Best Apple design of the last 2 decades.

[2499723]

There are a lot of earlier Macs (within the last 20 years) that are still pretty sleek, in my opinion. They're beige boxes, perhaps, but still bear an interesting design.

I loved the pizza box design of my LC (which was discontinued in March 1992). And, although it wasn't necessarily the engineering marvel it was touted to be, I'm surprised that you didn't include the 25th Anniversary Macintosh in your list (or did I miss it?). Some people might want to select that one. And what about that All-in-one G3 that was released for educational establishments only? That was actually pretty damn cool looking in my opinion.

 

[pgiguere1]

I think the AlBook G4 was the most impressive for its time (2003):

I also like the iPhone 4 (2010) and unibody MBP (2008).

I think the rMBP isn't that impressive given that it's not a whole new design, just a thinner unibody MBP. Although they technically have a reason for being, the vents and non-uniform bezel are also uglier (although it remains a very beautiful computer).

 

[peskaa]

2nd Generation MacBook Air.

The first generation indicated the way Apple wanted to go, but the technology wasn't there, so you got stuck with micro-HDs and slow, small SSDs. It was a good try, but just not good enough. The second generation changed that - stunning design, and the introduction of everything we see in the new direction.

Not only that, they were fast, cheap (for a Mac), and thin. Lovely machines.

 

[416049]

Iphone 4, Macbook Air/Pro and the original ipod designs

 

[elppa]

I guess we all have our favourites.

Also liked the first generation Air (with pull down ports door), BlackBook (MacBook (black) for the pedants), G4 Cube, Cinema Displays and the final generation PowerBook G3 (Wallstreet I believe).

 

[maswriter]

I'm not sure which iMac model this is, but it not only saved Apple, it set design and color standards for all sorts of products at the end of the 1990s.

 

[pubb]

Cube.

 

[InuNacho]

There are a lot of earlier Macs (within the last 20 years) that are still pretty sleek, in my opinion. They're beige boxes, perhaps, but still bear an interesting design.

I loved the pizza box design of my LC (which was discontinued in March 1992).

I gotta agree, the pizzabox LCs and some of the Quadras look pretty slick. My LCII was stupid easy to open, just life two tabs on the back and you're done.

 

[Jb07]

The Best Apple design:

Powerbook G4 15". I love this computer so much. The design was absolutely stunning for its time.

2nd place would be:

The first gen MacBook Air. It really paved the way for ultrabooks and ultra thin laptops and is a very pretty computer.

 

[53kyle]

I like the Retina MacBook Pro best because it just makes the old unibody smaller. I know this is stupid but I like the bottom case better with the air vents in it.

 

[belvdr]

I'm not sure which iMac model this is, but it not only saved Apple, it set design and color standards for all sorts of products at the end of the 1990s.

Except for the hockey puck mouse that nobody liked.

Second to none ..

I loved my G4 17". Just a great design and didn't waste any desk space. The mouse was a great design too.

 

[MonkeySee....]

I went with the 1st gen Air. When he pulled that out of the envelope at the keynote the crowd went bonkers.

Its a thing of beauty.

 

[2499723]

The Titanium PowerBook was a thing of beauty. I loved that computer, but the paint on the sides was prone to flaking after a while and the plastic cracked on mine after a while. Still loved the design, and I liked that the lid was perfectly flat. It's something I miss about modern designs, actually. The titanium was also sturdier than the aluminum.

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Except for the hockey puck mouse that nobody liked.

I still have one of those mice (albeit, not in use)! I liked the look, but not the functionality...kind of a problem for a mouse, really. =)

 

[charlieegan3]

Without the iPod Classic Design Apple wouldn't be where it is today, so it gets my vote.

 

[elppa]

The iPod didn't save Apple. Shipping Mac OS X saved Apple. All of their most important products and strategy are built on top of OS X (I include iOS as it is essentially a fork of OS X). It is also their biggest and most important differentiator. Otherwise they'd be just another OEM licensing Windows/Android.

 

[G51989]

The iPod didn't save Apple. Shipping Mac OS X saved Apple. All of their most important products and strategy are built on top of OS X (I include iOS as it is essentially a fork of OS X). It is also their biggest and most important differentiator. Otherwise they'd be just another OEM licensing Windows/Android.

OSX didn't save apple

1st generation iMac? That little candy colored computer is what really saved Apples ass.

 

[MacNut]

iPod classic was to me the best gadget ever made that kicked off a revolution that would lead to the iphone.

