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Thinner than 1.15cm iMac

H

Hexley

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Apple highlighted that the iMac is 11.5mm thin without batteries.

Apple devices with M1 chips that have batteries are thinner like
  • 5.9mm for 11‑inch iPad Pro
  • 6.4mm for 12.9‑inch iPad Pro
  • 4.1–16.1mm for MBA M1
I think by late 2020s or early 2030s Apple will come out with an iMac that will be less than 6mm thick.

Most users wont give a damn but from a supply chain point of view Apple can maintain the $1,299 price point that they have maintained for the entry level base iMac since 1998.

For those who are not aware the buying power of your $1,299 a quarter century ago is different to what it is today largely due to inflation. 1998's $1,299 iMac is worth $2,139 in today's money.

I would not be surprised that the smallest screen iMac about a decade from now would be a 27" model.

I expect morons to complain "how little" they get for their year 2030 $1,299 iMac 27".
 
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DanTSX

DanTSX

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It’s a desktop. Past a certain point, the measurement is irrelevant. It would still be thin if it were 3-4x as thick.
 
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senttoschool

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If it's 6mm thin, I hope they make It touch screen and removable so I can undock it from the stand and carry it around the house with me like an iPad. Yes, I will carry a 24" screen around.

It runs in iPadOS mode once you undock it and MacOS mode once you dock it.
 
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Q

quarkysg

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DanTSX said:
It’s a desktop. Past a certain point, the measurement is irrelevant. It would still be thin if it were 3-4x as thick.
Click to expand...
To Apple it probably makes a lot of difference. Using less material means less cost and more profit, especially for higher volume products. The iMac chassis is machined out of aluminium blocks so it'll save Apple a lot on machining and transport cost if the resulting product is thin and light. Probably less waste too from machining.
 
L

Lihp8270

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quarkysg said:
To Apple it probably makes a lot of difference. Using less material means less cost and more profit, especially for higher volume products. The iMac chassis is machined out of aluminium blocks so it'll save Apple a lot on machining and transport cost if the resulting product is thin and light. Probably less waste too from machining.
Click to expand...
That’s not always true.

Sometimes less material costs more, particularly in non-additive processes.

Unless they save enough space they can use a different size billet then all making it smaller does is add machine time and tool wear.

The ideal scenario is to do as little machining as you possibly can.

But it’s also not that simple either. As the extra machining cost may be less than the shipping costs of a lighter product too. So it may cost more to machine but they save more shipping millions around the world.

Either way it’s really impossible for people outside of the organisation to know if a thinner iMac will save them money.
 
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za9ra22

za9ra22

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senttoschool said:
If it's 6mm thin, I hope they make It touch screen and removable so I can undock it from the stand and carry it around the house with me like an iPad. Yes, I will carry a 24" screen around.

It runs in iPadOS mode once you undock it and MacOS mode once you dock it.
Click to expand...

It could have the touchscreen on the back! Except they'd have to remove the logo from there too, so that also would have to go on the power brick. But that's OK, they could put an HP badge on the brick and everyone would think it's an old computer.
 
S

senttoschool

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quarkysg said:
To Apple it probably makes a lot of difference. Using less material means less cost and more profit, especially for higher volume products. The iMac chassis is machined out of aluminium blocks so it'll save Apple a lot on machining and transport cost if the resulting product is thin and light. Probably less waste too from machining.
Click to expand...
In practice, thinner products usually cost more to make and might be even more wasteful. This is because to get something extraordinarily thin, you might have to use a more expensive material that is worse for the environment or invent a new expensive process or use a different chemical. You get the point.
 
H

Hexley

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Stephen.R said:
So long as they keep making the chin even bigger and bigger, and give it tapered edges so more and more it looks like jay leno.
Click to expand...
I think the ratio & proposition of the chin have stayed the same over the years.

A decade from now the smaller iMac would probably be 27" while the larger screen would be more than 32"

So long as they keep the same price points still 1998 then I'm not complaining.
 
CubeHacker

CubeHacker

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Why do we need an iMac - a computer that will sit on your desk and almost never be lifted or moved - to become impossibly thin and light? I would much rather see the imac get thicker, reincorporate the power brick into the housing, and lose the silly looking chin.
 
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Hexley

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CubeHacker said:
Why do we need an iMac - a computer that will sit on your desk and almost never be lifted or moved - to become impossibly thin and light? I would much rather see the imac get thicker, reincorporate the power brick into the housing, and lose the silly looking chin.
Click to expand...
Just buy a Mac mini & PC monitor with less than 2mm bezels. It's cheaper and you can upgrade on demand. Not to mention cheaper as well
 
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satcomer

satcomer

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CubeHacker said:
Why do we need an iMac - a computer that will sit on your desk and almost never be lifted or moved - to become impossibly thin and light? I would much rather see the imac get thicker, reincorporate the power brick into the housing, and lose the silly looking chin.
Click to expand...

the computer M1 iMac isn’t made for geeks! It was made for home use all in one! It wasn’t made for computer nerd, it was made for Mom & Pop in the kitchen or living room! It was made with many colors to blend in homes that never had a Mac before!

That’s why for go up one to get that need power adapter with the Ethernet port on it!
 
CubeHacker

CubeHacker

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satcomer said:
the computer M1 iMac isn’t made for geeks! It was made for home use all in one! It wasn’t made for computer nerd, it was made for Mom & Pop in the kitchen or living room! It was made with many colors to blend in homes that never had a Mac before!

That’s why for go up one to get that need power adapter with the Ethernet port on it!
Click to expand...
But none of that addresses when I originally said. yes, I agree with you, the iMac isn't made for the computer nerd. Its made for everyday people. But that doesn't mean that everyday people NEED a computer with 11mm of thickness because they will be lugging it around all day. Its not a laptop. Having pretty colors doesn't negate the ability to get rid of the chin and place the PSU components inside the case like it was with previous iMacs.
 
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