iMac FAQ: Options, specs, and costs for Apple’s all-in-one laptop

Apple’s iMac is a direct descendant of the very first Mac, and it’s typically the pc that first involves thoughts when individuals take into consideration Apple. The iMac’s all-in-one design is widespread and iconic, and it’s versatile sufficient for each novices and demanding customers. It could actually deal with general-purpose and heavy-duty duties equally effectively and is right for anybody who wants an entire laptop setup (keyboard, mouse or trackpad, and show) and desires to maximise workspace effectivity.

When you’re available in the market for an iMac, this information will make it easier to make the precise selection. Apple gives three fashions of the iMac: an 21.5-inch entry stage mannequin, a 24-inch model with a brand new design and an Apple M1 system on a chip, and a 27-inch model with Intel processors. Right here’s how they break down.

Up to date 9/10/21: Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman tweeted that the entire 24-inch iMac colours will probably be accessible on the Apple Retailer. Beforehand, the orange, purple, and yellow fashions had been solely accessible on-line.

21.5-inch iMac

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Apple gives one 21.5-inch iMac mannequin. It’s priced at $1,049 and initially launched in June 2017.

Processor, reminiscence, graphics, and storage: The $1,049 iMac has a 2.3GHz twin‑core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of reminiscence, and Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 built-in graphics. It’s accessible with a 256GB SSD, or you possibly can go for a slower however spacier 1TB Fusion Drive for a similar worth. You possibly can’t improve the $1,049 iMac your self after you purchase it, so think about paying an additional $180 on the outset for a reminiscence improve to 16GB. If you wish to add extra RAM later, you must convey the iMac into an Apple retailer.

Show: The $1,049 iMac has a 21.5-inch show with a decision of 1920×1080 pixels and may show hundreds of thousands of colours. The $1,049 iMac’s show is an sRGB show, which is the colour area the show makes use of and is sufficient for many customers.

Enter units: The iMac comes with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2. When you order on-line from the Apple Retailer, you possibly can change the keyboard to a model with a numeric keypad ($30), and improve to a Magic Trackpad 2 ($50). You possibly can choose to get each a Magic Mouse 2 and a Magic Trackpad 2 for $129 additional.

Connectivity: Wi-Fi (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 4.2 are built-in. The iMac has 4 USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, a gigabit ethernet port, and an SDXC card slot.

Velocity: The $1,049 is Apple’s slowest iMac. That stated, it has sufficient energy for productiveness duties, video and picture modifying, and video games. 

Easy methods to purchase the 21.5-inch iMac: This mannequin is definitely a bit troublesome to search out on Apple’s web site. Right here’s a hyperlink to its Purchase web page. You gained’t discover it within the Mac part of the Apple web site. You might want to go to the Examine instrument, after which choose “iMac 21.5-in.” from one of many pop-up menus. You possibly can take a look at its specs on the Examine web page, or click on the Purchase button.

Macworld’s shopping for recommendation: For brand new Mac homeowners, the $1,049 iMac is a good different to the Mac mini, with display screen and a good chip. If storage is your high precedence, think about the 1TB Fusion Drive as an alternative of the 256GB SSD, and we additionally suggest spending additional on RAM. However that pushes the worth to $1,229, and at that time you’ll in all probability wish to dish out the additional $50 and slide over to the newer 24-inch iMac as an alternative.

Prepared to purchase an 21.5-inch iMac? Go to the Apple Retailer

24-inch iMac

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Apple unveiled the 24-inch iMac at its Spring Loaded occasion in April 2021. It’s a contemporary new tackle the iMac and the primary replace in additional than a decade, with a cleaner design, Apple silicon, and a selection of colours.

Processor, graphics, reminiscence, and storage: The 24-inch iMac makes use of Apple’s M1 chip fairly Intel’s processors, and there are a number of configurations accessible:

• $1,299: Apple M1 SoC with an 8-core CPU (4 efficiency cores, 4 effectivity cores), 16-core Neural Engine, and 7-core graphics processor (GPU); 8GB of reminiscence; 256GB SSD
• $1,499: Apple M1 SoC with an 8-core CPU (4 efficiency cores, 4 effectivity cores), 16-core Neural Engine, and 8-core graphics processor (GPU); 8GB of reminiscence; 256GB SSD
• $1,699: Apple M1 SoC with an 8-core CPU (4 efficiency cores, 4 effectivity cores), 16-core Neural Engine, and 8-core graphics processor (GPU); 8GB of reminiscence; 512GB SSD

The 24-inch iMac can have a most of 16GB of reminiscence ($200 additional), and you may as well improve to a bigger SSD for an additional value. These elements can’t be upgraded after buy.

Show: The 23.5-inch 4.5K Retina show suits proper in between the 21-inch and 27-inch Intel Macs. The show has 11.3 million pixels and assist for the P3 huge shade gamut, over a billion colours, 500 nits of brightness, and True Tone. Apple treats the show with an anti-reflective coating to assist with readability.

Design: The 24-inch iMac has a a lot completely different design than the 21.5-inch and 27-inch fashions. The bezels across the show are a lot smaller than on the opposite iMacs, nevertheless it nonetheless has a “chin,” a bit situated under the show that homes the iMac’s internals. The chin doesn’t have the Apple brand on the entrance. As a substitute, it’s on the again. Most notably, Apple the 24-inch iMac is available in a number of colours: The $1,299 mannequin is on the market in blue, inexperienced, pink, and silver, whereas the $1,499 and $1,699 fashions can be found in the identical colours, in addition to orange, purple, and yellow.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman tweeted that on the September 14 “California streaming” occasion, Apple will announce that each one iMac colours will probably be accessible on the retail Apple Retailer. Beforehand, the orange, purple, and yellow fashions needed to be bought on-line.

