QUICK REVIEW
The 2024 refresh of the iMac with Apple M4 silicon has officially arrived. There are three big takeaways.
First is the M4 chip itself which brings more power and efficiency inside an otherwise familiar-looking sleek and portable all-in-one chassis.
The RAM or unified memory as Apple calls it, is now 16GB at the very least, up from 8GB in the last generation.
The port selection has been bumped up, too, to include all Thunderbolt/USB 4 doing away with the older USB 3 standard.
A good thing is that despite the upgrades, the price hasn’t gone up, as you can still get the iMac at a starting price of Rs 1,34,900 same as 2023 version. This is for an M4 variant with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory, and 256GB of SSD storage. This variant has two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports.
It is also available in a higher-end configuration with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU with prices starting at Rs 1,54,900 with 16GB of unified memory and 256GB of SSD storage. Here you get four Thunderbolt 4 ports and Gigabit ethernet.
The M4 chip makes the new iMac up to 1.7x faster for daily tasks and 2.1x faster for heavy-duty processes like photo editing and gaming, Apple says, although this is compared to the M1-based model from 2021. The M3 iMac was billed to be more than two times faster than the M1-based model.
The new iMac 2024 refresh comes with 16GB of unified memory by default. The ceiling has been raised as well. While the 2023 model capped out at 24GB, the M4 iMac can go up to 32GB.
The iMac boasts a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display same as its predecessor, but you get a nano-texture glass option this time for glare reduction.
Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are available in this generation.
Apple says the new iMac has a 12MP webcam.
The overall design remains unchanged. The new iMac comes in seven colours—green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. Each iMac also comes with matching accessories, including a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse (or optional Magic Trackpad), now featuring USB-C connectivity.
The pre-orders are now live, so you can secure your iMac right away. It will go on sale from November 8.