Apple iMac M4 review: who is this for, exactly?
theverge.com
theverge.com
Who is it for? Well, why not see the actual places buying them.
- Reception/lobby/greeting desks because they’re an aesthetic entry point.
- families who don’t want to deal with a computer. That’s a lot of people who upgrade once in a blue moon, don’t want to deal with shopping for different components like a display/mouse/keyboard. Over the last decade, ever single friend I know has had their parents transition to an iPad or an iMac.
For the last point, it’s not even that they’re technically illiterate. My dad records music in his retirement. My friends dad used to be a software engineer. They just don’t want to futz with stuff anymore.
It's basically the lower-tier Mac Mini that's permanently attached to a (relatively small) monitor that cannot be repurposed, and you'd probably be better off getting a separate monitor for a Mini to allow upgrading those separately.
They're deployed by the hundreds, in one or two configurations, then are replaced after 3/5/7 years. They never get repurposed, they just get recycled/refurbished when they reach end of life or the value has been depreciated to zero.
I think the iMac is kind of a relic from a bygone age where it was more difficult to fit desktop computing power into a laptop form factor. Now that laptops have gotten pretty beefy, the difference in compute between them and something like this is small enough that it probably makes more sense to opt for the mobility most of the time.
Especially true with the Mac Studio being available too.
For 90% of people , an iMac is less fuss than other devices.
This thread reminds me of the Microsoft cloud 365 PC they just launched where everyone was confused by the market for it and really just cemented the fact that a lot of engineers aren’t very in touch with the actual workforce out there.
> It really only makes sense if you’re buying a computer for a reception desk or lobby area
That's the market. Reception desks.
I asked him why not get a $500 Mac Mini and a webcam to save half the cost, and he said he thought his wife would like the color.
Raccoon coats, I guess.
Most mini-PCs are between the $100-$200 price range, and there are plenty of functional AiOs below $350 too.
Or the trackpad. TouchID works well on iPad Air power button.
Who is this for? Someone who wants a computer. Ah, but take away the people who want multi-monitor, take away the people who want mechanical keyboards, a bigger fancy monitor, and what are you left with? Still basically everyone!
And it's not like this is the only computer Apple makes. They have 1 basic hardware platform based on the M4, they give you the laptops for portability, the iMac as the basic desktop, the mini for if you want to do all the things that the iMac isn't configured for, and they have the Mac Pro to taunt professionals. It's an incredibly coherent product line up. No one is confused about which one they want.
Oh and by the way, it works really well for Apple too, because they are literally just taking the guts from their other products and sticking it in the same design desktop they've had for years. Do you really think that'll be improved by redesigning it and therefore charging 50% extra due to all the bespoke costs?
Desktop is pretty niche these days. Most of those people would buy a laptop and it’s likely that a significant proportion of people buying desktop have specific needs
Because they ship so few models, Apples individual SKUs are typically #1 or #2 in a category despite smaller share. Dell sells 10x computers with 50x SKUs.
I will hasard that the amount of people who would like a desktop computer with no customisability whatsoever and wouldn't be better served by actually pluging a laptop to a monitor is basically zero.
And well, that's what the article is pointing. That and the uter irrelevance of the base model and how extremely marked up the actually useful model is, all par for the course with Apple.
I know, I know, we could get them a laptop and a fancy display and a mechanical keyboard and we could load Ubuntu onto it for them too while we're at it so that they aren't locked in to Apple's walled garden.
That's just not what an average consumer is going to do, they're going to need a computer and buy one.
Because you then also have a laptop for the same price and as a bonus you can upgrade the monitore and computer separately.
It's so obvious I don't understand what you are missing there. Why do you think the market for desktop literaly cratered outside of the gaming segment?
I don't understand your rambling about mechanical keyboards and Ubuntu. You can simply buy a Macbook Pro (or god forbid a Mac mini) and an Apple screen for a cost which is roughly equivalent to this iMac and a net gain of functionality.
