November 18, 2003: Apple debuts its 20-inch iMac G4, the corporate’s largest flat-panel all-in-one pc ever.
The introduction makes an already very good Mac even higher. By some means, although, the extra display screen actual property makes the brand new Mac weigh twice as a lot because the 17-inch mannequin.
This submit incorporates affiliate hyperlinks. Cult of Mac might earn a fee whenever you use our hyperlinks to purchase gadgets.
20-inch iMac G4: Larger, higher
The iMac G4 first shipped in early 2002, making the 20-incher a comparatively late addition to the product line. (Apple discontinued the G4 lineup the next August.) Due to this, the principle distinction between the 20-inch mannequin and its predecessors was the display screen measurement relatively than basic {hardware} adjustments.
That large LCD display screen proved a pleasure to behold. It provided a powerful 1680-by-1050-pixel decision. The 20-inch flat panel as soon as once more confirmed Apple as the corporate for video editors and graphics professionals.
The iMac G4 additionally boasted two FireWire 400 ports and three high-speed USB 2.0 ports. It supported 54Mbps AirPort Excessive 802.11g wi-fi networking and elective built-in Bluetooth for wi-fi connectivity. It retailed for $2,199.
The altering face of iMacs
No different Apple product has modified as a lot, and definitely not as shortly, because the iMac. The primary-generation iPhone seems to be bulkier and smaller than this yr’s fashions, but it surely’s nonetheless clearly a part of the identical household.
Alternatively, examine the bulbous, colourful authentic iMac with at the moment’s ultra-thin, aluminum-and-glass M4 iMac. You’d be hard-pressed to see any similarity past the large Apple brand.
On the danger of sounding pretentious, the iMac G4 served as a transition piece. It moved Apple away from the eye-catching, cutesy look that characterised the G3 iMac (and the equally designed iBook laptop computer) towards Apple’s now-longstanding love of austere minimalism.
iMac G4 design: Apple’s hippie roots
Photograph: Apple
The iMac G4 design additionally nodded to Apple’s nature-inspired hippie roots. Just like the geodesic dome of Buckminster Fuller, the “again to nature” Complete Earth Catalog that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs spoke about in his well-known Stanford College graduation deal with, and even the organic-sounding “Apple” identify itself, the G4 iMac borrowed from the pure world with its sunflower-inspired design.
In his Steve Jobs biography, Walter Isaacson tells the story of how Jobs and Apple design chief Jony Ive struggled to give you a brand new design for his or her next-gen iMac. The pair wound up in Jobs’ backyard, the place they got here up with the thought of a pc with a movable head that customers might angle like a sunflower reaching for the solar.
They achieved the design utilizing a cantilevered, absolutely posable metallic arm that supported the display screen. Opposite to some fears on the time, the arm did it with out risking the entire thing falling over.
iMac G4: A private favourite
In the end, the iMac G4 was a spectacular piece of equipment. I bear in mind being blown away by the unusual-looking pc once I first noticed it. As soon as once more, Apple selected the proper time to leap on a brand new expertise — on this case, flat-panel shows — simply because it turned market-ready.
The 20-inch iMac G4 was significantly particular, even when the aforementioned weight achieve got here with some disadvantages. As last-gasp upgrades go, this was an excellent machine.
Did you personal an iMac G4? What’s your favourite iMac mannequin in historical past? Go away your feedback under.
