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New iMac Is Bizarre
- Thread starter blairh
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OK. When you said "The majority here disagrees with you" in the context of preferring black bezels I assumed you meant that the majority prefer white, which is the point I was talking issue with.
1. True, but my personal preference is to avoid power bricks.
2. I see the logic in having the Ethernet port integrated in the brick … but given 1. above, I don’t mind a slightly thicker chassis with an Ethernet port, if it means eliminating a power brick. I said this is an artificially created problem, solely because of Apple’s obsession with thinner designs. I wouldn’t care if the chassis was slightly thicker - although, others might, and that’s okay.
NOt an artificial problem though. having the ethernet cord on the brick is a better design than on the chassis because it means 1 less cord to the desk.
And pure personal preference wasn't the argument before. So since you're changing it now. But everyone is entitled to the personal preference argument for anything. Just nothing to discuss then.
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But you did say it was a loss of functionality. You said Apple chose form over function by removing the power supply to a separate brick. So that's the same thing as saying the internal power supply created functionality.
Let's be real about it, nobody complains that a laptop has a power brick. It's been that way for mega years. Power bricks are never in anybody's way. They either sit behind the computer or on the floor.
As I mentioned in an earlier post in previous iMacs it's been PIA for me to take my iMac to Apple when repair or service is needed because it's bulky and heavy. That's why having a separate power supply is paramount. It's not about moving it about in the house. Think more out of the box than that.
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The majority HERE being the people posting in this thread. I thought you would understand that.
Samsung had some white monitors, LG always has one white TV in their line (every year), Panasonic and Philips have silver TVs and MSI has white 5K2K monitor in their offer. They are all obviously so wrong and clueless 🤣🤣🤣
Your typical monitor is nowhere as good as the monitor included with the iMac. If you were to find something close, the iMac would be cheaper than this monitor and the Mac mini.
Have anyone here opened up an iMac to service the insides, or at least blow the dust out of one? I have many times and moving the AC power supply out of the body saves space and heat and collects less dust and causes less dust to become attracted to the innards. Many an iMac has overheated and the power supply weakened over time, so I say moving to an external power supply with or without Ethernet is a plus as long as you don't swing your feet and kick out the magnetically held DC and Ethernet maybe adapter.
It's also been my experience that a lot of consumer iMacs only use Wi-Fi, so not including the function won't bother a lot of the intended audience which is the lower of the lower end desktop computers. Higher end will pay for the better 24" iMac and the prosumer will wait for the 30.5" (formerly 27") model to come.
While it's true that most external monitors do not use light colored bezels, I agree on this machine it looks better this way and it doesn't really matter to the user, besides not doing it this way for a long time.
For the home customer that asks about a new desktop, I think this machine will be excellent, in particular I plan on suggesting buying the model with the VESA mounting studs and getting a desktop clamp which allows for a 90 degree pivot and height and forward/rearward motion. This system would also work for those times when then user would prefer to stand and also free up space directly below for other items. If it wasn't for the power button on the back, a low profile wall mount would be great, but there are plenty of wall mount arms. You may notice there is no up-charge for the VESA version and the less than 10 pound weight allows for a cheap and compact VESA arm. For the curious, I suggest looking at this: https://www.upliftdesk.com/zilker-single-monitor-arm-by-uplift-desk/ as it includes a quick disconnect feature.
It's also been my experience that a lot of consumer iMacs only use Wi-Fi, so not including the function won't bother a lot of the intended audience which is the lower of the lower end desktop computers. Higher end will pay for the better 24" iMac and the prosumer will wait for the 30.5" (formerly 27") model to come.
While it's true that most external monitors do not use light colored bezels, I agree on this machine it looks better this way and it doesn't really matter to the user, besides not doing it this way for a long time.
For the home customer that asks about a new desktop, I think this machine will be excellent, in particular I plan on suggesting buying the model with the VESA mounting studs and getting a desktop clamp which allows for a 90 degree pivot and height and forward/rearward motion. This system would also work for those times when then user would prefer to stand and also free up space directly below for other items. If it wasn't for the power button on the back, a low profile wall mount would be great, but there are plenty of wall mount arms. You may notice there is no up-charge for the VESA version and the less than 10 pound weight allows for a cheap and compact VESA arm. For the curious, I suggest looking at this: https://www.upliftdesk.com/zilker-single-monitor-arm-by-uplift-desk/ as it includes a quick disconnect feature.
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For the small amount my eyes allowed me to read I agree with you but please do yourself as well as the thread a huge favor and separate your paragraphs. It's mind boggling.
Everything old is new again. I guess Apple is trying to pay tribute to the old Mac.
