Peter Cohen:
The iMac debuted 20 years ago this week. It’s not hyperbole to say that it’s the computer that saved Apple and set the stage for Apple’s ascendance to becoming the biggest tech company in the world. All that said, Apple’s lost something in the translation – while the iMac is still a fixture in Apple’s product line, it lacks some essential qualities of that first model. Its personality has changed. The iMac has gotten harder. It’s lost the sense of whimsy, fun, and wonder that made the first iMac such a joy to use.
This is an interesting point. In my mind, it’s very difficult for a company to grow to massive size and maintain the joie de vivre of their smaller self.
I hope that Apple finds an opportunity to go full circle with the Mac yet again. It probably won’t be the iMac, but I hope that some future Apple device, whether it’s a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop machine, or some hitherto unimagined gadget, regains that sense of whimsy and wonder we’ve seen before. Something to help us emotionally connect with it and that essential Apple user experience in a way that’s different, and less invisible, than how we do today.
Part of the issue is growth but, as Peter points out, part is the focus on minimalism, ascetic design. Will that pendulum ever swing back to bright colors, skeuomorphism? I kind of miss that.
It would be nice to see them return to a two tiered product line: whimsicaly colorful iMac , macbook, watch and even Iphone line at an accessible (but not commodity low) price, and then a kickass super slick pro line. Just color would get you a long way there for the consumer line. Their manufacturing process is so optimized now, however, it hard to imagine that they would introduce new materials (e.g a non-metal macbook)
Last time they tried that with the iPhone 5c, the media laughed in their face and said you would be stupid to buy a 5c when a 5s was only $100 more.
I still love the 5c and case combination they created. The choice of colors was brilliant, because any color case with any color 5c created a really nice color combination and a really cool look. You could not pick a wrong color combination.
But the market spoke, and they clearly want space grey/silver/gold aluminum iPhones that look like jewelry.
The idea that the iPhone 5C was a failure is a tenacious myth. Apple sold millions of them, in fact, but Apple’s flagship phone was selling so well, those sales were totally eclipsed.
Ever since then Apple’s kept lower-end iPhones available for sale alongside each iPhone iteration. You can still buy an iPhone SE for $349, and you even have your choice of color.
I’d love to see them reinvent the Mac mini with a sense of humor. Make it a fun desktop gadget.
I’m honestly pretty happy with my 27″ iMac not containing “whimsy”.
With modern tech, computers can “vanish”, in a way they couldn’t in 1998.
That is the first thing I thought of that they could easily have some fun with, the Mac mini.
Hmm…. that was a different time, too, and the iMac was in part a reaction to the army of beige, non-descript boxes. The idea that design mattered and that regular people might actually like and pay for something with design flair was utterly unknown.
Today is much different. Only humorless bores would argue that design doesn’t matter to at least some people and the market has tacitly accepted that. Too, the aesthetic that worked in the late 90s wouldn’t work today – Apple would need to figure out what might. They could, but as someone pointed out, the 5C did that and while it might have sold millions, there’s a reason Apple didn’t continue down that road.
Except the the SE bears no design similarity to the C. It’s essentially a 5S.
The 5c *was* a step towards whimsy. Had it sold in sufficient numbers, why haven’t we seen anything resembling a follow-up?
“…you even have your choice of color.”
As long as your choice is one that other phones come in.
What exactly is “fun” about any device that sits on a desktop, plugged in, 24/7?
By the end of the G3 iMac we were mocking the color choices. The G4 iMac was great until the weight of the screens started messing with arm.
“Fun” and “looks good” aren’t synonymous.
And now the other manufacturers mimic Apple’s notebooks, minimal is the new beige.
Back then, Apple needed something to grab attention and to wake beige people out of their apathetic, numb stupors—like a virtual Pied Piper leading the children out of Beigetown.
But I don’t think anyone needs Apple to “entertain” or “charm” them today. The switchers are still coming, and Apple still sells a lot of people their first computer.
We also don’t need to armchair QB a company whose stats are continually rising, quarter after quarter.
I’ve really enjoyed our modern aluminum iMacs—especially the 27″ models with their gorgeous displays.
Apple knows what it’s doing.
They used to have the pro and the consumer tier. One was fun and one was serious. Increasingly, that distinction at least has disappeared. Cohen is by no means the first person to point that out.
That’s where design skill came in. That Bondi blue iMac was beautiful and fun. I had one, and I’m saying it’s true. You saying it wasn’t is like a Windows user saying that there’s no difference between a Mac and PC, and no reason to pay a Mac tax. The reply to which is: just because you don’t see it, doesn’t make it go away. Now to a certain extent yes they did make fun of those later iMacs. Part of that is because that’s what people always do to anything that catches their attention. There’s always some who think that arbitrarily it’s time to move on, because reasons. And they’ll mock what they’ve seen for too long. But then there was the flower-power iMac and yes, Apple was flailing a bit. It baffled me that they were so determined not to re-use colors. The Bondi blue was so beautiful.
The 5C also had some points in terms of durability (i.e., it might get some scratches, but wouldn’t dent). Which totally made it even more appealing for particular demographics.
Except that I didn’t find Bondi Blue beautiful. Distinctive,sure. Supposed to indicate something other than a staid Windoze box.
And it wasn’t fun. The hockey mouse was awful. OS 9 was no great shakes, with all of the legacy problems.
Having to use Extension Manager is not fun.
I want my utilities to work, and then get out of the way. I’m not asking for whimsy from the electric company. Or my stove. Or fridge. Or TV. Or computer.
