The thin iMacs didn’t have any room for that, so Apple added a memory access door to the back of the machine, but only on the 27-inch models, as noted by this support article: The thicker aluminum iMacs included an access door under the chin for upgrading RAM. This is a 2019 iMac, but it doesn’t really matter. Apple did its best to minimize the hump at the back of the case, but it does make an appearance in this media image: This made the enclosure both seamless and strong.
The majority of thick components were bunched together near the foot’s mounting point, but that thin edge took an advanced manufacturing technique named friction-stir welding to attach the chin to the back case. A nice side effect of this work was fewer reflections were created, making the new iMac easier to use in more environments. The new LCD was 5mm thinner then before, and Apple eliminated the 2mm air gap between it and the cover glass by laminating them together, something Schiller said hadn’t been done with a screen of this size before this product. In addition to some of the obvious changes like ditching the SuperDrive that had graced the right side of the iMac since the iMac G5 days, Apple really dove into the machine’s components to make the edges just 5mm thick.Ī lot of work went into the screen. The result is an elegant, all-in-one computer that’s as much a work of art as it is state of the art.įlowery language aside, the design really was impressive. We refine, re-imagined, or re-engineered everything about it from the inside out. Not pictured: the giant hump at the back of the 2012 design.įor this revision, the iMac received faster processors as expected, but to hear Apple tell it, they remade the entire machine:Ĭreating the stunningly thin design of the new iMac took some equally stunning feats of technological innovation. And, of course, they were in the now-familiar 21.5- and 27-inch configurations, using a 16:9 aspect ratio.
However, the new screens used LED backlighting and IPS technology for better brightness and viewing angles. This time, the materials stayed the same: the front of the iMac was still carved out of aluminum (and now the back was too, as opposed to the black plastic used on the old design), and the screens were still covered in glass. Two years later, in October 2009, Apple redesigned the iMac again. It was one of those times when a new Apple product instantly made the old one look old, a trick Apple would repeat with the Late 2012 machines.
The use of recyclable glass and aluminum makes iMac friendlier to the environment, too. The glossy widescreen display - available in 20- and 24-inch sizes - makes photos and movies come alive with rich color. With its anodized aluminum frame and glass cover, it’s striking to behold. It packs a complete, high-performance computer into its all-in-one design. IMac sets new standards for elegance and power. Apple was rightfully proud of the design, as this language from its website indicated: