M1 iMacs & More: Impressions From The Apple Store

The M1 iMacs are so different from what came before that they demand a hands-on experience before a judgment on their design can be made. I recently found the time to visit my local Apple Store to see and touch these colorful computers along with other products. Here's what I found.

M1 iMac

Straight away, what I see in these iMacs is equal parts honesty and mystique.

Prior iMacs may have had knife-sharp edges, but they tapered in from a back thickness that Apple seemed ashamed of. That's been thrown out the window, with the new design having consistent thickness across the entirety of the computer. What you see is what you get.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.

Black bezels became a sort of unwritten rule at Apple in recent years. Since the birth of the notched iPhone X screen, Apple's goal was to hide where the screen starts and ends, and this needlessly carried over to its other product lines. On a computer, this can look great in a professional editing environment with black walls and shuttered windows. But most users live in sunlit rooms with bright walls, and that's the type of person the new iMacs are meant for. The monochromatic tri-tone style brings fashion back to computing, which I believe will be key to their wild success. The person who'll love these computers most probably has no idea what an M1 is, and simply appreciates using a machine in their favorite color on which everything just works.

This orange bezel has the gentle glow of an early sunrise.

Where's the computer? Also, is this narcissism?

The mystique comes when you realize there has to be a computer hidden somewhere here. By keeping the iconic chin, Apple was able to shove the brains under the display so that all you see is a finger-thick slab floating in your space, regardless of placement. Yet this chromatic, furniture-like object outpaces most blocky desktops in single-threaded computing. Apple has made real magic happen here.

AirPods Max

Apple's luxury over-ear headphones haven't caught on with the general public, and they weren't meant to. As a result, I'd only seen them once before, a red pair on the head of a stranger at my old dorm's cafeteria.

The build quality on display here is flawless, a prime example of what happens when Apple's design team doesn't need to compromise for a consumer price point. Each fabric mesh pattern is perfectly aligned, the aluminum is carved thick, and the hinge tolerances are tight enough to impress.

On the head, they clamp hard and weigh down heavy. The bouncy headband and plush earcups help alleviate this.

The sound didn't blow me away or anything. I tried a few lossless tracks on Apple Music, and got a crisp sound with copious bass. I'm not much of an audiophile, and the illusion of pressure given by noise cancelling irritates me to no end, so these aren't for me, regardless of price.

M1 iPad Pro

The iPad platform is more confusing now than it's ever been. Apple continues to push an expensive keyboard and trackpad combo to make the iPad more MacBook-like, without any features to compel this form factor. Even the M1 makes no real difference to the experience. But I must admit, the keyboard's new white color option is slick.

I'd probably use my 2019 iPad Air twice as often if it had a 120hz ProMotion display. I'm still not sure it's worth the battery tradeoff though, especially if Apple were to put ProMotion on the iPhone.

Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop

My jaw was left on the floor after this year's pride bands were announced, the woven band in particular. I love what the inclusion of black and brown threads represents alongside the rest of the rainbow. As an art piece, it's perfect.

But on the wrist, it's a lot. Doesn't quite fit with my breed of minimalism.

New Apple TV Remote

I've never owned an Apple TV. My life has no room for this type of product. I did, however, use one at an Airbnb in Salida, CO a few summers back. My impressions on the widely-hated Siri remote were mixed. Swiping to navigate the UI felt natural in a way terrible d-pads never have. But I had to agree that it was too easily lost, there were too few buttons, and glass is a poor material choice for such a commonly-dropped object. Plus, older people may not find swiping very intuitive.

For reference, here's the old design, courtesy of Macworld UK.

But this spring, Apple did something unprecedented: it listened to user feedback, and everybody wins as a result. A massive d-pad is now placed right under the thumb, while those who prefer swiping can still do so as the surface is touch-sensitive, and can now be spun like an iPod's click wheel to fast-forward and rewind.

Mute and power buttons were added, the "MENU" button that never brought up a menu has been properly replaced with a back arrow, and the Siri button has been relocated to the side. Plus, it's now a thick, hard-edged aluminum slab that rests better in the hand and doesn't slip between couch cushions. I'm so sorry for everyone who had to live with the former design for years and years. Your savior has finally arrived— for $59 on Apple's website.

Purple iPhone

This shade of purple is easy on the eyes, and has proven popular with customers this year. What more is there to say? It's not that big of a deal. Apple always chooses the right colors for a mid-year refresh, which is how I ended up with a Product Red iPhone 8 Plus.

AirTag & Accessories

On the surface, AirTags are priced well for their unrivaled function at just $29. But you'll quickly realize one fatal flaw— how do you attach it to anything? The hole, a feature found on every other item tracker, is nowhere to be found. Luckily, Apple has the perfect cash-grab solution: loops for another $29, or keychains for $35. Yes, Apple also sells Belkin's holders for $12.95, but that's still far too much for a feature that's so easily included.

So beautiful. So useless.

Maybe the AirTag is just too densely-packed with internal features to fit a hole anywhere? Nope, iFixit found a spot where a hole can safely be drilled. Apple's decision to not include a hole is inexcusable, period. The accessory market will generate plentiful profits (and waste) for years to come.

That's all for today. Stay tuned to see a prototype of a product I designed later this week.