James Pero

Design

Apple is done making boring iMacs

A redesign is bringing a fresh set of colors and a smaller, lighter, package.

There’s a lot to unpack with Apple’s new iMacs. You’ve got M1 chips, no SD card slot, a 4.5K resolution display, and an updated Magic Keyboard with Touch ID. But let’s brush all that aside and focus on the important stuff for a minute...

Look at all these pretty colors...

Some of the biggest shifts in Apple’s newest iMac are focused on design, including the introduction of seven new (very bright) colors...

Green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and, of course, silver.

And, yes, the Magic Keyboard and Mouse are color matching.

For comparison, here’s the 2020 iMac...

For anyone familiar with iMacs of yore, the newest design will likely evoke some familiar memories. We’re referring of course to the curvy, colorful, and very iconic outer shell of the ‘90s era desktop, the G3, which came in colors like Bondi Blue, Strawberry and Ruby.

Color isn’t the only way the 2021 iMacs are charting a new course. Apple also made some drastic changes the size of the iMac, namely how thin it is.

11.5mm

Apple managed to slim the 2021 iMac down to under 12mm.

According to Apple, the new iMac’s surprisingly thin profile is powered by its M1 chips, which allowed its engineers to consolidate and reduce the size of the logic board and thermals an fit everything inside of the “chin.”

50%

Apple says the 2021 iMac's volume is reduced by 50 percent over the previous generation.

The size reduction translates to a very lightweight computer...

9.8lbs

The new iMac clocks in at just under 10 lbs.

Some colors are only available on the pricier model. For instance, yellow, orange, and purple iMacs are available to customers buying the $1,499 and $1,699 versions, while $1,299 versions come in only red, blue, green, and silver.

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No matter how you spin it, the return to a more colorful iMac design is a pointed shift for Apple, and while the change isn’t as groundbreaking as say, making its own high-end chips, it’s at least a momentary reprieve from the never-ending stream of gray machines.

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