Macworld New York 2000-The G4 Cube Introduction

Here we see Steve Jobs introducing the G4 Cube. Although praised for its innovative industrial design, the Cube fails to catch on with creative professionals because it's too expensive, not powerful enough and hard to upgrade. The Cube is "put on ice" in July 2001 with Apple promising that it will be "reborn" in another form at a later date. Its widely accepted that the Mac mini computer was its successful replacement.

[@jehanr]

Steve Jobs is such a good presenter I feel like buying this in 2019

[@HarrisonBorbarrison]

I WANT ONE!

[@dotapark]

I think it can be back with new M Series chips.

[@GuantanamoGG]

i feel like buying it in 2022!

[@randyar4137]

@@dotapark it sort of made a comeback tho with the mac studio

[@dotapark]

@@randyar4137 yes it’s glorious and so expensive 🤣 I can’t afford it honestly

[@AppleExplained]

This was truly an amazing machine that should've sold brilliantly. Every aspect of it was carefully thought out and polished thoroughly. It's a shame it had to be discontinued before Apple intended :/ It was Steve Job's baby.

[@simsim9755]

NO WAY APPLE EXPLAINED 11 YEARS AGO AAAAAAAA

[@darkroom8317]

Not true, they didn’t think of the pricing, that’s what killed it.

[@ayoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

11 years ago huh

[@bobbyc1120]

I came here because of the Apple Explained video!

[@user-dk7ks1cy2i]

There is no use for that.

[@Ernoburger]

You see how he SELLS things? How he shows them off and makes you enthusiastic about them? That’s the kind of enthusiasm and product spirit the Apple presentations need again.

[@PHamster]

Agreed... Steve Jobs was very hands-on with the design and product.

[@leebrogan865]

Ernoburger Craig Federighi is the only guy I enjoy watching on their events now, the only one with a good sense of humour and he’s enthusiastic but professional about it.

[@MattExzy]

Watching classic Steve Jobs makes me look up the stuff on eBay. Long out of production, way out of date, but it still sells.

[@eaksgeeks8674]

Ernoburger you don’t know how right you truly are

[@sophist1cated]

The Products are so nice and advanced, they sell themselves alone. It does not need much words to put in.

[@abbashaidari8313]

Even by 2019 standards.. especially by 2019 standards.. the design of that thing is amazing.. When just pulled out the entire system without even opening a screw.. I cried.. I miss the old apple lol..

[@ZtereoHYPE]

Abbas Haidari well that cheesgrater is nice

[@khari_baat]

Amazing

[@ccricers]

The design looks inspired by his own NeXTcube but shrunken down and with better hardware.

[@MikeJunior94]

What the flying fuck? The design is horrible for 2019 standards. It is too big, won't be compatible with any other standards and would be stupid to carry around. You are the definition of an Apple consumer. Buying bullshit products for bullshit prices, thinking the design is amazing.

[@d4ark972]

@@MikeJunior94 Too big? For a state of the art workstation system at the time? Not compatible with what? There's standard size memory and storage in there. What are you on about?

[@devaraft]

Apple is the company that can either make upgrading your computer super easy or completely locked it down

[@ilpatongi]

Devara FT Well their computers were pretty easily upgradable until 2013 when even their pro Workstation was locked down

[@faizanjoyia]

Jeremy Clarkson yea but don't know why people said Mac are not upgradable even before that date

[@zapandquartz7153]

@@ilpatongi I wonder if Steve Jobs would have done it differently, if he had been still alive in 2013

[@sriramsundar8388]

@Nicefisher except for the fact that the baseline model costs $6000.

[@iaisosoakoaozoso5453]

V. Sriram Sundar I wonder what you can build yourself for that money

[@nerdyneedsalife8315]

I'm not an apple fan but damn I love their old case designs.

[@mamster233]

nerdyneedsalife I wish they’d do a re-release of these old designs because even if you upgrade the old ones you can’t use them now

[@paulaiello9105]

2019 and still amazed.

[@martimbalcao]

The G4 Cube is super ugly.

