The new iMac: Who’s it for?
The rumors were true. Last week, Apple announced the first complete redesign of the iMac since roughly 2009 (or 2007, depending on who’s counting). As with most new Mac announcements, you might be wondering if this is a good time to upgrade or if you should keep waiting for the next thing.
Here’s an overview of what’s new in the M1 iMac that might make it worth your hard-earned money. For a more in-depth conversation about whether or not this will fit your needs, book a session with me and let’s chat!
New Looks
The most obvious difference is the radical new design, complete with an array of bright colors.
The new M1 iMac is a single 11.5mm thick slab suspended on an aluminum stand. While the previous model had a large rounded bulge on the back that housed all of the components and allowed for increased airflow, this one is totally flat and surprisingly thin. It looks a lot like a huge iPad. It also has a 24-inch display in place of the previous model’s 21.5-inch screen, while the overall device is only slightly larger thanks to reduced bezels.
Back to those colors. Fun fact in case you didn’t notice, the colors of the new iMac match the 6 colors of the original Apple logo. There’s green, yellow, orange, red (called pink), purple, blue, and of course, silver.
The base model only comes in blue, pink, green, or silver, so you’ll need to pay a little more to get one of the other colors.
The colors are deep and bold on the sides and back of the main device, while the “chin” on the front and the stand get a softer, more pastel hue. The screen on all models is framed in thin white bezels.
This is yet another sign that the fun, whimsical Apple of the late 90’s is making a comeback. In fact, this was something I was hoping we’d see way back in August 2020 (full disclosure, I was mostly talking about laptops in this post):
...it’s not like Apple has always been known for the super sleek minimalist designs we have today. Remember the original iMac and the iBook G3? Those bright colors helped make computing fun for a lot of people that otherwise saw it as a chore. ... Bold colors like those found on the iPod touch might be a little too intense for such a large device, but lighter pastel colors would look amazing. Or they could go full iBook and put accent colors around the edges. Anything that shifts away from silver, slightly darker silver (aka Space Gray), or whatever shade of gold is in this season.
The new design has been a bit polarizing, with a lot of people saying it’s just plain ugly. There appear to be three main arguments:
- They should have done away with the chin
- The pastel colors on the front should be as bold as the colors on the back
- The bezels should be black instead of white
I disagree on all three points.
The chin was necessary in order to realize the ultra-thin design and retain some of the iMac’s personality. The entire computer is located in the chin along with the cooling system. Those components simply wouldn’t fit behind the display without making the whole thing a lot thicker. Sure, they could have made a thicker iMac and removed the chin, but then it would just be...a thick monitor...just like any other thick monitor. How boring.
I also think the pastels make a lot of sense in that they’re not as distracting as a bright bold color might be. The device is meant to disappear when you’re using it, so framing it in a bright, bold orange would pull focus from the content.
And finally, the white bezels. This one is funny to me because most Apple geeks that I know still think that the iMac G4 was Apple’s best product design ever. Guess what color its bezels were. Then there was the iBook and iBook G4, iMac G5, the plastic MacBook, iPod, various models of iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch...There have been so many white bezels on Apple products that I’m a little surprised to see these complaints now.
In my opinion, as entry-level machines, these iMacs are a lot more likely to be used in bright rooms like design agencies and other various offices. In those cases, white bezels make sense. The “pro” iMacs that might be used in dark production studios are still a few months away, and you can be certain there will be at least one version that has black bezels.
That’s the end of my rant. All of that to say, you’ll either love the new design or you’ll hate it.
M1 Power
There’s no debating the fact that this new iMac is a massive upgrade over its Intel counterpart. The M1 system that blew everyone away late last year makes its way into the iMac, furthering Apple’s transition to its own processors across the entire Mac line.
It does still carry the same limits, however, with a maximum of 16GB of RAM and 2TB SSD. The RAM limit will make a lot of people worry, but since the entire system is built into a single chip, 16GB of RAM on the M1 is way more efficient than 16GB of RAM in an Intel Mac. I’d wager that 90% of Mac users will be just fine with 16GB.
You get the same instant-on capability as the other M1 Macs, and the rest of the system will feel lightning quick. Since the iMac has a cooling system, you can also expect better sustained performance like the Mac mini or M1 MacBook Pro.
Overall, this is the biggest reason to upgrade to the new M1 iMac.
Connectivity
Another limitation of the M1 is that it has a single Thunderbolt controller, allowing for only two Thunderbolt / USB4 ports. In the base model, those are the only ports you get. Bump up to one of the higher tiers and you get an extra two USB 3 ports. This is the first time Apple has put similar looking ports with different functionality on a device. You’ll just need to look for the Thunderbolt logo to know which port you’re using.
Apple decided to keep a 3.5mm headphone jack, but now it’s on the side instead of the back of the device. Not only is that a bit more practical and convenient, it’s actually totally necessary. A typical headphone plug is 14mm long, so it would be impossible to plug one into the back of this 11.5mm thick computer. Crazy.
The thinness of the iMac does have one drawback: this is the first desktop Mac to require an external power supply in about 11 years. The power cable connects to the back of the device magnetically, making it easier to attach and detach. You can also get ethernet as an option, but the port is actually built into the power supply. One less cable to clutter your desk.
Peripherals
The new iMac has a much-improved 1080p FaceTime camera that gets an extra quality boost from the image signal processor built into the M1. There’s also a “studio-quality” three-microphone array and a six-speaker system that supports spatial audio with Dolby Atmos. So your Zoom calls will look great and big budget movies will sound amazing.
Each iMac comes with a color-matched Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse. The entry-level model comes with a regular keyboard while the upper tiers incorporate a Touch-ID fingerprint sensor, a first for desktop Macs. There are also options for a Magic Keyboard with a number pad and a color-matched Magic Trackpad. So many options!
Wrap-Up
So...who is this iMac for? Honestly, pretty much everyone.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that this iMac is the entry-level, replacing the old 21.5-inch model. As far as entry-level computers go, it’s incredibly powerful and capable. But if you’re interested in doing any serious, intense video production, or audio production with tons of tracks and effects, you’re most likely going to want to wait for the higher-end machines later this year.
