In the 24-inch 2021 iMac, Apple’s own silicon enables an ultrathin design and the potential for loads more power. But here’s why the first M1-powered iMac may—or may not—be the best choice for you.
A slimmer-than-ever Apple iMac with a 24-inch screen arrives next month with a completely redesigned exterior and some significant changes to the internal components. The big one? The Apple M1. After making its debut on the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro, and the Mac mini six months ago, the M1 chip is at last coming to the iMac. Ditching Intel Core processors in favor of silicon designed in-house was a ground-breaking achievement for Apple’s laptops. But other than incorporating the M1, the new MacBooks are identical to their predecessors. That’s not the case with the new iMac, which adds a new screen size and a rainbow of color options to Apple’s all-in-one desktop (AIO) lineup. It’s an entirely new PC, and based on what we know about it so far, an extremely relevant option for those searching for a new work-from-home platform. 5 Reasons Why the M1 Is Perfect for the New iMac… But since the new model is available only with the Apple M1 processor, and the company will continue to sell the older 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs with Intel processors for the time being, it’s worth a closer look at why the M1 is (and isn’t) the best choice of processor to power what has been an Editors’ Choice-winning AIO year after year. 1. The Promise of Faster Performance The most important reason to choose an M1 iMac is the most obvious: The new processor should offer eyebrow-raising performance under certain circumstances. We already know that in the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, the M1 chip rivals and sometimes exceeds the performance of Intel’s latest mobile-grade Core i7 CPUs, even while it’s running software that hasn’t been optimized for Apple Silicon. Credit: Apple So how fast will the M1 be in the new iMac? Independent tests aren’t yet available, of course, but Apple is making some impressive claims. The eight-core processor offers up to 85% faster CPU performance than the Intel chips in the previous-generation iMac. This is important mainly for niche but demanding workflows—exporting video projects or manipulating truly massive images (100 megapixels or more), for example. Apple also claims that the M1’s graphics capabilities are much improved compared with the Intel integrated graphics in the fastest version of the old 21.5-inch iMac, which will continue to be sold for the time being. GPU performance is up to 50% better than the upgraded 21.5-inch model with a discrete AMD Radeon GPU, which is no longer available. The improvement should mean that playing lightweight games such as Minecraft or performing simple GPU-accelerated tasks will be much more enjoyable.2. Better-Quality Video Calls With most of us using our computers as essential tools for work and social interactions during these socially distant times, video and audio quality are more important than ever. Apple recognized this early in the pandemic, or at least was in lucky lockstep, adding a 1080p webcam and a three-mic array to the 27-inch 5K iMac introduced last summer.
