iMac G3

Product Information:

iMac G3 was Apple's iconic Mac desktop that was the first major product to release following Steve Jobs return to Apple in 1997.

This device was known for its colourful plastic design, utilising white with a wide range of translucent colourful accent colours including Tangerine, Grape, Lime and the famous Bondi Blue. iMac G3 stood out in a crowded market of beige PCs.

Promotional material from the Apple website at the time, bragged that iMac users could easily connect to the internet without prior experience:

"Amazing, but true: 90% of all iMac owners (many of them first-time buyers with no computer experience) are connected to the Internet. And most of them got there on the very first day."

Apple controversially dropped support for legacy technology, such as serial ports and floppy disk drives, as they were still popular at the time. Apple instead opted for USB ports and optical discs.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that the company sold 6 million iMac G3 units.

The device had a 15-inch shadow-mask CRT screen, and a front 'Flip foot', to tilt the iMac.

iMac G3 remains so iconic, that it has recently been featured in 2026 Mac marketing campaigns, including the launch video of the M5 MacBook Pro.

Successor: iMac G4

Predecessor: Power Macintosh G3

Design
White plastic enclosure with **translucent accent colours, available in Bondi Blue, Blueberry, Grape, Lime, Strawberry, Tangerine, Graphite, Indigo, Ruby, Sage, Snow, Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power.

Bondi Blue released in 1998.

Apple refreshed the device with Blueberry, Grape, lime, Strawberry & Tangerine in 1999.

Darker, professional shades were announced in the following years, including Graphite, Indigo, Ruby, Sage and Snow.

Apple also introduced 2 patterned finishes, Blue Dalmatian and Flower Power, in early 2001.

Ports
2x USB 1.1 ports and 2× FireWire 400 (IEEE 1394) ports (Digital Video models)

Chip
233 MHz PowerPC G3 (Later models available with 266MHz, 333MHz, 350MHz and 400MHz PowerPC G3 processors)

Base Model

• 64MB RAM
• 6GB hard drive

RAM Upgrades

• 128MB RAM

This Mac could be upgraded up to 512MB, as the device had user-accessible memory slots.

Storage Upgrades

• 10GB hard drive
• 13GB hard drive

Accessories
Comes with USB Apple Mouse and USB Apple Keyboard.