iMac G3

In the late 1990s, Apple Computer was experiencing severe financial difficulties. At the end of 1997, the company was selling 1.8 million Macs per year, in comparison with 4.5 million two years earlier. Apple's sales were compromised by licensed Mac systems that undercut and out-performed Apple's own products.[1] Unable to quickly distribute its products and compete in the low-cost computer market, Apple entirely abandoned the sector.[2]

In December 1996, Apple purchased the computer maker NeXT. NeXT founder Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company he had co-founded and then was ousted from, as part of the deal.[3] Apple also acquired NeXT's operating system NeXTSTEP, which would become the foundation for Apple's next-generation operating system Mac OS X.[4] Jobs returned to Apple as an advisor but the company's board of directors dismissed CEO Gil Amelio on July 9, 1997, and Jobs replaced him as interim CEO.[5][6]

Upon his return, Jobs streamlined the company and returned Apple to profitability by cost-cutting, but the company still needed new hit products.[7] Jobs planned to reduce Apple's computer offerings, which were confusing and extensive, to four products: a laptop and desktop model each for professionals and consumers.[8] The planned consumer-oriented desktop computer became the iMac; it would be inexpensive and prioritize easy Internet connectivity.[9] The engineering and design teams had less than a year to deliver a finished product.[10]

In 1996, Apple's industrial design director Robert Brunner left the company and was replaced by 29-year-old Jony Ive, who inherited the company's award-winning design team.[11] Ive was dispirited with Apple's leadership and also considering leaving the company.[12] At a meeting announcing Jobs's appointment as Apple's CEO, Jobs told staff Apple's problems stemmed from its poor products. Ive noted Jobs' focus on making industrial design a core part of Apple's comeback strategy.[13] Ive and Jobs quickly developed a rapport, and Jobs decided to retain Apple's industrial design team under Ive's leadership.[14]

Initially, Jobs wanted the new consumer desktop to be a "network computer"—a cheap, low-powered terminal without disk drives that would connect to remote servers via the Internet. Ive's team was given Jobs's specifications for the new product in September 1997: it should be a distinctive, all-in-one computer with a selling price of around US$1,200, much lower than the $2,000 ($3,591 adjusted for inflation) Apple was charging for its entry-level models.[15] The design team tried to discern what objects conveyed the emotions they wanted the computer to evoke. While collaboratively developing sketches, designer Doug Satzger drew an ovoid drawing that was based on his earlier work on Thomson televisions. Ive and the rest of the team decided to focus on the ovoid design, although Jobs initially rejected the look. Ive defended the design as playful and fun, and persuaded Jobs to accept the idea. Jobs began carrying a foamcore model of the computer around the Apple campus to show it off.[16]

Earlier Apple products featuring translucent plastics such as the eMate 300 (top) influenced the look of the iMac (detail).

When discussing the idea of a machine that inspired positive emotions, the designers mentioned colorful candy dispensers.[17] Materials tests with solid plastics looked cheap, so they made the case translucent.[18] Translucent hardware design was not new to Apple's products; the Power Macintosh 8600 and 9600 tower computers had translucent green latches, while the LaserWriter 8500, eMate 300, and Studio Display made more extensive use of translucent colored plastics. Former Apple senior designer Thomas Meyerhoffer described the eMate's use of plastics as a way to make the product accessible and distinctive.[19] To Ive, the translucency "came across as cheeky" but it meant the internal components would also have to be considered for aesthetics. Inspiration came from translucent items the designers brought to the office; one item was a piece of greenish-blue beach glass. This "Bondi blue" object inspired the color Jobs selected for the first iMac.[20]

Apple's design team radically overhauled its processes to meet the tight deadline. In the past, they had sent two-dimensional blueprints or hand-drawn sketches to toolmakers to create molds, a laborious process that could take months. Instead, Apple relied on computer-aided design (CAD) using the three-dimensional (3D) modeling program Alias Wavefront to sculpt models, with CNC milling machines and primitive 3D printers used to create physical mockups. Apple's product designers wrote software to allow the Wavefront 3D models to be brought into Unigraphics, a program that was used in aerospace design. This process allowed the engineers to compare 3D models of the computer's components with the casing, speeding up the process of finding a workable combination of external and internal elements.[21]

