The New iMac: A Fresh Design to Inspire

New design matters, new design inspires, and new design drives purchases. And now there's finally a new design in the flesh for the iMac. It's been a long time since we've seen something this new, fresh, and exciting for the desk. Apple, a company famed for its industrial design, really did let its iMac languish. The very computer that blazed the trail from the company's brush with death.

Let's take a closer look at this new one and find out if it's been worth the wait and if it's worth the $1,500. I didn't think this would happen. I didn't want it to happen, but I'm smitten. I've fallen in love with a computer, and what we have here is a personal computer that you can truly make personal when you order it. Channeling the original colored iMac G3, it's available in a whole seven colors. And I think for the average person, it's the most interesting question worth asking: What color would you take?

Probably the purple. Yellow. Probably silver. Purple or blue. This is a big commitment. Purple. The green. You know what? I'm loving this green. Blue. It's amazing how you give people an option to express their personalities, and they'll show you just how vibrant they are. Me, it was between the warm tones, orange and yellow. They really jumped out at me. They're so fun and colorful.

I've always been a fan of colorful computers, and this new iMac hearkens back to a very brief time when computers were fun and flavorful pieces of design. I hope it inspires colorful peripheral design that will match the iMac you've put on your desk. Remember the impact the original one had? This new iMac really does make a case for itself as a computer made for families and individuals in the home.

If it were to be placed on that four-quadrant model lineup of 1998, it would sit firmly in the consumer desktop space, a space I'm happy to see clearly defined again. The base, $1,300 model will probably find itself in schools and with seniors, though, I mean, if you're like me and most people are, you're probably not going to notice the performance differences between it and this double-fanned model. So you can safely go for that.

Just remember, it doesn't have touch ID, that's $50 extra, ethernet or all the colors available. Plus there's only two Thunderbolt ports. If you wanna save money and get that, I recommend at least paying $30 for the ethernet option. The next big upgrade worth considering is 16 gigabytes of RAM for $200, especially since you can upgrade memory later. This'll probably help your computer feel fast for a few extra years.

RAM is certainly more worthwhile than upgrading storage because it's $800 to have two terabytes inside the iMac. It's less than $100 for two terabytes in this yellow enclosure. Yes, a spinning drive is slower, but most people are storing documents, photos, videos, and music for playback, and a drive like this is fast enough. Since this computer isn't going anywhere, it's easy to just leave it plugged in so you have access to that data whenever you need it.

Knowing how I use my desktop computer these days, I think I'd be fine just getting a $1,500 mid-tier model in orange and then calling it a decade. But if you're looking for the ultimate experience, look no further than this new iMac. It's available in seven colors, including purple, yellow, silver, green, blue, red, and black.

The speakers on the MacBook Pro are good, but these are better. They're downward-firing, and support spatial audio, which is what's impressive about them. Good speakers need air to move around, and Apple has created these incredibly thin chambers, but then made them take up most of the area behind the screen. So it really punches above its weight.

And finally, there's this webcam that's 1080p with some image signal processing added to the mix. It's much, much better than any Macbook webcam, which is about as basic as they get. It's perfect for what's left of this pandemic, and I think it's a big part of why this new iMac feels so right.

So if you're planning to put this on your desk or the desk of a family member, which one should you get? The base $1,300 model will probably find itself in schools and with seniors, though. If you're like me and most people are, you're probably not going to notice the performance differences between it and this double-fanned model. So you can safely go for that.

Just remember, it doesn't have touch ID, that's $50 extra, ethernet or all the colors available. Plus there's only two Thunderbolt ports. If you wanna save money and get that, I recommend at least paying $30 for the ethernet option. The next big upgrade worth considering is 16 gigabytes of RAM for $200, especially since you can upgrade memory later.

