Apple updates consumer desktop line

Written by Philip Roy | 04 March 2009
Posted in Apple

Apple today announced updates to its iMac and Mac mini desktop lines, including faster processors and twice the memory for all iMacs and a new Mac mini with powerful new integrated graphics. The entire iMac line comes with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors up to 3.06 GHz, the latest graphics technology, double the memory and up to one terabyte of storage.

Delivering up to five times better graphics performance, the updated Mac mini now features the same groundbreaking NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics introduced with the aluminium unibody MacBook family.* The Mac mini is the world's most energy efficient desktop, drawing less than 13 watts of power when idle.** All iMac and Mac mini systems come with Mac OS X Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system, and iLife '09, Apple's unparalleled suite of consumer applications for managing and organising photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music.

The elegant, full-featured iMac line starts with the 20-inch iMac at a recommended retail price (RRP) of NZ$2,599 inc GST with a 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics. The 24-inch iMac features a beautiful 1920-by-1200 pixel widescreen display that offers 30 percent more screen real estate than the 20-inch model, and starts at RRP NZ$3,299 inc GST. The 24-inch iMac includes up to a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 640GB or 1TB Serial ATA hard drive, and a variety of graphics technology from NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130 or ATI Radeon HD 4850 discrete graphics for ultimate performance.

Starting at RRP NZ$1,398 inc GST, the Mac mini is an innovative, tiny desktop measuring only 16.51 cm by 16.51 cm by 5.08 cm. Available in two models, Mac mini features a 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, up to 320GB Serial ATA hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800 and a SuperDrive. The Mac mini features NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics for up to five times better graphics performance than before* and now with dual display support can drive two Apple or third-party displays with Mini DisplayPort or DVI connections. Using less than 13 watts of power at idle, up to 10 times less power than a typical desktop PC, the new Mac mini is the most energy efficient desktop in the world.**

Continuing Apple's commitment to the environment, both iMac and Mac mini extend their leadership in green design. Both iMac and Mac mini exceed current Energy Star 4.0 requirements and are leading the industry as early adopters of the more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements which will become effective later this year. Both iMac and Mac mini use PVC-free internal components and cables and contain no brominated flame retardants. Both iMac and Mac mini feature material-efficient system and packaging designs and use highly recyclable materials. Apple's new desktop lineup joins its recently introduced aluminium unibody MacBook family in achieving EPEAT Gold status.***

Every Mac comes with Apple's innovative iLife '09 suite of applications for managing photos, making movies and creating and learning to play music. iLife '09 features iPhoto, which introduces Faces and Places as breakthrough new ways to easily organise and manage your photos; iMovie with powerful easy-to-use new features such as Precision Editor, video stabilisation and advanced drag and drop; and GarageBand which introduces a whole new way to help you learn to play piano and guitar. Every Mac also includes Leopard, the world's most advanced operating system which features Time Machine™, an effortless way to automatically back up everything on a Mac; a redesigned Finder™ that lets users quickly browse and share files between multiple Macs; Quick Look, the best way to instantly see files without opening an application; Spaces, an intuitive feature used to create groups of applications and instantly switch between them; Mail with easy setup and elegant, personalised stationery; and iChat, the most advanced video chat.

Apple also announced that its popular AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi Base Station and Time Capsule now feature simultaneous 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual-band networking for optimal performance, range and compatibility. An innovative Guest Network feature allows setting up a secondary network for friends and visitors with Internet-only access so you don't have to hand out your WiFi password. Time Capsule combines an 802.11n router and server-grade hard disk for automatic wireless back-up with Time Machine, and is immediately available in two models: a 500GB model for RRP A$479 inc GST and a 1TB model for RRP A$799 inc GST. The AirPort Extreme Base Station is also available immediately for a recommended retail price of RRP A$279 inc GST.****

Pricing & Availability
The new iMac and Mac mini lines are now shipping and available through the Apple Store NZ and Apple Authorised Resellers.

The new 20-inch 2.66 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of NZ$2,599 inc GST, includes:

• 20-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache;
• 2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 8GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse.

The new 24-inch 2.66 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of NZ$3,299 inc GST, includes:

• 24-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 8GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 640GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse.

The new 24-inch 2.93 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of NZ$3,999 inc GST, includes:

• 24-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 2.93 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 8GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 120; with 256MB GDDR3 SDRAM memory;
• 640GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse.

The new 24-inch 3.06 GHz iMac, for a suggested retail price of NZ$4,799 inc GST, includes:

• 24-inch widescreen LCD display;
• 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache;
• 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable to 8GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 130; with 512MB GDDR3 memory;
• 1TB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
• built-in iSight video camera;
• Gigabit Ethernet port;
• four USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port;
• built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
• the Apple Keyboard, Mighty Mouse.

Build-to-order options and accessories for the iMac include: a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 8GB DDR3 SDRAM, up to 1TB Serial ATA hard drive, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 130, or ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512MB GDDR3 memory on the 24-inch iMac, and up to 8GB DDRR3 SDRAM and up to a 1TB Serial ATA hard drive on the 20-inch iMac. Additional options include: Apple Keyboard with numeric keypad, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mighty Mouse; AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule; Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, the AppleCare Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork '09, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture™ 2.

The new 2.0 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of NZ$1,398 inc GST, includes:

• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 1GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable up to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 120GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort and mini-DVI for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 BASE-T);
• five USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port; and
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog.

