FEED YOUR MIND. FEAST YOUR EYES.

Slim, stylish, next–gen iMac with Apple silicon

BY ALEX SUMMERSBY

The new iMac strikingly shares the same design language as iPhone 12 and iPad Pro.

APPLE HAS INTRODUCED an all–new iMac, “built from the ground up” around Apple’s M1 processor, with a strikingly thinner and more minimalist design.

The new line, starting at $1,299 and shipping in May, has a 24–inch LED–backlit 4.5K display and supports Touch ID for the first time on a Mac. The base configuration, with two Thunderbolt ports and 7– core GPU, is available in a choice of four colors with up to 1TB of SSD storage. The configuration with four ports and 8–core GPU, available with up to 2TB of storage, starts at $1,499 and comes in seven colors.

The new design is just 11.5mm (less than half an inch) thick, and the back is completely flat, without the bulging curve of the previous model. Apple says the design brings the iMac closer than ever to its vision of making the computer disappear. It also makes iMac look a lot like iPhone 12 and iPad Pro.

The compact design is made possible by the M1 chip, which integrates the processor, graphics, memory, and more onto a single chip, with greatly improved power efficiency. As a result, both the logic board and cooling system are dramatically smaller than the previous generation’s. Apple says the overall volume of the computer is reduced by 50%.

The new iMac joins the other M1– powered Mac models introduced in November, including MacBook Air, the 13–inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini, marking another step in the transition to Apple silicon.

GREAT LOOKING

The new iMac comes in a choice of up to seven vibrant colors, which are intense and saturated on the back, making a bold statement in the home or office, but subdued on the front so as to allow you to focus on your content, Apple says. The bezel around the display is narrower than on the previous model but silver instead of black, so we’ll reserve judgment on whether it’s a more immersive experience or less.

For now, one 21.5–inch iMac model (with 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor) and the 27–inch model with 5K Retina display (and either Intel Core i5 or i7 processor) both remain available, but all the new M1–based iMacs have a 24–inch 4.5K Retina display (actual diagonal screen size 23.5– inches, the small print reveals). The 218ppi screen packs 4,480x2,520 pixels, compared to 1,920x1,080 on its 21.5–inch predecessor and 5,120x2,880 on the 27–inch 5K model. It has P3 Wide Color gamut, meaning over Side–on, the iMac “practically disappears.” From the back, it dazzles. one billion colors, and 500 nits of brightness, promising vivid, brilliant images. Apple says the screen has an “industry-leading” anti–reflective coating for greater comfort and readability. Like the 27–inch 5K model, the 24–inch M1 iMac display also includes True Tone technology, which automatically adjusts the color temperature to the ambient light of your environment for a more natural viewing experience.