New iMac Is Bizarre

[Retrostarscream]

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

The same analogy / reasoning can be made of why folks would buy a Porsche, when a Chevy can get the job done and get you from A to B for a fraction of the price.

 

[ccard3dev]

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.

Of course I would! I already have a great iMac that looks great on my desk, and has enough power for my daily tasks. Every Apple device I own is black, I’ve tried white and I just don’t like it. Why would I want to sacrifice on something I look at for hours daily when I can just wait to upgrade for when Apple will eventually make one in black? If it came in the color I wanted I probably would have splurged now, but I’d be stupid to jump on something that I don’t yet need that isn’t exactly what I want.

 

[ccard3dev]

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

I care about both form and function. I already have an iMac that looks great and has enough power for me. Why would I waste money on something I don’t like even if it’s a little faster than what I have now?

 

[fontman]

So many puzzling decisions by Apple with the iMac redesign.

1. White bezels are terrible for content consumption. If you use dark mode it's going to make the bezels stick out so much. There is a reason just about no monitor, TV, etc, is white these days. Yes I'm aware Apple used white bezels back in the day. No I don't think that's a good reason to use them again. They could have either matched the bezels with the colors of the machine, gone with silver, or used less pastel colors. At the very least offer the silver model with a black bezel.

2. Yes, the bigger future iMacs will look very different. But what if you want a cheaper/smaller iMac with no white bezel? You are SOL.

3. The chin looks bigger without the logo. It also looks like an unfinished product without it.

4. The ports on the base model are pathetic. No ethernet unless you pay for it on the power brick or get the next up model. Two USB 4/Thunderbolt ports and nothing more is a joke for a machine that starts at $1,300.

5. The power brick is embarrassing. The whole appeal of the iMac is that it is an all-in-one device. A power brick is such a junky addition.

6. Headphone jack on the side sucks if you use wired speakers.

7. This obsession with thinness on a desktop makes no sense to me. Other than taking an iMac to the Apple store for service, who cares how light your iMac is? I'd rather have a thicker iMac and not have a power brick, not have a headphone jack on the side, and potentially not have a chin either.

8. 8 GB of RAM is really cutting it close and not very future-proof. My iMac struggles at times and I'm a light user with the same amount of RAM. Luckily I can manually update mine if needed. You cannot manually update the RAM on this iMac so you have to pay for 16 GB at purchase if you are unsure if 8 GB will be sufficient.

9. The look of this iMac itself is very polarizing. Pastels combined with white bezels is a bold choice of course but with such choices you are going to turn off a lot of consumers looking for something less bold and/or more professional. Another reason why a silver/black bezel model would have made sense as an option.

 

[fontman]

Yes the Line up is going downhill fast . it is a throwaway iPad on a stand

 

[azentropy]

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 🤣🤣🤣

Nothing wrong with that. Options are good. The issue many of us have is that Apple didn't provide any dark bezel option(s) with these new entry level iMacs. For some people it is not just about aesthetics either.

BTW may have been posted elsewhere but 3rd party options are already popping up...

 

[Caliber26]

-

 

[colodane]

Overall, a very interesting design statement.

Biggest like: External Power Supply.

Biggest dislike: No backlighting on new keyboard.

 

[SuperMatt]

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 us 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.

That’s the only scientific study I could find on the topic. Let me know if you find another. Until then it’s a scientific study vs. personal opinions of people on an internet forum.

 

[Mike Boreham]

That’s the only scientific study I could find on the topic. Let me know if you find another. Until then it’s a scientific study vs. personal opinions of people on an internet forum.

IMHO it was more of an opinion poll than a scientific study. Even if there are scientific studies they would not change my personal preference for black.

As I have said before I am not trying to persuade anyone of anything, only regretting the lack of choice.

 

[iDave]

I would probably have bought if it looked like either of these, but nope to the white bezel.

Those black iMacs would look good in the Batcave.

 

[SuperMatt]

IMHO it was more of an opinion poll than a scientific study. Even if there are scientific studies they would not change my personal preference for black.

As I have said before I am not trying to persuade anyone of anything, only regretting the lack of choice.

I’m confused. There used to be only 1 color of iMac; now there are 7. There used to be a lack of choice, but no longer.

 

[AZhappyjack]

That’s the only scientific study I could find on the topic. Let me know if you find another. Until then it’s a scientific study vs. personal opinions of people on an internet forum.

Believe what you have to believe to get through the day... but this is hardly scientific anything... no control group, 20 participants, etc, etc.

 

[Apple4U]

You can order the iMacs with 16GB, as has been stated before. Not sure why you keep repeating the same false information.