The new 2.0 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of NZ$1,848 inc GST, includes:

• 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache;
• 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM expandable up to 4GB;
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
• 320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;
• a slot-load 8x SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);
• Mini DisplayPort and mini-DVI for video output (adapters sold separately);
• built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
• Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 BASE-T);
• five USB 2.0 ports;
• one FireWire 800 port; and
• one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog.

Build-to-order options and accessories for the Mac mini include: a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 80GB, 250GB or 320GB 5400 hard drives. Additional options include: LED Cinema Display, Apple Keyboard, Apple Keyboard with numeric keypad, Apple Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mighty Mouse; AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule; Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, the AppleCare Protection Plan; and pre-installed copies of iWork '09, Logic Express 8, Final Cut Express 4 and Aperture 2.

*Testing conducted by Apple in January 2009 using preproduction Mac mini units with 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Based on Quake 4 using 1280 x 1024 High Quality setting. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac mini.

**Claim based on energy efficiency categories and products listed within the EPA Energy Star 4.0 database as of February 2009.

***EPEAT is an independent organisation that helps customers compare the environmental performance of notebooks and desktops. Products meeting all of the 23 required criteria and at least 75 percent of the optional criteria are recognised as EPEAT Gold products. The EPEAT program was conceived by the US EPA and is based on IEEE 1680 standard for Environmental Assessment of Personal Computer Products. For more information visit www.epeat.net.

****AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule are based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification. Actual performance will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network and other factors.

Comments (7)

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Andrew said: March 04, 2009  

Price Hike Is it my imagination, or has the price of 24" iMac jumped by about $2,000? A new 24" iMac configured with the remote and AppleCare was about $4,500 on the Apple Store this morning. MagnumMac's online price for the old 24" model (granted, older video card and smaller hard drive - but with Firewire 400) is about $2,800. Seems to me that Apple have taken the opportunity of the introduction of new models to significantly raise the price of the iMac here - presumably because of the falling value of the NZ dollar against the US$.

Philip Roy said: March 04, 2009  

Well if you're going to compare Apples with Apples, then I think you need to be a bit more exact. You're difference you mention is $1700, not $2K...but the newer model you mention you've also lumped in AppleCare haven't you? That said, I'm not disagreeing with you....new models are generally more expensive and the exchange rate at the moment probably does mean they've taken the opportunity to protect themselves, as they did with iLife and iWork (see the blog section).

David Empson said: March 06, 2009  

I've done a first draft comparison between the old and new models prices and features. Mac Mini: old prices were $948 and $1248. New prices are $1398 and $1848, which is about a 48% increase. We've effectively lost the cheap model. The new entry-level model is comparable to the old high-end model in features and costs $150 more (worth it for the gains in video hardware alone). The new high end model is overpriced but not out of line with Apple's component upgrade rates. iMac: old prices were $1899, $2299, $2799. New prices are $2599, $3299 and $3999, which is a 37% to 43% increase. Again, we effectively lost the cheapest model. Anyone considering a 24" iMac should probably go for the $3299 model (2.66 GHz) unless they really need the extra CPU speed and dedicated graphics in the $3999 model. The $4799 model is ridiculous for such a small gain in speed and features. The new prices are about right given the drop in the NZ dollar since August 2007 (Mac Mini) and April 2008 (iMac). It emphasises further that iLife and iWork '09 are overpriced, since they went up by 65% to 80%, were introduced at the same time as the previous Mac Mini, and the NZ dollar has dropped further since they were released. One other point of interest: I see you can now buy iWork '09 as a build to order option with a new computer from the Apple NZ store, for a reasonable discount over the retail price ($138/$209 vs $179/$249). Even those prices are heavily inflated over the equivalent option from the US store (US$49/US$69).

Darryn Lowe said: March 07, 2009 | url   

Actually the pricing is comparable to prices about 5 years ago. I remember paying ~$1600 for my 1.66Ghz Mac Mini but that was because two days earlier Apple had announced the 1.8Ghz Mac Mini and so mine was runoff stock. The Mac Mini then was around the $1800 price mark so the pricing today isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Throw in a bad economy, the fact that products are shipped to Australia then New Zealand and the costs all add up.

Darryn Lowe said: March 07, 2009 | url   

Sorry that should have been "about 3 years ago" not 5. I've had my Mac Mini for about 3 years.

malcam said: March 16, 2009  

Mac Mini Speed Jump (Of New Models);; Compared to First Generation Intel? I have two (first generation Mac Minis) both the 166 MHz and 1.5 MHz. How much faster with these new models be computed to what I have? It goes without saying that the graphics performance would be out of sight :-) Probably the base model would be the best value for money as it now comes with a super drive. Cheers, Malcolm.

David Empson said: March 17, 2009  

Mac Mini Speed Jump This isn't the best place to ask a technical question - you might like to pose it again on the forums, where we can discuss it in detail. In brief, I'd expect a 2.0 GHz Mac Mini to be at least 20% faster than a 1.66 GHz Mini and 33% faster than a 1.5 GHz Mini for CPU-bound tasks, all other factors being equal (same amount of memory, same hard drive, same OS version and applications). Graphics performance will be a lot better, as you noted. For some applications, a 2.0 GHz Mini could be more than twice as fast as a 1.5 GHz Mini, because it has two CPU cores instead of one. Some applications will be able to take advantage of this and run twice as fast, or do twice as much work in the same time. Some applications won't even work on a single core CPU because it isn't fast enough. One example I'm aware of is EyeTV playing live H.264 high definition video (e.g. Freeview HD), which is possible on a 1.66 GHz or faster Mini, but the 1.5 simply doesn't cut it. (The 1.66 can only just manage it with both cores running near 100%.) Total memory installed is an important factor, but I'd rather not go into detail here.

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