Ready to go, The iMac 24 M1 has arrived. The new Apple computer presented at the April “Spring Loaded” event that closes a circle that began almost a quarter of a century ago with the first iMac G3, a small, intriguing computer, designed to bring interactivity and then the internet into everyone's home (and he succeeded, in a certain sense) that “detached” from the computer world of the time not only for the form factor, that is the design (an all-in-one built around the cathode ray tube screen) , as for the innovativeness of the colors and plastics chosen.
In a world of beige boxes, of off-white towers, the iMac has brought a breath of color, of novelty, of innovation. In fact, let's not forget that the iMac G3 was in fact equipped as standard with a CD-Dvd player (and in some cases burner), USB ports and Airport, that is WiFi. Revolutionary at the time and fundamental, as was the decision not to put a floppy disk, which twenty-five years ago was still standard on all desktop computers and many laptops.
The iMac 24 M1 is instead a finally new product from Apple, for everything: processor, design, concept, relationship with the environment and with the circular economy. Instead of taking an old design and putting the new processor into it, Apple is now starting to show what it can really do. And apparently that's a lot of stuff. But no more chatter: here is the new all-in-one computer from Apple, which amazed us from the beginning. In this first part we see the unboxing, in the second we will go into the details of the operation.
Here comes the iMac 24 M1
The first thing you notice when the new iMac arrives is the box. Large, because it still has to contain an all-in-one that has the form factor of a 21.5 iMac (thanks to the very cropped bezels, the screen is larger but the body is still small) with accessories. The product we have chosen is the top of the range, that is the basic version (M1 8/8 core with 8 GB of Ram and 256 GB of SSD) equipped, however, with a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID sensor.
The white cardboard package is elegant, opens intuitively, has a gem that we did not expect, that is the handle in addition to the photo of the computer in the same color of the chosen device. In our case yellow. The handle, as well as the structure of the box, is designed to have a packaging that pollutes as little as possible: no plastic or foams to act as a mechanical shock absorber for the computer (to be protected especially in the most fragile part, that is the screen) and instead a whole of cardboard walls cut into bellows to act as a shock absorber. A smart system that we have never seen in any other laptop.
Apple here proves that it has opened a new cycle. The company has worked for the past fifteen years to completely reform the way computers are thought, built, packaged, shipped, used and recycled. The box is an example. We had never seen such attention to packaging and such an effort to say: we have removed more plastic from the world thanks to this packaging. Now, with recycled aluminum that will be used in the body and with components that will be reused after the “death” or end of life of these new devices, Apple truly demonstrates that it has worked to create a form of circular economy in which you can continue to produce by eliminating the environmental impact or making it at least sustainable.
Inside the box
Removed from the package, eliminated the physical protection (the thin film that is put in the factory and the sheet of adhesive paper placed to protect the screen with the words “Hello”) it is time to unpack and put all the pieces on the table. Which are surprisingly few.
In fact, inside the box we find, in addition to the computer, the power supply, which is connected with a colored cable of the same color as the iMac, and which is equipped with an Ethernet socket (the one in the basic versions does not have it), the keyboard , mouse and trackpad all three of the same yellow color in the metal parts, and finally a USB-C cable to Lightning, which is used to recharge the aforementioned accessories, and which is also covered by a yellow colored fabric.
The impact of design
Installing the physical part of the computer is a very fast exercise in minimalism, but it allows you to better appreciate the “physical” aspect of this iMac. The new bracket with sharper angles and the inverted T shape (but not symmetrical), the overall lightness of the device (4.5 Kg), the very limited thickness, so much so that the audio minijack has been placed on the side because the plug is longer than the computer's 11.5mm depth. The “chin” in which, as can be seen from the x-rays shown by Apple itself (we do not dare to disassemble this computer, which Apple does not allow to open and which has no upgradeable part), large and without front logo.
