The new iMac: Everything we expect to see from Apple’s all-in-one desktop
6 min read
Apple introduced the redesigned iMac with a new colorful design and M1 chip at its Spring Loaded event back in April 2021. The second anniversary of the new-look iMac is now far behind us and we’re hoping Apple will update the iMac with a new chip before the end of 2023 – which would be fitting with this year marking 25 since Apple introduced the original G3 iMac – but the wait could be even longer.
Apple is well into the launch of the second generation of Apple silicon, with the M2 arriving in June 2022, the M2 Pro and M2 Max coming in January 2023, and the M2 Ultra arriving in June. That makes the 24-inch iMac one of the few remaining M1 Macs. Can we expect Apple to introduce an M3 variant of the iMac soon or will it move straight to M3? Read on to find out.
October 24: Apple has announced that it will hold an event on October 30. It’s anticipated that the iMac with M3 will be one of the new products to launch at that event.
New 24-inch iMac: Release date
Apple introduced the M2 chip in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro in the summer of 2022, so it makes sense that Apple will soon update the iMac. However, reports suggest Apple will skip the M2 and move straight to the M3 for the next iMac.
The M3 is expected to make an appearance at the October 30 event – dubbed ‘Scary Fast’ by Apple – and the iMac looks likely to be one of the stars of this second Fall Apple event.
In a March 2023 newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed that new M3-powered Macs were “at an advanced stage of development”. At the time he suggested that the iMac was “not expected to go into mass production for at least three months” and indicated that it “won’t ship until the second half of the year at the earliest.”
Then in a June 2023 newsletter, Gurman stated that Apple is preparing two new 24-inch iMacs for release in late 2023 or early 2024.
In August 2023 Gurman suggested that the M3 could debut in October 2023. This followed a July newsletter where Gurman indicated that Apple will launch an M3 iMac, as well as an M3 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in the fall of 2023.
Gurman has also indicated that a replacement for the iMac Pro is also in the works and that it will have a 30-inch display, however, this larger iMac probably won’t arrive until much later.
New 24-inch iMac: Price
The iMacs have a high price compared to other similarly specced Macs, with the entry-level model costing $1,299/£1,399 (the U.K. price being an increase of £150 compared to the launch price).
If Apple was to keep on an M1 iMac it could sell an iMac for less than $1,000. If it does that, the starting price of the M3-powered range could increase, but unless there’s a significant redesign like the MacBook Air–which isn’t anticipated–we expect the next model to cost the same. Following the prices increases in 2022 outside the U.S. it is possible that Apple will see fit to reduce pricing again in those locations.
Foundry
New 24-inch iMac: Design
When Apple introduced the new look iMac in 2021, it ramped up the all-in-one design with a collection of duo-color options and a larger 24-inch screen that was even thinner than before at 11.5mm (0.45 inches).
While there are features we’d like to see, such as a height-adjustable stand and smaller chin, we don’t expect much to change about the design, with the possible exception of new color options.
In his March 5 newsletter, Gurman suggested that little will change for the outward design of the iMac. He stated that it will be the same screen size and the same colors as it is currently.
However, Gurman did suggest that there will be design-related changes on the inside with some “internal components relocated and redesigned…” he also revealed that “the manufacturing process for attaching the iMac’s stand is different,” according to his information.
New 24-inch iMac: Display
The 24-inch iMac has a 4.5K Retina display with 500 nits of brightness, antiâreflective coating, and True Tone. Even though the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros introduced a better screen with miniLED and ProMotion technology, we doubt the iMac display will change much with the second generation. We’d love to see ProMotion to the iMac, but as more of a high-end feature, we’ll likely have to wait for the larger iMac or iMac Pro, if it ever materializes.
There are reports that a new iMac with a larger display could be coming in the future. That mark the return of the 27-inch iMac, but it could offer a 30-inch, 32-inch, or even a 42-inch iMac, according to predictions from David Hsieh of Omdia. Hsieh believes we could be waiting until 2027 for this 42-inch model though.
We may see a slight increase in screen size if Apple puts the FaceTime camera into a notch, as it has with the MacBooks. In fact, the iPadOS beta shows a MacBook glyph that includes Universal Control, and this could come to the iMac too.
New 24-inch iMac: Processor and specs
Gurman has repeatedly claimed that Apple will bypass the M2 and move straight to the M3 chip for the next generation of the 24-inch iMac. Rumors claim that the new chips will be built using a new 3nm manufacturing process that will improve performance and power efficiency. By skipping a generation, the next iMac will represent a significant bump over the current model.
Here’s what the current M1 and M2 chips offer. Based on the specs of the existing chips, and information based on what is suspected to be an M3 Pro spotted in testing, we can predict what can be expected from the M3.
The M1 offers an 8-core CPU and up to 8-core GPU and up to 16GB RAM. The M1 Pro offered up to 10âcore CPU, up to 16âcore GPU, and up to 32GB RAM.
The M2 offers an 8-core CPU and up to 10-core GPU and up to 24GB RAM. The M2 Pro offers 10-core or 12âcore CPU, up to 19âcore GPU, and up to 32GB RAM.
Gurman has spotted developer logs with core configurations for the M3 series, and uses them to make the following predictions about the lineup:
- M3: 8 CPU cores (4 performance, 4 efficiency), 10 GPU cores
- M3 Pro: 12 or 14 CPU cores (6 or 8 performance, 6 efficiency), 18 or 20 GPU cores
- M3 Max: 16 CPU cores (12 performance, 4 efficiency), 32 or 40 GPU cores
- M3 Ultra: 32 CPU cores (24 performance, 8 efficiency), 64 or 80 GPU cores
That doesn’t look all that different to the M2, but the M3 will have a new 3nm process which allows for more transistors and should mean that the M3 will be a lot faster than the current generation. Another difference will be memory support. The M2 is configurable to 24GB of unified memory, which might increase with the M3. Gurman indicates that Apple may be changing the unified memory configurations to with 36GB and 48GB showing up in testing.
New 24-inch iMac: Camera
The iMac includes a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, but Apple has since introduced the 12MP Ultra Wide camera with 122-degree field of view in the Studio Display. That’s likely to make its way into the new iMac along with Center Stage, the feature that keeps you centered as you move. Apple has taken criticism for the quality of the Studio Display camera, so we assume it will correct those issues with the M3 chip’s image signal processor.
It’s unlikely that Face ID will be incorporated, but in June 2023 there were rumors (based on a patent seen by Patently Apple) that Face ID could be coming to the MacBook.
New 24-inch iMac: Ports
The entry-level iMac comes with two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack built into the side, while the higher-end models have two additional USB 3 ports. There’s also a Gigabit ethernet jack built into the power adapter on the higher-end models, which costs an extra $30 on the entry-level model. With such a thin frame, it’s unlikely that we’ll get HDMI or an SDXC card slot like on the MacBook Pros and Mac Studio.
The latest Macs all offer Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, which we expect to arrive in the iMac. On the audio side, the iMac already has a six-speaker sound system that supports spatial audio, so we don’t expect an upgrade there, though it could gain dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.
