Yesterday, Apple debuted the iMac with M4, supercharged with Apple Intelligence. But besides the significant chip upgrade, Apple has made several improvements under the hood, some of which may have been overlooked. Without further ado, here are the top details on the latest iMac you may have missed.
- There have been two models of the iMac: one with two USB-C ports and one with four USB-C ports.
- Previously, on both the M1/M3 models, if you opted for the two-port model, the only colors you could choose were silver, blue, pink, and green. The four-port model was the one that got all seven colors, including purple, orange, and yellow. Now, both the two-port and four-port models are available in all seven colors, so you won’t have to step up to the higher-end model if you want either of the previously exclusive colors.
- As previously mentioned, the two-port model has the binned M4 chip (8-core CPU and 8-core GPU), and the four-port model has the unbinned chip (10-core CPU and 10-core GPU).
- The two-port model can be configurable for up to 1TB of storage and 24GB of unified memory. The four-port model can be configurable up to 2TB of storage and 32GB of unified memory for the first time on the 24-inch iMac.
- However, that 32GB memory option is only available when you configure it with at least 512GB of storage.
- The nano-texture glass option (a $200 upgrade) that reduces reflections and glare is exclusive to the four-port model.
- On the plus side, you get the elusive polishing cloth included if you get the nano-texture glass option.
- In terms of display support, the two-port model can connect to one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz. Surprisingly for the first time on a Mac with a base M-chip, the four-port model can now connect to up to two external displays with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz. More amazingly, that model can even connected to one external display with up to 8K resolution at 60Hz.
- In terms of connectivity, the base model has two Thunderbolt / USB-4 ports. The higher-end models now have four Thunderbolt 4 ports. This is a huge improvement over the M1/M3 which had two Thunderbolt ports and the other two are just USB-C. All of the ports in both models have support for:
- Thunderbolt 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
- USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
- USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)
- DisplayPort
- The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Gigabit Ethernet are still optional for the two-port model, but both of these features have been standard on the four-port model.
- All iMac (M4) models still come standard with the Magic Mouse. Although you can still opt for the Magic Trackpad for a $50 upgrade, you can no longer opt for both the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad in the box as noted by @BasicAppleGuy on X.
When purchasing a new iMac, you can only choose a colored Magic Mouse or Trackpad, not both as before. pic.twitter.com/wjsh4zDyA3
— Basic Apple Guy (@BasicAppleGuy) October 28, 2024
So that’s everything you need to know before buying the new iMac. It’s now available for pre-order today with initial shipments hitting Apple Stores and homes on November 8.
