Apple Announces the New iMac: M1 Chip And New Design

Apple Announces the New iMac: M1 Chip And New Design

Today, Apple announced a new vibrant series of iMacs, all powered by the M1 chip. With a 24" display and 11.5 mm in thickness, they are a departure from the established iMac design. 

The new Apple iMac released today will have a completely redesigned shell, striking profile, and a new display. The redesign was a long time coming, but the color variety came as a surprise to some users. A new display will be a step up from the previous models, which means better color accuracy and more detail. The iMac will be available for purchase from April 30, with the cheapest model retailing for $1,299 in the US.

M1 Chip

The redesigned Apple iMac is harnessing the power of the M1 chip and is claimed to be a breakthrough in what computers are. So far, the power of the M1 chip has been on display with the Mac Mini. The system-on-chip architecture will provide increased efficiency with less size. 

The 8-core CPU in the new iMac will make a noticeable difference in workflows. Apple claims that it has the fastest CPU core in low-power silicon, as well as featuring the fastest integrated graphics. The new M1 chip has up to 85% faster CPU performance, which means faster video exports and confident work with 100-megapixel files in the processing software. 

The GPU will be 2x faster in some apps, such as Affinity Photo or Photoshop. This will give creatives the ability to render edits in real-time or add complex edits to images. The new iMac will support editing of up to five streams of 4K footage or a single stream of 8K. 

4.5K Display 

Displays are probably the feature most photographs are most excited about. Apple has made a reputation for having incredible displays in the past, and with this Mac, they are living up to that heritage. The 24-inch display will have narrower borders, and 11.3 million pixels. The display will be 4.5K and have a wide P3 color gamut with 500 nits of brightness. The True Tone technology will adjust the display's colors to match the ambient light. The display is covered with Apple's anti-reflective coating for comfort. 

Design 

The most distinct feature of the new iMac is the new design. It will be a much more rectangular one with sharper edges. The M1 chip is enabling Apple to compact the logic board and the thermals into a smaller space, meaning the computer will fit in even smaller spaces. 

The computer comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. A departure from a much-loved space gray could upset some users. Apple aims to make the new iMac more personalized. In addition to the new design is a color-matched magnetic power cable. Cables are a weak spot sometimes, so Apple made this one woven in hopes to make it more durable. 

Touch ID and New Accessories 

Touch ID technology has made it to Apple's iMac with the introduction of the new Magic Keyboard. The new keyboard and mouse will also be color coordinated with the display meaning, that the keyboard is also available in seven colors. It looks like Apple found a use for some empty keys on the Magic Keyboard and resigned functions to some other keys as well. In line with their new design of the iMac, the keyboard features round edges. The Magic Mouse is the same except for the color. How do you feel about the new colors and design of the new Apple iMac? Will you be upgrading from your current model? Let me know in the comments! 

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18 Comments

Nice! ...waiting for the 16" MacBook Pro with M1(X).

Same here! Although the Mac Mini is also an interesting option. Currently using a 2019 15" mac

Everything about this design is terrible. A regression.

I totally agree with you. I'm staring at my 5K (not 4.5K) 27" (not 24") 2017 iMac and all its glorious beauty and cannot believe they would take a step backwards. Why?

I like the design but it's something for people who want more from an iPad.
Waiting for "professional" line

Didn't they kill off the iMac Pro line? You might just have to get a Mac Pro.

I will get one silver one over the summer after they fix nay possible bug. SD card reader would have been a plus. Low anchor point is definitely something I am curious to hear about regarding how stable it is in real environment. Pretty sure Apple will have a $200 optional 2 pound aluminum weight for sale if needed.

it's a replacement to the 21" consumer line -- not the 27" or the iMac pro. Most analysts predict a professional iMac will be launched later this year or early next year (featuring the M1X).

It's definitely a better machine than the existing 21" -- but for 27" users or iMac Pro users, they should wait

I currently have the 21" Imac with 32 gigs of ram. I want to buy this new offering when its available. I hope with this new chip I can buy less ram? any thoughts about this? The 24" screen I like, I think I need some honest feedback on how to config a new machine with out busting my piggy bank. I want to lean how to use bender, a 3d program, my work flow is not professional but enthusiast . I have adobe all products, an On1. This bender thing is intriguing. I have tried to use adobe's 3d thing in photoshop, so far no success in using. I guess I need to find some 3D for dummies videos. Daunting for me.

I run Bender on Macbook air with M1 and 16 gig of ram. I think it would depend if you are looking for modeling or animations. I just do modeling.

I want to try modeling , UGG I think, where can I lean some monkey do vids to assist me thank you for your feedback
my new drone, my first test launch, lot of fun

Isn't the screen limiting for you? why not hold out for the larger model when its unveiled?

I think the 24 in will do, plus my budget , I am not a pro but enthusiast

For the price of this fashion ipad you can buy a real workstation and use it also for working

Yes! Going to upgrade my 1TB iPad Pro 12.9 (2018) with the 2TB/16GB M1 model!

I just learned iMacs can't be used as monitors for other products. Why!???

5K imac? It communicates with the gpu by custom chip. Other solutions weren't possible at that time because of the massive bandwith required, it would have resulted in a screen operating at 30hz

at least there's a reason