Editor’s Note: Today marks 25 years since Apple unveiled the iMac. To commemorate the anniversary, we’re reposting this article that originally appeared on the 10th anniversary of the iMac in 2008.
The iMac made an instant impact when Apple first unveiled it in May 1998. But it didn’t really start to shake things up until it hit the market, which happened on August 15, 1998. Arguably the most influential desktop computer of the past decade, the specifications of the original iMac seem peculiar by today’s standards. For $1,299, you came home with a 233MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 32MB of RAM, a 4GB hard drive, a 15-inch built-in monitor, and stereo speakers, all in an amazingly stylish case.
The Bondi Blue miracle heralded the return of Steve Jobs as a visionary leader for Apple, and ended Apple’s financial freefall in the mid-1990s. Initially marketed as an easy-to-use gateway to the Internet, the iMac transcended that simple role and redefined the desktop PC market — not to mention consumer industrial design — forever.
But have you ever wondered how? Here are eight ways the original iMac shook the world.
The iMac killed beige
Before the iMac, PC cases were stuck in a design rut. Most manufacturers produced beige or gray metal boxes, each designed as a mere functional device rather than an aesthetic creative tool. The iMac’s design shattered the status quo with its preference for soft curves over hard angles, and vibrant colors over bland neutrals. Apple even coined a new term, “Bondi Blue” — a shade of blue-green named after Australia’s Bondi Beach shoreline — to describe the color of its new machine. Combined with an ice white pinstripe pattern, the color scheme creates a stunning case previously unseen in the PC world. It made quite an impression on the audience, but that was just the beginning.
Before the iMac, beige was the predominant color of computers.
Foundry
It hit us on the “i”
iThis, iThat—iPod, iPhone, iChat, iLife, iSight. Where do all those lowercase iPrefixes come from? You can thank the iMac for starting this ubiquitous Apple brand 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 even trickled down to non-Apple product names, mostly in the form of iPod accessories. After the Internet became commonplace, Apple’s iPrefix shifted meaning to serve puns like “iSight,” or to ambiguously imply the powerful first-person pronoun “I,” as in “iChat.”
Catching the internet wave
Apple’s first marketing angle with the iMac relied heavily on the growing popularity of the Internet in the mid-1990s. Because the “I” in “Mac” is short for “Internet,” Apple billed the iMac as an easy way to connect to the global network (in just two steps, according to an Apple ad). By focusing on the iMac’s Internet capabilities, Apple opted for a unique way to differentiate its product from other computers and jump to the top of the PC consumer heap. It worked.
USB introduced 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 lack of SCSI ports in the computer particularly frightened Mac experts, who had long relied on SCSI for external storage. But at the same time, the iMac provided the first kickstart USB needed to really take off. Thanks to the iMac, many peripheral manufacturers launched their very first series of USB computer accessories – it was no coincidence that most of them came in a transparent blue-green case.
Killed the floppy drive
Apple launched the Sony 3.5-inch floppy disk drive with the Macintosh in 1984 – and 14 years later, the company ended it with the iMac, which had no floppy drive at all. The press greeted the decision to omit removable storage with considerable skepticism. But the absence of a floppy disk drive was a bold statement: Apple stated that from now on you’ll use the Internet and local networks to transfer your files. And Apple was right, even if the company was a little ahead of the curve. Nowadays, computers do not have a floppy drive and users hardly miss it.
Set standards for industrial design
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but if George Foreman Grills follows suit, it’s time to change things up.
Spectrum Brands
The next time you see a consumer contraption mabob with a translucent plastic shell — especially those that come in multiple candy colors — you can thank (or curse) iMac chief designer Jonathan Ive. After the release of the iMac, the multi-colored, clear plastic case became such a common staple in the consumer products industry that the Technicolor parade of models of the iMac from 1999 to 2000 almost became a parody of itself. Apple had to move on and drop the bright array of colors from its product line with the introduction of the flat-screen iMac in 2002. Even then, other companies joined in: Most consumer electronics devices now come in brushed aluminum, icy white, or gloss black, the colors used in other iMac iterations.
Steve Jobs redeemed
During a power struggle in 1985, Apple executives forced Steve Jobs to resign from the company he co-founded. After Apple bought NeXT in 1997, Jobs returned to Apple and soon became “Interim CEO”. The world looked to him to change Apple, and he did: After ditching unprofitable product lines and streamlining the company in general, Apple was back in the black. But no fiddling with the budget could symbolically compare to the success of the iMac—obviously Jobs’ baby—which served as a concrete reminder of his uncanny ability to inspire those below him to create incredible products. The iMac’s success meant Jobs’s success, and it inspired the Apple faithful to follow suit once again.
It also saved Apple
In 1996 to 1997, the media declared that Apple was as good as 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. Those results came from both lowering operating costs and sales of iMacs. And yet the iMac meant more than just financial returns: The token impact of Apple having yet another exciting, innovative product was a win in the hearts and minds of the public, and it proved that Apple still had the chops to get into business. to stay .
Thanks to continuous innovation in the iMac line and beyond, Apple is now and likely to remain more profitable than ever. But even as iPhones and iPads dominate today’s news, we can’t forget that Apple’s success in the 21st century can be traced directly back to the launch of iMac in 1998.