[@AppleExplained]

Yeah. I'm expecting a lot from the next Generation of Mac mini. Seeing as how it is WAY overdue for an update :)

[@sriramsundar8388]

Hi Greg...... oh f*ck I'm here at this reply section a decade later!

[@iaisosoakoaozoso5453]

V. Sriram Sundar same

[@EliasFuentesC]

11 YEARS AGO?

[@DundeeZhang]

ohhh

[@DundeeZhang]

wat. 11 years ago

[@jerhms]

I'd buy something like this today if it had more up to date specs. The whole idea of lifting the components out is truely amazing!

[@GabkanoLP]

Look at the latest MacPro... ;)

[@TheSkipAJ]

you can do that with newest mac pro apple.com/macpro jamesthemacgeek

[@jerhms]

Gabkano +Skip Aj This just has some nostalgia to it.

[@F06M6]

jamesthemacgeek This is the Mac Mini.

[@kyleknight6953]

AppleGaming No No it's not You cant upgrade ANYTHING on the new Mac Mini

[@SamPendleton]

I've never been able to get used to the way Jobs pronounced 'component.' Anyway, this machine has one of the greatest design aesthetics of any computer ever built. I'm mainly a Windows guy, and this was the first Apple product that ever made me jealous.

[@XanthosAcanthus]

I was gonna say the same. So strange.

[@GP1138]

I love the reaction when he pulls the internals out. So easy to get absorbed.

[@ravenmooore]

"Our Pro customers want to get into every component in the system in a matter of seconds" Now: "You can't customize anything. After you buy"

[@MrStephen182]

Pro customers still want to get into every component in their system in a matter of seconds but most computer companies don't care anymore about the pro user like they used too.

[@ZtereoHYPE]

Now you can at least customize it

[@Elceeedeee]

@@ZtereoHYPE still not as good as before.

[@yega3k]

ALL Mac Pros are easy to get into. Even the old cheese grater, the trash can and the new cheese grater. Nothing's changed.

[@jtonline99]

Sure you can, you just need to buy another one with the customisations you want 🤣

[@kf4294]

Looking back at these keynote, I realized something. Steve Jobs actually has bad taste for fonts. He's the one who approved this keynote.... LOL

[@stephenward9468]

As a graphic design student I was a bit shocked 😂

[@Samuel-hp6op]

that font was the shit back then around 2000

[@sgeggbub1008]

wtf its 2001 that was 19 years ago, it looked cool back then

[@sgeggbub1008]

@@IHateYTIdentifiers ye exactly

[@lowpowermodelife]

"Apple promising that it will be "reborn" in another form at a later date, Its widely accepted that the Mac mini computer was its successful replacement." I'm not so sure the Mac Mini was its replacement, I think the new 2013/2014 Mac Pros are it's replacement. Instead of an 8" cube, they are an 8" cylinder.

[@GoobbueXIV]

Though it seems the Mac Pro is ech

[@doceigen]

I agree, the basic essential architecture has finally come to pass. I have two Cubes, I think they're very elegant... but, they were expansion limited and so are the new Mac Pros.

[@drag096]

But the 2013/2014 mac pro is LOADS more powerful

[@GoobbueXIV]

drag096 Just not as powerful as some PCs you can build for the same price

[@drag096]

Dr. Yay True.

[@osamaFXX]

A work of art this Computer.

[@Rupertboijedi]

The way you get the components out of the case is actually amazing! 😮😮

[@Recrofne]

I like how amazing and beautiful HE keeps telling people his product is. Also, it's 8"!!

[@jesse9153]

I still have mine. Runs great! Upgraded it with a 1.7ghz G4. I use it for legacy software & film scanning.

[@josiahong5177]

does it still run well?

[@Riso-Musik]

You may laugh about it having only 1.5Gb RAM but my first computer was a Honeywell 512 mainframe, with teletype daisywheel printer, binary input and had the grand total of 512 Kb RAM!! And that computer ran the payroll, VAT and accounts departments for the whole of the National Coal Board in the UK from 1972 to 1977. It was a bit like working with HAL from 2001

[@s.flanders]

"8-inch cube!!!"