How is a power brick a problem? It’s on the floor; you won’t even see it. This complaint truly makes no sense. Multiple writers have rightly pointed out that the inclusion of Ethernet on the power brick also means one less wire coming up onto the desk. This is a win, and makes the appearance of the computer on the desk better, the opposite of clunky. And all laptops have power bricks… are all laptops clunky? I just don‘t get this argument in the slightest.

You are offended so deeply by the placement of a headphone jack to the point that you believe Apple is FORCING you to use Bluetooth speakers for a computer you admittedly would never even buy? How does that work exactly? Would Apple force you to buy the iMac first?

8Gb or 16Gb is not a problem. Putting ethernet in the same cable as power cable is. Engineering wise its not a good idea, as even with shielding it may affect ethernet performance.

If you are going to go down the route of having ethernet in a brick, then do it properly enhance the design of the iMac, have one multifunction port on the back of the iMac with woven cable allowing a thin multifunction hub to be placed on the upstand (out of sight from the front being behind the monitor), with the cable going through the existing cut out on the upstand and where a user only has to tilt the monitor to gain full access to card reader, ethernet, and all other ports including headphone jack, and giving the opportunity for a user to move the hub elsewhere if they wanted to. Cuts out dongles, other requirements, and still keeps the aesthetics of the iMac.

If a user doesn't want it behind the monitor on the upstand then they can get an extension lead and put the hub wherever its convenient for them. It could be also be MagSafe connection. So just one port on the back of the iMac feeding multiple ports on the mini hub. No dongles or extra cables necessary unless user wants to put the mini hub elsewhere. A mini hub in the same colour as the iMac can be same width as the upstand, and would be no more than 10mm height.

 

[SuperMatt]

Believe what you have to believe to get through the day... but this is hardly scientific anything... no control group, 20 participants, etc, etc.

The study was of uninterested parties, not aware of what the study was about. The opinions being expressed in defense of shiny black bezels on MR forums are people with a strong opinion about it.

 

[Apple4U]

It's strange at first because we're not familiar to it. I have a feeling it will look good in person though. The all glass front. That should look good.

I remember people saying the same when the E-mac/iMac first came out....it went on to be ultra successful.

 

[Apple4U]

People writing on tech forums are so completely out of touch with the real world. Seriously, Ethernet? For this particular product? In 2021? Dude, I am willing to stake my house that not even 1% of this computer's intended user base would use Ethernet.
Apple will sell millions of these.

Let's not confuse this product with the *not yet released* bigger iMac (probably the new "iMac Pro"). Which will obviously have ports, more RAM, etc.

I think your stats are wrong. Why would anyone NOT want ethernet connection when its much faster and much more secure than any wi fi, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Not a good idea to embed it with a power cable though.

 

[trip1ex]

. Putting ethernet in the same cable as power cable is. Engineering wise its not a good idea, as even with shielding it may affect ethernet performance.

FUD. Who did more testing on this? YOu or Apple? Who has more expertise on this? YOu or Apple?

I'm going to go with Apple here. Since you haven't come within a thousand miles of the new iMac. Just saying.

 

[Apple4U]

But what if I hate black bezels?
(luckily I don't give a f*** if the bezels are black or white)

Its a pity there are bezels at all. If the iMac case wrapped round by even 3mm it would hold the screen in place. it would be in the colour of the iMac ordered, and access to internals via the back, which it should be. I hated ungluing my 27in. iMac to replacement components, whereas if it had been accessible from the back it would have been safer and more aesthetically pleasing

 

[Apple4U]

FUD. Somehow I think Apple engineers know a little more than you do and did a little more testing you did.

They might have tested it, but I'm a charted electronics engineer and degradation can occur, which I doubt their engineers are too worried about. Attenuation, Noise and Delays and proximity to a power source can affect ethernet, even Cat6 and above.

Higher temperatures too and where a power cable does heat up through resistance losses, the greater the length of the cable the higher the losses.

Even twisted pair cables where theoretically twists cancel noise out, can still through mismatching cause a problem.

Then wait for it, or better still look up about proximity of Ethernet to power cables. So no I haven't made it up.

 

[trip1ex]

They might have tested it, but I'm a charted electronics engineer and degradation can occur, which I doubt their engineers are too worried about. Attenuation, Noise and Delays and proximity to a power source can affect ethernet, even Cat6 and above.

Higher temperatures too and where a power cable does heat up through resistance losses, the greater the length of the cable the higher the losses.

Even twisted pair cables where theoretically twists cancel noise out, can still through mismatching cause a problem.

Then wait for it, or better still look up about proximity of Ethernet to power cables. So no I haven't made it up.

