Apple announces updated iMac with M4 chip and newish colors

Apple has announced an updated iMac as part of a series of Mac-focused announcements over the course of this week. The first announcement gives the company's all-in-one desktop PC a shot in the arm in the form of an update processor and new colors.

The new 2024 iMac is now built on the company's latest Apple M4 chipset. This includes up to a 10-core CPU (4P+6E), which is said to be 1.7x faster than the M1 model and 1.3x faster than the previous M3 model in Excel. There's also a new GPU with up to 10-cores, which is 2x faster than the M1 GPU and 1.1x faster than the M3's in gaming. The M4 also includes an improved Neural Engine, which is over 3x faster than the M1 NPU.

Combined with the faster chip, the new iMac also gets 16GB system memory as standard, with options for 24GB and 32GB. Storage starts at 256GB and can be configured up to 2TB.

The new iMac has the same 24-inch 4.5K Retina display as before but Apple now offers the option of a nano-texture glass, which should greatly reduce glare compared to the default glossy option. This glass is a $200 extra and needs to be configured while purchasing. This option is not available on the base model.

The new chipset comes with upgraded connectivity. The premium model get four Thunderbolt 4 ports with Ethernet support and can output to two 6K 60Hz or one 8K 120Hz external displays. However, the base model gets only two Thunderbolt 4 ports with no Ethernet (configurable separately for $30), and only a single 6K 60Hz external display support.

The webcam on the front has been updated with a new 12MP 1080p model that supports Apple's Center Stage feature, which uses a wide-angle camera to crop and move the frame around depending upon the people in the frame. There's also a Desk View feature, which can use the camera's ultrawide field of view to capture the contents of your desk below the iMac and apply perspective correction. The triple microphone and six speaker array are the same as before.

Apple has also updated the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, and optional Magic Trackpad with USB-C ports, replacing the older Lightning models. They are also color matched to the iMac, just like before.

Speaking of colors, Apple claims to have a new set of colors, six of them to be precise along with the original silver, which is unchanged. However, it took a while to notice the difference compared to the previous generation models, since they are all essentially the same colors but slightly tweaked. The blue is more aqua and less navy, the purple is more lavender and less violet, the pink is less raspberry and more bubblegum, the green is more jade and less turquoise, the yellow is more lemon sherbet and less pumpkin, and the orange is… half a shade lighter, I think. Maybe. Not sure. It's worth noting that most of the color change is at the back and the stand and front bottom bezel haven't changed much.

The 2024 iMac is priced at $1299 for the base model with 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB storage and two USB ports. The model with 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, four ports and option to get nano-texture glass starts at $1499.

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