[@andrewx8888]

This was real innovation for the time. It's still a incredible feat from apple in the year 2000. Sad that it didn't catch on too well, until the mac mini came along.

[@sjgrall]

I watched this live in 2000, over dialup, and was blown away. Always wanted a Cube; never had one.

[@psivewri]

Finally got one of these :)

[@sriramsundar8388]

You should. Glad that you did.

[@WantBadtime]

Nice to meet you here! Gotta use that eucalyptus oil!

[@TonyCR1975]

And also a pair of g4 & g5 servers!

[@QuantaSolace]

Gotta love the late 90s and early 2000s designs that came from Apple. Someone at my grandpa's office had one of these things. It's probably still one of the coolest things Apple released.

[@miniroll32]

You 'lift the technology out'? Woooooooaaaahhhhhhhh

[@frankthespank]

I still have the G4 Cube I built when I worked at Apple (Elk Grove, California), I’ve really been thinking of busting it out. This was the computer that made me appreciate Apple and the Macintosh, the G4 Cube and OSX just blew me away. Even though I worked at Apple I didn’t care for their products very much until I saw the G4 Cube and OSX. Still to this day it is my favorite computer of all time.

[@Amitsamy]

The new Mac Pro is the actual legacy of the G4 Cube and boy it gonna be a huge success...

[@powermacintoshg3667]

It wasn't...

[@JoS863]

ha.

[@soundchecked123]

Its a garbage bin

[@matthewrreis]

Yeah this comment didn't age well.

[@femindustries163]

bet you feel pretty stupid now huh xD

[@Blsbr02]

An entire decade later, and this product's design still amazes me.

[@4bl0xx30]

Another decade later and this product‘s design still amazes me.

[@Blsbr02]

@@4bl0xx30 this was sweet.

[@Megamind92x_Jeff]

2013 and still amazed hahaha

[@jimgeo1000]

2014.. my friend.

[@iant720]

Jeff Martin 2017 :)

[@phuphamhoang798]

2018 anyone?

[@ProtomanBlues]

2019

[@TPzita]

2019 ... still wow..

[@bobcharlotte8724]

A real work of art and easily the most beautiful computer they ever made. Stunning.

[@MultiWalrus1]

"It's not affordable." Tell it like it is Steve.

[@Felipe-zm6xs]

it's not a portable*

[@MrStephen182]

@@Felipe-zm6xs for a desktop computer for the time it is

[@Millahtime]

Apples design and style has always been years ahead of everyone else. I got my first iMac in 1998, still runs to this day perfect just like when I bought it. I remember when this came out and I wanted to upgrade to the Cube lol.

[@Davpronk]

i always love when he says there's one more thing :D

[@jon-erich9752]

This was a very neat idea. I think this is the direction where they eventually wanted to take their Pro products, given the design of the new Mac Pro coming out this year. Sadly, this idea was ahead of it's time. It was too expensive and overheated too easily.

[@lmull3]

the cube was my second ever computer! i miss it :/

[@rml695]

Could someone tell me how the Mac Mini compares to this Mac Cube? (Like if the cube were brought back in the current Intel era; like the "Mac Pro Intel Cube") I think the cube looks better, but it looks like the Mini is better to haul around if you have, say, a collection of peripherals at home, and a collection of peripherals at your beach house, and you can just put the Mini in your carry on luggage (just my view on things).

[@KevinMoses7]

Wow, i want a Mini ITX Case that looks like that

[@Land0fAsh]

If you still care, the closest thing that comes to this is the Streacom DB4.

[@t_rizz]

Just got a working one today. Excited to play around with it!

[@Sandia49]

In 2013: “the new mac pro cylinder”

[@abbylx]

I was reminded of this keynote presentation and the G4 seeing yesterday the new MAC PRO. the cooling core, simple elegant design, the core for cooling, the focus on the ram, video graphics and so on...