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It's all about profit margin. With both labor and supply chain cost climbing up, Apple has to cut corners to make it profitable. For screen, 16:10 24 inch screen would be miles better but it's a lot more expensive I guess.
I will stay with my 5K 27 iMac.
I will stay with my 5K 27 iMac.
16:10 is old school for desktop but is seen on some portables. The 23.5" display is 16:9 aspect ratio.
Love the profile... thin and beautiful, and really appreciate the external power supply design, and the modified magsafe-like connector.
The colors, not so much. The Playskool/Fisher-Price kindergarten colors are way too trendy for my taste. The white chin bothers me immensely, and not a fan of the missing Apple logo. Apart from the physical profile, it's a ugly computer with a dearth of ports. Pastel keyboard with white keys? Really? It will be dirty and black/grey in a matter of days.
Hard pass.
The colors, not so much. The Playskool/Fisher-Price kindergarten colors are way too trendy for my taste. The white chin bothers me immensely, and not a fan of the missing Apple logo. Apart from the physical profile, it's a ugly computer with a dearth of ports. Pastel keyboard with white keys? Really? It will be dirty and black/grey in a matter of days.
Hard pass.
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Such as this one?
So, this study says glossy black bezels are the worst.
Subjective responses to display bezel characteristics - PubMed
High quality flat panel computer displays (FPDs) with high resolution screens are now commonplace, and black, grey, white, beige and silver surrounds ('bezels'), matt or glossy, are in widespread use. It has been suggested that bezels with high reflectance, or with a high gloss, could cause...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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That's really the lesson that many don't see with this new iMac. In many ways, it's a throwback to the original, consumer-oriented model, in looks and function. Apple is now looking to its past, and the new model reflects that.
Those colorful models were sold concurrently with mid-range platinum and gray G3 and G4 PowerMacs.
When those mid-range Macs disappeared, the iMac had to step in to fill that void, and expanded its role to serve almost the entire desktop Mac segment.
Given that, the hope is that the other shoe to drop will be a more prosumer-oriented, larger iMac, or better yet, the runored compact version of the Mac Pro, in the mold of the IIcx/ci, or its successors (or the mythical xMac). Maybe both.
It will be interesting to see how Apple decides to segment the Arm Macs. The M1 is just the beginning, and we haven't seen what it envisions for Pro/sumer users yet.
The 4k 24" LG Ultrafine is probably close to this monitor in quality and costs less than $600 from Amazon. So if you already have a keyboard and trackpad/mouse, the Mac mini is cheaper than the iMac with the extra USB ports and the ethernet jack (the extra ports are USB-A and the Ultrafine bezels are back if that is important).
If you don't care about the extras ports and ethernet or want the Magic Keyboard and Mouse the iMac comes with then yes, the iMac will save you a little money at the cost of some flexibility.
Some say Apple chooses form over function. It's a crying shame when a consumer does it. You would give up a fantastic computer just because of some white bezel? SMH.
Especially when research shows that glossy black bezels are the worst…
Research? Are you talking about the above-referenced 2014 "study" that included all of 20 office workers that lasted and entire week? Meh. It certainly has revolutionized the entire tech industry in the past 6-7 years.
Every Apple product that I have owned had a black bezel. My wife had an iPad with a white bezel that make my eyes hurt whenever I attempted to use it. Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but just as accurate for me as that bogus "research" cited above. It's my money and I should get a loud say in how I spend it.
Funny how all of this "research" flies in the face of Apple's computer design for all these years... and with regard to iPhone, iPad and iPod, the consumer has always had a choice, except for when a black bezel was the only choice.
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The research seems legitimate to me, it was published in what appears to be a peer reviewed journal (Applied Ergonomics) and comes from an independent organisation (Environmental Ergonomics Research Centre Loughborough Design School Loughborough University). The title of the paper clearly states that this is "subjective responses" and covers the experiences of folk using various monitors for the duration of a week. I think the interesting data point out of it is that there was a stated preference of a sampled group for the lighter coloured bezels (white or silver). It also refutes one other contention that there wasn't anyone else producing white bezels, clearly in 2013 there were sufficient monitors to conduct such a survey.
It's also Apple's product and they should get a loud say in the products they make. Apple don't force you to buy their products and if this isn't the one for you then it's not the one for you. It's also not the one for me either.
That said I disagree that you should get a loud say in how you spend your money. I feel you should be the only person who decides how to spend your money. It's your money after all, why should you only have a loud say?
Its light grey bezels (as apple said) but nevertheless...are you buying an imac for the looks or because you need it to do some work etc? Is not a piece of furniture or trinket...its, at the end of the day , a device