Apple has brought its M4 chip to the iMac, making it the first Mac to get Apple’s latest silicon chip. The update also brings new colors and a significant performance improvement for the all-in-one desktop computer, and it comes a year after it received the previous-generation M3 chip. As with the previous M1 and M3 iMacs, the M4 model is compatible with Apple Intelligence.
It comes at the beginning of a week of product releases from Apple, with the company previously teasing that it had much more to reveal in the coming days. The updates could see the entire Mac lineup receive some variant of the M4 chip (including more powerful M4 Pro, M4 Max and M4 Ultra editions) over the coming months.
Compared to the M1 chip, Apple says that the new iMac’s M4 handles photo editing and gaming 2.1 times faster, while its Neural Engine is up to 3 times faster. And in a video posted to YouTube, Apple said that the M4 iMac offers 1.3 times the performance in Microsoft Excel and is 1.1 times faster for gaming compared to the previous-generation M3 chip. The iMac also starts with 16GB of memory (and goes up to 32GB), which should also help with performance.
Apple has also added new colors to the product, and it now comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. The iMac’s accessories come color-matched to these tones. Apple has also added Thunderbolt 4 connectivity to the USB-C ports on the rear of the device, a 12MP front-facing camera that works with Center Stage, plus a nano-texture option for the display that reduces reflections and glare. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are also supported.
Elsewhere, the iMac retains the same chassis design as the previous version, as well as the same display resolution. There have been rumors that Apple is working on an iMac with a larger screen, but that was absent from Apple’s announcement.
Apple has also brought out new versions of its accessories, including the Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse. These focus on adding USB-C connectivity to the peripherals (in line with EU regulations), as well as the aforementioned color-matching.
Apple is expected to update the MacBook Pro and Mac mini later this week. The MacBook Pro was heavily leaked throughout October, with various unboxing videos revealing new colors, ports, and internal specs.
The Mac mini, meanwhile, is predicted to get one of the most significant redesigns in its history, with a much smaller chassis seeing it occupy about as much space as an Apple TV box. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the Mac mini could be “the most impressive Mac yet to use Apple’s in-house silicon because of the combination of its size and power.”
Although the updated iMac has not received the all-encompassing rework that the Mac mini is likely to get, its new chip adds a dose of much-needed power to the desktop machine, while the improved connectivity, Apple Intelligence compatibility, and extra splash of color could make it more attractive to prospective buyers. Now that Apple has kicked off its week of Mac announcements, keep your eyes peeled for more over the coming days.
