What do you use your iMac for?

[floral]

Okay, so, I've been taking a peek around the Mac forums recently (despite not owning one) and have seen a fair bit of unhappiness from a lack of iMac refreshes, namely the lack of a 27-inch model.

I'm a little confused on why people would rather use a single-part desktop PC instead of a "computer and monitor" solution, like Mac Mini + Studio Display.

So that lead me to the question... "What do you use your iMac for?" Considering the unique qualities of the iMac, I thought this would be a pretty fun topic. You can answer this even if your iMac is not a main device or you have more than one Mac. Any model works.

 

[redheeler]

I still use my late 2015 5K iMac and for the most part it’s still good enough for what I do (I’m a full time web developer & grad student). It’s an 8-year-old computer now though and sometimes shows its age. I’d like to do the iMac to standalone display mod and use it as a 5K display for a newer Mac laptop or an upgradable Linux box. Probably late this year or early next year I’ll attempt that.

This 27” iMac has served me well but I wouldn’t buy another one as having the computer and screen stuck together isn’t very economical in the long term. The computer is meh but the screen is still gorgeous, it’s too much of an imbalance between the two!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

In general, people like/want iMac for:

• the all-in-one aesthetic,
• unbox, plug in and play (no other connections), and (likely)
• relative bargain pricing vs. separates.

What is being paid for ASD now used to buy the exact same size screen from Apple with a whole computer inside AND a keyboard and mouse too. I suspect some of the longing for iMac is a desire for what used to be iMac pricing (and the relative bargain therein). I have 0% confidence that kind of pricing will come back if a 27" is resurrected. I actually think that the smaller margin in that product is why it was actually discontinued (strategy: discontinue pinched margin product for a while... then relaunch with PRO branding and PRO (higher) pricing to get the target margin).

Coming from over a decade of using and enjoying iMac, I embraced separates myself... mostly driven by wanting an ultra-wide screen vs. 24" or 27" in the 2 options from Apple. I'm perfectly happy with this change but it wasn't as easy as just plugging in a newly unboxed iMac and it is not as "pretty" because now there a couple of pieces of tech connected together vs. all of that being blended into a single body.

There's no way to go separates as I did and end up with something as "pretty." There's no way to go all-in-one and enjoy select benefits of separates. So there's no single best option for all.

 

[floral]

In general, people like/want iMac for:

• the all-in-one aesthetic,
• unbox plug in and play (no other connections), and (likely)
• relative bargain pricing vs. separates.

What is being paid for ASD now used to buy the exact same size screen from Apple with a whole computer inside AND a keyboard and mouse too. I suspect some of the longing for iMac is a desire for what used to be iMac pricing (and the relative bargain therein). I have 0% confidence that kind of pricing will come back if a 27" is resurrected. I actually think that the smaller margin in that product is why it was actually discontinued (strategy: discontinue pinched margin product for a while... then relaunch with PRO branding and PRO (higher) pricing to get the target margin).

Coming from over a decade of using and enjoying iMac, I embraced separates myself... mostly driven by wanting an ultra-wide screen vs. 24" or 27" in the 2 options from Apple. I'm perfectly happy with this change but it wasn't as easy as just plugging in a newly unboxed iMac and it is not as "pretty" because now there a couple of pieces of tech connected together vs. all of that being blended into a single body.

There's no way to go separates as I did and end up with something as "pretty." There's no way to go all-in-one and enjoy select benefits of separates. So there's no single best option for all.

Oh, so iMacs are a lot cheaper than the combo.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

WAS a lot cheaper than the combo. iMac 27" formerly had "starting at" prices at ASD pricing levels now. One could view this as Apple pulled the computer + keyboard + mouse out of the ASD box and managed to sell the ASD for about the same price anyway.

So now- using your example- to replicate iMac one buys ASD + Mac Mini (or Studio) + Keyboard + Mouse/Trackpad. Previously, all of that came in the iMac box with a "starting at..." ASD pricing.

