iMac (M4) review: a mini upgrade to Apple’s entry-level all-in-one

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iMac is the rock of Apple’s desktop line. Over the past decade we’ve seen the iMac Pro come and go, Apple struggling to crack the Mac Pro, and largely forgetting the Mac Mini existed for more than a decade. With two years and two models under its belt, the jury is still out on the Mac Studio’s longevity, though it’s nearly reached the halfway point of the iMac Pro’s short life.

The original iMac had a profound impact on Apple’s trajectory when it was introduced just over a quarter-century ago. Three years before the iPod, it represented the first major hit for Steve Jobs’ second go-round as CEO, helping rescue the company from the brink of bankruptcy.

The iMac is an easy machine to love. More than any other product in the portfolio, it represents the purest distillation of Apple’s original ethos. As a return to the all-in-one form factor, it harkens back to the Macintoshes of yesterday and “just works” right out of the box.

That’s not to say that it’s been entirely smooth sailing for the line. The iMac was affected during the recent period of indifference to the Mac line, as the company shifted most of its resources to the wildly popular iPhone. Between 2014 and 2021, we didn’t see any foundational changes to the system, as it retained the muted metal aesthetic that Apple introduced in 2007.

Along with the rest of the Mac line, iMac received a much-needed shot to the arm with the arrival of Apple Silicon. The all-in-one also returned to its colorful roots — an aesthetic insight into where the product stood relative to the rest of Apple’s desktops. It’s a more playful, entry-level system that’s at home inside a dorm room.

The Mac of least resistance

For businesses that want something a bit more serious, there’s still a silver option. After all, it’s the simplest Apple desktop when it comes to implementing devices at scale in the enterprise. It’s also a quick and easy solution when you need to, say, replace the receptionist’s computer at a dental office.

The main thing the iMac lacks is flexibility. It’s not a Mac Mini or Studio, where you can bring your own display. Nor is it the Mac Pro, with upgradeable RAM. To quote a popular preschool axiom, “You get what you get, and you don’t get upset.”

Gone are the days of the 27-inch option. The 24-inch iMac is compact, and that’s sort of the whole point. Barring the return of iMac Pro, there’s a single chip choice: the standard M4, in this case. If you want to upgrade to an M4 Pro, you’re going to have to venture outside the iMac line.

That’s not to say the new iMac is devoid of upgrade options. If you don’t mind the jump from $1,299 to $1,499, you’ll get four Thunderbolt ports (instead of two), while the 8-core CPU and GPU are upgraded to 10 cores, respectively. There also options to upgrade the 16GB RAM to up to 32GB and the storage from 512GB to as much as 2TB. All of those specs combined will run you $2,699. Then there’s the glare reducing nano textured display (+$200), which I highly recommend, and swapping the Magic Mouse out for a TrackPad (+$50). I recommend that, as well, but ultimately, it’s a matter of which input you’re more comfortable with.

Ultimately, I expect that a large portion of the iMac’s expected audience will be perfectly content to stick with the base specs. The biggest variable is whether they plan to do any gaming on the system. While Apple prides itself in the strides it’s made on that front, I’d recommend at least upgrading the RAM and chip GPU, if you want to play the AAA titles the company recommends. That said, more options are generally better.

What’s new?

The iMac ships with a color coordinated keyboard with TouchID (but no number pad) and Mouse. The coloring on the Mouse is particularly subtle, as are the matching cables. They’re as subtle as a purple, pink, or yellow computer can be. Thanks in large part to EU regulators, these peripherals now ship with USB-C standard. As annoying as it might be to upgrade those Lightning cables, users will ultimately appreciate the convenience of a universal — and just generally better — connector.

That said, the Magic Mouse retains one of Apple’s biggest design fails, with the charging port on the bottom of the mouse. While it’s true that you won’t have to charge the peripheral very often, you frustratingly won’t be able to use the mouse when you do. The ability to use the TrackPad while charging is one of several reasons I prefer it.

The system is little changed from last year’s M3 model. Both sport a 4.5K Retina Display with up to 500 nits of brightness and up to 1TB of storage. This time out, Apple dropped the option with 8GB of RAM, making 16GB the default at the same entry level price point, which is nice.

The webcam has gotten a bit of an upgrade, as well. It’s now 12-megapixels with support for Apple’s new(ish) Center Stage and Desk View features. Apple has also increased the number of color options available for the base system, adding yellow, orange, and purple options that previously required an upgrade to the four-port machine.

The biggest change is, of course, the M4 chip. The upgrade from the M3 brings larger memory bandwidth, increase CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine performance, all while reduce power consumption.

Meet the new Mac, same as the old Mac

The iMac remains a great entry-level desktop, for those who’d rather not be bothered buying an external monitor, keyboard, mouse, et al. It’s also an ideal system for IT departments to deploy at scale in offices — or for the aforementioned dentist front desk.

It’s a big upgrade for those with an older Intel system, but anyone who has bought an iMac since 2021 needn’t bother with an upgrade. It’s not going to make a huge difference for daily tasks, and those who are excited to try Apple Intelligence will be able to on any Mac with an M1 or later.

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