Without a huge media hoopla, today Apple announced updates to some of its entire all-in-one desktop lineup. The 21.5-inch iMac now offers a 4K retina display, the 27-inch iMac now comes standard with the 5K retina display, the Mac sees its first Skylake debut, and Apple's Magic keyboard and mouse accessories see great updates (at a price). With even more under-the-hood changes, these are the iMac's you wanted all year, but may not have known about. (UPDATED)
iMacs
Both new iMac sizes include faster 1867MHz RAM starting at 8GB (the 21.5-inch can take up to 16GB, but the 27-inch supports up to twice that much). They also feature a new type of display for the iMac: one that includes red-green phosphor LEDs. The change helps all retina iMac models now display 25 percent more color thanks to better red and green color reproduction. For a display that already was as beautiful as it was, the display technology shift should continue to keep Apple more than ahead of the pack, especially considering that many 4K displays are still as much as an entire iMac.
Intel's delay with its processors as of late is no secret. Skylake processors have been delayed again and again. But finally, we see them in 3.2GHz, 3.3GHz, and 4GHz quad-core variants in the new 27-inch 5K iMac, which now starts at $1,799 compared to its previous entry price of $1,999 if you wanted that gorgeous display (no more non-retina 27-inch iMac). Meanwhile, graphics include AMD Radeon GPUs with 2GB to 4GB of RAM. Flash storage speed also sees a bump to Apple's latest PCI-e SSD speeds.
The 21.5-inch iMac doesn't get the Skylake processors because those don't yet include Iris Pro graphics. But what Broadwell lacks in comparison is more a concern for mobile users than the desktop user: power efficiency. With a plug to the wall being a necessary part of the iMac experience, users shouldn't be too concerned about the lack of Skylake in the 21.5-inch iMac. After all, they get the addition of built-in graphics with the Broadwell tech. Another difference perhaps worth a quick note: the 21.5-inch iMac also maxes out with a 2TB fusion drive compared to the 27-inch's 3TB max, if that makes a difference for you. Everything features USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 2 as you might expect.
We could go on all day on the various options you might want, but the best solution is to go and configure some iMacs yourself to spec out what you need on Apple's website. Do yourself a favor, though: put the non-retina 21.5-inch iMac out of your mind. It's not worth it for the processing power sacrifice you make, even for the $400 savings. Most people reading our site (if not, everyone) will be happy with such a decision. Better yet, start at the very least with a base-model 27-incher, and justify the bump by forgoing Starbucks for a month.
Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2, and the Magic Keyboard...1
Apple's keyboard and mouse accessories haven't seen an update in years (since they first introduced the term, "Magic"). Today, recent rumors come to full fruition with integrated rechargeable batteries instead of clunky and expensive AAs. These batteries should last a month in each device, recharge via lightning ports, and can easily give nine hours of life on a mere two minutes of charging if you're in a pinch to get back to productivity. All of the new devices also feature a brand new wedge design that updates the look of the accessories to something more modern.
The Magic Trackpad 2 now features a slightly larger surface area, Force Touch (so you can click with different depths anywhere on the trackpad), and a glossier surface for a smoother experience.
The Magic Keyboard (there was no "Magic" Keyboard before...so the naming scheme is now quite odd, unfortunately breaking Apple's usual simplicity) features a similar footprint to its predecessor, but adds full-size function keys while featuring a shorter travel distance for each key. Supposedly it's not quite as short as that of the new MacBooks, but the difference from device to device (this would now be a "third" type of travel distance for a keyboard on any Apple device available today) might be slightly annoying if you bounce between computers throughout the day. Then again, Apple usually knows what it's doing. I wasn't sure about the Force Touch trackpads until I tried one myself, and then went back to the old style. Force Touch is much more refined, and I imagine these new devices aren't any different.
The Magic Mouse hasn't changed much with the "2" aside from its rechargeable battery, slightly longer stance, and supposedly redesign rails (although the Verge can't tell much of a difference).
All of the devices are more expensive, with the Magic Mouse 2 coming in at $79, the Magic Keyboard at $99, and the Magic Trackpad 2 at a whopping $129. The price changes make sense, though, given that you now get a high-end, Apple-quality, rechargeable built-in battery with each device that will undoubtedly save you the difference in buying AAs for your devices over the years (okay, so you use rechargeable AAs...well, then you can get mad...what do you want me to say?).
All of Apple's recently announced devices are available on Apple.com and are shipping today.
UPDATE: Apple is also updating iMovie to support 4K video. I don't use iMovie and have to admit I didn't even know that it did not support 4K video yet, but given that the iPhone now shoots 4K footage, Apple didn't have much of a choice. So it's finally here. Update today (if you trust that it'll be stable given all the recent El Capitan and/or Adobe update craziness lately).
UPDATE 2: The new Magic accessories require a Bluetooth 4.0-enabled Mac. So those with slightly older systems: sorry, these won't work for you.
UPDATE 3: Good news and bad news. Apparently the 27-inch iMac now supports up to 64GB of RAM if you install 16GB modules yourself. That's the good news. The bad is that the RAM in the 21.5-inch iMac is soldered in and not user upgadable, while the 1TB Fusion drive has apparently seen a cut in its SSD portion down to just 24GB (not a typo).
