I kinda agree with you but this is for people who don't want to think about it. That 24" monitor is incredible compared to anything sub 500.

A 32" gaming monitor is garbage once you're used to 216 ppi for creative work.

Realistically there is like 1 display from BenQ that even comes close spec wise.

Their target user will pay 1700 and have an incredible machine that does literally everything they want and probably won't need to upgrade for what, 5-10 years in a single purchase. Compared to having to buy a mouse, keyboard, speakers, webcam, and monitor.

Also having good speakers and a webcam is underrated. I use my wife's Studio Display sometimes and it's a real, real nice piece of hardware. I have a 5k LG ultrafine at work that's spec for spec similar but it feels like a toy in comparison (it's also like half the price though so).

I think it's obvious why someone would buy this and why Apples continues to slowly update them.

It's got a bright and colorful design where a Mac mini and any third party monitor would just be silver/grey + black plastic. Everything works together, no decision making about compatibility, no extra purchases, it has a webcam, speakers, one power cable, only one customer support call if you need help with any of it, one warranty etc. It's quite far from the "same" computer as a Mac Mini.

That 32" monitor will have a crappy pixel density. It's incredibly hard to find good external monitors that are not made by Apple, definitely not for $800. Apple will give you a display with a high pixel density and glass front.

"You can get the same thing for less money" has never been an effective criticism vs Apple computers. People will pay the extra $800 so they don't have to also buy a 24" monitor, keyboard, and mouse... and they'll all be the same color.

I suspect this isn’t for you. This is for (x) who has disposable income, wants something that you can buy retail and just works, and looks great on a desk with just a single wire, and will use it for general tasks for 5-7 years.

If my mum or dad asked me “should I get one of these?”, given how long they used their old iMac for (about 6-7 years), I wouldn’t hesitate to say yes. Would I buy one? No, perfectly happy with an MBP docked to a trio of dell ultrasharps (ignoring the notable lack of MST…)

My Mom had a 2008 20" iMac. When it got long in the tooth, we replaced it with an M1 in 2021 or 2022. She was disappointed she wasn't able to get a 20" screen again and had to get one with a huge 24" screen!

Not everyone wants a massive display. Not everyone wants cables everywhere. Not everyone cares about their keyswitches. Not everyone upgrades often enough for a few hundred more bucks to really make a difference.

It is a design piece. No wires besides the single power chord. Yet webcam and speakers working.

I have been back and forth with my wife about replacing the old intel based iMac she still uses. Because she does use FaceTime on it every day, she has been rejecting the idea of getting Mac mini + a monitor because I couldn't find a monitor with a comparable built-in camera. And to be fair, I might be able to hide the Mac mini, so it's just the monitor on her desk, but a webcam tucked on top of it, with the extra cabling does break a clean desk look. I haven't checked monitors with built-in cameras lately, so any recommendations would be much appreciated!

Apple used this picture in 2007 (!): https://64.media.tumblr.com/ddfe45456996d1244d65373ff9b6fd73...

I still think it captures the ethos of why fairly well.

> _antiquated 24" monitor_

What's antiquated about it? It's the perfect monitor for most tasks. Very bright, high DPI. If you're typing a paper, this is going to be much better than a 15" laptop monitor.

Since this is exactly what I am searching for, maybe someone here can help:

Does anyone know of a good looking display, just a slab on a stand like imacs or Studio displays?

I want something good looking for the Linux PC in my living room but almost all monitors out there are just plain ugly and bulky. Ideally 27-32" but at this point i dont really care anymore...

Thanks!

probably niche, but we have an m4 iMac mounted to a built in desk in our kitchen. my family of 4 all have MacBooks, but the iMac gets heavy usage by all of us. kids will sit and do homework there, wife adds things to her grocery list, keeps her personal mailbox clean, does basic household web tasks. I use it to do household tech chore work, pay bills, etc when everybody is hanging around the kitchen. We all use our computers too, but the convenience factor of it's already on, powered, connected and ready to go is a draw and leads us to magnetize to it when we need it. I love it the most as I think it keeps us present with each other vs going off to a private space to do those sorts of things. Yeah we could just as easily drag our laptops into the kitchen but then you end up finding a comfy spot on the couch or for the kids in their rooms.

People need (!) this type of devices in representative settings, eg the reception of a boutique hotel.

That would be a 4K 32", and I don't understand who would buy such a low-res monitor. A "very nice" 5K or 6K monitor is way more than $800 alone.

Try to find a good monitor with a good integrated webcam, speaker, microphone and usb-hub. You simply won't find any except Apple Studio Displays which start at $1500.

Have you ever tried dragging that monitor and all those cables and peripherals into a Starbucks and camping there for 7 hours? This is a freelancer’s dream machine.

Apple will happily sell you the Mac mini for that setup too. Or the Mac Studio if you want something beefier.

It’s all about segmentation of the market.

Apple has customers that want a small, well designed all in one computer that fits on a desk. If it has a pop of color, all the better. It is a customer segment that Apple knows well and has been serving since the first Macs.

There are many companies that want to address the market for a budget friendly small PC with an external monitor. There aren’t many that try to address this segment of the market.

Don't forget a decent webcam and pretty good speakers. I roll these out at work and I don't like retiring them after seven years; however monitors don't last forever either.

There's something to be said about the aesthetic of having everything in one, not having speakers and Webcams strewn across the place.

Gotta say they do look amazing in hotel check ins, shop desks, retail etc.

A single object to hand your kid for their dorm that will move every 8 months is much nicer than a bunch of parts and wires.

I agree. In the case of the older 27" iMacs-- you couldn't really get a 5K screen of that quality for any reasonable cost. It made it actually useful.

Deployments to organizations like .edu that strongly appreciates there's less hassle per seat (and gets them for under wholesale a lot of the time).

Well, I got M4 iMac because I wanted a screen on my workbench with minimum cables and must be VESA mounted. I also needed a mac to build iOS apps. iMac was perfect fit.

1. Social signalling

2. Aesthetic

3. Pretty colors

4. Nostalgia

The price put upon "I don't have to go figure out what a good monitor is and what are good input devices".

For some people is pretty much priceless.

Also there's no cables to connect the monitor and the device making it all one thing you can pickup and move around, which people value as well. Also the difference between (900+$monitor+$mouse+$keyb) and $1700 is really not a lot of money for a lot of people, especially those people considering an Apple devices.

Anyone who cares about those things you listed is not the intended audience, and instead the intended audience will buy these.

> You can buy a very nice 32" monitor and better input devices for less than that.

But they aren't Apple.

Do you ever talk to non-technical people about the computers they use?

same reason people buy any new device, form factor. we have one in our kitchen and love it, it gets spun around like an ipad .

They are, in fairness, quite nice monitors.

Some here claim that the design, but I think the iMac looks ugly. The bezels are ginormous. It looks like a 15 year old product.

It starts at $1500 not $1700

> You can buy a very nice 32" monitor and better input devices for less than that.

As with many things, you pay for the atheistics.

I'm not sure of anything that fits the bill. Are you?

Why is antiquated?

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