Editing EMac (section)

==Release==
After demand from consumers, Apple announced on June 4, 2002 that the eMac would be available through general retail.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apple To Offer Popular eMac to Consumers |url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2002/06/04Apple-To-Offer-Popular-eMac-to-Consumers/ |website=Apple Newsroom |access-date=13 July 2023 |date=4 June 2002}}</ref> Regular consumers did not get the same prices and configuration options as education customers; for example, education buyers could get a model without a modem.{{sfn|Snell|2002|p=35}}

The eMac generally catered to the mass market, eventually taking over the entry-level (previously held by the iMac G3) Macintosh from 2003 to 2005, while the iMac G4 was positioned as a premium offering throughout the lifetime of the eMac line.<ref name="reviewscnet">{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Molly |date=January 14, 2005 |title=Apple eMac PPC Review |url=https://www.cnet.com/products/apple-emac-ppc/review/ |access-date=2016-07-16 |publisher=[[CNET]] |orig-year=June 10, 2004 |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416222550/https://www.cnet.com/products/apple-emac-ppc/review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The eMac generally offered similar performance and features to the iMac G4 while they were sold side by side. The eMac was gradually supplanted by the [[iMac G5]] in 2005 to 2006.

In October 2003, 800&nbsp;MHz model was eliminated as a standard configuration and the 1&nbsp;GHz model was brought down in price. This revision was the last in the line to officially run Apple's OS 9 operating system natively.

The next revision to the eMac line came in April 2004, with [[DDR SDRAM]], a faster processor running at 1.25&nbsp;GHz, and a better [[ATI Technologies|ATI]] [[Radeon R200|Radeon 9200]] video chipset. The most recent revision came in May 2005, with an even faster CPU running at 1.42&nbsp;GHz, [[Radeon R300|Radeon 9600]] graphics, and larger standard [[hard disk]].

On October 12, 2005, Apple once again restricted sales of the eMac to educational institutions and returned to its "E is for Education" marketing plan that had been attached to the product from the original restriction to education buyers. The company re-implemented this restrictive measure for unspecified reasons. Some analysts believe Apple wanted to force the general public to purchase the more expensive [[Mac Mini]] or iMac which had higher profit margins. Also, the eMac was the only CRT display product left in Apple's lineup, which made it somewhat bulky compared to new offerings which had compact form factors due to their LCD screens. The falling cost of LCD displays would also gradually bring down the prices of the [[iMac G5]]. However, the eMac was still available for sale to the general public through some third-party retailer websites.

On July 5, 2006, the entire eMac line was discontinued. An "educational configuration" of the iMac Core Duo was introduced that same day, which had a Combo drive rather than a SuperDrive and a smaller 80&nbsp;GB hard disk.

Early eMac models natively boot [[Mac OS 9|Mac OS 9.2.2]] and [[Mac OS X]] beginning with [[OS X 10.1|OS X 10.1.4]], while later models only officially boot Mac OS X. 1&nbsp;GHz and faster models cannot boot OS 9, while eMacs slower than 1&nbsp;GHz do not officially support [[Mac OS X Leopard|10.5]] (requirements are an 867&nbsp;MHz G4 with 512 MB RAM).