M3 iMac Rant

[Gudi]

I'm annoyed they didn't release a mouse, trackpad and keyboard with a USB-C port. Anyone guess how long before Apple changes this?

What’s the benefit of a different charging port? You don’t transfer lots of data to your mouse, do you! IMHO there’s no need to ever change that port on peripherals, which never leave your house. But the EU USB-C mandate comes into effect by the end of 2024. 🐁

 

[Ice-Cube]

I too am disappointed with the iMac after years of waiting. I'm giving up waiting for the iMac I wished they made and just gonna settle for this.

 

[Gudi]

I'm giving up waiting for the iMac I wished they made and just gonna settle for this.

Welcome to reality. Now pick a color!
🔵🔴🟢⚪️🟡🟠🟣

 

[BarbaricCo]

No M3 pro iMac no buy

 

[mectojic]

I wanted the M3 iMac to have USB-C accessories because then we'd have nice braided colour USB-C cables, many of which would look beautiful with the new iPhones.

 

[H_D]

The thing with Lightning/USB-C is that many people still have an iPhone with Lightning, so it would probably make sense to phase this out slowly. It might probably too much to expect an update for the Keyboard and Mouse with USB-C (illumination and better port position), but even so the new port only makes sense with the new Phone/new iPods etc. Pretty sure Apple will take one or two years until Lightning is finally dead.

 

[DaveP]

Historically the iMac was more of an entry level machine and seems it is moving back more in that direction. The high end iMacs were really just to fit the gap below the Mac Pro. Now with the Studio, the iMac has returned more to its original roots.

 

[sammy2066]

This iMac refresh is as perplexing as it is pointless, leading me to believe Apple is eyeing a more strategic, longer-term play here. As for the 24" iMac, I personally hated it from day 1 - the tacky colors and that dumb bland look on the front without the Apple logo - that is simply something I cannot get over and is a deal breaker for me. A larger variant could have made me look the other way, but Apple has spectacularly dropped the ball and quite frankly, the arguments they made to justify the 24" model were just embarrassing.

 

[avro707]

Compared to my 2020 i7 27' iMac with the 5700 XT Pro graphic card, the new iMacs are a joke. No CPU choice, just the standard M3, up to 24GB RAM,

The old 2009 iMac I used to use had 32GB ram all that time ago. That thing still runs - not so fast anymore though, it needs an SSD to go quicker.

I had looked at a 2020 iMac and was tempted by a refurb model with big RAM capacity, the non reflective display and the powerful GPU. I should have moved faster before they ran out. They seemed like a very decent thing for the money.

 

[Bug-Creator]

EU is not the world. iPhones with SIM cards are still a thing... solid in countries other than the U.S. Apple could comply with EU law by introducing USB-C versions there at the very last minute while still selling out of Lightning inventory everywhere else. Just as there is a SIM card phone, there could have been USB-C phones for the EU while the rest of the world clung to Lightning too.

And what would be the point of such a stunt?
They would look foolish and complicate their supply chain while gaining what? Selling the odd replacement cable?

a) the run down stock and just switch the port at one time
b) they are planning a bigger update/redesign of these peripherals soon

 

[MayaUser]

twice as fast in almost everything....that what it matters...how you charge your accessories once or twice per month is irrelevant..but how it performance every second is relevant
But yes, i would wait to see others if they confirm 1 nand of 256 and if so i would chose the 512

 

[profets]

Whether you love it or hate it, its clear this will be the iMac going forward - simple all in one. I think at one point in the event they even mentioned about the 24" vs the old 21.5 and 27. I got the sense that they're really trying to reinforce that this is where the iMac is now.

I'm sure we're mostly in agreement that it would be great to bump the base specs a bit (8/256 is tough to see these days), and maybe an M3 Pro version would have been cool.

I guess there still is some hope that in the coming year or two we do get an iMac Pro with a larger display and maybe M# Pro / Max like the MacBook Pros.

 

[scottrichardson]

Interesting. I think the M3 iMac would make a fantastic all in one workstation with 24GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Perfect for low-to-mid tier designers and developers, photographers etc. 24GB is more than enough for all but more demanding users.

I personally run 64GB on an M2 Max MBP workstation but find myself spending more time coding on my M2 Air with 24GB ram and never have issues.

 

[Gudi]

Historically the iMac was more of an entry level machine and seems it is moving back more in that direction. The high end iMacs were really just to fit the gap below the Mac Pro. Now with the Studio, the iMac has returned more to its original roots.

But the Mac Studio isn’t that cheap that there wouldn’t fit a larger iMac in between price-wise.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I foresee the all-in-one market going away soon. By the lack of update it’s obvious Apple treats this as a family computer but I would argue most families aren’t sharing computers but mostly tablets especially with parental controls. Additionally, it’s probably a blip on the sales sheet for them.

