Now that Mac Studio is here, the iMac can finally be its fun self again

The iMac gets to be fun again and power users get a pro Mac they can afford.

- JASON SNELL

The recent introduction of the Mac Studio (fave.co/35DIUVL) got me thinking about how strange the final few years of the Intel-based 27-inch iMac were.

When the 27-inch iMac was refreshed in 2020 (fave.co/3uqlcky), we all knew it was the end of the line (fave.co/3j5J6yS). Apple silicon iMacs were coming, but just before Apple shut the door on the old iMac, it got a final revision out the door.

Consider the features of that iMac: an optional nano-texture display and a 3.6GHz 10-core Intel Core i9 processor. Macworld's reviewed iMac configuration cost $4,499-it was clearly aimed at pro users. Now consider that the original iMac, when it was introduced in 1997, was underpowered and cost $1,299 for the general consumer. The evolution of the iMac took a strange turn. What happened?

NO PLACE TO GO

After the Intel transition in 2006, the new Mac Pro (fave.co/3u4f1Gq; formerly Power Mac) seemed to drift further and further away from most users. It eventually reached its apotheosis when it transformed from a perforated metal slab into a cylinder (fave.co/3r2NxPn), becoming an expensive objet d'art with trash-can looks and severe cooling problems. Its ultimate replacement-the current Mac Pro (fave.co/3F3bier)starts at $6,000 and goes way up from there.