Apple

Enter units: The wi-fi Magic Keyboard that comes with the 24-inch iMac is completely different from earlier fashions—it now has assist for Contact ID. It’s a commonplace function within the $1,499 and $1,699 iMacs, however you’ll need to pay additional for it on the $1,299 iMac. An prolonged keyboard with Contact ID can be accessible for $50. The 24-inch iMac comes with a wi-fi Magic Mouse, or you possibly can go for a wi-fi Magic Trackpad. The mouse, trackpad, and keyboard are available colours to match the iMac.

Connectivity: The $1,299 24-inch iMac has two Thunderbolt 3 ports that additionally work with USB-C units. The $1,499 and $1,699 iMacs have two further USB-C ports. When you’ve got a USB-A tool, you must purchase an adapter, comparable to Apple’s USB-C to USB Adapter ($19). When you’ve got a number of USB-A units, wired headphones, and different gadgets, think about a Thunderbolt hub.

The 24-inch iMac, in contrast to the older iMacs, doesn’t have an SDXC slot. As soon as once more, you’ll want an adapter, such because the Anker SD Card reader ($17). Nevertheless, it does have a super-cool magnetic energy twine.

Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 are built-in. Apple doesn’t put a gigabit ethernet port on the 24-inch iMac—as an alternative, it’s on the facility adapter. However that ethernet-equipped energy adapter comes commonplace with the $1,499 and $1,699 fashions. It’s not included with the $1,299 24-inch iMac, however you possibly can choose it as an possibility on the level of buy—and sure, meaning you’ll need to pay additional for it ($30).

Velocity: The 24-inch iMac checks in with a efficiency that’s just like the Mac mini, 13-inch MacBook Professional, and MacBook Air. The 24-inch iMac blew away its predecessor, the 21.5-inch iMac. It’s presently among the many quickest Macs Apple sells.

Macworld’s shopping for recommendation: We had been fairly impressed with the primary set of M1 Macs, and the brand new 24-inch iMac doesn’t disappoint. It brings a formidable velocity increase and quiet operation, and almost each Mac app we’ve tried has run simply in addition to it did on our Intel Macs due to the brand new Rosetta 2 emulation. And the whole lot else in regards to the iMac is enormously improved, from the design to the show. We expect the candy spot is the $1,499 mannequin, which will get you extra ports, Contact ID, and ethernet, however in case you don’t want these issues the $1,299 mannequin will probably be loads good.

Prepared to purchase an 24-inch iMac? Go to the Apple Retailer

27-inch iMac

Apple

Apple gives three 27-inch fashions of the 27-inch iMac with Retina show, which had been launched in August 2020.

Processor, reminiscence, graphics, and storage: The 27-inch iMac makes use of Intel processors, not the Apple M1 SoCs discovered within the 24-inch iMac.

• $1,699: 3.1GHz 6‑core Intel Core i5 processor, 256GB SSD, and 4GB Radeon Professional 5300 graphics
• $1,899: 3.3GHz 6‑core Intel Core i5 processor, 512GB SSD, and 4GB Radeon Professional 5300 graphics
• $2,099: 3.8GHz 8‑core Intel Core i5 processor, 512GB SSD, and 8GB Radeon Professional 5500 XT graphics

Customers can simply improve the RAM on the 27-inch iMac, so it’s not as essential to improve the reminiscence at launch. The machine has 4 RAM slots, accessible by way of the again. Apple installs the usual 8GB as a pair of 4GB reminiscence modules, so you possibly can add extra RAM after you purchase the system. Or in case you desire, you possibly can improve the RAM on the level of buy to 16GB ($180), 32GB ($540), 64GB ($900), or 128GB ($2,340).

Show: The 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina show has a 5120×2880-resolution display screen. It makes use of the P3 shade area, which is usually used for digital film projection and the movie trade. These screens provide 500 nits of brightness, which is a rise over the display screen in older iMacs.

Enter units: The iMac comes with Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2. When you order on-line from the Apple Retailer, you possibly can change the keyboard to a model with a numeric keypad ($30), and change the mouse to a Magic Trackpad 2 ($50). You possibly can choose to get each a Magic Mouse 2 and a Magic Trackpad 2 for $129 additional.

Connectivity: Wi-Fi (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5 are built-in. The iMac has 4 USB 3.0 ports, two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, a gigabit ethernet port, and an SDXC card slot.

Velocity: The Retina iMacs are amongst Apple’s quickest computer systems in relation to single-core efficiency. In the case of multi-core velocity, the Mac Professionals with greater than 4 cores are sooner machines. 

Macworld’s shopping for recommendation: The attract of the 5K Retina show is robust, however the 4.5K show on the 24-inch iMac isn’t any slouch. Plus, the design on the 27-inch mannequin is a bit outdated now that we’ve seen the brand new fashions, and the processors, whereas loads succesful, are due for an improve to the M1 chip. So we suggest both ready for an replace or trying out one of many new 24-inch fashions.

Prepared to purchase an iMac with Retina show? Go to the Apple Retailer