[@katomiccomics202]

Apple then: _“We’re adding IO for everything”_ Apple now: *no headphone jack. also, only thunderbolt.*

[@samuelwalker3688]

The MacBook has a headphone jack, quit your bullshit lmfao

[@gravyboot1830]

USB-C (included on all modern Macs) can do everything those old ports could do.

[@katomiccomics202]

Samuel Walker i was talking about the iphone in the first sentence.

[@goldenhourkodak]

@@katomiccomics202 How can you compare a phone to a pro desktop?

[@TCHGOD]

1. The Macs still have headphone jacks 2. The G4 Cube didn’t even have a headphone jack.

[@Lam-s-Workshop]

4:51 that specific moment tho, I was speechless

[@3.dorfbewohner]

Sad that you cant do this with the MacStudio

[@foreverspagetti]

OMG! 1 gig!!!!!! i can save all of my 10 pictures on to it!

[@leart78]

yes you can

[@bobbyc1120]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoe0pKuCm7CDhKs

[@ArchTymeWizard]

That was about nine years ago. Then, that was one of the best systems anyone had seen.

[@johnDingoFoxVelocity]

have one and honestly the cd drive comes loose not cool you have to install a fan because it didn't come with one and will cause the machine to self destruct

[@ubahnlexi]

Okay, watching Steve lifting the entire components up and out of the Mac was actually awesome.

[@minbcraft]

the new mac pro (late 2013) maybe a idea from that G4 cube... maybe...

[@sriramsundar8388]

On a scale of 10, the G4 Cube stands at 10, while the trash can stands at 0.

[@gck86]

i still love this old video G4 cube.

[@hellzone100]

8" CUBE!!!

[@sionau]

This is probably one of the most beautiful macs ever

[@ilikevines]

20gb HD, fuck game over.

[@acslater017]

Man I know it was never successful but that is still such a cool design! I would love to see one in person and see how easy/hard it is to upgrade...

[@TheAnonymousBiscuit]

Silly people of the past I have an iWatch 7G with 5TB multiprocessor .3.

[@Lexan_YT]

lol, it's funny to see this nowdays...

[@elenchus]

finally, the Jobsian vision of an ultra-powerful fanless computer is truly available in the M1. It would be trivial to make an M1 Cube today that could surpass many contemporary desktop computers. In a sense, the Macbook Air M1 is the product of that vision. Fanless, compact, high-performance computing.

[@enda0man]

Simlar to the new mac pro

[@Sbfjxkdkd]

yeah, because cubes and cylinders and its components are just the same

[@jackmitchell123]

Simon Tgtmr No, because they took was what in the tower design (power mac g4, mac pro) and put it in a smaller and quieter design (g4 cube, 2013 mac pro) its not about the technology, its about the idea.

[@enda0man]

dude it exactly the same shell just round and the top comes of instead of the bottom

[@snoopdoggthecertifiedg6777]

man that quality is so good I can’t even see anything

[@funkngonuts]

Apple SO needs to bring back the cube for a small form factor alternative to the Mac Pro!! This is definitely my all-time favorite Mac computer design.

[@BlitzvogelMobius]

It's great to see such innovative and space saving design revisited for the new Mac Pros, though it is highly disappointing to see even the Mac Pros be turned into machines that are not made to be truly upgradeable beyond the RAM and storage.

[@rjaymolina]

It's such a shame this awesome design was ruined by the PowerPc G4 chip. The equivalent we have to this now that actually lives up to the design and power is the Mac Studio.

[@PurushaDesa]

4:43 is incredible. I've never really seen much of the G4 Cube, but that rocks.

[@Alloongast]

It's an amazing system and feat of engineering but you hear those "pretend/you have to act like your impressed" responses when Steve mentioned the price @ around 6:43. 1799 for a base price is damn expensive. Would have been nice for someone in the crowd to say WTF!

[@kockgunner]

Best looking computer ever. They should make these designs again!

[@itsGuy]

@MrFigmentofi why would it keep popping it back out by itself? All the macbooks/imacs i have used, whenever the optical drive was defective, it would do exactly that. Plus look at Steve's face when it happened 2 times to him.. his face went a little red.

