4 ms·

Just another proprietary cable for them to sell. It is so funny the fan base just goes along with it too.

coldtea 5y ago
Contrary to your conspiracy theory, they did change all power cables to USB-C on later Mac laptops. And people and reviewers lamented the loss of the proprietary MagSafe power...
read_if_gay_ 5y ago
Right, because people typically need to buy several power cables over the lifetime of their desktop computer since they tend to break so often.
- yarcob 5y ago
  No, but you might need a longer power cable. Hope you don't mind an extension cord and a weird box dangling somewhere! But at least the computer looks sleeker now!
  - pertymcpert 5y ago
    Isn't that a good trade off? Most people would love a better looking computer for their living room.
    - yarcob 5y ago
      I can only speak for myself, and I hate power bricks with a passion. You need to find a place to hide them, they are annoying when cleaning, and they are annoying when you move devices (need to untangle not only cable but also power brick). Why get an all-in-one when it requires attaching a box to it? I might as well get a Mac mini at that point (which still has a built in PSU)
      - pertymcpert 5y ago
        Well...don't they usually go behind a desk? Or behind some furniture? There are solutions to this problem.
        yarcob 5y ago
        Look at the marketing pictures on https://www.apple.com/imac-24/ https://www.apple.com/imac-24/ Every picture features an iMac on a beautiful desk with the power adaptor conveniently not in the picture. There's not really a place to hide it if you have desks like these, it's just gonna lie somewhere on the floor.
  - read_if_gay_ 5y ago
    No, I don't. My current setup requires several power bricks ("weird boxes") for the displays and speakers anyway. The good thing about those is that you can just hide them away, unlike your monitor. And what exactly is the problem with extension cords?
    - yarcob 5y ago
      The nice thing about the All-In-One Macs was always how portable they were. The Mac Plus, the Colour Classic, the all-in-one Quadras, and every previous version of the iMac -- just a single box, a standard power cable, a keyboard and a mouse. It was always a lot easier to move them around than the PC towers everyone else had. Apple even ran an ad once that showed how few cables iMacs had in contrast to a typical PC. I mean, it's not a huge difference in portability, but it's an Apple product -- people obsess over details like this, and they pay a premium for a product that gets it right. Also, it's nice that you can hide the external PSU in your setup, but often that's not easily possible. Eg. if you have a minimal setup with a sleek desk, there's just no place to hide the power brick. Or if you bring the computer to the living room to watch a movie... I mean, there's lots of ways to use this computer, and the external PSU is just optimized for one use case. And it's made even worse by the fact that many people are going to end up having to attach an external hub with an extra power brick since this iMac severly lacks ports. EDIT: And you can see that Apple doesn't like the PSU since it is conspicuously absent from their marketing page. Even the "What's in the box" picture hides the PSU: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac They know that (some) people don't like power bricks.
      - read_if_gay_ 5y ago
        There are desks that solve the cable management issue by mounting a tray just underneath the tabletop. If it's such a problem for you, a desk like this is probably worth it. The portability argument I understand though. I regularly move my desktop between two places and having duplicate cables and peripherals for each one has been very convenient. So seeing that, you're actually right, I would need to either buy a probably fairly expensive proprietary cable or always carry the brick; and an integrated PSU would've been more convenient. But in the end whether this tradeoff is worth it comes down to your particular situation, and apparently Apple have decided that in general it is worth it. Personally I also don't think too many people move their desktops around that much. The point about the power brick not showing up on the page I'd chalk up to OCD design, not malice, to be honest. It is at least hinted at because the two pictured cables are different.
incanus77 5y ago
Also includes Ethernet. And the previous models had their own cable, too. Not like this is new.

Contrary to your conspiracy theory, they did change all power cables to USB-C on later Mac laptops. And people and reviewers lamented the loss of the proprietary MagSafe power...

read_if_gay_ 5y ago

Right, because people typically need to buy several power cables over the lifetime of their desktop computer since they tend to break so often.

yarcob 5y ago
No, but you might need a longer power cable. Hope you don't mind an extension cord and a weird box dangling somewhere! But at least the computer looks sleeker now!
- pertymcpert 5y ago
  Isn't that a good trade off? Most people would love a better looking computer for their living room.
  - yarcob 5y ago
    I can only speak for myself, and I hate power bricks with a passion. You need to find a place to hide them, they are annoying when cleaning, and they are annoying when you move devices (need to untangle not only cable but also power brick). Why get an all-in-one when it requires attaching a box to it? I might as well get a Mac mini at that point (which still has a built in PSU)
    - pertymcpert 5y ago
      Well...don't they usually go behind a desk? Or behind some furniture? There are solutions to this problem.
      - yarcob 5y ago
        Look at the marketing pictures on https://www.apple.com/imac-24/ https://www.apple.com/imac-24/ Every picture features an iMac on a beautiful desk with the power adaptor conveniently not in the picture. There's not really a place to hide it if you have desks like these, it's just gonna lie somewhere on the floor.
- read_if_gay_ 5y ago
  No, I don't. My current setup requires several power bricks ("weird boxes") for the displays and speakers anyway. The good thing about those is that you can just hide them away, unlike your monitor. And what exactly is the problem with extension cords?
  - yarcob 5y ago
    The nice thing about the All-In-One Macs was always how portable they were. The Mac Plus, the Colour Classic, the all-in-one Quadras, and every previous version of the iMac -- just a single box, a standard power cable, a keyboard and a mouse. It was always a lot easier to move them around than the PC towers everyone else had. Apple even ran an ad once that showed how few cables iMacs had in contrast to a typical PC. I mean, it's not a huge difference in portability, but it's an Apple product -- people obsess over details like this, and they pay a premium for a product that gets it right. Also, it's nice that you can hide the external PSU in your setup, but often that's not easily possible. Eg. if you have a minimal setup with a sleek desk, there's just no place to hide the power brick. Or if you bring the computer to the living room to watch a movie... I mean, there's lots of ways to use this computer, and the external PSU is just optimized for one use case. And it's made even worse by the fact that many people are going to end up having to attach an external hub with an extra power brick since this iMac severly lacks ports. EDIT: And you can see that Apple doesn't like the PSU since it is conspicuously absent from their marketing page. Even the "What's in the box" picture hides the PSU: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac They know that (some) people don't like power bricks.
    - read_if_gay_ 5y ago
      There are desks that solve the cable management issue by mounting a tray just underneath the tabletop. If it's such a problem for you, a desk like this is probably worth it. The portability argument I understand though. I regularly move my desktop between two places and having duplicate cables and peripherals for each one has been very convenient. So seeing that, you're actually right, I would need to either buy a probably fairly expensive proprietary cable or always carry the brick; and an integrated PSU would've been more convenient. But in the end whether this tradeoff is worth it comes down to your particular situation, and apparently Apple have decided that in general it is worth it. Personally I also don't think too many people move their desktops around that much. The point about the power brick not showing up on the page I'd chalk up to OCD design, not malice, to be honest. It is at least hinted at because the two pictured cables are different.

incanus77 5y ago

Also includes Ethernet. And the previous models had their own cable, too. Not like this is new.