The iMac range is a testament to how quality hardware can survive the test of time, because more than two and a half decades after the launch of the first model, Apple continues to release newer iterations, with the latest ones featuring the company’s 3nm M3 chipset. Here, we look at how Steve Jobs unveiled the all-in-one computer on August 15, 1998, and differentiated it by a significant margin thanks to a design that was both intriguing and decorated.
Called the iMac G3, Apple’s new desktop computer brought in mixed reviews, but those negative remarks did not have a deleterious impact on sales
Jony Ive, Apple’s former Chief Executive of industrial design, and his team were responsible for developing the translucent case that featured a tear-drop shape. With the new look, the iMac G3 flaunted aesthetics which made it stand out from the competition, and it might have been the reason why customers flocked to it. What is interesting about this release is that it came at a time when Apple was experiencing extreme financial hemorrhaging and could not compete in the personal computer business.
Thankfully, Steve Jobs returned to the company as CEO, and he and Jony developed a close relationship with a singular focus; making industrial design a core part of Apple’s strategy. Another area that the team was focused on was having a design that everyone remembered but was stamped at a price that was not considered ridiculous. In hindsight, Apple selling an affordable iMac would be unheard of today, but the Cupertino giant really needed to get the ball rolling in the low-cost personal computer segment.
Jony Ive’s design team was also laser-focused on introducing colors that inspired positive emotions, which is why the iMac G3 comes in various bright finishes. The same philosophy was applied to the M1 iMac’s release, as it too, arrived in a slew of attractive colors while boasting incredible levels of thinness. The computer’s launch was aided by a $100 million advertising fund that helped bolster sales, and it shipped with notable hardware such as a PowerPC G3 CPU clocked at 233MHz, an ATI Rage GPU, 4GB HDD space, a CD-ROM drive, and more.
Unfortunately, the flashy design of the iMac G3 could not save it from the wrath of reviews, as the majority of them criticized the all-in-computer’s lack of legacy ports, expansion slots, and high-cost external replacements for the floppy disk. Others lamented about the computer’s performance, saying that while it performed well, it was underpowered. Thankfully, the negative press did not impact sales, as Apple went from losing $878 million in 1997 to generating $414 million in revenue in 1998, reporting a profit after a three-year drought.
Due to its success, Apple continued to release successive models, and by July 2000, the iMac had shipped 3.7 million units. These impressive sales gave the California-based firm the much-needed financial cushion to pivot towards a modern operating system while refreshing the rest of the Mac lineup. Eventually, Apple transitioned to Intel processors and started releasing portable Macs for customers who did not want to remain tethered to a single position. Now, Apple is well invested in producing its custom chipsets for a wide range of models, and given its trillion-dollar status, it will likely continue to do so.
