Today in Apple history: Hippie-themed iMacs fuel Cupertino flashback
On February 22, 2001, Apple introduced the iMac G3 Special Edition in wildly colorful Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian patterns.
(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)
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Today in Apple history: Hippie-themed iMacs fuel Cupertino flashback
By Luke Dormehl • 8:33 am, February 22, 2026
- Apple history
[Image: A photo of the Flower Power iMac G3 and Blue Dalmatian iMac G3, two of the wackier Macs in history.]
These were two of the wackier Macs ever.
Photo: Apple
[Image: February 22: Today in Apple history: Hippie-themed Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian iMacs fuel Cupertino flashback]
February 22, 2001: The iMac Special Edition, sporting wild designs that would make a hippie happy, puts a wacky face on the colorful computer that saved Apple’s bacon at the turn of the century. The Flower Power iMac and Blue Dalmatian iMac evoke tie-dye shirts and other unconventional ’60s-era imagery.
A far cry from the super-serious, aluminum-heavy industrial design that will come to define Apple in subsequent years, these colorfully patterned iMacs stand out as some of the most irreverent computers Cupertino ever dreamed up. (C’mon, when was a real Dalmatian blue?)
Under the crazy-looking exteriors, a pretty darn great iMac G3 hums along.
Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian iMacs
The Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian iMacs marked the culmination of an ultra-colorful range that started with the original Bondi Blue iMac in 1998. The lineup also included Blueberry, Strawberry, Lime, Tangerine, Grape, Graphite, Indigo, Ruby, Sage and Snow options.
At a time when typical PCs came in ugly beige or gray chassis, the colorful iMac range proved revolutionary. It tapped into the same spirit of individualism that made “Think Different” work as a catchphrase for Apple. The idea was that anyone could choose a Mac that best represented their personality.
Goofy marketing? Sure. A brilliant move? Definitely.
#### Flower Power iMac: A nod to Apple’s past
In some ways, the hippie-patterned iMacs served as a fun nod to Apple’s past. They also fit perfectly with pop culture at the time: The 1990s and early 2000s brimmed with nostalgia for the ’60s.
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs always described himself, accurately or not, as heavily inspired by ’60s counterculture. Still, it might be hard to imagine him planting a Flower Power iMac in his office. Or a Blue Dalmatian iMac, for that matter.
Regular Mac fans reacted as you would expect. Not everyone was a fan of the new computers, but that wasn’t the point. With an affordable $1,199 to $1,499 price tag and decent midlevel specs (500 or 600 MHz PowerPC G3 processor, 64MB or 128MB of RAM, 256KB Level 2 cache, CD-RW drive and 15-inch monitor), these Macs definitely appealed to the masses.
Not everyone wanted a Mac with a wacky pattern — but some people loved them!
#### iMac G3: A game-changer
As I’ve written before in “Today in Apple history,” the iMac G3 was a game-changer for Apple. In fact, you can make the argument that it’s the second-most-important product Apple ever made, after the breakthrough Apple II computer in 1977.
The first real collaboration between Jobs and Apple design guru Jony Ive, the G3 became a massive commercial hit at a time when Apple really needed one. Had the iMac sunk like a stone, there might never have been an iPod, iPhone, iPad or any of the other breakthrough Apple products that followed over the next decade.
The Flower Power and Blue Dalmatian iMacs ultimately didn’t hang around long. Apple discontinued them in July, making way for the iMac G4 — a personal favorite of mine — which shipped in 2002.
What was your favorite color (or pattern) iMac G3? Did you own one back in the day? Leave your comments below.
Luke Dormehl
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
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[Original source](https://www.cultofmac.com/apple-history/flower-power-imac-blue-dalmatian)