Apple was So Close: A Mixed Bag from the Latest Event

The Apple event has just wrapped up, and it's left us with a lot to talk about. The brand new iMac is certainly an exciting development, but as one would expect from a company that has been around for a long time, there were some surprises in store.

The first thing that caught our attention was the sleek and modern design of the new iMacs. Apple has fully redesigned their iconic desktop computer, bringing it up to date with the latest technology. The colors are particularly striking, reminiscent of the old-school iMac G3 days. However, not everything is as rosy as the new design might suggest.

One of the most notable features of the new iMac is its chin. Yes, you read that right - a chin! Apple has always been known for its minimalist approach to design, and this latest addition may seem like a step back in terms of aesthetics. However, it's worth noting that the chin serves an important purpose. It allows for better airflow and cooling, making the M1 processor run more efficiently.

The iMac is powered by the same M1 chip as the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and iPad Pro, which is a significant improvement over its predecessors. However, it's not without its limitations. The bezels are white, which might not be to everyone's taste, and the pricing is a bit steep for what you get.

One of the most interesting features of the new iMac is its connectivity options. It comes with four USB-C ports, two of which are Thunderbolt-enabled. This means that users can connect multiple displays or use the Thunderbolt port for other tasks like video editing. The headphone jack on the left side of the border is a nice touch, and the power cable is color-matched to the computer.

The external power brick has an Ethernet port built-in, which might seem like a hassle at first but is actually quite practical. It's magnetic and can be easily tucked away for better cable management. However, some users might prefer it if it were located on the back of the system instead.

In terms of pricing, the base model starts at $1,299 for a seven-core GPU, while the top-end model costs $1,499. The higher-end specs include Touch ID, a keyboard, and better graphics performance. However, most users won't be using their iMacs for hardcore professional work, such as photo editing or video production.

Apple's focus on gaming and Arcades was evident throughout the event, with mentions of Apple Arcade being repeated multiple times. While it's certainly an exciting development, some fans were left feeling underwhelmed by the lack of discussion about more powerful hardware options like the iMac Pro or a 32-inch model.

Personally, I use a 13-inch MacBook Pro as my daily editor, and while it's very powerful, there's something to be said for having a dedicated desktop computer with a high-quality display. The iMac's price point might seem steep at first, but considering the quality of the display and the powerful hardware, it's actually quite reasonable.

