Verdict
This might be a small-scale update – and not really for anyone who already has an M - serial Mac – but the iMac M4 is still a classifiable political machine that I am glad exists . With its wide array of coloring and playfulness designing , this is a great pick for someone who does n’t a computing gadget to dominate a room . Plus , the screen is sharp and the performance is excellent .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
When Apple launched the iMac M1 in 2021 it signal a new direction for the iconic desktop . fit was the industrial aluminium , with fresh pastel colours the way forward . Now we ’ve got the iMac M4 – so what ’s change ?
Apple launch the iMac M4 alongside theMacBook Pro M4andMac Mini M4 . Two very honest Macs that I was thoroughly impressed with .
The iMac M4 is a more or less dissimilar proposition . This is n’t a machine for Pros , and it ’s not filling a gap as the dinky new M4 Mac Mini does . Instead , it ’s a background for a very specific type of person who values plan and the overall looking , as much as performance .
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Design
Even a few years after its bad redesign , the up-to-the-minute version of the iMac still front wonderful . This is technical school designing at its most play , with a vindicated focal point on fitting into multitude ’s spirit rather than place upright out . It looks slap-up nestled in a lounge , or the piece of work airfoil of a kitchen – you ca n’t say that about most technical school .
The screen is ridiculously slight , barely a cm , and there ’s no bulbous rear like the older Intel iMacs – just a flat surface . It ’s implausibly luminance too , and can easy be move around . Some might prefer a small ‘ Kuki ’ under the screen but I am not one of them . This is what an iMac should look like .
The iMac M4 come in a compass of colours , all of which can be prefer with whichever specification alternative is required . I ’ve got the green model here but there ’s icteric , pink , orangish , white and purple too .
The lack of a black option is odd . Originally , I suspected this might have been to save that colourway for an inevitable Pro model , but that has n’t materialised .
You ’ll want to opt your color wisely , as it ’s a big part of the iMac M4 . The chromaticity on the front is a little more subtle , while it pop more around the back for a prissy contrast . All models have a white border around the screen , and the color slink across to the keyboard and mouse too . It looks like a very complete package .
The overall design is simple . The 24 - inch screen is contain up by an Al standpoint which can be titled slightly forwards and backwards . You ca n’t adjust the top though . To combat this I had to put the iMac on a big bucks of ledger to help it strike the perfect height .
Around the back , there are either two or four USB - C / Thunderbolt port , a magnetic bond for the braided power port and an on / off button . There is a port to plug in headphones too , positioned on the side . Some rendering also have a very cleverly placed Gigabit Ethernet port in the power brick , however the base fashion model I have here lacks this .
This is a routine of a meagerly pick , specially if you plump for the base model with just the brace of USB 4 port . An South Dakota card lector would have been a neat addition .
Screen and Audio
The filmdom on the iMac M4 is great – even if It ’s still one of the machine ’s most restrict constituent .
By only offering a single 24 - inch size , the market for this machine is cut directly . For many , myself included , the sizing is just too pocket-size , with 27 - in and 32 - column inch being far more comfortable size for multitasking .
However , this is n’t a computer aim at the pro market or the kind of multitude who long for a huge canvass for daily body of work or photo and video editing . For many , this is a good size of it for a folk machine . It ’s not so big it ’ll look out of position in a couch or kitchen , but it ’s an raise over the 13 - inch screen on aMacBook Air .
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An easy way to combat this would have been to offer two size , something that was common on former iMac ranges .
Size away , this is a great screen . The 4480 x 2520 solvent makes for a seriously sharp picture that ’s a joyfulness to scroll through photos or pour movies on . There ’s no fancy tech here , just a received 60Hz IPS panel without any true HDR reinforcement , but it ticks all the boxes for a communal automobile . It also gets overnice and bright , around 500 nits in my tests , and viewing angles are very adept .
New for the M4 model is an optional nano - texture methamphetamine ending that add up a mat finish to the otherwise glistening screen , for an spare £ 200/$200 . If you work in a burnished room where the sunlight often reflects on a screen , this choice is a great way of quash that glare .
I love this addition on the MacBook Pro M4 and it knead passing well , so it ’s great to see it on the consumer - friendly iMac too . Just observe that you ca n’t add this to the down - end model , you need the mannikin with the four rearward port wine – which begin from £ 1499/$1499 .
lastly , the speaker and microphones are worthy of mention too . The speaker unit pump out good audio , with a surprising amount of bass for such a slim machine . The mics are unspoilt too , idealistic for video margin call .
Performance
The 2024 variant of the iMac comes with a single chip choice – the M4 . Whereas the Mac Mini and the MacBook Pro can be specced out with the M4 Pro for some supernumerary grunt , the iMac does n’t get such an selection . That ’s a shame , but it run into the intuitive feeling I have noticed a lot with this auto that it ’s very much aim at basic casual purpose , rather than anything else .
There are still decisions to make when buy the iMac M4 . The base way – which I have here – is the most circumscribed of the bunch . It has just two ports on the back , no ethernet and a version of the M4 chip with an 8 - center mainframe and 8 - core CPU . This makes it the most entry - level chip in the M4 chain . The upright news is that all mode make out with at least 16 GB of memory , rather than the previous al-Qa’ida of 8 GB .