Personally, I think iMac "bigger" will return... but be branded PRO and priced (higher) accordingly. My best guess is that "starting at..." will be about 2X the former starting at pricing for iMac 27" (addressing the beancounters margin 'problem' with the prior iMac 27").

Apple previously offered an iMac 27" PRO with the "starting at" price of $4999. I see a path for a new iMac 27" PRO to launch with "starting at..." as low as about $3499 for minimal specs M2 or M3 PRO SOC, but quickly rising up towards that $4999 pricing when nicely equipped (increasing RAM & SSD from minimums).

 

[floral]

WAS a lot cheaper than the combo. iMac 27" formerly had "starting at" prices at ASD pricing levels now. One could view this as Apple pulled the computer + keyboard + mouse out of the ASD box and managed to sell the ASD for about the same price anyway.

So now- using your example- to replicate iMac one buys ASD + Mac Mini (or Studio) + Keyboard + Mouse/Trackpad. Previously, all of that came in the iMac box with a "starting at..." ASD pricing.

Personally, I think iMac "bigger" will return... but be branded PRO and priced (higher) accordingly. My best guess is that "starting at..." will be about 2X the former starting at pricing for iMac 27". Apple previously offered an iMac 27" PRO with the "starting at" price of $4999. I see a path for a new iMac 27" PRO to launch with "starting at..." as low as about $3499 for minimal specs M2 or M3 PRO SOC, but quickly rising up towards that $4999 pricing when nicely equipped (increasing RAM & SSD from minimums).

Oh dear.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Only my guess. Anything could actually happen. In other threads about this, people believe the old "bargain" pricing can be persisted by NOT going PRO & MAX in a PRO-branded iMac "bigger"... but I just struggle to see an ASD being sold at a price too close to an ASD with a whole Mac inside + keyboard & mouse (called an iMac). To me, take ASD pricing and ADD something for Mac + keyboard + mouse. If that's:

• M2 or M3 (not PRO or MAX), then my own guess brings "starting at..." on down to probably $2999 but maybe as low as $2499 with minimal specs.
• M2 or M3 PRO & MAX, my guess is "starting at $3499-$3999" and running up into the $4K-$6K or more range when one adds the RAM and SSD upgrades they want.

If- as some perceive- iMac "bigger" won't resurrect at 27" but something bigger (30"-32" are popular guesses/dreams), add an additional premium for those extra inches of screen too.

 

[VivienM]

Oh, so iMacs are a lot cheaper than the combo.

Yup. I think I had done an analysis in a previous post maybe a year ago... maybe I should try to find it... but basically, the computer in the iMac ended up costing a few hundred dollars when compared to the standalone ASD. Remember the peripherals, too - the iMac comes with a magic keyboard with no numeric keypad and a magic mouse, while those will cost you a few hundred bucks with the studio or Mac mini. I suspect it was different in the pre-retina days, but the retina screens, standalone, are big huge bucks, whether it's the ASD or the LG one before that.

That's why I bought my Intel iMac. I wanted a desktop Mac with a retina screen for years. When the studio and the ASD came out and were so insanely priced, I realized I could get a lower-end configuration of the 2020 Intel iMac refurbished for less than half the price of the studio + ASD combination. (And I didn't get the configuration I should have gotten - I got a 16/256 with 10GbE when I should have gotten a 8/512 with 10GbE, but the supply of 10GbE-capable machines in the Canada refurb store was... unpredictable.) Sure, its life expectancy is less than an ARM machine, but... at less than half the cost, who cares if this thing is left behind by macOS 16?

(Then I started getting into vintage Macs and realized an additional bonus is that I now basically have the last Intel Mac ever to go with the last OS 9 Macs ever and the lastish Snow Leopard/32-bit compatible Mac ever.)

 

[VivienM]

If- as some perceive- iMac "bigger" won't resurrect at 27" but something bigger (30"-32" are popular guesses/dreams), add an additional premium for those extra inches of screen too.

