If you’re thinking about getting the latest iMac for Christmas, there is one tiny tidbit that may have been overlooked by so many people. The base 24-inch iMac with two Thunderbolt / USB-C ports comes with the Magic Keyboard without Touch ID as standard, but when you go to Apple’s website and configure that specific model, you’ll see that the only upgrade you can make is the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad for an extra $80. For the previous M1/M3 iMac (two-port) models, you could previously configure those machines with either a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (which excludes the Numeric Keypad) for $50 or a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad for $80.
How do I know that? My dad and I order an M1 iMac as my Christmas present three years ago. I went with the two-port model in this configuration as shown in the image above, and I configured that model to have the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID for that extra secure Touch ID authentication feature to use for logging in or making Apple Pay purchases. So for those who want to configure to the more compact Magic Keyboard with Touch ID for the iMac, but don’t want to spend extra for the Numeric Keypad, they’ll now have to spring to the iMac with four Thunderbolt 4 ports for an extra$200, which came with that keyboard configuration by default. But for that upgrade, you’ll be getting a lot more features on top of the upgraded keyboard with the full-fat M4 chip, built-in Gigabit Ethernet in the power brick, and support for up to two 6K external monitors.
This may not be a huge dealbreaker for some iMac buyers, but this is something to point out for future buyers nonetheless. That’s not the only built-to-order change Apple made for the M4 iMac as Apple now lets buyers choose either the Magic Mouse or the Magic Trackpad, but not both, as noted by @BasicAppleGuy. This may upset those who prefer to have the best of both worlds.
In spite of this, the M4 iMac is a great buy for those who still prefer the all-in-one design with several major improvements over the original M1 model. The iMac with 2 ports starts at $1,299, and the iMac with 4 ports starts at $1,499. Both of these variants are available in all seven fun, more vibrant colors.