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I think, MacBook Air and the unibody MBP (actually, every unibody computer) are excellent designs which combine beauty and functionality in a very minimalistic package.

Everyone and their grandma copy this design nowadays

I disagree, the unibodies are unpracticle, you can't open them to get at the battery or upgrade.

 

[elppa]

OSX didn't save apple

1st generation iMac? That little candy colored computer is what really saved Apples ass.

I think you are getting to caught up in a hardware mindset.

iMac did do an important job. It kept Apple on life support for a few more years while they scrambled to get OS X ready. You are correct, it was an interesting, simple, powerful (and quite competitively priced for the time) computer which got people buying Macs again. That was important, Apple needed sales and revenue. A lime green iMac (rev c) was my first ever Macintosh, so don't get me wrong, I have a very soft spot for iMac.

But Without a viable software strategy, the iMac would have quickly lost its sheen. Without a viable software strategy, Apple was doomed. Everyone knew it (customers, analysts and worst of all competitors). Which is why they spent over a decade lunging from one failed project to another (Pink, Taligent, Copland) in the effort to ship something modern.

If you still don't believe me - as soon as they had OS X ready they began to build out their other strategies (Apple Retail and iPod only came once OS X was in the can).

OS X is the lynchpin on Apple. Nearly everything they have, everything they build, is all built to run or built to run on top of OS X technologies.

The notable exception is iPod, which of course is not a major focus for Apple anymore.

iPod classic was to me the best gadget ever made that kicked off a revolution that would lead to the iphone.

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I disagree, the unibodies are unpracticle, you can't open them to get at the battery or upgrade.

Its not a flaw in the unibody design.

The first unibody MacBook/MacBook Pro (late 2008) have a very accessible replaceable battery and HDD. The HDD is held in place by one screw. Both the battery and the HDD have little pull tabs so you can lift them easily. The RAM is also a doodle to get at.

They even put in a nice latch mechanism, which would lift the back plate up gradually. The final flourish was that the latch would lock if a Kensington lock was attached, making it non user accessible to thieves.

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[JoeG4]

They've all been fun, my favorites:
G4 Cube
iMac G4
PowerMac G5/Mac Pro

The cube was really pretty and the idea of total silence was great - that they were so pretty was often overshadowed by how that clear plastic apple used at the time would generate hairline cracks so easily. That, and the single 450mhz/500mhz G4s quickly showed their age. Did I mention that just like the fanless iMac G3s, the Cubes usually came with a horribly loud maxtor hard drive? *facepalm* Still, they were SO COOL!

The iMac G4 had a similar problem of noisy hard drives and slowness, but those were so pretty! I loved the high screen and the cheerful design.

The G5 was also a bit of a pain in the butt reliability-wise (though some still work great!) - but it's a design that people never seem to get tired of despite being really ancient by now. It came out NINE YEARS AGO!

With laptops I'm having a tough time deciding - I loved the idea of the MacBook Air but liked the wedge shaped ones much more for some odd reason. The RMBP is pretty sweet too, although all around I miss the thin bezels of the oldschool PBG4s.

 

[velocityg4]

I gotta agree, the pizzabox LCs and some of the Quadras look pretty slick. My LCII was stupid easy to open, just life two tabs on the back and you're done.

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Glad to see the love for the old beige Macs. Personally my favorite design in the last twenty years would be the Quadra 840AV with 14" AV display and Apple Adjustable Keyboard.



This pole is pretty worthless though. It skips the much lauded iMac G3 and Powermac G3 and G4 case designs.

 

[ivoruest]

Thanks to all for the reply. Looks like the iPhone 4/4S and the Retina MBP are some of the best designs. I did forgot some other incredible designs like the Cube and so on, but still thanks for posting them.

My top favorites are the iPhone 4/4S, the iMac unibody and Macbook Air 2gen. In general I do like most of the designs. Apple's design team is always ahead of industry and really do extraordinary work in surprising us with new designs.

 

[Mito]

Forget CUBE and if it counts NeXT Cube!

 

[Melrose]

Second to none ..

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This, and the Cube are the best.

But for influence? OP, where's the Original iPhone? Also, if you included the PowerBook 100 and/or 500, you'd have some competition. They set the standard for laptops the way we use them now.

 

[Roheryn]

Second to none ..

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Agreed. Of my five Macs I think I loved this one the most. People would gasp when they saw it. My sister kept asking "But..that's IT? Where's the hard drive ???"

Love my 27" iMac too. It's three years old and I still think of it as "new". (And I don't mind if it can't do Airplay mirroring )