iMac G3
A translucent blue all-in-one computer from 1998 that dropped the floppy drive for USB and helped bring Apple back.
Steve Jobs unveiled the iMac on May 6, 1998. It went on sale on August 15, 1998. Apple's head of design Jony Ive and his team made a teardrop-shaped case from translucent plastic. The first model came in a color called Bondi blue.
The first model had a 233 megahertz PowerPC G3 processor and 32 megabytes of memory. It had USB ports and a CD drive, but no floppy drive and no old serial ports. The design team's target price was about $1,200.
Why it matters
The iMac made computers look friendly. Later models came in five colors: blueberry, strawberry, tangerine, grape and lime. By the time Apple announced a successor in January 2002, the company had sold 6 million iMacs. Its choice of USB also pushed makers to build USB devices.
Key facts
- Unveiled May 6, 1998, and on sale August 15, 1998.
- Case designed by Jony Ive and his team.
- 233 megahertz PowerPC G3 processor and 32 megabytes of memory in the first model.
- No floppy drive and no serial ports, with USB instead.
- 6 million sold by January 2002.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "iMac G3", en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac_G3, accessed October 14, 2026.
- Mimms Museum of Technology and Art, "Exhibits", mimmsmuseum.org/exhibits/, accessed October 14, 2026.