It's been just over a month since Apple released the refreshed M4 iMac, so we've finally been able to spend enough time with it to provide MacRumors readers with a comprehensive review ahead of the holiday season.
Watch on YouTubeApple didn't make external design changes to the M4 iMac except for tweaking the colors, but it does have the latest M4 chip. You can't get the iMac with the M4 Pro or the M4 Max, as those higher-end chips are limited to the Mac mini and the MacBook Pro, but the M4 in the iMac is more than powerful enough for most people.
It can be used for simple tasks like web browsing and watching videos, but it's also powerful enough for photo editing, video editing, graphics work, 3D work, and gaming. Some of the latest console games can be played on the M4 iMac thanks to support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and mesh shading.
This year, all M4 Macs come with 16GB RAM minimum with no increase in base cost, which is great. Depending on what you're going to do with your iMac, you might want to upgrade the RAM to 24GB or 32GB, but 16GB will get you by for most tasks. You can also get up to 2TB of SSD storage depending on which iMac you pick.
The base iMac has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while higher-end models have four Thunderbolt 4 ports, another nice upgrade compared to the prior-generation iMac that had two Thunderbolt ports and two USB-C ports. Nano-texture, the feature that Apple first brought to the Pro Display XDR, is an option for the iMac this time, so you can get a super matte display that's ideal if you need to work in the sun or in bright lights.
If you have an M1 iMac or an iMac with an Intel chip, the M4 iMac is going to be a huge update that's worth it. If you have a newer iMac, there's no real reason to update.
Make sure to watch our video for a deeper overview of the iMac, and let us know if you have plans to get one in the comments below.