Overall, the new iMac is certainly an exciting development, and while it may not have blown us away in terms of design or features, it's a solid step forward for Apple. With its sleek design, powerful hardware, and practical connectivity options, it's sure to appeal to many users. However, some fans will be left feeling underwhelmed until we see more from the company in the future.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Apple were so, so close.So the Apple event just wrapped up,and not only have theyannounced the brand new iMacs,but we also have a bunchof other updatesincluding a brand new iPad Pro,as well as a purple iPhone, AirTag.A bunch of stuff to talk about.But we've got to addressthe elephant in the room.That iMac is, well, notexactly what I was expecting.So you gotta considerthat the current iMachas been around for avery long time, right?That sort of aesthetic hasbeen there for 10 years nowor something at this point.And this is the first time that they'vefully, fully redesigned it.Now, on one hand, that's great.Now, the colors, I will sayimmediately, I am a huge fan of.It really kind of brings me backto those old-school iMac G3 days.But then there's the chin.Okay. Look, the iMac hashad a chin for a long time.That's fine.But one of the bigadvantages with this new iMacis the fact that it isrunning the M1 processor,which is, of course, sharedwith the MacBook Air,MacBook Pro, Mac Mini,and now the iPad Pro,as well as the iMac.Now, it's important to keep in mindthat this iMac is not probablythe last of the iMacs we'll see.This is a 24-inch iMac,which is very much a replacementfor the previous 21.5 inch.There will 100%, without a doubt,be a bigger 27 or 32-inchiMac coming later this year.Probably with an upgraded processor,kinda little bit more along the linesof something like an iMac Pro.So just let's keep in mind,as we talk about this,with all the bright colors and everything.This iMac is probably not for me.It might not be for you.It was definitely for someonewho is looking for a desktopthat's sort of more ofa casual all-in-one,and not something which is a hardcoregaming and editing powerhouse.What really jumps out tome though, is that chin.So, look, this thing is very thin.So I think they said itwas something like, what?11.5 millimeters thin.Which is very, very thin.And unlike the previous iMac,which looked really thin on the side,they kind of like tapered out,so there was almost a littlebit of an optical illusion.This is actually just 11 millimeters thinall the way through.Very, very cool for a desktop.But essentially, it'sall display, right?So the reason that chin exists,especially if you lookat some of the imagesthat they showed duringthe press conference,really goes to show that that bottomis all about the speakers,the two very small fansto keep the M1 cool,and the logic board, which, to be fair,is hilariously small.But really the thinness there, I think,is entirely down to theactual display they've got.Now, it is a Retina 4.5k display,which again, is nice, right?The previous base model 21-inch iMacwas still using like a 1080por just wasn't even Retina yet.So, obviously, the displayis going to be nice.But I kind of feel likethey missed a little bitof an opportunity here.Yes, they could have madethe entire thing, what,three or four millimeters thicker,put all of the components on the inside,and then completely gottenrid of that bottom bezel.But instead, they made it lookvery, very thin from the side.But you're looking at the computer,not from the side most of the time,you're looking at it from the front.And from the front, you gotyourself a very large chin.Now, I'll say that Ipersonally don't mind the factthey've taken the Apple logo off of thatand moved it around to the back.I actually put a Twitter poll outduring the event to seewhat people thought.And it's pretty close to 50-50 on peoplewho liked the new iMacdesign versus don't.But I just can't help but feelthat there was a little bit of somethingthat they missed there,by making it just a little bit thickerand getting rid of that chin, right?- Also the fact thatAustin is not an engineerand maybe there was other reasons why.- No, no. You can just make it thicker!You know that they couldhave just made it thickerand it would have been just fine.The other thing that I thinkis a little bit controversialare the bezels.They're white.Ala, what? Like 2013 iPhone status?Look, this is the point.I don't know if you agree or disagree,I do not like the white bezels.- I love them a lot.- I hate them.- Look,white bezels are not the move.White bezels are not the move, okay?Now, inside the newiMac, it is, of course,very, very similar to allthe other M1 Macs, right?So you're looking at the M1 processor.And just like with the MacBook Air,there are a couple of configurations.So there's a seven-core GPUas the base model at 1,299.And then there's the eight-coreGPU with more storageand RAM and all that kind of stuff,which you can start to upgrade to.But the pricing is fine, right?I don't think the pricingis all that unusual.But they've made some reallyinteresting decisions here.So first of all, it has four USB-C ports.That's basically it.Now, two of these areThunderbolt-enabled, which makes sensebecause all of the M1Macs have a limitationof only two Thunderboltdisplays or Thunderbolt ports.And on top of that, you can only runone additional display right?That's just a limitation of it.It does have a headphone jackon the left side of the border.But probably the more interesting decisionis the power cable.So it is color-matched with the computer.And you'll see as with therest of the accessories,everything's gonna be coloredmatch, which is a nice touch.So it's magnetic, but it'san external power brick.Now, that external power brick,just like the old Chromecast,actually has your ethernet port built-in.Yeah. I guess.I mean, I would have preferred, probably,to have it on the back of the system.But I guess it is helpfulfor cable managementto kind of tuck yourethernet out on the bottom.At least they stillhave an ethernet cable.However, when you bumpup to the 1,499 versionyou get all the colors, youget the Touch ID keyboard,and you also get the higher-end specs,and you get the better GPU.Realistically, though,I feel like most peoplewho are purchasing an iMac,they're not doing it forhardcore professional use, right?I mean, they were talkingway more about Apple Arcadethan they were talking aboutPhotoshop or DaVinci Resolve,which makes sense.What I really wanna see, personally,is the iMac Pro, the iMac 32-inch.Whatever the biggerversion of this is, right?You put the more