On that unboxing video we posted the other day (sorry about the ads-- point taken), it was noted that the Apple Remote no longer stuck to the side of the new iMac. Reader Sal emailed me this morning to point out that not only did his Remote not stick either, but apparently he rang up Apple, and the "product specialist" said the Remote should stick. I also called Apple, and they told me the Remote should stick as well.But neither the Unboxing Remote or Sal's Remote actually stuck, so what's the deal? Our commenters have noted over the past few days that aluminum eats magnetic fields, so it could be that the aluminum makes sticking the Remote on a no go. I don't know exactly how it worked with the old iMac (whether there was just a magnet inside or in both the Remote and the iMac), but Sal points out his Remote won't stick to the fridge either. After he told Apple that, they even offered to send him a new Remote, so maybe the Remote he has is defective (which means this is the second new defective product we've heard about in the past few days). One more wrinkle-- other commenters have suggested that instead of the side, the Remote now sticks to the "chin" of the iMac, but Sal tried that and said it didn't work either.
At any rate, Apple says the Remote should stick, but everything we've seen says it doesn't. Which is it? Anyone have a new iMac and want to confirm that it sticks? It's not a big loss, of course, if it's really not sticking. But like the Open Apple button, that's another special Apple touch that's been lost on the new iMac.
Update: This video, courtesy Rizza in the comments, shows the Remote stuck on the front right corner of the glass (which is one way to get around the aluminum, I guess). So looks like Apple moved the magnet there.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
8-11-2007 @ 11:46AM
Query said...
Quote: "Sal points out his Remote won't stick to the fridge either"
It's not supposed to. The remote doesn't have a magnet in it; the iMac does (try sticking other metal objects to the side of an old iMac, they'll stick). There's a chance that Apple didn't put magnets inside of these new iMacs.
Maybe the Apple representatives don't actually know or were misled. Just a thought.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 11:58AM
Rizza said...
from MacRumors Forums thanx MAW
***There IS a magnet on the new iMac!!!!***
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=340415
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPYhfsH9onA
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 12:07PM
naquah said...
Judging from that YouTube video, there IS a magnet in the side, but the aluminum is blocking it's magnetic field. That's why it's possible to stick the remote to the black border around the screen, which is probably made of plastic.
Oops.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 12:13PM
chris said...
that magnet it is sticking to is the magnet which hold the glass to the body of the imac, so it really isn't made for the remote.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 12:30PM
James Donevan said...
Common sense would suggest that Apple has moved the position of the magnet to the black bezel as it is the only logical location. Paramagnetic materials (such as aluminum) are weakly attracted to magnets so it is unlikely the designers placed any magnet in the side of the box behind the aluminum.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 12:37PM
5cents said...
Of course, Donevan, it is possible Apple engineers did place the magnet there (side) and overlooked the fact that aluminium would interfere with the field. I mean, Apple are the king/queen of the subtle touch, but it is conceivable they made a mistake.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 12:42PM
R. said...
My remote doesn't stick either. I just assumed they decided to remove that functionality, à la the newly absent sleep indicator light.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 12:59PM
GadgetGav said...
**SHOCK**
***SECOND*** DEFECTIVE PRODUCT..!!!
OMG..!!
What will we do..? The earth might stop spinning...!
Oh, wait. The Airport Extreme Gigabit issue was a faulty unit, not really a defective product design and that was corrected (even on TUAW) before this story was published. And one way or another you can stick your remote to your new iMac if you want to...
So there's not really a story here is there...? Do you guys get paid by the word or something..?
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 1:04PM
Peter of the Norse said...
There are magnets all around the edge of the glass, but not the outside of the case. They’re holding the glass to the bezel.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 1:13PM
Steve said...
does it really matter??
just set it beside that shiny new aluminum iMac-ish computer of yours!!
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 1:45PM
MacBookOwner said...
I find it pretty difficult to believe that the intended placement of the Remote is now the front, as shown on that YouTube video. I'm not saying there isn't a magnet there or its faked-but I can't believe Jobs would approve of the white remote just stuck on the front like that. Something isn't right. (as some commentors noted, maybe the aluminum is inadvertently screwing with the side mounting )
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 2:08PM
Catt said...
Or maybe they shipped the old remote instead of the new ones that are supposed to stick to the side aluminum and all. It does seem odd that Apple would design the remote to stick to the front like that.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 2:24PM
stevenfraser said...
I have a new iMac and the remote doesn't stick to either the side or the front as shown in the video. I've tried all over the machine and on the back. No go. Both old and new remotes stick to my old iMac. Neither sticks to the new one. As for sticking to a refrigerator, neither old or new remotes stick to it.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 2:39PM
jpt said...
The Remote does indeed stick to the front but it's not meant to. It's extremely difficult to get it into the right position to stick, but it can be stuck anywhere on the black border. This is probably a side effect of the magnets holding the glass to the bezel.
The Remote isn't meant to stick anymore. It's obvious the Apple person was unaware the feature was removed or confused it with a previous iMac.
It's that simple, it's not supposed to stick anymore, you can stick it to the front with some fiddling but it's not meant to go there, it's not meant to go anywhere.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 2:56PM
Sal Costello said...
I am Sal from the story.
Since this story was written, the Apple "product specialist" heard back from the Apple engineer. The engineerm told him the remote was made not to stick. But I see someone found a ,way for it to stick to the glass (sort of)...magneticly it's kind of weak so I won't chance it falling. I'll just leave mine on the top of the aluminum base.
: )
http://salcostello.blogspot.com/
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 6:26PM
artifex said...
Why is the remote still white if the iMac is aluminum? They could at least make it black plastic, to match the bezel.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 7:15PM
Michael said...
I got the 20" on Tuesday. My remote doesn't stick, but I thought no big deal. After reading this, yes, my remote stickes to the bottom right side of the glass, but just BARELY!!!. I can feel the sticking around other areas of the glass, but not enough to hold it there.
BTW, Love the mew Mac. I had upgraded from TiBook 800 DVI, so it was quite an upgrade.
New keyboard "feels" OK, but I really like just a bit of a curve, like the last keyboard model.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 7:32PM
prw2732 said...
In the iMac-G5-iSight User Guide, the text identifies the "remote rest" on the bottom right side of the system. The term does not appear in the iMac Mid-2007 manual at all. There is no remote rest on the new iMacs.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 7:45PM
prw2732 said...
In the iMac-G5-iSight User Guide, the text identifies the "power indicator light" on the bottom right front of the system. The term does not appear in the iMac Mid-2007 manual at all. There is no power indicator light on the new iMacs.
Reply
8-11-2007 @ 7:59PM
JeffDM said...
It does seem to be an odd thing to leave out. It could have been placed to shine through a hole in the shell, like with mini, PowerMac G5 and Mac Pro.
I don't remember how long Macs have had their pulsing sleep light, but it just seems to be one of those things that's going to be missed.
Reply