With its iconic transparent plastic design, the first colourful all-in-one is universally recognized as the product that kickstarted Apple’s big comeback in the late nineties.

The iMac G3 was a product like no other, pioneering a series of bold design choices. For example, it was one of the first computers to get rid of the floppy disk. What is now known as one of Steve Jobs’ most famous “I told you so” moments, at the time was met mainly with strong criticism.

In 2002, Apple revolutionized the iMac entirely with one of the most iconic Jony Ive designs of all times, now part of the permanent collection at Moma.

The launch of the iMac G4 created a lot of media attention, with a usual celebration of the product itself by a cover of Time magazine.

In 2004, Apple’s Industrial Design Group, led by Jony Ive, revolutionized the iMac design’s once again. It was the birth of the all-in-one’s current shape, with a metal pedestal holding the tilting display unit.

In 2006, after Apple started adopting Intel’s x86 chip architecture, the iMac was one of the first models to get an update. The design remained untouched.

One year later, the iMac joined Apple’s design shift from polycarbonate plastic to aluminium, with a redesigned chassis that didn’t change much of the general shape of the computer while gaining better thermal performance and a more minimalistic look.

In 2009, the iMac joined Apple’s unibody design shift. The “head” unit was now milled from a single piece of metal, like the chassis of Apple’s new MacBooks. The form factor of the computer, though, was primarily untouched from the previous design.

The unibody iMac design remained unchanged until 2012 when Apple debuted one of the all-in-one longer-lasting redesigns. While keeping an aluminium unibody frame, the new iMac was slimmer thank to a curved back and a re-positioning of the internal components.

The 2012 design remained unchanged until now. The launch of the new 24” iMac, available in seven different colors, marks one of the most daring design reboots the iMac line has ever seen.

Apple has slimmed down the iMac to be 11,5mm thick. That’s less than an Apple Watch. Design clues for the chassis were clearly drawn from the iPad Pro line. It’s an entirely new chapter of Apple’s design history enabled by the never-before-seen advantages of the M1 chip. The new Apple Silicon can be as powerful as an Intel chip while generating way less heat, thus leaving Apple designer free rein over Mac computers' shape, size, and thinness. The 2021 iMac is the first Mac computer that takes full advantage of the M1 capabilities, but we’re sure Apple has already many more mighty redesigns in the pipeline.