Interesting but certainly divisive for the taste of many is the thin but white frame, which runs all around the monitor and which was designed to lighten the contrast compared to the basically white walls of the houses. It's a small detail that reveals the lifestyle goal behind the design of this computer. which will probably not appeal to geeks looking for a “tough”, “Pro” computer. It is not the vocation of this computer, although the processor is the same as the MacBook Pro, Mac mini and MacBook Air. It is an entry-level computer, we will not tire of repeating it until we see the M1x / M2 processor and then we will be able to understand how big the gap is actually compared to the M1.
What the new iMac24 M1 tells us
Once the unpacking of the new computer is finished, and leveled over the table where it will sit for the future, it is evident that here we are facing a considerable work by Apple to rethink and completely simplify the most popular desk computer of its series. This is a new computer, the first built around the M1 processor. The thickness, the weight, the shape itself, are all dictated by the pencil of the designers on the one hand and by the lack of constraints that were previously with the components (especially the motherboard and the Intel processor) that had thermals and need for cooling. very different.
Apple has worked to innovate and has done it inside as well as outside, as we saw during the presentation of the computer and as we see now, having it in your hands. The “chin” may like it or not, it is an aesthetic choice made to give depth and mobility of use to a computer that is still touched (to orient it, to put peripherals, to turn it on) and that could not yet have been just everything screen. But the “chin”, the lower part without any logo, is also an exercise in style to maintain a family feeling in the forms of the computer that we have known very well for two decades.
Conclusion first part
We love the iMac 24 M1. The choices are lifestyle ones, those of a new thought to redefine a computer project and give it a shape that allows you to go further, towards a different way of conceiving and using computers at home, in the shop, in the office. The iMac 24 M1 is not a computer to hang on the wall with a Vesa hook (as far as possible, but it must be requested when ordering or it can be done later at an authorized store or Apple itself, because the procedure is somewhat complicated) but to be proudly held in the middle, three-quarters, sideways. It is a very beautiful Mac, one of the most beautiful to date, which uses new and meticulous production methods.
Important detail: the handle is also in tone 
Front of the box 
Back 
The profile 
Detail of the interior completely recyclable 
The particular bellows system 
The content 
Stickers in shades (double) 
But also the accessories … 
The magic mouse is the same … only the color of the lower part changes 
The keyboard has changed 
Here in close comparison with a previous model 
others details 
still the keyboard 
The trackpad is also in shades 
The beautiful back with full color 
The apple always clearly evident 
the higher models have 4 sockets on the back 
The detail of the joint of the monitor support 
the magsafe connector 
Ready for ignition 
The only other port is that of the audio mini jack 
Ready to go 
screen saver in tone 
The power supply with Ethernet plug of the most expensive model 
The white frame and the improved camera 
Detail of the pedestal
The model we have taken is yellow, but there are various other colors (purple they say is beautiful) and from the point of view of industrial design this is a huge effort, designed to communicate beauty and not to maximize revenue, because the cost level is very high when the color and its coordination are taken care of in such detail. To say: at the moment of switching on the operating system shows icons of the iMac in the same color as the body, so for the background of the desk, but also for the input devices (we will then see keyboard, mouse and trackpad) and so also for the handle in recyclable fabric with which you take the box, in addition to the images printed on it.
All this is the result of a new and more structured thought. Apple has taken another leap forward, which we touch for the first time now but which we will see the meaning of in the coming months. Tim Cook has chosen to begin the transition to Apple Silicon by introducing the M1 processor on traditional bodies (MacBook Pro, Air, Mac mini and even iPad Pro) in such a way that it was possible to fully understand what the first processor for traditional computers is capable of. thought of Cupertino. Instead, it is now starting to accelerate by also introducing form factors and processes that have been rethought, redesigned, reimagined, built around the room for maneuver left by M1 and also the recent investments in environmental policies.
In the second part we talk about the first experiences of use … follow us.
iMac 24 M1 is available at Apple Stores, Apple Premium Resellers, your trusted B2B resellers and online at Amazon as well.
