for people like me.

My iMac is very old and long over due an upgrade but I think the M1/M3 iMacs are a complete rip off so I've been reluctant to pull the trigger on a new one.

 

[macpro2000]

See that's the go-to excuse I always hear. It was an iPhone mini, not an iPhone Pro mini. The iPhone and iPhone Pro are two different lines. The Pro phones were always going to be the bigger ones, like they are in every other Apple product.

But there are 2 sizes of Pros so there could have been 3. And Apples best iPhone in past years was way smaller than the recent mini. Could have been done.

 

[Ian Howlett]

A 24 inch screen is pathetic. They need to bring back the 27 inch iMac.

 

[Ian Howlett]

The most RAM you can configure is 24GB! Ludicrous! It’s nearly 2024!

 

[Abdichoudxyz]

Lol! Keep the nonsense flowing...