Like I said, it might not look all that dated now, but fast forward 3 years and it will. The white acrylic will be something we'll look back at and laugh I think
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iMac design looking dated now.
- Thread starter dingdongbubble
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Like I said, it might not look all that dated now, but fast forward 3 years and it will. The white acrylic will be something we'll look back at and laugh I think
Agreed. From the iMac G3 to the lovely iMac G4, the design has always been iconic.
The current iMac design looks like crap in comparison, with as much aesthetic flare as a drunk 60's disco clown.
Hopefully a new revision will sort it out.. it needs to.
Let's face it the main audience of mac's has in the past been those with an artistic bent. Therefore aesthetics are very important. Yes to the 'untrained' eye a painting is a painting, but to connoisseurs and those with a discerning eye - the current model is pig ugly. It's not being blase, it's being 'mac confident'..
I agree, The iMac G4 was definately the most stylish and iconic design. even today with the G5 iMac around you can't help looking at a G4 one and thinking "wow" Apple need to get that wow factor back to the iMac - and it doesn't come in the shape of a white flat screen!
I tend to agree with you, even though I like to run games. My macbook pro runs WOW really fast and also BF2 under Vista. So I don't see that mobile processors are anything to sneeze at. They seem pretty darn fast to me. And I really do like the idea of being able to save power as much as possible.
I sure hope so, I'm waiting until Leopard to get an imac. Right now I have a chunky powermac with a 24 inch sony LCD. I'd like to get rid of both of them and replace them with an imac but I don't want one of the current generation.
Well, it is definitely not as iconic as iMac G4, that's for sure. I still prefer white over metallic though. Every computer and consumer electronics company have metallic designs nowadays. At least white is still not as common.
I still enjoy my iMac after 1.5 years and it definitely is not ugly. I don't know why chin irritates people on these boards so much. It prevents it from looking like any old picture frame or monitor.
I don't like the matte black on Mcbooks. However, the glossy black in the pictures you guys whipped up looks really cool. I am just afraid dust on that color would look a bit too obvious. I would have to clean up more often.
My guess is on a design with two harddrives to accommodate TimeMachine. Of course, that means no new design until Leopard. When is the last day of October again?
I still enjoy my iMac after 1.5 years and it definitely is not ugly. I don't know why chin irritates people on these boards so much. It prevents it from looking like any old picture frame or monitor.
I don't like the matte black on Mcbooks. However, the glossy black in the pictures you guys whipped up looks really cool. I am just afraid dust on that color would look a bit too obvious. I would have to clean up more often.
My guess is on a design with two harddrives to accommodate TimeMachine. Of course, that means no new design until Leopard. When is the last day of October again?
To those of you that say the imac looks "dated" I have a 24" and each and everytime someone comes to my house and takes a look at that monster they cant help but be wowed. Maybe it just that most mac users have just gotten used to the imac look, but you have to remember that macs are still relatively rare compared to pc's, not that many people have imacs at home.
Even after so many years the imac is still leaps and bounds ahead of any pc in regards to looks. Sony tried to copy apple but failed miserably for a reason, they are not apple.
While the chin does take away from the 17" and 20" imacs, it looks just fine on the 24". There is really no reason for the chin on the 24", as it has more than enough room inside to accommodate the power supply, speakers and RAM without the need for the chin. I may be in the minority here, but the chin does add something to the imac, the computer would just look more boring without it. I am pretty sure that Apple has come up with chinless designs, but for some reason decided against it.
Even after so many years the imac is still leaps and bounds ahead of any pc in regards to looks. Sony tried to copy apple but failed miserably for a reason, they are not apple.
While the chin does take away from the 17" and 20" imacs, it looks just fine on the 24". There is really no reason for the chin on the 24", as it has more than enough room inside to accommodate the power supply, speakers and RAM without the need for the chin. I may be in the minority here, but the chin does add something to the imac, the computer would just look more boring without it. I am pretty sure that Apple has come up with chinless designs, but for some reason decided against it.
See that white box running down the center? jk, if that was where the computer was that would be insane but i think that
could pull it off I'm guessing that there would have to be an actual 'computer' tower. But come on a touch screen transparent imac? The tower still wouldn't even be that big, they could just make it the size of the imac now except they would probably have more space.
And no i dont think it looks very dated. Some people still can't believe that its all in the screen. Some of my friends (windows users....hah, mortals) still don't believe me.
iMac Pros and Cons:
Pros:
Space saving
Sleek and Beautiful All-in-One
Good Power (will be a little better with Santa Rosa)
Cons:
Not upgradable
No 2nd HDD bay
I love the look of a Apple Cinema Displays, the Powerbooks/MacBook Pros and of course the G5/Mac Pro towers. I think the anodized aluminum looks great. But a Mac Pro is overkill for me, and the Mini a bit underpowered with a notebook drive. So I won't buy a Cinema Display, esp. since there is no built-in iSight (though I do have an original that I could hook on).
