Apple, please make transparent Macs again

Apple ’s newBeats Studio Buds + are now available and there ’s one obvious reason why you might get them instead of a duo of AirPods Pro : They ’re available in an incredibly cool crystal clear colouring material , which is a see - through charge card on both the earbuds and the showcase .

transparentness is n’t a new idea for Apple . For longtime users , the new Buds+ brings back computer memory of preceding Apple product incase in transparent and translucent charge card . In fact , Apple popularise the trend many eld ago , but like all movement , it eventually faded way . Now , with theNothing Phoneand now the new Beats Studio Buds+ , transparent design are having a present moment and we ’d eff to see Apple return to the days when Macs and video display got the see - through intervention .

Beats Studio Buds+

While we dream , here ’s a feel back at a few Apple products that paved the way for the unexampled Transparent Beats Studio Buds + :

iMac (1998)

The iMac made see-through and translucent products popular .

Apple

The originaliMac just celebrated its 25th anniversary , and while it sic off an manufacture vogue , it was n’t Apple ’s first foray into transparency . But it was the most successful . The original blue - and - white shell did n’t provide a lechatelierite clear look into the intimate workings of the machine , but it allow just enough of a technological visual element to poise out the playfulness of the designing . Over the days , Apple expanded the color palette and patterns of the case — some were transparent , some weren’t — but we ’ll always have a gentle post for the original Bondi Blue iMac .

The iMac made transparent and translucent products popular.

eMate 300

Before the iMac , Apple used translucent parts on products like the Power Macintosh 8600 and 9600 , but theeMate 300was the first Apple twist that went all - in with a colourful translucent design . Part of Apple’sNewtonplatform sold through Education Department channels , the blue downhearted - unripened plastic miniature laptop computer had a lilliputian keyboard , a tinier sieve , and run Newton OS . It never really caught on , but we ’d buy one in a second if Apple released it today .

iBook

Two year after the eMate 300 and one class after the iMac , Apple issue the iBook . The iBook was Apple ’s consumer - stratum laptop useable in Blueberry . Graphite , or Tangerine , and its tough construction actually made it big than the pro - level PowerBook G3 that Apple also offer . The iBook also had a carrying grip , which bring to the cuteness agent . But what made it wildly pop was its iMac - inspired case complete with un - PC - like curve and just the good amount of transparency . We love today ’s MacBooks , but there ’s nothing like the iBook .

Power Macintosh G3 All-in-One

The Power Macintosh G3 All - in - One actually predates the iMac by two month and it was clearly a star sign of thing to come . The top and rear of this Mac used semitransparent clear plastic , while the rest of the case was beige . count 60 lbf. , this Mac was often refer to as the Molar Mac because of its resemblance to a tooth . You have to see this thing in person to truly get a common sense of how form and function really did n’t mix — but the transparent plastic , funky curvature , and stocky all - in - one purpose was the first coup d’oeil of the hereafter .

Studio Display (1998, 1999, 2000)

When Apple unloose theStudio Display last twelvemonth , the company really revived an old brand name . Thevery first Studio Displaywas release in 1998 , and it featured – you guessed it – a semitransparent gray enclosure and a blue stand . It was Apple ’s first flat - cover LCD , but since liquid crystal display were expensive ( especially if you wanted to go bigger than 15 inch ) , CRT reminder were still popular . So Apple released a 17- and 21 - inch Studio Display with a CRT and a ashen and translucent Blueberry case to tally the Power Macintosh G3 . But we have a easygoing spot for the last CRT Apple made — the 17 - inch Apple Studio Display CRT ( ADC ) that had a crystallization clear envelopment so you could see everything inside it .

Harman Kardon Soundsticks

The Soundsticks were made by Harman Kardon , but they were co - develop with Apple , design by Jony I ve , and made for the Macs of the early 2000s . The Soundsticks were a complement to iSub , a 20 - watt subwoofer specifically designed to work with Apple ’s one-armed bandit - debase iMacs and the Power Mac G4 . The erect design and semitransparent enclosure are striking even today — and you canstill buy a setwith or without wires .

Harman Kardon

Beats Studio Buds+