Apple kicked off its promised week of announcements with a new iMac. But if you were expecting big changes, be prepared for disappointment.
An M4 Chip and New Colors
The biggest addition to the new all-in-one model is the M4 chip. That chip can provide up to 1.7 times faster performance than the iMac with M1 for everyday tasks.
You can also make use of all the new Apple Intelligence features available in macOS Sequoia 15.1, including Writing Tools, a redesigned Siri, and more.
Long known for its colorful appearance, the iMac will be available in seven new color shades—green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and blue, right along with the usual silver. All the models also come with a color-matched Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse or optional Magic Trackpad. All of those accessories will also feature a USB-C port instead of a Lightning option.
For improved video calls, there is a new 12MP Center Stage camera that keeps everyone centered on a video call. Desk View will also make use of the wide-angle lens to show the user and top-down view of the desk.
The 24-inch iMac screen is also available with a nano-texture glass option that can reduce reflection and glare.
All four USB-C ports on the higher-end models can now support Thunderbolt 4 data transfers.
The new iMac starts at $1,299 and can bepre-ordered starting today. The base configuration now features 16GB or RAM instead of 8GB. Orders will officially arrive next month on Friday, Nov. 8.
A Small Upgrade for iMac Fans
The iMac is probably one of the most boring Apple products, but it’sdefinitely the best desktop Apple sells. While the upgrades on the new model are nice compared to the prior version, there is nothing Earth-shattering.
It’s nice to see Apple continue to make 16GB of RAM a baseline for new machines, as 8GB just doesn’t cut it for any modern machine. But it’s disappointing to see the base model still with just 256GB of storage.
And probably the nicest new feature, the nano-texture glass, is an additional $200 only available with the highest-end model.