That's called FUD. You haven't been within a 1000 miles of the new iMac. Haven't been there for design nor testing. You have no clue what they've done. Zero.


IT's like saying ~6 months ago well power supplies give off heat. Heat can degrade the performance of components. The new Mac Mini M1 that hasn't been released yet might experience degradation in performance because of it. That's FUD.

And yet it is very true that heat causes degradation of performance.

In other words I know power and data cables don't mix sorta speak. And Apple obviously knows this as well. And they obviously designed something that they think works well enough to put into the $1500 iMac and exist as part of a $200 price bump.

Sure there is always a chance that their design has issues. But you can say about any part of anything that hasn't been released yet.

 

[Apple4U]

I personally believe Apple could've done a better job on this revision... I love Apple and I always try to see the bright side of the coin but in this case I have to agree, it has many flaws.

I know what many of you will say, "you don't know the reasons why they designed it that way" but...

Thinking like an engineer...

Why didn't Apple place the motherboard (which is miniature) and the power supply in the STAND of the iMac???

It would've cleaned up the whole design, no chin, no brick and a sturdier heavier stand with a lighter screen!!

Even for repair reasons, a bad motherboard or ssd wouldn't mean to tear down the whole screen to get access to them... Or if you crack your screen, it would've been a lot easier to replace...

Steve would've never let this iMac come out like that... We all know that and please don't hate me too much for telling the truth...

Damn I was excited about this iMac and damn I'm disappointed...

Yes you are thinking like an engineer. Well done. I suggested similar, with all ports including Ethernet via ONE port on the iMac with possibility of MagSafe on that single woven cable just like the power cable, where its nonsense to put ethernet in with a power cable.

With a mini hub in the same colour specs as the iMac, one single cable from the iMac to the mini hub where there's already a cut out in the stand and the mini hub including card reader/ethernet/headphone jack, USB etc. all on that mini hub hidden behind the monitor on the upstand so that a user only has to tilt the monitor upwards to easily access all of the ports, and if that doesn't meet the user requirement and they want to place mini hub elsewhere an extension cable and they can plug the hub wherever they want it, even in a drawer out of sight if they want to.

The mini hub would only span the stand and need not be more than 10mm high. Takes the need for headphone jack away from the iMac plus all the other ports at the rear and aesthetically its out of sight in its default position, or wherever user wants to place it.

Alleviates many critics complaining of having to buy multiple cables, dongles etc.

 

[Apple4U]

You're just spreading FUD. You haven't been within a 1000 miles of the new iMac. Haven't been there for design nor testing. You have no clue what they've done. Zero.


IT's like saying well power supplies give off heat. Heat can degrade the performance of components. The new Mac Mini M1 that hasn't been released yet might experience degradation in performance because of it. That's called FUD.

You really are so wrong. I've had Apple kit since Apple II and Lisa's.

If you are so sure of your science, show me?

Before shooting from the hip do some proper research on ethernet and electronics and in particular proximity of power cables to ethernet.

 

[mj_]

If you are so sure of your science, show me?

Before shooting from the hip do some proper research on ethernet and electronics and in particular proximity of power cables to ethernet.

It's called Power over Ethernet (PoE for short), standardized by IEE802.3 back in 2003, a well-proven technology that has been around for decades and that can transport up to 57 VDC with up 960 mA per pair with a total of four wires dedicated to transporting power resulting in up to 100 W of maximum power delivery. Over a Cat5 cable that is. The ethernet port and cabling is after all on the low-voltage DC side of the iMac's power brick going to the iMac itself and not the high-voltage AC side going to the socket. That would be a very different technology called Ethernet over Power, or IEEE1901 (sometimes referred to as PowerLAN or DLAN).

 

[Apple4U]

Because some people don't want a power brick as its something else to find a place for?

I genuinely don't mind either way, but I get why some people liked the old iMac with no external brick.

I can see the benefit of the power supply external to the iMac, but query the ethernet being embedded with a power cable. Contrary to some comments, degradation does occur with the proximity of a power cable to ethernet even with shielded cables. Indeed the recommendation is that ethernet should always be away from power cables.

Apart from that if you are going to have Ethernet off board, then go the whole hog, have ALL the ports off board, in a micro hub fed from just port on the iMac, where there is already a cut out in the stand for the power cable. A simple matter then to run a wove cable through that where the micro hub would normally sit on the stand out of sight from the front, with a user only having to tip the new iMac monitor to gain access.

Its technically feasible to multiplex the ports through one cable, and another benefit here would be the micro hub would come in the same colour as the iMac, but be able to be moved if a user preferred it elsewhere.

That way there would be no need for ANY port or headphone jack on the iMac itself.