Apple's new iMac sports a chassis that's stamped from a single piece of aluminum, making it the world's first consumer electronics device to have been carved from a piece of metal that large.
Sitting atop the unit's iSight cam is its built-in microphone, which consists of 8 laser cut holes — so small, reportedly, that a grain of sand would have problems passing through. Meanwhile, the iSight sensor itself, as well as the IR receiver, are positioned behind the black glass border near the top of the display bezel.
Gone from the new iMac is the magnetic remote control fastener, and the only visible screw on the unit can be found at the base of the display module, between the speakers where the RAM door is located. Since the speakers are pointed downward, the sound reportedly bounces off the desk exceptionally well at a sufficient volume.
According to Giz, the black backside of the new iMacs produce a slimming effect, making the units appear to have less "junk in the trunk."
There are also some differences between the two models. For instance, the 20-inch iMac is said to feature a display with a slightly lower viewing angle and lower brightness than the 24-inch model (160-degrees vs. 178-degrees; 290 nits vs 370 nits.) However, the 20-inch iMac reportedly offers more contrast at 800:1, as opposed to the 24-inch model's 750:1. Additionally, the 24-inch iMac seems to be wall-mount ready, while the 20-inch does not.
Giz also observes that there are no LEDs on the front of either unit to indicate they are asleep. The displays are also said to be extremely glossy. "[It's] far glossier than a MacBook Pro's glossy LCD, and will be less visible in direct sunlight, if you happen to put it near a window," the site notes. "The preset color calibration for 'iMac' makes the screen look washed out. I preferred one of the other RGB profiles."
While some turned to Apple for answers on the new iMac design, others took matters into their own hands — literally. The always dependable tear-down folk at Kodawarisan have already ripped the guts from one of the new units, revealing dual cooling fans and and a Philips-made LCD panel. Also apparent from the website's pictorial is that the iMac's glass panel must be carefully removed with suction cups.
Additional photos are available at Kodawarisan.
42 Comments
http://210.157.201.118/~kodawarisan/...07_mid_01.html
there was some junk at the end of picture url
Darn that thing is beautiful..
I was deciding last night whether I should get one of these.. or food.. The need for both is oddly strong!
Thanks for the pics! (And the fixed link mstone. )
Jimzip
There always seems to be an intense interest (something akin to feverish scientists panting crazily to get their hands on the latest crashed UFO so they can reverse engineer it) by would-be techno-buzzards to tear down and dissect anything Apple makes.
I always find the whole process somewhat questionable. Prominently pictured in many is the happy and valiant scavenger - posing like an angler with a great fish - beside some marvel of Apple engineering that loses something from the photography and composition. I suppose some would find the word descriptions interesting enough, and others would call "BS" were it not for the laborious amount of photos documenting the occasion.
I, for one, am amazed that someone actually considers such demantling serious work and attacks it with a relish seemingly implied by the industry shown.
Is there a similar frenzy attending every Dell or HP product launch?
Or is it because Apple is so secretive, it becomes more a question of "voyeurism" than mere intellectual curiousity?
What exactly is the benefit to the several post-mortem sites that always duplicate each others efforts, often reducing such efforts to something that looks like various degrees of shade tree mechanics trying to work on a Ferrari?
Curious - I'm sure someone will defend it as a "necessary" and "rewarding" practice. *Yawn* There nevers seems a serendipitous moment in all of it.
Too bad I just don't get it. I certainly don't have to read it if I see it is going to be a "tear-down" article.
What's the resolution of the iSight camera? Anyone know?
Look at the image where they remove the screen and think of how beautiful it could have been had they not put a stupid black border on the glass. So close and yet so far. Maybe some company will come up with a way to customize them.
Also, I hope that's not the procedure for opening the iMac, suction cups on the glass. The old one you just unscrew some screws and the whole back lifts off.