The latest iMac is a pitiful computer

[grahamwright1]

Please if macOS is not needed don't get this iMac. Its full of crap.

"It's full of crap" isn't a very articulate way of describing what you don't like about the new iMac's. Personally I think these all-in-one systems are both fast and good looking, and the price is reasonable for what you are getting. Clearly your opinion is different, but please try and be a little clearer about why you don't like it, rather than just claiming "it's full of crap".

I'm genuinely interested in why people dislike these systems, as I think they are perfect for the target audience - average user's looking for a nicely integrated desktop system.

 

[4sallypat]

What is pitiful is your OP.

Other people will do just fine with the base model.

Agreed!

OP is obviously not from the Apple ecosystem and needs to buy a Chromebook.

Can't wait to get my hands on the pre-order blue iMac base with Pro Apps bundle!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Agreed!

OP is obviously not from the Apple ecosystem and needs to buy a Chromebook.

Can't wait to get my hands on the pre-order blue iMac base with Pro Apps bundle!
View attachment 1770333

If I was in the hunt for an iMac, I would get the exact same system. Getting the Pro bundle for $199.00 is an awesome price.

 

[TomOSeven]

Man I can't stop drooling over this style:

Agreed!

OP is obviously not from the Apple ecosystem and needs to buy a Chromebook.

Can't wait to get my hands on the pre-order blue iMac base with Pro Apps bundle!
View attachment 1770333

The blue one just looks so pretty to me. I'm almost considering selling my M1 Air to get one. But it's such a bad deal...

 

[4sallypat]

.... But it's such a bad deal...

A bad deal is my 2019 16" MBP that I paid over $2400.

I won't use the 16" MBP since the M1 Mini replaced it.
Intel MBP was huge waste of money IMO.

At least the 24" M1 iMac will be worth every penny paid: $1299

 

[bousozoku]

This is so original! 🤣

Can you get more than just the ports and storage/RAM numbers at the price? I don't believe so. White box computers are easily cheap, but often lack good research & development.

I know that I can buy cheap crap and put it together, but all I end up having is cheap crap.

 

[TomOSeven]

A bad deal is my 2019 16" MBP that I paid over $2400.

I won't use the 16" MBP since the M1 Mini replaced it.
Intel MBP was huge waste of money IMO.

At least the 24" M1 iMac will be worth every penny paid: $1299

I just meant compared to the M1 Macbook Air, and only because I'm losing portability.

For people who don't take their Macs out of the house, I think it's a much better deal than any Macbook. The 400 or so price difference will never buy you a better monitor than the iMac one.

 

[kevcube]

The monitor is half the cost. Apple doesn't skimp on iMac monitors and you don't hear a lot of complaints about how they look.

You can probably get a hub to add more ports and ethernet cheaper than the upgrade cost from Apple.

I've always observed that the lowest RAM offering in Macs was too little. The upgrade for more is normally a price-gouge but with other RAM prices way up it ain't too bad, presently and comparatively.

I suppose you could get the most powerful Intel PC with a bunch of ports and a cheap monitor but you're going to hear a lot of fan noise while you're waiting twice as long for that process to finish!

exactly. monitor, casing, keyboard+mouse, webcam, speakers, mic - there's at least $600 in parts there. then consider the internals besides that are basically an iPad without a screen.. $300?

Apple's margins are only comfortable because they dominate their supply chain. If any other manufacturer tried to make this package it would be $2500 easily.

 

[Surne]

I dunno, for those who are interested in an all-in-one desktop solution, it's a very compelling offering.

It's not a computer for me, but I can see the appeal of it.

 

[grmlin]

exactly. monitor, casing, keyboard+mouse, webcam, speakers, mic - there's at least $600 in parts there. then consider the internals besides that are basically an iPad without a screen.. $300?

Apple's margins are only comfortable because they dominate their supply chain. If any other manufacturer tried to make this package it would be $2500 easily.

Yeah. People always forget all the stuff you get with an iMac. Screen you can’t buy separately, great keyboard and mouse/trackpad. Also build quality and looks (which is of course personal taste).
Oh, and a Windows license if it’s a custom build 🤪

 

[matrix07]

M1 in an iMac 24" starts at $1299 with only 2 USB4 ports. Man, this is just sad at this point. 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Horrible deal.

