Last month, Apple discontinued two iMac configurations with either 512GB and 1TB of SSD storage for the 21.5-inch iMac with 4K display, fueling speculation of an Apple Silicon-based iMac announcement. The rumors were true: Not only did Apple officially announce the iMacs are getting its impressive M1 processors, but Apple’s new iMacs finally be available in colors other than gray.
The new iMac looks more like Apple’s Pro Display XDR, so the back is flat rather than curved, and the side profile is slimmed down to just 0.45 inches (11.5 millimeters) thin, and it features a 24-inch, 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, and 500 nits of brightness. All the new iMacs will be available in all the bold colors of the rainbow. (It’s still keeping its signature gray, though.) Happy to see Apple is embracing color for Macs again, which it abandoned after the iMac G3.
The new iMacs also have a new 1080p HD webcam, and an intelligent display that automatically adjusts brightness and color based on your surroundings. Apple also increased the power driving the iMac sound system, which includes six speakers,. delivers more bass, mids and highs without distortion, and it supports spatial audio. Apple says these are the best ever camera, mics, and speakers in a Mac. However, the Intel iMac from last summer also has a 1080p camera and 3-mic array, so this is not entirely new, but the M1 probably does make those better.
There’s also a new magnetic power connector, and the AC adapter now has an Ethernet port. Touch ID is also now available for the iMac with the Magic Keyboard, and it works with faster user switching, so you can instantly switch to your own profile with your fingerprint.
What Apple didn’t talk about much as the specs of the processor in its new iMacs. It was rumored that the iMacs would have had a new M1 processor with 12 total cores instead of eight like the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini. However, the new iMacs are only getting the “standard” M1 chip, with an eight-core CPU and eight-core GPU, and that’s probably why less attention was paid to the processor and more to the new iMac design. And because these specs are the same, its likely the new iMacs will have the same performance as the MacbookPro, for instance, which is disappointing.
Apple plans to launch its new iMacs starting at $1,299 ($1,249 for education) for a 7-core processor, and $1,499 for an 8-core processor. Each model comes with just 256GB SSD storage, and the more expensive version comes in more colors: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. The cheaper model comes in green, pink, blue, and silver. There’s also a $1,699, 8-core model that comes with 512GB of SSD storage, but all models will have 8GB of memory.
Orders open on April 30, and they will start shipping in the second half of May.