Apple's online store was offline this morning with a "We'll be back" message posted in its place. It wasn't "broken," Apple had simply pulled the curtain closed so it could push forward a new $1,099 21.5-inch iMac. Its lowest-priced model to date.
Traditionally, the Apple Store closes in the minutes or hours before a major product announcement, but there are times when a smaller hardware update or rollout gets the same treatment. There was some conjecture that this could be the prelude to an update of Apple's popular MacBook Air laptop, possibly even a retina display (something Apple fans have been begging for for ages). However, the MacBook Air line remains unchanged.
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This new offering, however, could appeal to those looking to get in on the ground floor of the Apple OSX experience, without sacrificing things like a screen (as they would for the cheaper, computer-in-a-little-box Mac Mini). The new iMac desktop all-in-on computer runs a considerably a slower 1.4 Ghz CPU than the next, more expensive iMac, which boasts a 2.7 GHz processor and costs $1,299. Apple also ratcheted down the hard drive to a half terabyte and switched out the Intel Iris Pro GPU for a more entry-level Intel HD Graphics 5000 GPU.
The timing of the tiny launch is notable, because today is also the day that Amazon will breach a new hardware category -- mobile phones -- one where Apple is one of two clear leaders (the other being Samsung). Coincidence or an effort to steal a little bit of Amazon's thunder? You be the judge.