Now the next step up, $1499. You can same RAM and SSD but 2 more NORMAL USB C ports and ethernet(lol). Again I know it comes with a 4.5 display but you can get a decent PC with a 4k HDR monitor for less and with upgradeable parts.

Please if macOS is not needed don't get this iMac. Its full of crap.

It has a beautiful 24" 4.5K display, and 8 GB and 256 GB on my base MBA is more than enough to open 50+ tabs in browsers and multiple apps at once.

 

[Moosebear]

I'm glad I resisted the call to go all-in-one. I'm very happy with my Macbook pro and I splurged for the LG 4K 24" screen, which is crisp as I require. Sure I paid more than I'd have paid for an Imac, but I've 3 times the flexibility, double the screens, and 3 times the ports. (on the back of the LG)

 

[bobcomer]

I'm glad I resisted the call to go all-in-one. I'm very happy with my Macbook pro and I splurged for the LG 4K 24" screen, which is crisp as I require. Sure I paid more than I'd have paid for an Imac, but I've 3 times the flexibility, double the screens, and 3 times the ports. (on the back of the LG)

I probably would have traded in my M1MBA for the new iMac if I could have for a decent price. I really need the cooling and I like that monitor.

 

[leons]

Don't feed the trolls! (you know who)!

 

[macOS Lynx]

Cheapest 4.5K all in one I found was $3,500. Although it has the renowned Surface screen. It's really more in the league of the 5K iMac. Which the 5k iMac still has better pricing. But the Surface has a specific user design for digital artists.

Microsoft 28" Surface Studio 2 Multi-Touch All-in-One Desktop Computer

Buy Microsoft 28" Surface Studio 2 Multi-Touch All-in-One Desktop Computer featuring 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7-7820HQ Quad-Core, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, 28" PixelSense Touchscreen, 4500 x 3000 Screen Resolution, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5), 1TB SSD, SDXC Card Reader, 1GbE | 802.11ac Wi-Fi |...

www.bhphotovideo.com

Cheapest 4K all in one I found was $1,700 (8GB RAM, i5 9th gen, GTX 1650, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD, 32in 4K)

HP ENVY All-in-One - 32-a0035

Free shipping. Buy direct from HP. See customer reviews and comparisons for HP ENVY All-in-One - 32-a0035. Upgrades and savings on select products.

www.hp.com

Basically, all in one prices suck. Compared to the competition. Apple's prices aren't that bad. If not pretty good. Sure you can get some cheap one with a 1080p screen. But then you are comparing something with a $100-$200 panel against something with a $500 to $700 panel.

At $1300. Apple is selling a comparable computer to the $1,700 HP. Probably better than the HP. As the panel is higher end, the CPU is faster and it has USB 4. Although the HP is upgradeable.

While I'm not a big fan of the looks of either. I do think the iMac looks nicer than the HP. Especially with that reverse notch.🤮

The Surface Studio is a terrible computer. It's using a laptop 7th-gen quad-core Intel chip and a GTX 1000 series chip. In 2021! The M1 in the iMac will smoke it. Pretty much every Intel iMac already does.

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

M1 in an iMac 24" starts at $1299 with only 2 USB4 ports. Man, this is just sad at this point. 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Horrible deal.

Now the next step up, $1499. You can same RAM and SSD but 2 more NORMAL USB C ports and ethernet(lol). Again I know it comes with a 4.5 display but you can get a decent PC with a 4k HDR monitor for less and with upgradeable parts.

Please if macOS is not needed don't get this iMac. Its full of crap.

You’re not taking into account the target customer. This is Apple going back to making the entry-level iMac a consumer product, in order to differentiate it more than a ‘Pro’ product line.

 

[thingstoponder]

M1 in an iMac 24" starts at $1299 with only 2 USB4 ports. Man, this is just sad at this point. 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Horrible deal.

