iMac M4 vs iMac M3 — biggest upgrades explained

Kicking off the week of big M4 Mac announcements, Apple has just debuted the M4 iMac with some tasty upgrades to the design and its performance. It may look identical (with the exception of the new colors), but there’s a lot more going on when you take a closer look at the updated best all-in-one computer.

And that’s why I’m here — to break down every single difference here, and help you figure out whether the M4 iMac is the one for you. As you’ll see (spoiler alert) the updates in performance are kind of a minor spec bump, which is why Apple was careful to compare this to the M1 and Intel iMacs for that shock value.

But there will still be some reasons why an upgrade so soon could be worth it to certain power users. Let me explain, and show you how the iMac M4 vs iMac M3 stack up against one another.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Specs

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Price and availability

Pricing is staying the same — you can pre-order the iMac M4 for $1,299 with prices going up to $2,899 if you go for the fully maxed out spec. The big launch date is set for November 8.

That base configuration, though, comes with one important upgrade over the M3. Instead of 8GB RAM being the base option, you now get 16GB. That’s going to be critical for Apple Intelligence and multitasking.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Design

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The all-in-one construction of the 24-inch iMac remains the same with its flat rectangular chassis that comes in at an impressively thin 0.45 inches. 

On top of that, the stand’s hinge continues to give you a roughly 40-degree angle of tilt, with a hole in the back for cable management. Thunderbolt 4 ports remain on the bottom right corner of the system, and the option Ethernet can be found on the power brick you connect the iMac to.

One new thing (make that seven) is the new vibrant colors you can pick this up in: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver. The power cord and accessories are color-matched to the system for a tasteful all-in-one match up.

Oh, and the webcam has been vastly improved too from a 1080p cam to a full-blown 12MP Center Stage snapper. This is sure to guarantee a vastly improved picture quality on FaceTime.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Display

This is one of the bigger differences and upgrades — depending on how you feel about display technology. You see, you are still getting that same gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina Display. But now, you can opt for an optional $200 nano-texture glass option.

With this alternative glass cover atop your display, reflections and glare should be drastically reduced. So if you have this next to a window with sunlight pouring in, you shouldn’t face any issues.

Plus, display support has now seen a drastic improvement too, with up to two external displays at 6K 60Hz, or a single 8K 120Hz panel.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Performance

Now for the internal components — Apple is finally taking the M4 found in iPad Pro and stuffing it into the iMac. As for speed boosts, this means 2.1x faster photo and video editing performance than M1, and up to 6x faster general performance than the most popular Intel-based iMac.

You‘ll notice that Apple’s been particular in choosing to compare the M4 iMac to older models. However, we can take M4 iPad Pro numbers and compare them to the M3 iMac, to get a general idea of what we can get.

As you can see, the performance differences here are a lot smaller. But you should still see a noticeable improvement in gaming performance (particularly with faster hardware-accelerated ray tracing) and Apple Intelligence capabilities with a vastly larger Neural Engine.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Keyboard and mouse

USB-C. That’s it. That’s the update. In one way, this makes me rather happy — these were the final accessories to cling onto the Lightning port, and it’s great to see Apple kill this socket once and for all.

The included Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse do feel good to use, with plenty of depth on the chiclet keys and a smooth multi-touch surface atop the mouse. For an extra $80, you can grab a keyboard with a number pad too, and an additional $50 will get you the Magic Trackpad.

But the Cupertino crew had one job: move that port from underneath the Magic Mouse to the side, so you don’t have to just outright stop using it. Unfortunately, Apple has not done that, and one of the more annoying design decisions we’ve seen continues for yet another year.

iMac M4 vs iMac M3: Should you upgrade?

Much like last year, the M4 iMac is a spec bump with the same aesthetics. So when asking the question about if you should upgrade, there are multiple answers:

• For those with an Intel or M1 iMac: This is a definite “yes.” The performance gains are similar to those users felt when first seeing M1 chips in late 2020!
• For those with an M3 iMac: I’d wait for our review to see how significant that change is in the iMac realm.

There are certain situations where I anticipate that M4 performance will be appreciated over M3, such as faster video editing and high-end gaming. But stay tuned for our full review for a fuller understanding of what the new iMac brings in terms of performance and value. 

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched my Windows PC for a Mac for the first time in almost 20 years — here’s why
• Forget M4 MacBooks — save up to $500 on these early Black Friday MacBook deals
• This new Google Chrome upgrade made me say 'whoa' out loud — and it's a game changer