The new iMac -- which went on sale on Friday -- is ludicrously slim. If you've wondered exactly how Apple managed to fit a working computer in a chassis that's only 5mm thin at its slimmest point, wonder no more -- the screwdriver-wielding bloggers at iFixit have performed their teardown magic on Apple's latest desktop.
The good news is that, like on previous models, the RAM, hard drive and CPU are all replaceable, should any of them fail. (The hard drive of every iMac I've ever owned has died after about two years, so I'm glad to hear this.)
However, because of the ridiculously slim nature of the machine, none of the parts are easy to get to. If you want to access the RAM, you'll need to remove the entire screen, for example. Which will be a bit of a faff, to put it lightly.
But iFixit has unearthed some tech nuggets while picking through the desktop's bones. Dual microphones should pick up your every mutter and sigh on FaceTime calls, which could prove quite dangerous, so careful what you say under your breath. The computer should also be more hardwearing, thanks to the friction stir welding helping to keep everything firmly together. Handy if you're lugging it about and accidentally give it a knock or two.
Apple has gone from three fans inside to just one, saving plenty of space. How does that impact on performance? We'll have to wait and see when we get our review unit.
So it's good news if you want to save space on your desk without compromising on performance, not so hot if you were looking forward to cracking open your iMac and fiddling with its insides. You can't have it both ways.
What do you think of Apple's latest iMac? Would you rather it was easier to mod? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or on Facebook.
Image credit: iFixit
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Comments 11
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anonymous 2 December, 2012 14:51
This article is exactly wrong. IFiXIt named the computer nearly unupgradeable.
http://m.computerworld.com/s/article/9234218/Upgrading_RAM_on_new_iMac_practically_impossible?mm_ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fnews%2Fi%3Fsource%3Dmog%26hl%3Den%26gl%3Dus
Clivego 2 December, 2012 18:37
Thought was a good balanced article to counter comment above.
Not sure I would concur about hard disk failures after 2 years. Neither me and any other mac users I know have not had this experience.
anonymous 2 December, 2012 21:29
Yet another great computer from Apple. For those of us who would only really upgrade RAM and on rare occasions upgrade HDD this is a fine machine.No other computer company takes this much care and pushes the boundaries of desktop computing experience. If someone doesn't push the computing envelope we'll all be stuck with Windows 8!
I agree we would all like everything but in generally how many of us home/office users actually upgrade the inners of our machines? Rarely. How many of use enjoy using Apple computers because they work well, look great and do many of things we love
anonymous 3 December, 2012 08:38
The article didnt say its upgradeable it said u could replace the parts
read it properly
anonymous 3 December, 2012 10:24
99% of iMac purchasers will not want or need to upgrade their computer.
Those wanting more memory and storage will specify that when buying, but in most cases the iMac model chosen will be more than sufficient for the lifetime of the computer.
It's also worth noting that outside of enterprise use, only IT specialists, hobbyists and geeks open up, mod and upgrade their computers these days. 90% are never changed or modified from the day of purchase until disposal.
Peter Hudson 3 December, 2012 10:44
I ordered my 27" model on friday. Upgrading really isn't an issue. I got it with an i7 processor and a 3TB fusion drive. I can upgrade the RAM by popping the RAM plate off the back, and when it gets to the point when the i7 cant handle things any more, I'll just buy a new computer.
anonymous 4 December, 2012 00:27
@Peter Hudson, didn't you read the article? you can't get to the RAM without unglueing the screen and removing the logic board, there is no RAM plate. That means heat guns and all sorts, cnet have taken completely the wrong point from the ifixit article. They said "the only way apple could have made it harder to replace the RAM would be if they had soldered it to the logic board" and that the only positive comment in their summary was atleast it's still possible to replace the HDD, RAM and logic board. Good luck if anything else breaks
anonymous 4 December, 2012 01:40
To the fool above
You can upgrade ram on 27 inch but not on the 21. lol
Peter Hudson 4 December, 2012 10:56
The 27" model has a little plate above the power socket that opens up to reveal the RAM for easy upgrading.
My point was, any tech savvy person will customise the computer at the point of ordering for their perceived life of the product. I plan to have mine for about 5 - 7 years so I have specced it appropriately. I don't plan to do any upgrades, except for the RAM because it is the one thing I can do myself and becuase it is a lot cheaper to do after purchase.
My 2GHz core 2 duo macbook is about 4 years old now and it runs just as well now as it did the day I bought it.
Hamzah Younus 4 December, 2012 14:03
@Joe Svetlik We have 3 MacBooks in our household and iMac and none of their hardrives have ever failed. The failing hardrives may be down to the way you treat your devices.
anonymous 4 December, 2012 23:38
We have - a 4 year old iMac. 3 year old imac. 2 year old MacBook Pro.
No HDD failures here yet, nor any reports from work colleagues.
There are dozens of those work colleagues who have bought an iMac or MacBook Pro in the last 3 years and nobody has suffered any hardware failures so far.