M4 iMac shows Apple’s commitment to the all-in-one after some missed turns

Today’s M4 iMac announcement shows just how serious Apple is about the all-in-one desktop line.

The M1 iMac made a huge splash. It brought the return of colors, featured a giant iPad-like design, and sported a larger display with more resolution than the 4K 21.5-inch Intel iMac it replaced. Then Apple introduced the M2 chip, put it inside a bunch of Macs, and left the M1 iMac untouched.

That created an appetite for the M3 iMac. The first M-series iMac revision came in the same color options and still included Lightning port mouse and keyboard peripherals. Meanwhile, the iPhone shifted to USB-C, signaling the end of the Lightning port. Not using USB-C was kind of weird.

Turns out Apple was saving the switching from Lightning to USB-C peripherals for a refreshed color lineup. Apple probably had plenty of color-matched Lightning peripherals to sell through first.

And the M4 iMac is much more than the anticipated chip update and USB-C peripherals. The new color options aren’t night and day different, but they show Apple is still interested in making the iMac playful.

Meanwhile, upping the base model from 8GB RAM to 16GB RAM is a huge deal for iMac customers. Sure, you could configure the M1 and M3 iMacs to 16GB RAM, but I’d bet that a lot of iMac customers go with a preconfigured build that’s readily in stock in retail stores. This is also promising for the M4 MacBook Air refresh expected early next year.

Lastly, and I’m writing this from the nano texture iPad Pro, is the option to go nano texture on the M-series iMac. Apple introduced nano texture with the Pro Display XDR before later bringing it to the 27-inch Intel iMac as an option. Nano texture is an option for the Studio Display, but it was missing from the iMac line after that last Intel model was discontinued. Super cool for those of us who prefer anti-glare and anti-reflective screens.

The biggest knock folks can make on the M4 iMac? The Magic Mouse still charges from the bottom — now with USB-C instead of Lightning — but that’s always been more of a meme than a real issue. Welcome back, iMac!