Apple eMac

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Apple eMac (pictured right) was released on April 29th, 2002, for $1099 USD ($1,979.15 USD, as of September of 2025) as Apple's foray into the education market. Later it was released for general consumers as a cheap alternative to the iMac G4. The eMac name is a combination of Education ('e') and Macintosh ('Mac') and is a play on the iMac naming scheme. It has also been labeled the 'Economy Mac' within online Apple Macintosh community spaces.

The eMac was on sale from late April, 2002 until July 5, 2006, were it was formally pulled from the education market after it's discontinuation from the mass market on October 12, 2005. It was succeeded by a lower-costing tier of the Intel iMac released in 2006.

SYSTEM SPECS AND FEATURES

The 2002 eMac was powered by a PowerPC 7450 processor, clocked at either 700 or 800 MHz, accompanied with 128MB of PC133 SDRAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 2 MX graphics processor; later the GPU was upgraded to the ATI Radeon 7500, ATI Radeon 9200, then the ATI Radeon 9600. Also featured is a 40GB, 60GB, or 80GB hard disk as storage as well as a 32x CD-ROM drive at the front of the machine.

Featured is a 17" Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display at a resolution of 1280x960p. Being the last of the CRT display Apple computers, the eMac is often categorized alongside and as the direct successor to the iMac G3 line of computers.

On the front of the machine, below the display, are dual stereo 2" speakers and the CD-ROM drive hidden behind a plastic flap adorned with the Apple logo. On the side of the machine is are two 3.5mm audio jacks, three USB 1.1 (later being updated to 2.0) ports, two Fire-Wire 400 ports, a 56k V.90 dial-up modem connection, Broadband Ethernet, as well as a Mini VGA display output (Mirrored display mode only; unofficial modifications allow for other display modes)

OPERATING SYSTEM

The operating system originally shipped with the machine was Mac OS X 10.1.4 "Puma"; being updated to later versions of Mac OS X throughout the eMac's lifetime.

ACCESSORIES

The eMac was originally bundled with an Apple Pro Keyboard (Model: M7803) and Apple Pro Mouse (Model: M5769). Later the included keyboard for the mass market release was switched to the Apple USB Keyboard (Model: 1048) as well as the mouse transitioning to the Apple Mighty Mouse (Later renamed as the Apple USB Mouse due to legal troubles.)

Also made available was a translucent Swivel-Tilt Stand that attached to the bottom of the eMac. (Pictured Below)

POSSIBLE ISSUES

-- With the eMac being released in 2002 it may suffer from bad capacitors which can be credited to the 'Capacitor Plague' however capacitors often fail over time so all models may be effected. This may result in the eMac no longer powering on, certain components not functioning at all: speakers, CD-ROM drive, display, I/O, and more.