Now the next step up, $1499. You can same RAM and SSD but 2 more NORMAL USB C ports and ethernet(lol). Again I know it comes with a 4.5 display but you can get a decent PC with a 4k HDR monitor for less and with upgradeable parts.

Please if macOS is not needed don't get this iMac. Its full of crap.

All those 4K displays are complete crap (3840p at 24-27”? Yuck) and don’t compare to this one in pixel density or color. That PC also won’t compare with an M1 in overall performance, temperature, quietness, etc. oh, and they’re creaky ugly plastic and the monitors have wobbly stands to boot. No thanks, I’ll take the Mac.

 

[grmlin]

The Surface Studio is a terrible computer. It's using a laptop 7th-gen quad-core Intel chip and a GTX 1000 series chip. In 2021! The M1 in the iMac will smoke it. Pretty much every Intel iMac already does.

the screen is very nice though. Wasn't the Studio already outdated when it released? Aren't most Surface devices using older hardware when they release?

 

[dahlblom]

You can´t find anything similar at 1299/1499 USD - the design, 4.5k monitor, great speakers (being even better than iMac Pros), and even a set of mouse/keyboard. It´s all bitterness to complain about it at this point.

However, I do agree about "the ports situation", but we have learned to maneuver in the dongle world since 2016.

 

[JouniS]

All those 4K displays are complete crap (3840p at 24-27”? Yuck) and don’t compare to this one in pixel density or color.

Apple has a weird obsession with using expensive high-end displays in consumer products. So expensive that most people would not buy them on their own. The 5k iMac is a perfect example. Even after all these years, only LG has a comparable monitor available. Other manufacturers offered similar models for a while, but they were eventually discontinued due to lack of interest.

I'm using a $400 27" 4k monitor as a second display with my iMac, and I'm happy with it. Maybe even happier than with the main 5k display, because I don't have to use the zoom functionality as often.

 

[grmlin]

Apple has a weird obsession with using expensive high-end displays in consumer products. So expensive that most people would not buy them on their own. The 5k iMac is a perfect example. Even after all these years, only LG has a comparable monitor available. Other manufacturers offered similar models for a while, but they were eventually discontinued due to lack of interest.

I'm using a $400 27" 4k monitor as a second display with my iMac, and I'm happy with it. Maybe even happier than with the main 5k display, because I don't have to use the zoom functionality as often.

My only problem with iMac screens: I can't buy them separately. And why the heck is an iMac, which includes the PC, smaller than a standalone monitor.
I want to buy a nice monitor, too. I don't need the PC inside, I have to use a laptop.

 

[Internaut]

How much would you pay for a comparably performant desktop PC with 24" 4.5k monitor of comparable quality, comparable webcam, speakers, microphone array and so on?

 

[grmlin]

How much would you pay for a comparably performant desktop PC with 24" 4.5k monitor of comparable quality, comparable webcam, speakers, microphone array and so on?

You can't. There is no such screen. You can buy the LG 5K screen, but that's almost as much as the base iMac lol. Add all the other stuff you listed and try to build a silent PC, yeah, the iMac is still a very good deal.

 

[Queen6]

A bad deal is my 2019 16" MBP that I paid over $2400.

I won't use the 16" MBP since the M1 Mini replaced it.
Intel MBP was huge waste of money IMO.

At least the 24" M1 iMac will be worth every penny paid: $1299

Absolutely, thankfully dodged that bullet. I could never see the point in such power hungry hot CPU's in such a thermally constrained chassis, the M1 13" MBP literally smokes it. This Hex core Asus with what I strongly suspect is a binned down CPU was easily ahead of the i9 MBP, the M1 MBP is literally dialled "up to 11" easily pulling ahead of the Asus without breaking a sweat.

For those that don't have M1, the future is here right now...

Q-6

 

[Queen6]

My only problem with iMac screens: I can't buy them separately. And why the heck is an iMac, which includes the PC, smaller than a standalone monitor.
I want to buy a nice monitor, too. I don't need the PC inside, I have to use a laptop.

I'd really like to see Apple offer the new iMac design as a display/Thunderbolt hub as similar I want multiple display's and Apple's panels are generally very good.

Q-6