Editor’s note: 25 years ago to the day, Apple unveiled the iMac. To commemorate this anniversary, we are republishing this article originally published on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the iMac in 2008.
The iMac made an instant impression when Apple first unveiled it in May 1998. But it didn’t really start to shake things up until it started shipping, which s was released on August 15, 1998. Arguably the most influential desktop computer of the past decade. , the original iMac’s specs seem outdated by today’s standards. For $1,299 you went home with a 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 32MB of RAM, a 4GB hard drive, a built-in 15-inch monitor and stereo speakers, all in an incredibly elegant.
The Bondi Blue marvel heralded the return of Steve Jobs as a visionary leader for Apple, and halted Apple’s financial downfall in the mid-1990s. Originally marketed as an easy-to-use gateway to the Internet, the iMac transcended that simple role and redefined the desktop market, not to mention consumer industrial design, forever.
But have you ever wondered how? Here are eight ways the original iMac rocked the world.
The iMac has killed the beige
Before the iMac, personal computer cases were stuck in a design rut. Most manufacturers produced beige or gray metal boxes, each intended as purely functional equipment instead of an aesthetic creation tool. The iMac’s design broke the status quo with its preference for soft curves over hard corners, and vibrant colors over dull neutrality. Apple even coined a new term, “Bondi Blue” – a blue-green hue named after Australia’s Bondi Beach coastline – to describe the color of its new machine. Combined with an icy white pinstripe pattern, the color scheme creates a stunning case never before seen in the PC world. It had a huge impact on audiences, but that was just the beginning.
Before the iMac, beige was the predominant color for computers.
Foundry
He hit us in the “i”
iThis, iThat—iPod, iPhone, iChat, iLife, iSight. Where do all those tiny iPrefixes come from? You can thank the iMac for starting this ubiquitous Apple-branded trend.
The “I” in “iMac” originally stood for “Internet” (or alternatively: “individual, instruct, inform or inspire”, according to Steve Jobs’ 1998 iMac introductory slideshow). The “I” prefix has even trickled down to non-Apple product names, mostly in the form of iPod accessories. After the Internet became daily news, Apple’s iPrefix changed meaning to serve puns like “iSight”, or to ambiguously imply the first person pronoun “I”, as in “iChat”.
Capture the internet wave
Apple’s early marketing angle with the iMac relied heavily on the growing popularity of the Internet in the mid-1990s. Since the “I” in “Mac” is short for “Internet”, Apple introduced the iMac as an easy way to connect to the global network (in just two steps, according to an Apple advertisement). By focusing on the Internet suitability of the iMac, Apple has chosen a unique way to differentiate its product from other computers and rise to the top of the consumer PC pile. It worked.
Introducing USB to the masses
The iMac’s sole reliance on the USB interface meant that Mac users had to throw away all their old mice, keyboards, scanners, printers, and external drives. The computer’s lack of SCSI ports has particularly scared off Mac experts, who have long relied on SCSI for external storage. But at the same time, the iMac provided the first USB boot needed to really take off. Thanks to the iMac, many peripheral manufacturers launched their very first line of USB computer accessories. It is no coincidence that most of them come in a transparent blue-green case.
Killed the floppy drive
Apple introduced Sony’s 3.5-inch floppy disk drive with the Macintosh in 1984 and 14 years later the company killed it with the iMac, which had no floppy disk drive. The press met the decision to omit removable storage with great skepticism. But the lack of a floppy drive was a bold statement – Apple said that from now on you’ll be using the internet and local networks to transfer your files. And Apple was right, even if the company was slightly ahead of the curve. Nowadays, computers do not have floppy disk drives and users hardly miss one.
Setting standards for industrial design
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but when George Foreman Grills follows your lead, it’s time for a change.
Spectrum Marks
The next time you see a consumer contraption with a translucent plastic casing, especially ones that come in multiple candy colors, you can thank (or curse) iMac lead designer Jonathan Ive. After the release of the iMac, the multicolored translucent plastic case became such a common staple in the consumer product industry that the parade of Technicolor models of the 1999-2000 iMac almost became a parody of himself. Apple had to move on, dropping the product line’s vibrant color gamut with the release of the flat-panel iMac in 2002. Even then, other companies joined in: most Consumer electronics now come in brushed aluminum, frosted white, or gloss black, the colors used in other iMac iterations.
Steve Jobs bought
In a power struggle in 1985, Apple executives forced Steve Jobs to resign from the company he had co-founded. After Apple bought NeXT in 1997, Jobs returned to Apple and soon became “acting CEO”. The world looked to him to transform Apple, and he delivered on his promise: after dropping unprofitable product lines and streamlining the business in general, Apple was back in the black. But no amount of tinkering with the budget could symbolically compare to the success of the iMac – clearly Jobs’ baby – which served as a tangible reminder of its uncanny ability to inspire those beneath it to create incredible products. The success of the iMac meant success for Jobs, and it inspired Apple loyalists to follow him once again.
It also saved Apple
In 1996 and 1997, the media declared that Apple was practically dead. The company lost $878 million in 1997, but under the renewed leadership of Steve Jobs, it made $414 million in 1998, its first profit in three years. These results stem from both reduced operating costs and iMac sales. And yet, the iMac meant more than just financial returns: the symbolic impact of Apple once again having an exciting and innovative product marked a victory in the hearts and minds of the public, and it proved that Apple still had the chops to stay in business. .
Thanks to continued innovation in the iMac line and beyond, Apple is now more profitable than ever, and likely will continue to be. But even with iPhones and iPads dominating the news today, we shouldn’t forget that Apple’s success in the 21st century dates directly back to the launch of the iMac in 1998.
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