Has Tim Cook lost the plot?

Faustus

Faustus

Faustus

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Apple have launched a cheaper iMac though many are calling it a Macbook Air behind an iMac screen.

The spec is pretty paltry to say the least as it uses the Air CPU. One of the boasts for the iMac is they have always had a reasonable spec, however, this new one bucks that trend.

I can't help but think that making a cut price poorly spec'd iMac simply devalues the brand.
 
bloodiedathame said:
It's a cheap all in one desktop aimed at people who want to use it for not a lot more than browse the web without being stuck to a laptop or tablet. Makes sense to me.
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How does it make sense. The Macs have always sold themselves as a premium product, going down market hardly ticks that box.

rhysduck thinks the spec is decent which begs the question what would he consider bad?
 
MagicBoy said:
it's an odd spec. Dual Core 1.4GHz ULV Laptop chip. OK so it turbos to 2.7GHz, but it's no powerhouse. It's less than half as quick as the previous bottom of the range iMac which runs a full-fat quad i5 desktop CPU.

AND THEY'VE BLOODY WELL SOLDERED THE RAM IN AGAIN. Grrr.

It will be slower than the MBA it's based off as it's got a mechanical hard drive. It'd be fine for undemanding use (eg my Mum), but I'd recommend finding the extra cash for the proper CPU version as it'll give longer service.
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Have to agree - a real case of a sheep in sheep's clothing.
 
So you would be interested in owning a premium brand that then becomes diluted by the manufacturer taking it down market to give it more mass market appeal? Most business schools would say that was a crazy thing to do.

Surely Apple already have a segment in this part of the market with the Mini? The bench marks for the new 'cheap' iMac are pretty paltry to say the least.
 
Caged said:
But it's not down market, is it? It's not a product with a different support tier, it's not an iMac made of plastic that falls to pieces. It's a cheaper entry-level model that consumes less power and is still more than powerful enough for the vast majority of things that people use computers for.
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Cheaper - entry level = down market, what's not to understand. As for consumes less power - that's because it a mobile solution placed in a premium desktop computer. I'm not sure given the specs it even qualifies as a 'Desktop'.
 
Caged said:
No. If it runs Pages, Safari, iTunes then it doesn't matter what the benchmarks say, because it's already good enough.

You won't buy one, we get it, but I don't see how it's the big deal or the sign of Apples decline that you want it to be.
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My iPad can do that but I wouldn't want that as a Desktop replacement either. The iMac is/was a premium brand computer. The clue is in the word - premium. If you then start to water down the product with inferior components and try to give it mass market appeal then the word 'Premium' no longer applies and so you devalue the brand.

You may as well just lump the iMac in with other AIO computers e.g. HP, Sony, Lenovo etc. In fact those Windows AIO are now looking like better value with their larger screen sizes, more memory etc. etc.

You can argue this one until the cows come home but my take on it is this. If Apple want to release something with greater mass market appeal then fine. However, do not call it an iMac - come up with a different solution entirely. By doing that you do not risk devaluing what you already have.
 
matt100 writes....Translation - I bought a more expensive iMac than this and I don't want anyone thinking mine is the cheap one.
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You have defined one of the key components of a premium brand - glad you get the point.

You do however blot you copy book somewhat later in your post by your rather petulant comments. It hardly does you credit and is certainly not the best way to get your point across.
 
Caged writes.......What part of an £899 starting price makes this not a premium computer?
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Low voltage mobile CPU, 500gig 5400 slow spinner, inferior graphics.
If I was looking at buying my first Mac, wasn't very tech aware and took this home I doubt I would be impressed the first time I tried to use it for anything other than the basics.
 
Have a look on rumours forum - a guy has been putting one through its paces. Calls it a turd and the very worst iMac he has ever used. Posters name - librarian.
 
Caged said:
So in other words someone who is the exact opposite of "not very tech aware" and isn't buying their first iMac doesn't like it.

I don't really care either way actually, I'm not buying one because I need Windows for some of the stuff I do and there is no way that I'm buying a non-Apple laptop. I don't have any investment in Apple, I have no horse in this race. It will sell because it's an iMac. Some people will be more than happy with it. I'll leave the telling them they are wrong to you.
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So you don't own a Mac but feel qualified to comment? :eek:
 
LordSplodge said:
It's an iMac; It's a premium computer. It's not just what goes in it that makes an iMac an iMac, it's the build quality too, and the support Apple gives and the excellent OSX.

I'm replacing my 2009 iMac with a top of the line new one. On the outside it will look like the cheapest of the 27" models. Do I care? No. Would I care if somebody else was using this new cheaper iMac? No, they've got a computer that's going to be suitable for what they do. If they need more power, and most people don't, then they'll need to get a better model from the range.

None of this means Tim Cook is losing the plot and it certainly doesn't make this iMac less of a premium product.
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Well if you say it doesn't that settles it then - it must be true. :D
 
MagicBoy said:
I wouldn't bother. OP comes in here, vents his spleen about Apple stuff he doesn't like as if he hates the brand (while owning and using one) then attempts to shout down those who disagree with his opinion then disappears for a couple of months.

As Caged said earlier - he'd be better off with a blog. Not sure what the target readership would be though.
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Err! am I missing something, isn't that what forums are all about - debate? It would be a pretty boring sort of forum if all anyone did is come on and write soothing words and agree with everyone else. :rolleyes:

My concern is simple - I don't want to see Apple take the brand down market by offering a crippled product. If Apple are trying to get new users to the brand then surely they should be doing so by offering something good in order to tempt the user in and keep them. Not offer some wheezing underpowered mobile solution.

I'm also most interested in where some of you get your info from - things like most users will only use their Macs for surfing and office apps, or 90% will only use them for surfing and office apps. Is this information from a bona-fide survey of some sort?
 
233 said:
There's millions of people out there that only use their computers for nothing more taxing than office Facebook and YouTube

My wife being one she likes apples design and build quality and her rmbp is overkill for her needs

If we were in the market for a desktop machine I'd be all over this
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My response to that would be 'penny wise and pound foolish'.
 
If you take a look on the MR forum - sub forum iMac under 2014 iMac v 13" Macbook Air you will read a more balanced debate on that product from some pretty seasoned Mac users. Makes for an interesting read.
 
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