[@Chalshus]

Remember its seven years ago. Something that beautifully and clever, without a fan.

[@skipgin]

Still have mine and it still works great!

[@xm2895]

basically a GameCube Mac

[@DavidsTechShow101]

That is such a awesome little computer.

[@gigabit86]

dang that was amazing back then. im thinking of getting one off ebay just for the sheer awesomeness

[@ibpointless2]

I wish they brought it back, so easy to up grade and was by far there most beautiful mac.

[@richardsequeirateixeira]

Who would have thought this would have paved the way for Mac Mini.

[@TommyBNSF]

Did he say it's not a portable or it's not affordable? Either way works.

[@SteelSkin667]

That thing was gorgeous, and a silent computer was rare those days, but it was too expensive for it's own good.

[@carlosandregoes]

It was beautiful, indeed.

[@dacasman]

This is still a pretty awesome design. back then it must have been insane!

[@ben_spiller]

$1799 back then is about $3200 today.

[@KennethHimschoot]

Still have it, still receives all incoming faxes for the company (so it's sleeping in a corner of the office every day). This thing is 12 years old now and hasn't complained once. Still with the original screen, keyboard, speakers and mouse. BOOM.

[@gambhirkg]

This really good for back in the day

[@aroux15]

Taken to soon. This man would of revolutionised the future of tech. I do believe we would of be in another mobile direction today if he was still here.

[@MrDaniel488]

The A5 chip is a 'System on a chip' architecture, meaning that it does both the graphics rendering and the basic processing

[@Viczey]

Are you talking about the iPhone 4S? I havee it too! White - 64GB but is 800MHz not a full 1 GHz but the iPad 2 and 3 are :)

[@rml695]

U know, adding this little feature of lifitng the computer itself out of the case may be a good freshening up for the Mac Mini line...what do you think? (Just a thought).

[@jAyMaC128]

WOOHOO!! One AND a half gigabytes! Getting into it now boys! I remember the days where if you had 256 MB of RAM you were doing very well >_> Just look how far we've come :D

[@raider123456789123]

is the G4 any fast? cuz my buddy has the g3 and its pretty slow

[@AshleyPomeroy]

I remember being surprised when it was discontinued - I assumed they would simply reduce the price rather than completely terminate the range. Perhaps there wasn't a way to make the case cheaply enough to sell it at a profit. As a budget model it would have cleaned up, I would have bought one just to put in the kitchen.

[@chownful]

Ashley Pomeroy hackintosh on mini atx mobo...problem solved for half the price.

[@CrocodileJock]

So ahead of its time -- this is 7 years old and still a better design than most PC's on the market today. I know there's a Mac Mini, but how about a Intel powered MacCube Pro? I'd have one on my desk!

[@MrSwiffT]

Amazing, so advanced for its time.. This was back in 2000!!

[@kelvinfong8723]

the product is still beautiful today

[@wbushnaq]

Really ahead of its time

[@Sandia49]

Imagine if this 8" cube had been postposed just a few more years to end up being the first mac pro

[@BottlefaceMovies]

What's the size of that cube, Steve?

[@geigerbuzz816]

You know a presentation is good is when you wanna buy something that's 20yrs old

[@Kajayacht]

How big is this thing again? I didn't quite get that.

[@gunnarMyTube]

Truly classic product presentation.

[@zarmindrow5831]

You sold me Steve. Going on eBay now to buy one in 2020.

[@SawShotShared]

I wanna buy a mac mini and go back in 2000 and go at the G4 Cube unveil showing my mac mini. Steve Jobs's facial expression would of been priceless!

[@Person432483920]

Wow it's hard to believe how far we've come from then

[@tmmullenhevey]

i remember going to this and getting a free laser mouse. i still have that thing in its special "macworld 2000" box.

[@MoreBoingPlox]

That cube is amazing

[@DyoKasparov]

This guy knows how to make speeches, damn Not an Apple guy, never tried anything Apple but Jobs knew how to do shit proper

[@simonp37]

The most beautiful computer ever made by any manufacturer in all time.