Jobs began to reconsider the network computer concept as similar products struggled in the market; he was persuaded to recalibrate the project as a full-featured computer with optical and disk drives.[22][23] The finalized iMac enclosed its components and a 15-inch (38 cm) cathode-ray tube (CRT) display within a plastic shell. The computer featured translucency throughout—from the small foot used to raise the computer to the power cord, designed to look like condensation on glass.[24] Port labels and regulatory markings used holographic stickers.[25] The design team added a recessed handle to the back of the computer to make it more personal and approachable for new computer users.[24] The cost of the casing was more than three times that of a typical computer[26] but Ive credited Jobs with intuitively understanding the design aims and not demanding justification for the increased costs.[24] The keyboard and mouse were redesigned with matching translucent plastics and trim for the iMac. Ive was especially proud of the round mouse, which showed the complicated internal components that were partially hidden behind the Apple logo.[27]

Jobs wanted the new computer to be a modern, "legacy-free" computer not relying on old or proprietary technology;[28] Apple's engineers adapted work done on the abandoned Common Hardware Reference Platform specification to speed up development of the computer. These concepts included using standard SO-DIMM RAM that was used for Microsoft-Windows-based PCs, and an Open Firmware read-only memory (ROM). Previous Macintosh computers used complex, machine-specific ROMs; the new computer's instructions were loaded from memory, shortening production time.[29] The iMac also had no serial ports, Apple Desktop Bus, or floppy disk drive. To replace the removed ports, the iMac used Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, which were faster and cheaper than Apple Desktop Bus and serial ports but were very new—the standard was not finalized until after the iMac's release—and unsupported by any third-party Mac peripheral.[28][30] Jobs wagered USB would solve the problem of accessory makers abandoning the increasingly small Mac market with its special connectors.[31] The iMac did not officially have an expansion slot, but early versions of the machine had a "mezzanine slot". The slot was intended only for internal use but a few third-party expansion cards, such as video card upgrades and SCSI ports, were released for it.[32] Early models also had an IrDA infrared port that allowed personal digital assistants and other devices to wirelessly transmit information to the computer.[30] Jobs was furious the initial iMac model came with a tray-loading CD-ROM drive rather than a more-modern slot-loading drive, and nearly canceled the product launch over it. According to Jon Rubinstein, Jobs had always known about the CD tray. Jobs continued with the launch after he was assured subsequent models would include a slot-loading CD-ROM drive as soon as possible.[33]

In early 1998, representatives from the advertising agency TBWA\Chiat\Day were shown the iMac, which at that point was code-named "C1". Creative director Ken Segall said the agency's first impression was that the product might be too shocking to be successful.[34] Jobs was proud to show off Apple's work, saying; "the back of our computer looks better than the front of [our competitors'] computers". The product did not have a final name; Jobs informed Segall the internal name was "MacMan"—a name Apple's marketing executive Phil Schiller contributed—and to see if they could find a better name. Apple stipulated the name must contain "Mac", it must evoke the product's focus on easy Internet connectivity, and it should not sound portable or toy-like.[35] TBWA spent a week developing other names; Segall's pick was "iMac"; it was short, it said the product was a Macintosh computer, and the i prefix suggested the internet. [36] Jobs disliked all of the suggested names and gave the agency another week to generate more possibilities. At the next presentation, Segall once again ended with "iMac"; Jobs said he no longer hated the name but still preferred "MacMan". Segall thought he had failed, but the next day he learned Jobs had suggested the name to other employees and gotten a positive response. The product was thus named the iMac.[37]

All 13 colors of the iMac G3

Steve Jobs unveiled the iMac on May 6, 1998. The product launch echoed that of the original Macintosh 128K in 1984. It was staged in the same location, the Flint Center for the Performing Arts at De Anza College. Jobs invited Apple founding members Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula, and Michael Scott, as well as members of the original Macintosh team. After demonstrating the look of traditional computers, Jobs revealed the iMac from under a tablecloth. The computer displayed "Hello (again)" on its screen, hearkening back to the Macintosh's whimsical "Hello" introduction.[38]