Average consumers stopped buying desktop two decades ago by the way.
The market for these doesn’t care about any of the stuff you mentioned. It’s really that simple.
They don’t care about the portability because they have their phone or tablet. They don’t care about upgrading because they’ll keep their device for a decade+, or they don’t own it themselves.
They don’t want to buy a separate computer and display because they don’t want that hassle.
The desktop market has cratered, sure, but that’s largely because the less complex devices have won out. This is one such device.
Try stepping outside of your own shoes before you start telling other people they’re missing obvious things.
Yes, that’s because this market basically doesn’t exist which is indeed the Verge point.
Or are you both claiming that Apple has an entire multi decade line of products it keeps refreshing without a market? And they dedicate valuable retail space to something that doesn’t sell?
This just feels like hubris of not being able to envision other people.
Yes, pretty much.
That’s why they still use the same 2021 screen, they now only have one size, the board is basically a Mac mini glued inside a screen and they barely produce any.
It’s not even stocked at most retailers.
Firstly, look at any tear down. The boards aren’t identical. Beyond that, it still requires specific tooling, specific power delivery and engineering, as well as parts that aren’t shared.
So in your weird business view, you think Apple is doing all of that regardless of market share. For what purpose?
Then beyond that, they also spend significant money to market it, and again you believe they do so despite a lack of market?
Beyond that, they have expensive retail spaces and many products vying for attention. Yet they dedicate significant amounts of space to a product you claim has no market? You also claim they're not stocked at most retailers, yet I can walk into the Best Buy and Staples near me and they have iMacs available. So what incentive would they have?
If everything you say is true, then you must surely think Apple is both incredibly stupid and flushing billions of dollars away on a product line that isn’t selling?
How about we try approaching this the other way, and you explain why you think Apple would do such a thing, year after year?
Yes, very much and that’s a good question. I guess they consider the iMac to be important in the branding they want to maintain but money wise, hard to explain.
They believe in it so much they are already discounting it right now. A brand new product.
It was made completely irrelevant by the Mac Mini lineup with which is a better alternative if you want a desktop.
> Then beyond that, they also spend significant money to market it
Apple barely does any marketing for the iMac.
That’s a lot of mental hoops to jump through. Would the simpler answer just be that you’re wrong?
And Apple does the same amount of marketing for its iMac as it does for every other Mac.
Also, Where are you seeing M4 iMacs at a first party discount? Certainly not on the Apple Store.
Which evidence? All the evidence points to the iMac being a massive dude slowly being phased out. I don’t think I’m jumping through weird hoops. I think you are in denial because you somehow want the iMac to be a wanted product for a reason I fail to understand (are you on the iMac team?).
> And Apple does the same amount of marketing for its iMac as it does for every other Mac.
Very funny. Apple does significant marketing for the laptop here in Europe. The iMac could at well not exist.
It does exist. Schools, kids, various platform independent in-office work computers, old people, all kinds; even introducing one layer of complexity and going down one step in prettiness just isn't worth it sometimes.
You’re massively overestimating both general computer literacy and shits given. Not having to customise anything is a sales pitch for many consumers.
> pluging a laptop to a monitor
You’re selling me on this iMac. “My computer is broken.” No, the monitor cable popped out when you moved the screen.
I am not even commenting about the ecological disaster than gluing all this together is because, well, it's Apple and Apple never cared anyway. Still disappointing.
Yes. Lots of people don’t need nor want this. Getting two things to work together is more complicated than one.
This is a good summary of the pathos Apple aims for. Good enough computing. Unique form. Occasionally they nail both, not not often enough to say it’s even often.
You're best going for 4k at 27 inches, I think, and that's $200 and you're under budget.
I can’t believe some people are arguing in good faith here than the iMac is an improvement on this. I find it funny because I thought Apple fanboys somehow died but apparently no.
Unfortunately they don't exist.