Work and then disappear as much as possible. If I’m dealing with them, it’s because something has gone wrong.
Were Extension Manager or OS9 intrinsic to the iMac’s physical design? Were cheap two-button mice beyond your means? Or are you simply loading all your personal gripes onto a machine you never intended to buy anyway?
“We”? 🙂
I tend to think the only ones of “us” who were mocking the color choices were tech nerds who’d never have bought an iMac anyway, regardless of its color. Fortunately, quite a few other folks were still buying the machine. Even, I suspect, Flower Power.
Fun should be had wherever a great designer can provide it, for a customer base capable of enjoying it.
Design minimalism has its drawbacks for my smarter half and I. While elegant, our iMacs now have unpleasantly sharp edges. Apple’s other consumer-level choices no longer distinguish themselves from the pro line, at least visually.
Sadly, I don’t see the ponderously doctrinaire (albeit brilliant) Mr. Ive ever embracing whimsy in any form.
Quite simply, if Apple released a Mac that you could tinker with would go a long way to bringing whimsy back.
People would be delighted to swap HDDs and RAM with the simple turn of a thumb screw or through some funky access door.
Heck, how about they ditch the aluminium look and reintroduce colour?
This sounds so simple. Yet why is Apple so reticent?
Bring back the fun.
“People would be delighted to swap HDDs and RAM…”
LOL No, “people” wouldn’t. Nerds and techies would. “The Normals” don’t care about that stuff. 🙂
Apple has the high quality and high performance market covered. they should not take away your beautiful, invisible 27″iMac. It would be nice to have a lower tiered model aimed at kids, young adults, whimsy seekers of all ages where the personality of the machine itself re-asserted itself. My favorite Apple hardware feature ever? the handle on the clamshell iBook.
Phones have cases and that is how people add personality and customization, so perhaps you are right there. Laptops on the other hand seem ripe for applying more imagination. I say bring back the handle from the clamshell iBook.
If they could release a twentieth anniversary mac they can release a geeks only steampunk edition
My all-time favorite Mac design was the glass cube. It had a lot of problems, but hey i bet they could do something much cooler today. And what about handles. Like the old clam shell iBooks.
You didn’t find it beautiful, therefore it wasn’t. You didn’t think it was fun, therefore it wasn’t. Sorry CapnVan, but just because you don’t share in the fun, doesn’t mean it’s not going on in spite of you. Tons and tons of people did find the Bondi blue iMac both beautiful and fun. You don’t get it, fine. But all you’re doing right now is saying “beige was all I ever wanted, and get off of my lawn.”
That was a beautiful machine too.
Mac Pro.
I just don’t think “whimsy” is a very big market, especially since there’s already a model in the lower-tier range: The Mini.
(The iBook handle is useful more than whimsical, in my book.)
There is no whimsy in swapping out hardware.
(n.b. I build my own PCs. I just replaced the CPU in a 2006 Mac Mini, too.
Trust me.
Zero Whimsy Factor.)
(Note also that the 27″ iMac has a “funky access door” for RAM.
It’s not whimsical. I’ve used it. It just ain’t.
It’s useful enough, and it lets you poke the sticks, but it’s not whimsical or “delightful”.)
If you want color, you can get it now via a third-party skin; there are dozens of websites that will sell you a skin for a MacBook of any sort.
I have never, that I know of, seen one in the wild.
Desktops, well … there’s just a little bezel, and frankly color there is Not A Good Idea – there’s a reason the iMacs had a plain front panel.
Except you’re talking about, literally, two complete different companies. The Apple of today would *never* release the 20th Anniversary Mac. They certainly are not going to release a “Geeks Only” *ANYTHING*.
There were a lot of terrible ways they could have made that handle. I loved my handle and it was one reason I loved my iBook. This is something Apple knows how to do, make you feel emotionally connected to your device. maybe whimsy is not the best word, but something with personality not just elegance.
Ok, not a great argument in favor of commercial success, but what about the $10,000 apple watch.
I think we can all agree that was a stupid Jonny Ive passion project. Glad they got it out of their system. 🙂
Wasn’t G5 great in how the side opened with a twist? Wasnt it great to simply slot in new HDDs in the cheese grater Mac Pro? Wasn’t it great how you could unscrew the Mac Mini?
Maybe whimsy isn’t the right word. How about sheer simplicity that makes upgrades enjoyable?
For example, I recently upgraded the RAM on my work’s Lenovo. Two thumb screws later and I was in. The RAM is located under the HDD. Sounds bad, looks bad. But the HDD slides away easily. I went from 4GB to 16GB in under two minutes.
Again, whimsy may not be the right word but gee I enjoyed that upgrade. I now have a faster, more stable computer. What’s not to enjoy?
True. But why neglect one group? A simple upgrade door/latch etc is irrelevant to non-techies. But it means much to many others. So why not cater for them?
Because that group is too small for Apple to make significant amounts of money from. There are lots of groups Apple doesn’t or no longer caters to.
My all-time favorite Mac design has to go to the SE/30. The classic Mac form factor, with the PDS slot for expandability. I outfitted mine with a Lapis color card so I could run an external 14-inch color display to play Maelstrom and other games in their 8-bit glory. 😀
What Shawn said, and also because catering to the expandability crowd requires Apple to make fundamental design compromises it’s utterly unwilling to make.
Wasn’t the Mac Pro great when it weighed 40 pounds and sounded like a jet engine when the fans kicked in? 😉