Apple began shipping the iMac on August 15, 1998.[39] The computer was supported by a $100 million advertising campaign that stressed the iMac's ease of use, internet connectivity, and striking contrast from competitors' products. Actor Jeff Goldblum narrated television advertisements that rhetorically asked if computer companies had been in "thinking jail" for making only beige products.[40] Other promotions included radio giveaways, midnight launch events, and "golden tickets" hidden in select iMacs that could be redeemed for a tour of an Apple factory.[41]

The iMac G3 received mixed reviews on release. Tech reviewers were often negative about the machine.[4][53] Hiawatha Bray said the iMac was doomed and a severe misstep from Jobs.[53] In comparison, Macworld's Andrew Gore said the iMac G3 might be as important as the original Macintosh in shifting the computing paradigm, and that Apple's "Think different" marketing campaign was not just empty talk.[54] Reporters including Newsweek's Barbara Kantrowitz and the San Francisco Chronicle's David Einstein considered it the first promising step in Apple's possible resurgence.[55][56][57]

The look of the iMac was generally praised.[58] Many reviewers compared its curved look to the recently-released Volkswagen New Beetle,[56][59] while journalist Rob Morse likened it to a "huggable", futuristic machine like R2-D2 or a toy from The Jetsons.[60] Less-positive reviews compared the iMac to an AMC Gremlin.[57]

Positive reviews highlighted the computer's ease of use for setup and operation;[55][61][62] According to Morse, the iMac felt "almost human" and approachable for a non-tech consumer.[60] While publications including CNN and PC Week considered the iMac's performance fast,[55][57][61][63] others felt the machine was underpowered, and PC World's testing showed that the machine generally performed poorer than Windows PC competitors.[64] While reviews noted that general consumers and new computer buyers would be well-served by the machine,[65] reviews were less sure that it could fit into an office environment, especially if it was not networked.[56][58][63][66]

Criticism focused on the iMac's lack of legacy ports.[4] Gore considered the loss of the floppy drive acceptable but wished that the CD-ROM module, which was identical to that of the PowerBook notebook, could be swapped. He also said the lack of expansion slots limited the computer's future potential.[67] The Washington Post's John Breeden highlighted the lack of SCSI for making the iMac unsuitable for office work.[66] Other reviewers bemoaned the high cost of external replacements for the internal floppy disk drive,[68] low amount of installed memory,[58] and its tinny speakers.[66]

Another major complaint with the iMac was its original mouse and keyboard, which reviewers said were small and difficult to use comfortably,[69] calling it an example of style over substance.[62] The shape and ease of use of the mouse was derisively compared to a hockey puck, and its cable was frequently considered too short.[70] The mouse's round shape made it difficult for users to discern its correct orientation.[27] The mouse and keyboard were later replaced with the Apple Pro Mouse and Apple Pro Keyboard for the 2000-revision iMacs.[71] Other complaints included the lack of software and USB accessories, incompatibility with Microsoft Windows, and price.[72] Later iMac G3 models addressed some of the product's perceived shortcomings.[4][73] As the product line aged, reviews noted the new models offered few advancements over previous versions.[50]

The iMac won numerous design competitions and awards, including Gold at the 1999 D&AD Design Awards in the UK,[40] and "Object of the Year" by The Face.[74] iMac G3 models are held in the collections of museums including The Henry Ford, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Powerhouse Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art.[75]

The iMac G3 became a computing icon. Paul Atkinson wrote while the original Macintosh made a huge impact on computing, it had not affected the look of computers; for decades, personal computers were defined by unimaginative, beige boxes. The iMac, in contrast, did not affect the way consumers used computers but its design changed the idea of the appearance of computers. Apple defined itself in opposition to its competitors, who rushed to produce computers that followed the iMac's design language, adding similar translucent or colored plastic to their designs.[79][80] The iMac mirrored contemporary design trends in its use of streamlining and curves; one designer said the focus on rounding helped make objects more approachable and personal.[81]