This'll probably help your computer feel fast for a few extra years. And with this new iMac, you're getting more than just a faster processor and more RAM. You're getting a whole new experience. A colorful one that's going to inspire color in everything else you do.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(upbeat music)- New design matters, new design inspires,new design drives purchases.And now there's finally a new designin the flesh for the iMac.It's been a long time sincewe've seen something this new,fresh and exciting for the desk.Apple, a company famedfor its industrial design,really did let its iMac languish.The very computer that blaze the trailfrom the company's brush with death.So let's really takea look at this new oneand find out if it's been worth the waitand if it's worth the $1,500.(upbeat music)I didn't think this is would happen.I didn't want it tohappen, but I'm smitten.I've fallen in love with a computer.And what we have hereis a personal computerthat you can truly make personalright when you order it.Channeling the original colored iMac G3,it's available in a whole seven colors.And I think for the average person,it's the most interestingquestion worth asking.What color would you take?- Probably the purple.- Yellow.- Probably silver.- Purple or blue.- This is a big commitment.Purple.- The green.- You know what? I'm loving this green.- Blue.- It's amazing how yougive people an optionto express their personalitiesand they'll show you justhow vibrant they are.Me, it was between the warmtones, orange and yellow.They really jumped out at me quite simplybecause they're not what you'dfind on any PC these days.And after going with the yellow,I don't regret it at all,but I'm sure I'd feel thesame way with orange too.The pictures online andperhaps even this videodon't quite capture how the iMacreflects the lighting conditions.This yellow one is justso cheerful yet golden.It literally and figurativelybrightens my moodwhen I look at it.It's like the warm, rising sun.A lot of people have been also harping onabout these white bezelsand I don't get it.This is supposed to be abright, friendly computer.The screen is supposed to be obvious.And if you think abouthow white the interfacesof big Sur are, it doesn'treally strike me as oddthat the bezels are white too.Other computers look like black mirrors,but this actually looks like a computerthat's being designed.(soft music)(upbeat music)As this is Apple's firstARM-based all-in-one,I think it's importantto analyze just how muchthat dictated the design of this computer.It's impossibly thin, too thinfor a headphone Jack to go through.Too thin even for an old USB A port.It's so thin that it doesn'treally have a side profile.It's a case of now yousee it, now you don't.And that thinness is reallythe story of the computer.It's why this chin remains for one.The logic board and mostthe things we think ofas a computer are containedin this controversial section.I support the moveas it maintains the look of previous iMacswhile avoiding making thewhole computer thicker,wasting space.And they clearly wanted todepart from the curved backof the outgoing iMac in favorof a symmetrical flat design.It also means that thepower supply is externaland under the desk, alongwith the ethernet port.And since that means there'sonly one color match cablevisible at the top of thedesk, I don't mind thatas much as I thought I would.The performance of the M1 chip containedin this iMac has beentalked about for monthssince their debut in the fall.Benchmark wise, thismid-range model performsabout the same as otherfan cooled M1 models.Though, recent reportsshow that the best hereis slightly less performancedue to there being only onefan for cooling comparedto the two in this model.That with the pricingleads to a strange choice.The mid range iMac is the onethat gets you all thelatest iMac innovations,touch ID on the keyboard,which is wonderful.All the color options and allfour USB C ports at $1,500.That doesn't sound so bad.Right.But a Mac book pro withthe same M1 performance,a touch ID sensor, eight gigabytes of RAM,256 gigabytes of SSD storageand 20 hours of battery lifecosts $1,300, $200 less.Now, I don't know about you,but I know a lot of people like laptops.So why would they buy that?If you're a laptop person,I'm gonna have difficulty explaining why,but there are a few thingsthis IMAX still does better.One, the screen is just bigger and nicer.It's a 23.5 inch retina,sporting 4.5 K pixelsacross a 16 by 9 aspect ratio.At default scaling, yourgoing to just fit so much moreon the screen while maintaining big,easy to read interface elements.And that also means making things biggerfor aging eyes is less of a compromise.Two, while the speakers onthe MacBook Pro are good,these are better.They're downward firingand support spatial audio,but that's not what'simpressive about them.Good speakers need air to move aboutand Apple has created theseincredibly thin chambers,but then made them take up mostof the area behind the screen.So it really punches above its weight.Three, this webcam is 1080Pwith some image signalprocessing added to the mix.It's much, much betterthan any Mac book webcamwhich is about as potatoesApple dare let them get.It's perfect for what'sleft of this pandemic.And four,well, just look at it.(upbeat music)So if you're planning to put this on deskor the desk of a family member,which one should you get?The base, $1,300 modelwill probably find itselfin schools and with seniors,though, I mean, if you're likeuser and a lot of people are,you're probably not gonna noticethe performance differencesbetween it and this double fanned model.So you can safely go for that.Just remember, it doesn'thave touch ID, that's $50,ethernet or all the colors available.Plus there's only two Thunderbolt ports.So if you wanna save money and get that,I recommend at least paying$30 for the ethernet option.The next big upgrade worth consideringis 16 gigabytes of RAM for $200,especially since you canupgrade memory later.This'll probably helpyour computer feel fastfor a few extra years.And RAM is certainly moreworthwhile than upgrading storagebecause it's $800 to have twoterabytes inside the iMac.It's less than $100 for two terabytesin this yellow enclosure.Yes, a spinning drive is slower,but most people are storing documents,photos, videos and music for playbackand a drive like this is fast enough.And since this computerisn't going anywhere,it's easy to just leave it plugged inso you have access to thatdata whenever you need it.Knowing how I use mydesktop computer these days,I think I'd be fine justgetting a $1,500 mid tier modelin orange and then calling it a decade.(upbeat music)I really like this computer.It hearkens back to a very brief timewhen computers were fun andflavorful pieces of design.I really hope inspirescolorful peripheral designsthat will match the iMacyou've put on your desk.Remember the impact the original one had?This new iMac really doesmake a case for itselfas a computer made for familiesand individuals in the home.If it were to be placedon that four quadrantmodel lineup of 1998,it would sit firmly in theconsumer desktop space,a space I'm happy to seeclearly defined again.Thanks for checking inon this Mac address.If you thought this was agood video, give it a likeand if you wanna seemore when they come out,feel free to subscribe.Now that we're done with this video,I am so excited to put this on my deskand replace that awful monitorthat Riley ruined last week.It's gonna be good to havea splash of color up there.\n"