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Reading last issue, I had to double-check
that I hadn’t written a letter in my sleep.
Like Trevor, I upgraded my 2011 iMac to a
new 21.5in model with Retina 4K display.
It’s one of the worst purchases I have ever
made from Apple.
The performance of this new iMac is
absolutely dreadful. Mine is even worse as
it has a 5,400rpm hard disk, which is criminal in its very low performance,
I don’t know how the designers at Apple were able to let it out the door.
I have never seen so many beach balls in my life, everything from the
very long boot times, to the very long wait whilst the desktop is displayed,
to having to wait for apps to open. Even when it’s up and running, apps
take an awfully long time to open, with my Dock looking more like a
rampant toaster with apps bouncing up and down for ages.
However, all is not lost. A hint I hope you can pass on to Trevor is to
purchase an external USB 3 SSD – I bought a 512GB Samsung model –
and then install and start macOS from that. It’s not an ideal solution and
requires an additional £100 payment, but things are much more workable.
Apple should not be releasing any desktop or laptop computer with
mechanical drives. They should all be SSD. I don’t expect to pay over
a thousand pounds for a computer to experience this out of the box. I will
probably purchase an iMac in the future and it will definitely have a pure
SSD. However, after buying Apple desktops
and laptops since 2005, I’m disappointed
that it no longer seems to put any care
into its computers!
BY CEALLAIGH DEEI’ve just read Trevor Elliott’s letter of the
month in the May issue of MacFormat. I own
a Late 2013 iMac and a 2017 MacBook Air,
both with 8GB of memory.
Although he doesn’t say which version
of the operating system he is running, I
don’t believe that Trevor’s problem is with
his new model iMac, nor the amount of
memory he has installed. Both of my Macs
now run slower than they did.
I’ve been seeing the ‘spinning beach ball’
and using Force Quit more regularly than I
used to. I believe it’s due to upgrading both
Macs to Mojave. I’m not sure how Apple has
managed it, but it has produced a newLETTER OF THE MONTH!
Have your say on all things Apple!
Q LETTER OF
THE MONTH
version of macOS that makes my computers
run significantly slower.
It is all very well making the system look
nicer, but most users would sacrifice the looks
for more speed.
BY JOHN GOODWINALAN SAYS...
Even before I selected your letters from our
mailbox, I was disappointed by the transfer
rates I was seeing in the new 21.5in iMac’s
Fusion Drive (see review, p82).
I agree that Apple needs to do something –
even taking a hit on its profit margin on iMacs,
if willing and able – to eliminate this weakness.
Not having an SSD by default in 2019 isn’t a
good look for Apple’s most iconic computer.
We haven’t had many reports of Mojave
causing serious performance degradation.
I’d like to hear from other readers with similar
experience to John’s – the spec of your Mac
and what aspect is slowing down. Write to us!There’s lots to recommend about the new iMacs, including
amazing Intel processor options. Fusion Drives, though...A CORRECTION
In our USB-C accessories round-up
(MF #336), the Twelve South BookBook
CaddySack review said “We’re not really
sold on the fake leather book look”.
This does not mean the leather is
fake. BookBook CaddySack is made with
genuine full-grain leather. For this, we
apologise to readers and Twelve South.Win a Night
Cable...
The author of our Letter
of the Month receives a
prize! Email us to be in
with a chance of winning
a Night Cable from Native
Union. This ultra-strong
three-metre cable has a
weighted ball to help keep
it in place. Find out more
at nativeunion.com.TRASH