I can get by the lack of 2nd HDD in the iMac with externals, esp. with the FW800 in the 24". But I really would like to see and would be all over a 24" or better yet, a 27" iMac in aluminum. I also don't have a problem with the chin, as it is the same size and therefore gets less noticable from 17->20->24 and I would presume even less noticable at 27". It would be nice to shrink it and give the iMac an even border all the way around, not as trim as the Cinema Displays, but definitely closer. All that said, the power supply sits in the chin, since it would make the iMac considerably thicker to but it behind the screen. Though knowing Apple, I'm sure the next generation with see improvements. I just want it in aluminum and please, please, please, soon. As in tomorrow, not after the iPhone.
I currently own an iMac G5. The best part about this is the lack of wires. I have wireless keyboard/mouse. Only necessary cords are the power and network. With the advent of wireless usb (1-2 months) you'll be able to operate without those cables, too. You can even mount it on the wall, and free up all that desk space. A thinner bezel would be the only design change I'd welcome. White, black, metal, that's all secondary. The true design advantage is the savings in space, without the sacrifice of screen space that you have in a laptop.
This mockup is lazy and terrible... I am glad that you didn't make it. These design mockups are never as good as anything Ive could create and they are usually boring and just a rehashing of what is already out there or what someone in the consumer market wants. iMac with no chin, so let's photoshop the chin out... OH it looks great... I would be dissappointed if Apple wasted their time releasing this.
If the new iMac looks somewhat like this picture, it will be a big hit (my opinion)
It would suck... just like the white mockup above. Nothing new, nothing breakthrough, nothing innovative... give me something good...
Like this.
Like this.
That one looks like a late 90's mockup of a "futuristic" computer. It actually looks pretty dated to me.
But I can imagine what cool designs the technology it's carrying can lead to.
Apple Insider is reporting a late summer update to the imac, which presumably means no speed-bump.
I would expect that a late summer or anytime in the summer update to the iMac would include the specs similiar to the Santa Rosa specs of the new MBPs as well as whatever new design is coming out. With all the speculation and rumors of an industrial design coming it is highly doubtful that we would see the current lineup get the new chipset and corresponding CPU changes, to then follow that with a design change in Sept/Oct. My guess is that it is all coming at once. However, it is anyone's guess as to whether that is tomorrow, two weeks into July after the iPhone has had its fanfare, or late August/MacWorld Paris in Sept.
i too have an iMac G5. and i love it. but i don't like how Apple assumes that everyone is going to have almost no wires. i have a lot of things that need to be connected to my iMac.
Keyboard. (can't stand Apple's offering's anymore)
Mouse Receiver. (need my buttons)
USB Headset
iPod Dock
Two External drives. one for storage, one for backups
Audio output.
Wacom Tablet
i think thats all. most of those are USB. one of the drives if FW, though. but seriously. the iMac and definitely use some work.
A lot of those things can be made wireless though.
Keyboard: Lots of wireless alternatives.
Mouse receiver: Either use a BT Mouse or get one with a tiny dongle.
USB Headset: There are BT headsets
iPod Dock: True. This might change in the future though.
External drives: The backup drive can be made wireless.
Audio output: There is BT audio. And you can daisychain a FW Audio Interface to the storage disk.
Wacom Tables: True. Sadly Wacom doesn't offer a BT Intous. Only the Graphire exists with BT.
keyboard and mouse i'll give you for wireless.
the headset? when i'm using it i want people to be able to hear me alright. and none that are BT are made like the wired ones. there is a certain difference in sound quality.
the external drive? i shouldn't have to buy apples airport to make my drives wireless, and again, i loose speed that way. sorry. i don't want to take 20 minutes to send files back and forth to a wireless drive.
and audio? i know of no receivers that have bluetooth in 'em and why would i want to push my music through that way? again better quality this way.
It's funny I JUST finished posting in another forum that I could care less about how the imac looks..They could have a double chin for all I care.
Then I saw this.....................and I changed my mind! LOL
this would be really nice in my opinion!
The iPhone's design makes the iPod look like a child's toy...
And the iMac G5 was designed as "..from the creators of iPod..."
so hopefully the new iMac will be designed as "..from the creators of iPhone..."
With a super sleek, completely rounded black front face with an anodized aluminum rear shell. And a simple mirror-finish apple logo in the front/back.
And the iMac G5 was designed as "..from the creators of iPod..."
so hopefully the new iMac will be designed as "..from the creators of iPhone..."
With a super sleek, completely rounded black front face with an anodized aluminum rear shell. And a simple mirror-finish apple logo in the front/back.
okay make one
That last one is actually i think something for 2012 or so. but actually you said thoose were bad mockups and you could create a better one... make one and show it.
This mockup is lazy and terrible... I am glad that you didn't make it. These design mockups are never as good as anything Ive could create and they are usually boring and just a rehashing of what is already out there or what someone in the consumer market wants. iMac with no chin, so let's photoshop the chin out... OH it looks great... I would be dissappointed if Apple wasted their time releasing this.
It would suck... just like the white mockup above. Nothing new, nothing breakthrough, nothing innovative... give me something good...
Like this.
That last one is actually i think something for 2012 or so. but actually you said thoose were bad mockups and you could create a better one... make one and show it.
I have a profound hatred for Acrylic, so if this new iMac that is coming, has an acrylic stand, I will die. I hated the old ACD's, I loooovvvee Brushed Metal. Wish they had made the entire body of the Mac mini solid Brushed metal with a light up Apple.
They could use the new Core 2 Extreme mobile processors running at 2.60Ghz and 2.80Ghz.