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The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

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Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#31

Post by lloeki »

fudged71 wrote: post #29
lloeki wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here, with the full iMac history for the sake of comparison: http://www.apple.com/imac/design/#evolution

It's not featured anywhere is my point. It's not in the gallery, it's not in any of the big shots, it's a small shot in a sequence. The number of angle shots of the computer effectively make it appear as though the computer is 100x thinner than it is.

Agreed, and I noticed it too, but I'm on the fence on that one.

Given the attention to detail in the design phase, I'd argue the apparent thinness was part of the spec, and since component space leads to a bump, the resulting angle value towards the bump comes from the design+engineering following the spec. From there, the marketing shots could very well follow the actual design and showcase what you will feel of the device most of the time. That is design => marketing, not marketing => design.

Where they dropped the ball is that they could really have put a nice side shot in the gallery. That's where I really expected to find one, and it's not like the thing is thick either so I fail to see the harm.

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#32

Post by da_n »

SenorWilson wrote: post #2

This is interesting, but I have no idea why they're spending money making a desktop thinner. Using the old thickness(which was fine) and todays technology could produce a better computer. Why do people want thin desktops(or why does Apple?).

I too find that design decision perplexing. Personally, it is ongoing choices like these which have pretty much made me decide to build a hackintosh instead and in the long run move away from Apple to Linux (only Photoshop holding me back now Adobe!). I have been using Apple computers for more than a decade so it has not been an easy choice. If I continue to stick with Apple however my hardware choices are:

1. Mac Pro - gouging prices, several generation old tech. 2. iMac - a Macbook Air in a monitor, practically zero expansion options. 3. Mac Mini - poor expansion options, poor graphics, expensive once you start adding the ram you need etc.

Seem to me Apple is now almost entirely focused on iOS and iDevices, which is understandable as that's where the money is. I don't see them investing anything much into the desktop computer line at all going forward. Time to move on.

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#33

Post by maggit »

ryannielsen wrote: post #11
wmf wrote: post #3

Of course it looks thinner if you take care to only photograph it from angles where the hump isn't visible. It's also interesting that the cover glass was a challenge, since monitors don't need cover glass; it's purely an aesthetic addition.

It doesn't just look thinner. It is thinner. Yes, there is a hump around the base's hinge, but it is still significantly, noticeably thinner – per the article, the machine's volume was reduced by 40%.

I believe the reference thickness the parent was referring to was the thickness of the same iMac, not the previous one. In other words:

If you take pictures from the right angle, the computer looks thinner than if you take pictures from the side showing the entire bulge and stand.

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#34

Post by [deleted] »

ryannielsen wrote: post #11
wmf wrote: post #3

Of course it looks thinner if you take care to only photograph it from angles where the hump isn't visible. It's also interesting that the cover glass was a challenge, since monitors don't need cover glass; it's purely an aesthetic addition.

It doesn't just look thinner. It is thinner. Yes, there is a hump around the base's hinge, but it is still significantly, noticeably thinner – per the article, the machine's volume was reduced by 40%.

[deleted]

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#36

Post by demallien »

wmf wrote: post #3

Of course it looks thinner if you take care to only photograph it from angles where the hump isn't visible. It's also interesting that the cover glass was a challenge, since monitors don't need cover glass; it's purely an aesthetic addition.

I disagree, I don't think this is purely aesthetic.

What follows is just an opinion:

The smaller you make the package, the harder it is to do active heat management with fans and big heat sinks. Apple spends a lot of R&D dollars on reducing the power usage of their computers - Macs are way more power efficient than their competitors.

Thinness is the authentic, unfakeable, consequence of all of that power management engineering. Competitors can't copy the look of an iMac without also investing heavily in design work to reduce power consumption.

In an ideal world, Apple could just publish power usage figures, but that doesn't really sell computers outside of the data center universe. Thin computers on the other handle are much more marketable, so Apple is using thinness as a marketing proxy for power efficiency.

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#37

Post by Osmium »

wmf wrote: post #3

Of course it looks thinner if you take care to only photograph it from angles where the hump isn't visible. It's also interesting that the cover glass was a challenge, since monitors don't need cover glass; it's purely an aesthetic addition.

Colours look better under glass too, though obviously it has its downsides (glare).

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#38

Post by MrScruff »

jtsagata wrote: post #35

Why someone want to buy something like this? Just to have an unrepairable PC? And if something inside breaks you have to just buy a new PC? I like to mess with my PC internals, upgrade it and fix it if I can with my poor electronic skills.

Which puts you in a very small niche among computer users. Most people want an appliance, like their TV.

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#39

Post by Osmium »

jtsagata wrote: post #35

Why someone want to buy something like this? Just to have an unrepairable PC? And if something inside breaks you have to just buy a new PC? I like to mess with my PC internals, upgrade it and fix it if I can with my poor electronic skills.

If something inside breaks, you can get it fixed. For free, if it's under warranty. Most people have neither the time nor the technical ability to fix something themselves anyway, so this is a non-issue.

For me, I've had an iMac for 5 years and I upgraded both the RAM and the HDD (to an SSD) myself with no issues. And it shows no signs of slowing down and is better than the day I bought it, and is probably one of the best investments I've made. Hell, at the time, and this is still true, buying a monitor of comparable quality would've cost half what I paid for the entire computer.

Re: The Tech Behind Apple’s Impossibly Thin New iMacs

#40

Post by Osmium »

arrrg wrote: post #5
SenorWilson wrote: post #2

This is interesting, but I have no idea why they're spending money making a desktop thinner. Using the old thickness(which was fine) and todays technology could produce a better computer. Why do people want thin desktops(or why does Apple?).

Because it looks great. I really don’t understand why some people are completely mystified how that could be an argument. So you don’t care about looks? Fine. Others do. And computers are a part of the furniture. Some people buy those really nice looking but functionally identical faucets that cost three time as much, some don’t. That’s all. There is nothing ridiculous about that, it’s just a difference in taste.

Not to mention no mess of cables.
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