If the iMac wants to be good, make it good!

[mectojic]

I'm not asking for 16GB Ram / 512GB SSD standard, we know Apple won't do it.

But, the base model should at least be complete!!
1) 4-ports
2) Ethernet on the power brick standard
3) 2 internal fans
4) TouchID on the keyboard (if it's standard on the base M1/M2 MacBooks, it should be here too)
5) USB-C accessories

It's just not a great deal to buy something so skimped. I think it would be a better package and price with just those minimum enhancements (and would dramatically cut down the amount of different inventory).

 

[Steve121178]

This has been discussed to death already but if you want a 'nice' spec you won't find it in the base model, nor should you expect it. Apple will never make the base model competitive for highly obvious reasons.

People should realise the iMac is something that can last 10 years so should spec it accordingly. 8GB RAM in 2023 should be an immediate red flag and avoided. By making a sensible purchase, the rest of the machine will be 'complete' as it's the only version you should be buying in the first place.

 

[mectojic]

This has been discussed to death already but if you want a 'nice' spec you won't find it in the base model, nor should you expect it. Apple will never make the base model competitive for highly obvious reasons.

Not true. The base-spec M1 MacBook Air and M1 Mac Mini were perfectly fine for what they offered, and the SSD speeds of the 256GB weren't compromised.

People should realise the iMac is something that can last 10 years so should spec it accordingly. 8GB RAM in 2023 should be an immediate red flag and avoided. By making a sensible purchase, the rest of the machine will be 'complete' as it's the only version you should be buying in the first place.

Average buyers don't know what RAM is, so I think this is a bad assumption. Average consumers (knowing from experience) only want to pay more if they need more storage, a larger screen size / touchID, etc. There are tons of mid-spec M1 iMacs for sale 2nd-hand that had 8GB Ram and 512GB SSD, because average consumers just wanted the TouchID spec.

 

[Steve121178]

Not true. The base-spec M1 MacBook Air and M1 Mac Mini were perfectly fine for what they offered, and the SSD speeds of the 256GB weren't compromised.



Average buyers don't know what RAM is, so I think this is a bad assumption. Average consumers (knowing from experience) only want to pay more if they need more storage, a larger screen size / touchID, etc. There are tons of mid-spec M1 iMacs for sale 2nd-hand that had 8GB Ram and 512GB SSD, because average consumers just wanted the TouchID spec.

You're missing the point. A 8GB base spec model might seem like a good buy today, but 8GB really isn't going to cut it in a year or two. Apps are getting hungrier and hungrier and will chew up more RAM. macOS is quite well optimised but it still needs a good 5-6GB to run efficiently today, that gives just a 2-3GB headroom for other stuff you want to run. Plus macOS isn't always going to idle by on 5-6GB as things advance and AI and other features start to creep in to macOS.

The base model is a bad buy and not recommended. Everyone knows this. When buying a computer, you really should spec it to last at least 5 years. Especially something you can never upgrade once you've bought it. It's just poor advice to suggest otherwise. If someone ignores this advice and goes for the base spec then fine, it's on them.

 

[Isengardtom]

Agreed, I got my M1 with 16GB but I also regret not going for more storage than the 256GB base. It's ok, but not if you want to keep the computer for 5+ years and plan to do more stuff with it

I do love it though, but I wish we had the option to get a more powerful chip like the M3 Pro

 

[mectojic]

You're missing the point. A 8GB base spec model might seem like a good buy today, but 8GB really isn't going to cut it in a year or two. Apps are getting hungrier and hungrier and will chew up more RAM. macOS is quite well optimised but it still needs a good 5-6GB to run efficiently today, that gives just a 2-3GB headroom for other stuff you want to run. Plus macOS isn't always going to idle by on 5-6GB as things advance and AI and other features start to creep in to macOS.

The base model is a bad buy and not recommended. Everyone knows this. When buying a computer, you really should spec it to last at least 5 years. Especially something you can never upgrade once you've bought it. It's just poor advice to suggest otherwise. If someone ignores this advice and goes for the base spec then fine, it's on them.

Aren’t you missing the point?
I didn’t say 8GB was a good buy today. I said it was reasonable with the launch of M1- that was 3 years ago.

My OP was that Apple won’t up the base from 8GB/256 on the base M3 iMac for now, but they could at least include the features that are deliberately taken away, such as the ports and extra fan.

 

[Steve121178]

Aren’t you missing the point?
I didn’t say 8GB was a good buy today. I said it was reasonable with the launch of M1- that was 3 years ago.

My OP was that Apple won’t up the base from 8GB/256 on the base M3 iMac for now, but they could at least include the features that are deliberately taken away, such as the ports and extra fan.

They are not taken away, they just aren't included in the baseline model. If you pay far less for something, you are not going to get the full package are you? They'll cut costs where they can and they'll try to steer you to more expensive models that include the full spec.