On This Day 24 Years Ago, the First iMac Went on Sale: Watch Steve Jobs’ Legendary Presentation, The very first iMac, which had been unveiled by Steve Jobs only a few months before, did not go on sale until August 15, 1998. This event served as a turning point for Apple and was the first genuine consumer desktop computer produced by the business.
“The thrill that comes from using the internet. The ease of use provided by Macintosh “at the now-iconic keynote that took place on May 6, 1998, Steve Jobs described the first iMac in the following manner: In the course of the presentation, Steve Jobs made a comparison between it and other desktop computers already available on the market.
According to Steve Jobs, such computers were sluggish, with displays ranging from 13 to 14 inches in size, possibly did not have any networking features, and had an unpleasant appearance. The first generation of Apple’s iMac was designed with the intention of improving upon every aspect of the computer’s performance, as well as its aesthetics and its input and output capabilities.
Jobs boasted about the potent G3/233 processor, which was available at the time, and added, “We decided to make this thing fast.” The very first iMac included a monitor of 15 inches with a resolution of 1024 by 768 pixels, 32 MB of ordinary memory, 4 GB of disc storage, a 24x CD-ROM drive, a 100 MB Ethernet interface, a 33.6 KB modem, and a 4 MB infrared data access port.
For input and output (I/O) and peripherals, the first-generation iMac had stereo SRS sound, two 12MB USB ports, and a keyboard and mouse.
People were able to see inside the machine thanks to its translucent design, which was the defining characteristic of this product. Jobs made a lighthearted comment on the product’s appearance in comparison to that of its rivals on the market by saying, “The rear of this thing looks better than the front of the other guys, by the way.”
The stereo surround speakers, infrared, a CD-ROM, and a headphone connection were located on the front of the iMac, beneath the display. Other features included the optical drive.
Since its launch 24 years ago, the iMac has seen a significant amount of development and transformation. The retail price of the first generation of the iMac was $1,299. There is a wide variety of colour options available for Apple’s most recent iMac model, the 24-inch iMac with M1, just as there were for the company’s first iMac.
Through the years, Apple has continued to make significant improvements to the iMac’s design, making it smaller, more powerful, and more compact.