NEWS ANALYSIS: The iMac is thin and looks fine, but there is room for improvement. Not everybody is prepared to compromise on features just to buy an Apple computer.
5. Fusion won’t come standard
Apple made a fuss last year about its Fusion Drive, which combines the reliability of solid-state drives with the cost-savings of standard hard-disk drives. However, the company’s iMacs don’t support the Fusion out of the box. Instead, customers will need to pay to upgrade to the Fusion. That’s a shame.
6. The 21.5-inch model is too small
Apple made the unfortunate decision to keep its 21.5-inch model and do away with the old 24-inch iMac. Although Apple is selling a nicely-sized 27-inch version, the 21.5-inch alternative is a bit small for a desktop computing world that’s becoming increasingly dominated by larger displays. Apple failed to see where the desktop market was going and stuck with a display that’s too small. That’s unfortunate.
7. An internal optical drive would be nice
Ready for this one? The iMac doesn’t support an internal optical drive. Apple says that it made that decision to save space, but for those who have hard copies of programs they want to install on the computer, doing so will be a pain. External drives are available as is sharing a drive with the iMac. But
wouldn’t it have been nice to have an internal drive built in?
8. Don’t plan on improvements
It’s important for all iMac owners to realize that the device is not the kind of desktop that would accommodate modifications over time. In fact, Apple has done an awfully good job of sealing it off to do-it-yourselfers. So, customers with grand designs on swapping out the processor need to realize that it’s not going to happen.
9. It’s competitive…to a point
Apple’s iMac is certainly a competitive all-in-one PC with a lot of features worth getting excited about. But looking around the marketplace, it’s hard to say that it’s as competitive as it could be. Windows-based options come with more powerful components, better prices, and are built to make it easier to swap out components. Apple’s iMac is still very tightly closed box and that makes the computer less competitive.
10. Where’s the touch screen?
One of the important trends hitting the all-in-one PC market lately has been the inclusion of touch screens in the computers’ displays. Apple’s iMac supports the Magic Trackpad providing virtual multitouch functionality, but eschews the actual touch display. Hopefully next time around Apple will warm to the idea of letting users tap around its screen. HP has done that with its TouchSmart line and the feature works exceedingly well.
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