Two reasons the rumour sites are wrong about the iMac

09Jul07

The rumour sites have been throwing around the notion that the new generation iMacs will sport an Aluminium case similar to the current Mac Pro, but personally a move like that makes no sense for Apple. In terms of product design, Apple are very strict about which materials and colours are used in each of their product line, and the division is clear to see. Both gloss and matte white (and now black) plastics are used in abundance in Apple’s Consumer products, a la Mac Mini, iMac and MacBook (and even the iPod). While metals are reserved for the Professional sector products, i.e. MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, XServe, XServe RAID etc.

This design, up until the announcement that Leopard would introduce a unified interface, was carried across into Mac OS X. Apps and utilities that had more of a physical interaction with the computer, files and pheripherals sported the Brushed Metal look, such as the Finder, iSync and QuickTime Player.

Another thing I disagree with the rumours on is the idea that Apple will drop the 17″ version of the iMac. I believe that the lower-end iMacs give Apple access to a crucial niche market of people that want to get an all-in-one without spending significantly more than a Mac Mini. To be perfectly honest I have never been a big believer in the Mac Mini, as it has never given the switcher a ‘true’ Mac experience. But then again that’s just me. I think dropping the lowest end Mac would be a very stupid move on Apple’s part.

I do however agree that the new iMacs will feature Intel’s new Santa Rosa chipset that were recently introduced to the MacBook line, topping out at 2.4Ghz. This boost is a much needed one for the iMac, which is 10 months and 3 days into it’s current lifespan, a feat unheard for an Apple product.

So, who wants to bet? I’ll bet £5 (about $10) that Apple will not introduce an iMac that features a Brushed Metal case as their next revision.

Filed under: Apple, Hardware, Technology   |  1 Comment