The new M1 iMac is the most significant Apple product in recent years

Apple launched a new iMac at the Spring Loaded event with a new design, M1 chip and many new enhancements. You can read all about him here. The story below was written before the launch of the new iMac.

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Apple plans to start the spring season with some important announcements in its “Spring Loaded” event today. For the most part, we expect a relatively ho-hum relationship with new iPads and possible AirTags, but a rumor that has recently gained attention has caught our attention: Apple may be preparing to launch a new one. iMac, not just one with Apple silicon, but a model that completely redesigned for the first time in almost two decades. If Apple delivers – and that’s still a little considerable if—IMac will not only be the most important announcement at Tuesday’s event, but it will also be the most important Apple product in recent years.

Beyond M1

It could be said that Apple’s M1 Macs launched last year were the most important Macs in recent years and this cannot be denied – the successful launch of Apple’s silicon has been important on many levels. But tracking M1 could be even more important. Now that we know what the M1 can do, we’ll be looking to see where Apple goes with the chip system that could power the Mac in the near future.

M1’s gains over its Intel counterparts are extraordinary, which in turn has created high expectations for the next chip in the series. The iMac may seem like a consumer device, but it’s a popular computer for both general and professional users, so Apple needs to deliver performance, if not in the entry-level model, certainly in the higher ones. It will be important to see if Apple can continue to widen the performance gap with these state-of-the-art SoCs, as we anticipate which direction Apple’s roadmap is heading.

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Apple could also take this opportunity to address concerns about the SoC’s unified memory and ports. Apparent memory restrictions were not so important in the current M1 range, but in future Macs that are more likely to promote performance, and even if the iMac will likely have higher RAM limits, it is unlikely to be as high as current models. Unified memory is an innovation that changes the way people think memory works on a computer and could use more clarification, especially after reports that SSDs are starting to degrade faster with the new chip. And while the MacBook Pro may not need more than two USB-C ports, the iMac certainly does, so we’ll keep track of the back of the car as closely as the front.

IMac is not just another Apple silicon Mac. It is the most iconic Apple desktop and one that still attracts more attention than other Apple computers, even if it is no longer its biggest seller. The 13-inch MacBook Pro could have been Apple’s first siliconed Mac, but a new iMac would be essentially Apple’s first truly professional M1 car, and it could very well be the car pushing the transition to high gear.

A splash of color

Aluminum iMac was introduced in 2007. Since then, the iMac has had only one design change, one that hasn’t really changed the look of the iMac. The iMac design works well enough, but the standards have changed since 2007 (even further back, because the aluminum iMac is a revision of the white plastic iMac launched in 2004), and the iMac is so old. Its frame is comically large and the “chin”, although it is a great place for the Apple logo, seems useless and unbalanced, and the screen still does not allow height adjustment.

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Rumor has it that the new design is based on Apple’s Pro Display XDR, which has a minimal user-facing design – there is no chin, the frames are much smaller and, like the iPhone and iPad, the Apple logo is on the back. Apple probably won’t use an XDR-like grill on the back of the new iMac, which is fine, but there will certainly be a lot of design flourishes that give it a unique character. For example, Apple is also expected to make the new iMac available in colors similar to the iPad Air, a welcome change from Apple’s choice of solitary color for years.

Apple has a reputation for combining the best in design, use and technology, but the iMac has not fit this bill for more than a decade. IMac once set the trend for Apple’s design language, but now it’s proof of how the iPhone has overtaken the Mac in terms of design and innovation. A new iMac with a radically new design will not only polish the reputation of the somewhat dirty Apple iMac, but will strengthen it.

The spirit of Apple

Chips and design are important, but more than any other product Apple produces, the iMac is a symbol of the company’s innovative spirit. It’s the legacy of Steve Jobs and Jony Ive and even in the age of iPhones and iPads, when I think of Apple, the original Mac and the iMac are still the first things that come to mind – all-in computers -one with gorgeous designs that defy logic and are instantly recognizable.

Apple

Lately, that spirit has felt diminished, especially with Mac. The MacBook Pro hasn’t had a significant design update in years. IMac is locked with a design older than ten years. And the Mac Pro, while injecting new life into the product line, is a Mac that most of us can’t afford. Apple can prove that it still cares about Mac fans with an iMac that not only surpasses Intel’s predecessors, but is the first Mac statement in the iPhone era.

The new iMac may not be as iconic as the original – the circumstances surrounding that iMac were more extreme and Apple is now in a very different place. But if we get a new iMac on Tuesday, it will rekindle a similar part of the Apple spirit that has been missing for far too long.