August 15, 1998 – March 2003 (4 years and 7 months)
Discontinued
March 2003; 21 years ago (2003-03)
Successor
iMac G4 eMac
Related
iBook
The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers that Apple Computer sold from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was Apple's first major product release under its CEO Steve Jobs, who had recently returned to the financially troubled company he co-founded after eleven years away. Jobs reorganized the company and simplified the product line. The iMac was designed as Apple's new consumer desktop product—an inexpensive, consumer-oriented computer that would easily connect to the Internet.
The iMac's all-in-one design is based around a cathode-ray tube display; the G3 processor, components, and connectivity were all included in a single enclosure. Apple's head of design Jony Ive and his team developed a teardrop-shaped, translucent plastic case that was a radical departure from the look of the company's previous computers. The company developed new working methods to quickly finish the computer, and new workflows they used for designing future products. The iMac G3 eschewed legacy technologies like serial ports and floppy disk drives in favor of CD-ROMs and USB ports.
Critical response to the iMac was mixed; journalists said the machine would be good for new computer users but bemoaned the lack of legacy technology, and said the mouse and keyboard were uncomfortable. Despite the reviews the iMac was an immediate commercial success, becoming Apple's fastest-selling computer. It sold more than 5 million units in its lifetime.
The original model was revised several times, improving the processor speed, the amount of random-access memory, hard drive space, and other capabilities. The iMac is credited with saving Apple from financial ruin, and for turning personal computers from niche, technical products to mass-consumer fashion. Other computers and consumer products appropriated the translucent plastic look, leading to legal action from Apple. The iMac G3 series was succeeded by the iMac G4, and the iMac G3's position in education markets was replaced by the eMac.
The iMacG3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers that Apple Computer sold from 1998 to 2003. The iMac was Apple's...
Francisco in January 2002. It replaced the iMacG3 and was succeeded by the iMac G5. The iMac G4 was the first iMac to have a liquid-crystal display built...
and has evolved through seven distinct forms. In its original form, the iMacG3 had a gumdrop or egg-shaped look, with a CRT monitor, mainly enclosed by...
When the iMacG3 was introduced, the G3 AIO and iMac were sold together to the education market until the G3 AIO was discontinued. The Power Mac G3 (Blue...
low-end iMac G5 that, like the eMac, was exclusively sold to educational institutions. The eMac design closely resembles the Snow iMacG3, though the...
unveiled the iBook G3 during the keynote presentation of Macworld Conference & Expo, New York City. Like the iMac, the iBook G3 had a PowerPC G3 CPU, and no...
May 8, 1997 Power Macintosh G3 AIO, launched January 31, 1998 iMac (original G3), launched August 15, 1998 Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White), launched...
floating-point performance over the 750CX. Several iBook models and the last G3-based iMac have this processor. A cost reduced version of 750CXe, called 750CXr...
Mac OS 9.1 at the Wayback Machine (archived April 4, 2004) from apple.com Apple | iMac Firmware Update at the Wayback Machine (archived March 3, 2008)...
released by Apple Computer, Inc. It was first released with the Bondi Blue iMacG3 in 1998 and included with all successive desktop Macs for the next two...
positioned it in the middle of its product range, between the consumer iMacG3 and the professional Power Mac G4. The Cube was announced at the Macworld...
2022-05-25 Bangeman, Eric (2007-08-09), Aluminum and glass: A review of the new iMac, retrieved 2022-05-25 "Introducing M1 Pro and M1 Max: the most powerful chips...
review for its slowness, stating it "runs like a limp turtle on our old iMacG3." Free and open source software portal OpenCore XPostFacto on Macintosh...
operating systems such as Macintosh's macOS and iPhone's iOS. Apple's iMacG3 was introduced in 1998 and its innovative design is directly the result...
Kardon, and were enlarged versions of the Odyssey speakers built in to the iMacG3. The Apple Pro Speakers were introduced in January 2001 alongside the Power...
something Apple stopped doing altogether until the introduction of the iMacG3 in the second half of 1998. The more powerful Power Macintosh 5500 was...
lower-pitched version of this chime is in all PCI-based Power Macs until the iMacG3. The Macintosh LC, LC II, and Macintosh Classic II do not use the Reekes...
been noted to have a superficial resemblance to the egg design of the iMacG3 from 1998. "Apple Baby Mac". May 2017. "Hartmut esslinger's early apple...