On August 15, 1998, Apple released an entirely new revolutionary computer that would save the company from bankruptcy. Enter the iMac; it was part of Apple’s simpler product strategy that was planned by Steve Jobs shortly after he returned to Apple. The iMac is the computer that’s targeted towards consumers, and Apple’s goal for the iMac was to offer extreme simplicity in using a computer and allow users to quickly set up access to the Internet since the World Wide Web started to grow substantially. Thanks to the all-in-one design, users could unbox the computer and set it up in less than half an hour, with no more discrete parts and cables that could clutter up your desk. The original iMac’s position in the market also became popular in schools since the Internet became an essential tool for learning.
The original iMac had a beautiful “gumdrop” design that centered around a CRT (cathode-ray tube) display, and the computer was bold enough to ditch legacy technologies such as serial ports and floppy drives in favor of USB ports and CD drives. Jobs even claimed that the bold design “came from another planet.” He even joked that the back of the iMac looked even better than the front of the other PCs. The computer came with a G3 processor, and although the design remained relatively the same throughout the years, it evolved through several iterations.
The original model shipped in a Bondi Blue color. In January 1999, Apple introduced five new, delicious flavors: Blueberry, Grape, Tangerine, Lime, and Strawberry. In October 1999, Apple went big with the iMac as it made that computer ready for digital video by including FireWire ports to easily plug in video cameras. Apple swapped the tray-loading drive in favor of a slot-loading drive. A Special Edition DV model was also introduced in an elusive Graphite color. In July 2000, Apple changed the color palette again, offering Indigo, Ruby, Sage, Graphite, and Snow. At the same time, Apple ditched the infamous “puck” mouse that originally shipped with the iMac in favor of the Pro Mouse. In February 2001, Apple added two super radical designs for the iMac: Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power. In July 2001, Apple introduced the last models of the iMac G3 in Indigo, Graphite, and Snow.
In January 2002, Apple introduced the first redesign of the iMac, retroactively dubbed the iMac G4, which centered around a flat panel LCD that’s attached to the rotating arm. Since LCD displays were still relatively expensive to produce, Apple also made a spinoff that was based on iMac G3 called the “eMac”. Apple would continue to sell the iMac G3 at a lower price point until its discontinuation in March 2003.
The legacy of the original iMac lives on as Apple recently made the switch to Apple Silicon, which allowed the iMac to be ultra-thin, and Apple offers seven different colors for that iMac as an homage to the original model.
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