The £ 1499/£1499 option is the better buy . This add together two more port wine ( Thunderbolt 4ones ) and up the chip to a 10 - core processor and 10 - substance GPU . You call for to then pay another £ 200/$200 to move from the base 256 GB storage to 512 Gi . The top - end good example ( £ 1899/$1899 ) has 24 GB memory and 512 GB storage .
In typical Apple mode , there are upgrades usable . These need to be made at the metre of leverage and are pricey . Jumping from 16 GB memory to 32 GB is £ 400/$400 , while a 2 TB SSD is £ 600/$600 .
The sweet blot for me is the £ 1499/$1499 option . I ’d dismiss the base mannequin simply as it sacrifice too much , and if you want more storage then just get an external thrust – this is n’t a portable machine after all . I ’d also say 16 GB memory is enough , especially for the sort of tasks this is designed for .
When it do to carrying out , the iMac M4 is a capable simple machine . It miss the multi center artistry of a Mac with a Pro / Ultra or Max chip but for everyday job the M4 is great . It can handle photo redaction , light editing of 4 K video ( like that spud with an iPhone ) and having far too many tabs open in Chrome .
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There ’s wider support for play on Mac now , with title like Control and Cyberpunk 2077 arrive this twelvemonth . The M4 Saratoga chip is capable of running something like Shadow of the Tomb Raider at between 28fps and 30fps , so how those titles will go continue to be regard . More mainframe - intensive game , like Football Manager 2024 , run fantastically well .
In our common array of benchmarking test , the iMac M4 score just about with the same as with other M4 machines . There ’s a notable rise over the iMac M1 carrying out , although less of a startle over the M3 . In undivided core tests , the M4 crisp outperforms previous flagship chips like M3 Max and M2 Ultra .
This is a quiet machine that stays soundless under load and rarely lags or really makes you think about speed at all . Apple has done such a good job with these M - serial machines that it almost bump off the need to remember about performance .
Elsewhere , there ’s a very good 12MP webcam on the front with Center Stage for keep a typeface in the frame , Wi - Fi 6Eand Bluetooth 5.3 .
Another benefit of the M4 chip is that is has full support forApple Intelligence . MacOS Sequoia has features like telling summaries , genAI image creation and the power to remove errant objects in Photos . None of these AI feature palpate downright vital yet , but this is the start of Apple ’s AI push .
Accessories
The with child modification for the include iMac M4 peripherals is the larboard used to charge them . sound is Lightning , with USB - light speed taking its place . That ’s it .
Those hope for a dramatic Magic Mouse redesign that shifts the connector from the undersurface are out of luck . I would switch the mouse for the Magic Trackpad anyway ( an supernumerary £ 50/$50 ) as the experience of swiping around a massive ice pad is far superior . curiously , you ca n’t get both the mouse and trackpad for a deduction this time , so you have to pick one .
The keyboard is utterly all right . The keys are chiclet - manner , with fairly minimal travelling to keep the control panel as svelte as potential . Still , the typewriting experience is nice and clicky – plus the colouring material match the iMac .
If you plump for the very groundwork £ 1299/$1299 iMac M4 , the keyboard shun the TouchID fingerprint sensing element . That ’s worth note , as it hit the only biometric unlocking solution from the apparatus . It ’s a ignominy the front photographic camera does n’t have present unlocking skills , like theiPhone 16 .
Should you buy it?
This is the perfect M4 parcel , without the penury to bribe anything else .
The 24 - in screen , but it ’s quite little . And with no larger option available , if you require a bountiful sail you ’re bettter off with a Mac Mini and a video display .
Final Thoughts
This is a small update for the iMac . If you ’ve mystify either of the updates since the bragging 2021 redesign there ’s little to lure you into an rise , away from a more equal to microchip . Some of the self-aggrandising issues with that redesign , like the single sieve size option , remain and the changes are mostly minimal .
However , if you ’re hanging onto an former pre-2021iMacwith age Intel components – or you ’re in the market for an all - in - one family desktop – then the iMac M4 is a groovy choice . It looks gravid , is more than capable of easily wield day - to - day tasks and is far less imposing than alike Windows machines .
If you already have a screen and peripheral equipment , theMac Mini M4is a honest choice . For about the same price as the iMac , you may get the more capable M4 Pro Mac Mini .
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The ideal machine in the iMac M4 for me is the £ 1499/$1499 option . I ’d dismiss the base model simply as it sacrifices too much , and if you want more storage then just get an extraneous drive . 16 GB memory is enough , peculiarly for the kind of tasks this is designed for .
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How we test
Every background computer we review goes through a series of uniform checks design to judge key matter including flesh quality , performance , and accessibility .
These let in conventional synthetic benchmark and scripted test , plus a series of real - world check , such as how well it run popular apps .
FAQs
Nope , the black-market iMac went away with the discontinuation of the Mac Pro . Now we have bright colours .
All models patronise it , aside from the root option with the two ports .
Test Data
Full Specs
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