21" won't go to 32GB of RAM, ..... :(
I know. Sad story. But I think most of us want the 27-inch anyway. And for the price difference with all the added features/benefits, it really does make sense. Apple pretty much knows this. It's perhaps the biggest letdown of theirs that doesn't matter that much, though... There're other areas I'd much rather see them improve (like allowing 32GB on the Retina MBPs).
Christopher, I agree. I think not having a 32GB Ram option in a 21" iMac sucks. Older versions supported 32GB of Ram, why can newer versions not? Honestly, the 27 inch is nice, but I've always been fine with a 21.5 inch iMac and 32GB of ram. Hopefully the new graphics cards and processors would make up for maxing out at 16GB of ram in a 21."
Article updated: 27-inch supports 64GB of RAM now, and the iMac situation is worse than it seemed at first, seeing as the RAM is supposedly soldered in (i.e. not user-upgradable).
To your point, though, the 21.5-inch "only" needs to support a 4K monitor as opposed to a 5K.
I didn't hear anything about the RAM being soldered in, that really sucks if that is the case. It's bad enough that they make you take the screen out now to even get to the RAM. Anybody should be able to upgrade their RAM with ease. It's a basic upgrade that most people can do themselves. It used to be right at the bottom, just under some screws on the iMac.
It's crazy that Apple wants $600 for 32GB of ram, when you can get 32GB of RAM from OWC (macsales.com) for $264. Even though, the 21.5" iMac only needs to support a 4k monitor, it's still not cool that they limit you to 16GB. They are forcing people into the 27." Like I said, older 21.5" models supported 32GB. Just my opinion, I love my iMac, and I don't like to complain, but damn Apple
The "Magic Mouse 2" is IMHO a design fail. You cannot change batteries. Yes, you can charge it with a lightning cable but the socket is on the bottom of the mouse. So it is not usable when it's charging.
For my "Magic Mouse 1" I just put another set of rechargable batteries in while the empty ones are charging at an outlet.
Then again, in the two minutes that you change the batteries and fiddle with the plate on the bottom of the mouse, you could have the Magic Mouse 2 ready to go for another 9 hours. Then remember to plug it in at the end of the day before you go to bed. Forget again? Plug it in for another 2 minutes while you make yourself a coffee. Who cares?
apple knows what they do, yes, but environmentally speaking, user replaceable batteries are usually a far better option, right? they should've jumped on AAAs (can't beat eneloop on that side too) and integrated 2mins-charge-for-9-hours-work circuit. that would've been a smart choice, a real "think different" kind of sh*t. three years from now those integrated batteries will need replacement, and guess what? you'll have to send them in waisting money and time.
but this fast charging would probably not apply to all kind of AAA batteries, it'd need some kind of sensor to know wether they are rechargeable or not, and so on.
apple usually knows what they do.
I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll last much longer than three years... That's kind of the "old" number, and more for batteries that you'd cycle (full discharge and charge) once per day (like a laptop). Since you'd only be charging these every month or so, you'd have PLENTY of time before those batteries ever went "completely" bad. I think you'll have month-long use on a full charge for a LONG time...
They should make it a lot thicker IMO, I get cramps after just a couple of minutes handling my Magic Mouse 1 =/
You're holding it wrong. ;)
Ha - so does this make the only desktop without any Apple-made 4k option the 'multi-4k-driving' Mac Pro? They really dropped the ball there. Glad I didn't wait forever for a display for them on that one.
That's the one thing... Apple NEEDS to update the Thunderbolt display with the build of the iMacs, but in a cheaper, standalone version. They'll have issues making it make sense in their lineup because they'll want to charge $1,500 for it, at least. And for that, you could almost get the full iMac. But if they just shut up and do it for under $900 or so, they could probably still make a decent chunk of money while completely taking over the industry overnight... And every editor's desk would be glowing with a white Apple.
nice to see updates. even though its just apple updates.
Is the memory on the 21" iMac in any way upgradable? I was looking foward for the Mac Mini option to ditch my huge PC, i mainly use mine for Photoshop and web, i don't believe i need all that gamming horsepower of my PC. The iMac is still the only thing from apple that makes me look at it and say "i want one", gorgeous piece of engineering, great screen and packed with great software.
The RAM can go up to 16GB, but as I said in the update recently, it's soldered in. So whatever you get at the time of purchase is all you'll ever be getting, unfortunately. Not the same story with the 27-inch iMac, however. That guy can support 64GB of RAM (OWC already announced an upgrade kit with four 16GB modules for almost $1,200 -- whoa).
They should not solder the damn ram dimms...keeps me from buying the 21" iMac. They did the same with the Mac Mini. But, the difference from the 21" 4K iMac and the 27" 5K iMac isn't that huge and "upgradability" is the main word here..so it is still a smarter decision to buy the 27".
And again...Apple's brilliant master scheme to get people to bump up to the next best thing has worked like a charm. :-)
Not with me. That's why i'm into the PC world...if i need more RAM i buy it, better processor, as long as the socket works i'll buy the latest...and it keeps up to date for ages...