New 24

[22:22 tue,20.April 2021 by Thomas Richter]

As expected, Apple today introduced a new iMac based on the M1 chip. The new 24" iMac replaces the 21.5" Intel iMac models and already stands out from the old models due to its design: it is much more compact and with 11.5mm slimmer than the old iMacs with Intel chips - in addition, it comes in 7 quite bright colors.

The new form factor, which is more reminiscent of a tablet than a desktop computer, was made possible by the new M1 chip based on ARM technology, which requires much less space (around 50% according to Aplple) than the old iMacs due to its high integration and low power consumption. According to Apple, the M1 8-core GPU is currently said to be the fastest integrated GPU in a personal computer.

New Apple M1 24" iMac

The CPU performance is said to be around 85% faster than that of an old 21.5" Intel iMac, allowing you to work with huge 100 megapixel photos in Lightroom, for example. GPU performance in apps like Affinity Photo and Photoshop is said to have nearly doubled compared to the most powerful discrete graphics in the fastest 21.5" iMac. Furthermore, it&s now possible to edit up to five streams of 4K motion footage or one stream of 8K footage in Final Cut Pro without losing a frame.

The new 24-inch iMac comes in the form of

three new base models with an 8-core CPU and a 7- or 8-core GPU, as well as 256 or 512GB of SSD storage. The version of the M1 chip still appears to be the same as that used in the M1 MacBook Air 13", MacBook Pro 13" and Mac mini models that debuted in November, so the performance specs will be very similar. Models with improved Apple silicon in the form of an M1.5 or - as already speculated -

M2 chips will probably only come later.

All new models have an 8 GB RAM (unfortunately, there are no 16 GB models like the M1 MacBook Pro 13"), a 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning tasks as well as two Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 ports. The two more expensive models with 8 CPU/8-GPU cores also have two USB 3 ports and Gigabit Ethernet - they only differ in their 256GB or 512GB SSD (optionally also with 512GB or 1TB).

Apple M1 24" iMac

The integration of the RAM ("unified memory") into the M1 SoC has, besides the advantage of high speed and the shared access of CPU and GPU to it, also a disadvantage: the RAM can&t be expanded later, since the memory is part of the SoC.

In addition to the new processor, the iMac 24 features a number of innovations - for example, it is the first iMac to support Apple&s Touch ID system for user authentication via Magic Keyboard, as well as a new 1080p

FaceTime HD camera including high-quality microphones (in the form of an array of three microphones) and sound system with 6 speakers, according to Apple the best respective components ever installed in a Mac. The power supply is now externally wired unlike the old previous models, there is also the Ethernet port.

The 24.5" 4.5K Display.
Of course, the display is always important in an iMac - this has been significantly improved in the new model compared to the old ones. So the New iMac now uses a 24.5" Retina Display with a color depth of 10-bit, a resolution of 4.5K (4,480 x 2,520 pixels) with an above-average brightness of 500 nits. It also covers the professional DCI-P3 color space.

New Apple M1 24" iMac in color variants

Meanwhile, there is a rich offer of Universal Apps, i.e. apps that run natively on both iOS and macOS Big Sur and the M1 chip, such as Photoshop, Twitter, Microsoft Office, Quicken, Slack, Affinity Publisher, Zappos, 1Password or DaVinci Resolve.

Prices and Availability.
The iMac 24" complements the previous models with M1 Apple Silicon, i.e. the MacBook Air, the 13" MacBook Pro and the Mac mini. The following base models are available:

- the iMac with 7-core GPU, 8-core CPU, 8 GB Unified Memory, 256 GB SSD available from around 1,550 euros in the colors green, rose, blue and silver.
- the iMac with 8-core GPU with 8-core CPU, 8 GB Unified Memory and 256 GB SSD for around 1,770 euros or with 512 GB SSD for around 1,900 euros.

The new models are available in green, yellow, orange, rosé, purple, blue and silver, and can be ordered from Friday, April 30 - the new iMacs will be available from the second half of May.

more infos at bei www.apple.com

deutsche Version dieser Seite: Neuer 24" iMac mit M1-Chip: Schlanker, schneller und bunter