July 3, 2001: Apple suspends manufacturing of its Energy Mac G4 Dice, one of the notable busts in Apple historical past — and the primary main flop following Steve Jobs’ superb return to the corporate.
Though Apple leaves the door open to probably reintroducing the remarkably clear G4 Dice at a later date, this by no means occurs. The fashionable laptop is outmoded by Apple’s improve to G5 processors after which to Intel Core-based Macs.
Energy Mac G4 Dice: Nice laptop, however a bust
The Energy Mac G4 Dice represented a change in route for Apple. Beforehand, computer systems just like the ultra-colorful authentic iMac and iBook grabbed a great deal of consideration upon Jobs’ return to Cupertino. They immediately achieved their mission of differentiating Apple’s {hardware} from the beige packing containers that different private laptop corporations constructed at the moment.
However chief designer Jony Ive and others have been eager to go in a brand new route with Apple design. Their new imaginative and prescient birthed the modern, austere, quasi-industrial aesthetic that Apple continues to discover to this present day (though the colourful M1 iMacs launched in 2021 look like one thing of a throwback to the corporate’s extra playful designs).
A pc formed like a dice appeared to carry a bizarre fascination for Jobs, though he by no means discovered nice business success with one of these design. The Energy Mac G4 Dice harked again to the NeXTcube, a pc Jobs created throughout his wilderness years outdoors Apple. That machine additionally achieved solely restricted success.
Photograph: Wikipedia CC
A transparent dice constructed for pace
No person denied that the Energy Mac G4 Dice seemed putting. Fairly than a typical tower, it took the type of a 7-inch-by-7-inch dice of clear plastic that seemed prefer it was floating in midair, because of its clear base. It additionally operated in near-total silence as a result of it was cooled by air convection as a substitute of a fan. And it featured a touch-sensitive energy button, an early instance of the tech Apple would later use for the iPhone.
One thing that I very a lot favored about it was that it continued Apple’s mid-Nineties pattern towards expandability. Homeowners might entry the Energy Mac G4 Dice’s inside elements simply by means of the underside of the machine. It even sported a pop-up deal with to assist with this. (By comparability, Apple’s subsequent Macs proved an excessive problem to open up, not to mention develop.)
By way of each specs and worth, the Energy Mac G4 Dice packed fairly a punch. It began at $1,799 for a fundamental mannequin with a 450-MHz G4 chip, 64MB of reminiscence and 20GB of storage. A dearer Apple on-line retailer unique — retailing at $2,299 — boasted a extra highly effective processor and further storage and reminiscence. You had to purchase your personal monitor, too!
Placing the G4 Dice on ice
Photograph: Apple
Regardless of all this, nonetheless, the G4 Dice by no means appealed to various hardcore Apple followers. Certain, they might need beloved it, however the wildly fashionable laptop merely didn’t ring a bell with on a regular basis prospects.
Though Jobs referred to as it “simply the coolest computer ever” in a press launch, Apple solely offered round 150,000 models whole. That was only a third of what the corporate had forecast earlier than the Pwer Mac G4 Dice’s launch in 2000. The pc’s iconic look did be certain that it popped up in a couple of 2000-era Hollywood films, although.
The breathtaking design suffered its faults, although. Apple sustained a dangerous PR blow when some prospects reported tiny cracks showing within the G4 Dice’s clear plastic casing. (If you wish to purchase a second-hand Energy Mac G4 Dice as we speak, you would possibly wish to verify for this.)
Apple places the Energy Mac G4 on ice
In Apple’s press launch on July 3, 2001, it wrote that the G4 Dice was being put “on ice.”
“Cube owners love their Cubes, but most customers decided to buy our powerful Power Mac G4 minitowers instead,” stated Apple advertising and marketing chief Phil Schiller in an announcement. Apple acknowledged that there was a “small chance” an upgraded mannequin would arrive sooner or later, however admitted, “there are no plans to do so at this time.”
Apple didn’t want to attend too lengthy for its subsequent massive hit, nonetheless. A few months after placing the Energy Mac G4 Dice on ice, Apple launched a bit product referred to as the iPod. We predict you understand the remaining!
Do you bear in mind the G4 Dice? Go away your feedback and recollections beneath.