I had the M1 version and it was so hard to sell that I felt like I was giving it away. The guy who bought it was older and replacing a 10yr old one or something. This is the demographic as most of the current generation buys a Mini, Studio, or MBP then connects a monitor. If Apple lowered the price of their Studio Display the iMac would probably be done for.

 

[profets]

But the Mac Studio isn’t that cheap that there wouldn’t fit a larger iMac in between price-wise.

We do have the Mac mini + Studio display as an option - but yeah, still not quite close to where the 27" iMac pricing was prior to Apple silicon.

 

[Gudi]

twice as fast in almost everything....that what it matters...how you charge your accessories once or twice per month is irrelevant…

???😳 That’s why you watch the event and not read the marketing slogans.

It’s only up to 2× faster, but the CPU performance of M3 is only unnoticeable 35% faster than the 914 days old M1 iMac.

The rendering performance is greatly improved. Overall the M1 and M3 iMacs are hardly distinguishable.

 

[profets]

I foresee the all-in-one market going away soon. By the lack of update it’s obvious Apple treats this as a family computer but I would argue most families aren’t sharing computers but mostly tablets especially with parental controls. Additionally, it’s probably a blip on the sales sheet for them.

I had the M1 version and it was so hard to sell that I felt like I was giving it away. The guy who bought it was older and replacing a 10yr old one or something. This is the demographic as most of the current generation buys a Mini, Studio, or MBP then connects a monitor. If Apple lowered the price of their Studio Display the iMac would probably be done for.

Geez that's brutal. Desktop use is definitely a small percentage now, and likely tiny for households (as you mentioned).

I do think for businesses / offices they're quite useful though. I'm in an office with 30+ computers and they're all iMacs. They give such a clean look and they're easy to treat like appliances in a sense - if one fails it's simple to swap it out. I'd hate to lose this option.

 

[Juraj22]

I think we miss the days where entry level iMac 27' had price ~1800$ and upgradable RAM. It looks like those days are over. Now only display costs as much as whole computer back then. Mac studio + Studio display is twice the price of iMac from past. That is the problem.

New iMacs 24' are nice, but can they fill the gap created by axing iMac 27'? I don't think so. Replacement for that iMac cost much more (Mac studio + studio display). Is it better computer? Certainly. But the price is too high for many.

 

[SpotOnT]

The iMac was traditionally an entry level all-in-one mainly for children, cashier checkout lines, as a family computer, etc.

The only reason the iMac was given any power is because the 2013 Mac Pro was such a disaster….and it took a whopping 6 years to get a single update….

Now that Apple has the Mac Studio, the iMac has returned to its simple, family friendly, entry level computer roots that Apple likely always intended.

 

[Gudi]

I had the M1 version and it was so hard to sell that I felt like I was giving it away. The guy who bought it was older and replacing a 10yr old one or something. This is the demographic as most of the current generation buys a Mini, Studio, or MBP then connects a monitor.

This sounds like me buying my iMac. 😅

Yes, it’s definitely a buyers market. But I attribute this to people being stupid and not recognizing the M1’s incredible value. People seriously believe that a mouse charging from the bottom and a mere 4.5K screen are reasons to avoid this wonderful machine. 😍

 

[sunapple]

It was pretty clear with the M1 launch that iMac was only ever going to be an entry level computer. That same deal is still true with the spec bump.

Apparently it is the best selling all-in-one, so that may be why Apple has settled with the concept.

Want more? Buy separate computer and monitor hardware at a premium from elsewhere in the lineup. That’s the sad reality if you wanted an all-in-one.

At the other end of the argument there’s people who have been saying for years iMac doesn’t make sense at the higher end, making the built-in monitor useless when the hardware becomes obsolete.

 

[JiggyJaggy]

Surely before then, given that all keyboards and mice require USB-C ports by the end of next year to be EU compliant. Wouldn't you say?

I get that everyone wants a USB-c iPhone but realistically how often do you charge your mouse / keyboard? Once every 2 months? I just leave a short lightening cable plugged into a socket near my desk for now...

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

So the "king of the supply chain" is making major product decisions because he has way too much inventory of certain peripherals? That doesn't sound very supply-chain-kingy to me.​

“Major” decisions to sell down existing inventory before rolling out replacements with a different port? That’s “major”?

Step back only a few weeks and it appeared most of us here detested USB-C vs. the “wonderful” Lightning…

Lint magnet… wobbly… fragile tongue?​

With new iPhones sucking up all that lint, perhaps Apple thinks it best to give new lint populations a chance to recover before even more USB-C is let loose to further endanger it? #SaveSomeLint 😉

 

[Gudi]

As for the 24" iMac, I personally hated it from day 1 - the tacky colors and that dumb bland look on the front without the Apple logo - that is simply something I cannot get over and is a deal breaker for me.

And stupid arguments like this make the used M1 iMac market a blessing for buyers. Thank you everybody! Your hate is my gain. 🥰