powerful,like, M1X or M2 in it,I think this thing's gonnabe seriously powerful.Now, with that being said,I do use a 13-inchMacBook Pro as my daily.I'm editing this video onthe 13-inch MacBook Proright now with the M1.It is very powerful.But the thing is, when youlook at what this iMac is,it's essentially a Mac Miniwith a very nice display, right?Which is fine.When you look at that price difference,especially if you're tryingto buy a 4.5k display,it actually isn't unreasonablypriced in my opinion.But it's hard to get excitedabout with the design,which, personally, it sure....I mean, this event just wrapped up.Three days from now I might look at itand go, "Oh, this is amazing."But, I mean, it's just a big chin.There's nothing going on down therebesides that's where they'rehiding all the components.So, it's a little bitof an unusual decision.Now, what makes theiMac an little bit moreof an interesting decision,is the fact that it shares that M1 chipwith the now brand new iPad Pro.Now, as Timmy Cook so helpfully showed ushow to break into Apple security,it's kind of weird thatthis is very thin iPadhas the exact same chip as the iMacwhich needs that big chin to include it.A little bit strange.Now, the M1 here is very similarto what you're gonnafind on the MacBook Air,MacBook Pro, and everything.The main differenceis, of course, the iPaddoes not have any fans to cool it.So you're likely gonna be losinga little bit of performance,but also it's running iPadOSso you're probably not really gonna noticeunless you spend yourlife inside of Geekbench.And you do now also getThunderbolt on the iPad.You get other stuff too, liketwo-times faster storage.You get up to a two terabyte SSD.But the real question for meis what are you going to do with this?They need a big deal about all the thingsyou can do with iPad Proand don't get me wrong,there are certainly some majorthings that are very unique.With like the AR space andyou have stuff like Photoshopand you can do video editing on the iPad.But I still find the iPadto be a little bit of aweird space right now, right?Where the M1 Macs do so much so well,where exactly does the Proin the iPad Pro come in?Sure, it has a lot offeatures, but I think about itand 95% of the time, I wouldrather use a full laptopthat has the exact same specsexcept a, well, let'sput it really frankly,a more powerful operatingsystem in macOS versus iPadOS.Now, they did talk about howwith that Thunderbolt portyou can run like a Pro DisplayXDR at 6K, which is great.But as of right now, theiPad doesn't really allow youto do a whole with that second display.Sure, certain apps will support, you know,like throwing your videooff as you're editing iton the main display orsomething like that.But it's very limited.Now, in a few months, at WWDC,if they do show off the ability for iPadOSto have multiple windowsand you can actually takeadvantage of an external display,that will make a lot more sense.But where I struggle with the iPad Prois just, it's a lot more power.But I mean, this thing is what?Two, three years old at this point,and it's still as incrediblypowerful as it is, right?There's no other tablet that touches it.And I can't think of a single thingthat I do on a daily basisthat I need more power for an iPad.Which sounds strange becauseI always like more power.But like they're sellingthis thing to professionals,but they don't reallyhave the tools reallythat are going to make that useful.Now, to be fair, thenew 12.9-inch iPad Pro,so not the 11-inch, the larger variety,does have a mini-LED displaywhich is, admittedly,very cool looking, right?1,000 nits of brightness,almost double the previous iPad.You get 10,000 mini-LEDsbehind the displayversus 72 on the last.So essentially means thatit is incredibly bright.It's got great contrast. This is cool.But, again... (groaning)I mean, look, I love the120 hertz on this display,and sure, it's not super,super visible outside,but I look at something likethis and it's a nice upgrade,but it doesn't fundamentallychange what an iPad is.And it certainly doesn'tfundamentally changewhat you can do with an iPad Pro.There's also a white Smart Keyboard,which I think looks greatfor the first sevenseconds that you use it.There's also 5G on the newiPad Pro, which is cool, right?I'll give them that.But realistically, this isa spec bump iPad, right?The real upgrades for the iPad ProI really do believe aregoing to be in software.In a couple of months,we'll see what they've got for iPadOS 14when it comes to WWDC.But as of right now,solid, decent upgrade.But, for me, personally,I didn't see any reasonto upgrade an iPad Pro, right?It just doesn't do alot for me over the 2018or the 2019 version that youmay already have right now.That being said, what isabsolutely worthy of an upgradeis a new purple iPhone.This is literally all I have to say.There's a purple iPhone12 now. It's very purple.And I think it looks very good.Now, there were some other things,including the finally announced AirTag,which essentially is alittle Bluetooth trackerthat is similar to something like a Tile.This has been rumored for years now,and it's actually pretty cool looking.You can engrave it, it usesthe U1 chip on your iPhoneto track things down.And it'll run you a solid $29.I didn't have to look that up at all.It'll be great for Kenwhen he loses his keysevery 15 seconds.- It's true.- There's also an upgraded Apple TVwhich has a better processor.There are a couple of cool features hereincluding a brand new remote,which looks to be much better.As well as you have a very cool featurewhich will allow you to use your iPhoneto actually do all thecalibration of your TVthrough the Apple TV, right?So you put your phone up to the TV,it'll do everything toget the color just right.At least when you're watchingstuff through the Apple TV.Which makes sense becauserealistically, let's face it,who's spending $180 or $200on a set-top box these days, right?I mean, personally for me,I use the built-in webOS on my LG smart TV.I don't even have anything plugged in.But that being said,if you're gonna spend theextra money to get an Apple TV,it makes sense to give it asmany features as possible.If you wanna get your handson any of the new upgrades,the purple iPhone, as well as AirTagwill be available on April 30th.And that same day,you will also be able topre-order the new Apple TV, iMac,as well as the brand new iPad Pros.And all those will shipin the second half of May.I'm very curious.What do you think aboutthese new Apple upgrades?For me, iPad seems fine.But the iMac is reallywhere I wanna love itbut it's just, it feelslike it's so, so close.