Apple's 21.5-inch Intel iMac is officially retired

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited November 2021
Apple has taken down the 21.5-inch iMac from the online Apple Store, leaving customers with the choice of either the 24-inch iMac or the Intel-based 27-inch iMac.




A change that seemed inevitable with the introduction of the 24-inch iMac, Apple has quietly pulled from sale the 21.5-inch iMac. Customers visiting the online Apple Store will be able to choose from just two sizes of iMac, with the 24-inch iMac now the smallest available option in the catalog.

Apple reduced the number of storage options for the 21.5-inch iMac in March, limiting the choices to 256GB SSD and a 1TB Fusion Drive. By April, there were reports of short supplies of the 21.5-inch model, ahead of the eventual launch of the 24-inch model.

With the first Apple Silicon model's launch, it became only a matter of time before Apple ceased sales of the 21.5-inch iMac, as part of its shift away from Intel processors. The takedown now leaves the 27-inch iMac as the last remaining Intel-based model on Apple's virtual shelves.

It's possible that even that larger model could disappear from the store within months. Rumors claim Apple is working on a large-screen iMac similar in concept to the 24-inch iMac, one that could replace the 27-inch Intel model entirely.

Consumers keen to acquire the 21.5-inch model can still get the iMac from third-party retailers with residual stock.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    p-dogp-dog Posts: 136member
    About G-D time! When Apple peddles old cruft like this to educational institutions, it makes generic windoze boxes and e-waste, er…chrome books, come out looking good in comparison. It doesn’t matter if this old gear was price-competitive, it was still 5 year old tech with a tiny amount of storage and memory. 
    caladanianwilliamlondonJohnSvetlikmike54lkruppMacsWithPenguinsstompywatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 11
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Intel Outside



    (Not my joke but funny as hell)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    Beats said:
    Intel Outside
    (Not my joke but funny as hell)
    Intel Ousted. Seems just as funny.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    ciacia Posts: 268member
    Not sure if they were referring to the iMac only, but you can still buy the Mac Mini with Intel new.  And the refurb store has a gazillion intel Macs across the whole product spectrum still available.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 11
    cia said:
    Not sure if they were referring to the iMac only, but you can still buy the Mac Mini with Intel new.  And the refurb store has a gazillion intel Macs across the whole product spectrum still available.
    Makes sense to keep the Intel Mini. Remember that cloud providers and software dev houses put these in racks for Continous Integration purposes (Jenkins, CircleCI, et cetera).
    edited October 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 11
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,036member
    Too bad. The 21.5" is the ideal size for a desktop computer at home. At lacks nothing. Gets the job done without the size getting in the way. 

    And, unless the computer is somehow your actual business, you don't want the computer to be the primary focus. Lawyer, doctor, nurse, intake -- anything to do with public communication, clients, you don't want the compute to separate you from the people you're serving. 
    edited October 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 11
    larryjw said:
    Too bad. The 21.5" is the ideal size for a desktop computer at home. At lacks nothing. Gets the job done without the size getting in the way. 

    And, unless the computer is somehow your actual business, you don't want the computer to be the primary focus. Lawyer, doctor, nurse, intake -- anything to do with public communication, clients, you don't want the compute to separate you from the people you're serving. 
    Erm, you do realise the 24” iMac is practically the same physical size?
    stompywatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,360member
    p-dog said:
    About G-D time! When Apple peddles old cruft like this to educational institutions, it makes generic windoze boxes and e-waste, er…chrome books, come out looking good in comparison. It doesn’t matter if this old gear was price-competitive, it was still 5 year old tech with a tiny amount of storage and memory. 
    Any school district giving a kid a Google Chromebook must hate them complete junk.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 11
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,222member
    Maybe that will incentivize schoolchildren to pay attention in class, get a decent education and eventually get a good enough job where they can afford premium computing hardware so they are no longer subjected to crap notebooks.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 11
    cia said:
    Not sure if they were referring to the iMac only, but you can still buy the Mac Mini with Intel new.  And the refurb store has a gazillion intel Macs across the whole product spectrum still available.
    Just the iMac 21.5 like the title said. Apple still sells the Mac mini and also the iMac 27 with intel chips. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 11
    TRAGTRAG Posts: 56member
    Apple_Bar said:
    cia said:
    Not sure if they were referring to the iMac only, but you can still buy the Mac Mini with Intel new.  And the refurb store has a gazillion intel Macs across the whole product spectrum still available.
    Just the iMac 21.5 like the title said. Apple still sells the Mac mini and also the iMac 27 with intel chips. 
    And the Mac Pro
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