Apple protected the distinctive iMac design with legal action against competing computer makers who attempted to imitate the iMac, such as eMachines' eOne.[82] The iMac made computers fashionable rather than utilitarian,[83] and helped popularize USB and hasten the demise of the floppy disk.[39] Following Apple's lead, other computer makers focused on "legacy-free" personal computers.[84][85]

The iMac's massive success helped buoy Apple while it released a modern operating system and refreshed the rest of the Mac lineup, and maintained Apple's position as a leader of the emerging digital audio and video sector.[4] It also established a formula of quickly polishing a new Apple product through rapid iterative updates.[86] Macworld noted the iMac saved Apple financially and proved Apple could still produce exciting, innovative products.[39] The iMac also served as the public's introduction to Jony Ive, making him one of the world's most-celebrated designers.[80][83] The product's name influenced many of Apple's later products—such as iPod, iLife, and iPhone[39]—and for a time defined Apple's consumer-focused product lines.[87] Apple's consumer laptop the iBook followed the iMac's lead in a lack of legacy technology and use of colorful, translucent plastic.[88] The iMac was so successful in the education market Apple created a G4-powered successor named the eMac.[4]

The design influence of the iMac G3 was not limited to personal computers; by the early 2000s, multicolored, translucent plastic designs had become common among consumer designs, including microwave ovens and George Foreman Grills. USA Today called the translucence trend "electronics voyeurism".[83] Apple would follow the bulbous, candy-colored iMac G3 with the flat-panel, white iMac G4 in 2002.[39] Apple's desktop lineup remained relatively monochrome in the following years; the 2021 release of Apple silicon-based iMacs were sold in seven colors and were considered to hearken back to the iMac's colorful roots.[89][90][91]

• Atkinson, Paul (2020). "Apple iMac G3". In Lees-Maffei, Grace (ed.). Iconic Designs: 50 Stories about 50 Things. Bloosmbury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8578-5353-0.
• Bates, Allyson (July 1999). "iMac 333MHz". Macworld. Reviews. p. 47. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Breen, Christopher (December 2001). "iMac and iMac Special Edition". Macworld. Reviews. pp. 33–34. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Breitzer, Frith (January 2000). "The iMac is Back". Macworld. pp. 70–77. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Capps, Robert (December 1999). "Eeny Meeny Miny iMac". MacAddict. No. 40. ISSN 1088-548X.
• Gore, Andrew (July 1998a). "Defying Gravity ... Again". Macworld. The Vision Thing. p. 17. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Gore, Andrew (November 1998b). "Reviews". Macworld. iMac: Groundbreaking consumer offering lives up to its hype. pp. 32–33. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Gore, Andrew; Epler, Anita (July 1998). "The iMac Cometh". Macworld. pp. 17A–17D. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Gruman, Galen (November 1997). "Why Apple Pulled the Plug". Macworld. pp. 31–32, 36. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Honan, Mathew (June 2001). "iMac and iMac Special Edition". Macworld. Reviews. pp. 68–69. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Honan, Mathew; Schmeiser, Lisa (October 2000). "The Mouse that Roared". Macworld. Macworld Expo Buzz Extra. p. 28. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Isaacson, Walter (2013). Steve Jobs. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-4854-6.
• Kahney, Leander (2013). Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products. Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-5918-4617-8.
• Michaels, Philip; Snell, Jason (October 2000). "iMac of a Different Color". Macworld. Macworld Expo Buzz Extra. p. 27. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Michaels, Philip (March 2002). "The iMac: Flat is Where It's At". Macworld. Special Report. pp. 29–32. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Pogue, David (October 1999). "Meet the iBook". Macworld. Features. pp. 62–67. ISSN 0741-8647.
• Press, Mike; Cooper, Rachel (2017). "Design and consumer culture". The Design Experience: The Role of Design and Designers in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-3518-9170-7.
• Segall, Ken (2013). Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success (2nd ed.). The Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-5918-4621-5.
• Silvius, Susan (December 1998). "iMac vs. Pentium: No Points for Good Looks". PC World. ISSN 0737-8939.
• Simmons, Mark; Reynolds, David (March 1999). "The Mac of the Future". MacAddict. No. 31. ISSN 1088-548X.