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The M3 iMac, launched earlier this year, has gone. In its place, we now have the M4 iMac which, according to Apple, is “supercharged by Apple Intelligence”.
We all saw that coming, didn’t we?
The iMac has a big place in my heart. Although I don’t use one daily, I did run my previous business on a 27-inch Intel M1 iMac, and loved it to bits. Then, in 2021, a year after I started Mark Ellis Reviews, Apple completely remodelled its all-in-one desktop with what remains one of the nicest aesthetic updates to the Mac in recent memory.
The current iMac design is stunning. At the time of writing, it’s probably the most visceral example of what can be done with Apple Silicon; it is ridiculously thin and stupidly powerful.
Now, we have a new one with the latest chip, improved unified memory options, and some other, smaller updates you might have missed.
And, potentially, some bad news.
What you need to know about the M4 iMac
The biggest and most obvious update to the iMac is the inclusion of the M4 chip. It’s the first Mac to get the chip that – in this crazy new world we live in – first made its debut earlier this year in an 11-inch and 13-inch M4 iPad Pro.
I guess if there’s any confirmation that the iMac is still very much in Apple’s thoughts – it’s the strategy that put it first in line for the latest piece of Apple Silicon.
The M4 chip results in an iMac that’s up to 1.7 times faster for productivity and up to 2.1 times faster for creative work than the M1 version. That’s as a result of Apple’s own testing, which you can review in the fine print on the iMac website. It’s also worth noting that the 10-core GPU model now has a 10-core CPU, rather than the 8-core CPU of the M3 version.
One of the biggest changes beyond the chip, however, is that the M4 iMac starts with 16GB of unified memory. That’s right – the 8GB vs 16GB debate has officially ended (which might put me out of a job, but at least it’ll stop the arguments). Better still, if 24GB of unified memory wasn’t enough for you, the new iMac can now be configured with up to 32GB. Oh, and the memory is faster than before, too.
Still interested in the M3 iMac?
Read our M3 iMac buying guide
That makes the M4 iMac quite a beast and, obviously, more than capable of running Apple Intelligence – although please do remember that you’ll be able to access Apple’s latest squeeze on M1 and M3 iMacs, too.
Dig deeper into the list of updates, and you’ll find that there’s an upgraded 12MP camera that supports Center Stage, a new nano-textured display option, fresh new colours, and four Thunderbolt ports on the 10-core version (replacing the mixture of Thunderbolt and USB-3 on the M3 edition).
Price-wise, if you’re in the UK, there’s been a £100 reduction across the board, with prices as they were in the US, bar the 10-core M4 iMac, which has received a $100 decrease.
Want to know the latest?
Read everything about the new Apple M4 iMac here!
Who is the M4 iMac for?
I think there are three categories of people who should buy the M4 iMac.
The first is anyone who is new to the iMac and who has been eyeing Apple’s all-in-one for some time. Trust me, now is the perfect time to finally buy that computer. There’s always going to be something new around the corner, but Apple Silicon is now firmly in iterative mode between updates, and the M4 will last you a very long time indeed.
The second is anyone with an Intel iMac who has been thinking about upgrading for a while. What a time to jump onboard with an M-series chip; if you’re still in that Intel boat, the upgrade is absolutely huge.
The final bunch of M4 iMac buyers is anyone who bought the 24″ M1 iMac at launch and who fancies a bit more power, memory, or storage. The new iMac might look the same (bar those lovely new colours) but it’s a different beast, internally, compared to the M1 version.
Read our article M3 iMac unified memory guide
Will we EVER get the big Apple Silicon iMac?
The fact we haven’t received an M4 Pro version of the iMac gives me hope that Apple might be holding it back for a larger version of the iMac.
It would make sense. We do, after all, have a pro Mac mini. Why not do the same thing with the iMac and combine the pro version of the M4 chip with a bigger display?
However, just like the ‘no-brainer’ big iPad mini update that never happened, such an iMac is probably only in demand by a relatively small section of the iMac user base. Equally, it’s dawned on many of the tech press (me included) that Apple’s answer for a big-screen Mac is, probably, a Mac mini coupled with a Studio Display.
I couldn’t help but notice John Ternus exclaim “Apple Intelligence is particularly great on the big, beautiful display on iMac” during the product announcement video that was published on YouTube. The guy who many believe will eventually replace Tim Cook as CEO wasn’t referring to a new, larger iMac – it was the current 24-inch version. For Apple, clearly, it’s big enough.
Sorry. I know a lot of you (relatively speaking, for the size of my audience) want that big iMac. I wish I had better news.
Final thought
Thoughts of the elusive big iMac to one side, I don’t think anyone was expecting a significant iMac update this time around, but I think Apple has been sensible – and fair – with the iterative upgrades it has chosen.
The new M4 chip was a given, and it’s a big leap for upgraders of earlier iMacs. The switch to 16GB of base-level unified memory will silence the critics (at least, it bloody should). Less core deficiencies, better ports for the pricier model, and a surprise price cut in the UK caps a very nice package for anyone who needs an iMac right now.
Before you go
