The iMac, refreshed

The new M4 iMac looks like a beauty. The flat-screen iMac is one of Apple’s nicest machines. And Monday’s refresh looks like a very worthy update.

The M4 chip screams, the new colors look great, and the iMac finally ships with 16GB of unified memory as standard, not the previous model’s woefully inadequate 8GB.

But one huge design problem persists: The Magic Mouse’s charging port remains on the bottom.

I am perhaps the only person in the entire Apple universe who thinks the charging port’s location is a feature, not a bug.

The port’s location is a very deliberate design choice, made to force you not to use the mouse when it’s charging.

This is what drives people crazy about it, of course. But if the port were in a position where you could use the Magic Mouse as it charged, it would no longer be a wireless mouse — it’d be a wired mouse.

And that’s why Apple’s designers put the port on the bottom — so it would never, ever be used as a wired mouse, which would defeat the whole purpose of its wireless design.

It’s like Steve Jobs' initial reaction to the “Antennagate” scandal in 2010, when it was discovered that holding the iPhone 4 in your left hand could lead to dropped calls.

“You’re holding it wrong,” said Jobs.

Also in today’s newsletter:

• The iOS 18.1 update dropped today, bringing Apple Intelligence and several other big features. If you’re updating, here’s the best new stuff to check out. Be sure to sign up for the Apple Intelligence wait list — yes, there is one — as soon as you update.

• Over the years, Apple shipped more than one dodgy mouse.

• I saw some videos on X claiming “jelly scrolling” had been fixed in the new iPad mini 7. One of the first teardowns says different.

• This looks like a great deal: Get lifetime access to some of the best flagship AIs for just $40. Access is metered, but it sure beats separate subscriptions.

• Edifier’s new bookshelf speakers bring studio-quality sound for just $120.

• With iOS 18.1 adding hearing aid capabilities to AirPods Pro 2, Apple’s giving a sneak peek into its state-of-the-art Audio Lab.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

^{A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team}

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Results from last Friday’s poll: Do you immediately install Apple’s betas on your main devices?

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