Somebody (LG?) is selling Dell a panel for a 32" 6K 6144 x 3456. That would make a grrrrreat retina panel and... I would be shocked if whoever designed/manufactured this panel wasn't at least hoping to sell it to Apple. I just don't see the market for that kind of monitor in Windowsland...

 

[tstafford]

Wife uses her 2015 iMac to run her astrology business. I've warned her that one the security updates end, she needs to part ways. She isn't happy about that at all!!

 

[VivienM]

Wife uses her 2015 iMac to run her astrology business. I've warned her that one the security updates end, she needs to part ways. She isn't happy about that at all!!

OpenCore Legacy Patcher?

(Seriously, this is a bigger problem with OS life cycles these days. That 2015 iMac is, I'm sure, quite a competent machine to this day, especially if she had ordered an SSD... but... oops)

 

[curnalpanic]

Because they are awesome. Also, for a long time it was the best desktop retina display you could get.

 

[pshufd]

I bought a 2015 iMac 27, i5, 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB HDD for $200 2 months ago. Includes Apple keyboard and mouse. I have it next to a Mac Studio running 3 4k Dell Ultrasharp monitors. I run production on the Mac Studio and office stuff, including watching videos, making phone calls, on the iMac. The speakers are very nice and it has a built-in webcam, microphones and that great 5k screen. I had been looking at another Dell Ultrasharp monitor but those are running about $580 and the iMac was a much cheaper solution.

One thing I love about the iMacs is the lack of cable clutter for speakers, microphone and webcam. Sure, I could get a Mac Studio and have everything in one - let me know when they're going for $200.

In some cases, you might be able to get an old iMac for an even better price:

 

[Abazigal]

Okay, so, I've been taking a peek around the Mac forums recently (despite not owning one) and have seen a fair bit of unhappiness from a lack of iMac refreshes, namely the lack of a 27-inch model.

I'm a little confused on why people would rather use a single-part desktop PC instead of a "computer and monitor" solution, like Mac Mini + Studio Display.

So that lead me to the question... "What do you use your iMac for?" Considering the unique qualities of the iMac, I thought this would be a pretty fun topic. You can answer this even if your iMac is not a main device or you have more than one Mac. Any model works.

I initially bought a 2011 27" iMac as an upgrade from a very slow windows PC. At the time, it ticked all the boxes. It had a huge, gorgeous display that I could work with documents on (being a teacher), the specs were decent (I didn't do anything particularly demanding, and it could even bootcamp into windows and run games like darksiders2 and prototype). I liked the all-in-one form factor as it took up relatively little space, and being my first Mac, I appreciated that it came with everything I needed out of the box (eg: keyboard, mouse, webcam, decent speakers).

The other options didn't seem as appealing. The Mac mini lacked discrete graphics cards, the Mac Pro was overkill, and this being a communal PC that I would be sharing with my dad, a laptop didn't fit the bill other. The iMac really represented the ideal family computer. Easy to set up, reasonable price, huge screen for an aging parent.

When it was time to upgrade in 2017, the 5k iMac seemed like the obvious choice (though in hindsight, I really should just have sprung for the SSD). It was also particularly useful during the pandemic when school pivoted to home-based learning and my 5k iMac was just a great device to conduct online classes over, not least because it already came with a webcam, and the huge screen gave me ample room to manage my zoom interface.

Going with a Mac mini + external display option today would mean having to purchase some accessories all over again (like the webcam, and possibly speakers, if I am not getting the studio display, which I simply find too expensive).

You are right that a Mac mini + studio display combo is probably the next best replacement for me right now; but I am just not willing to spend so much at the moment (even right now, I am contemplating whether to get the ultra 2 Apple Watch or stick with my series 5). Especially when the 5k display on my iMac is still going strong and I guess it's a matter of which comes first - my iMac kicking the bucket or macOS finally coming with some must-have feature that finally pushes me to upgrade.