The iMac 2021 was announced during Apple’s Spring Loaded livestream today, showcasing colorful designs and newfound power thanks to Apple’s M1 Chip. Utilizing ARM architecture, this Apple Silicon processor can output higher performance and enhanced thermals than the Intel chips the company previously used.
This announcement wasn’t a surprise since Apple’s iMac Pro (which was equipped with an Intel Xeon-W processor) was discontinued recently. This was likely done so that Apple can usher in the next generation of superior iMac hardware.
Apple will begin pre-orders for the iMac 2021 on April 30th, with a launch expected sometime in May. It'll start at $1299, with another model available in more colors starting at $1499.
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The iMac 2021 features a sleek and colorful design, coming in hues of orange, red, yellow, blue, teal, purple and silver. This is quite a welcome change, especially because the iMac Pro merely featured shades of gray, while the iMac 27-inch primarily came in white.
The iMac 2021 features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and True Tone technology. It also boasts 1080p FaceTime HD Camera with a larger sensor that allows it to function optimally in low light. M1 assists in enhancing video and image quality through automatic white balance, noise reduction, tone mapping and highlighting details.
iMac 2021's microphone possesses beamforming technology which allows users to come through loud and clearly. Combine this with a six-speaker system that promises strong bass and crystal clear highs, Apple claims that the iMac 2021 features the best microphone, camera and sound system ever seen on a Mac.
Apple's M1 chip also allows iMac to function 85% faster than previous models when using creative apps such as Xcode, Lightroom and iMovie. In apps like Photoshop, GPU performance is up to twice as fast. Apple intends to synergize the experience between iPhone and iMac by having texts, calls and applications connect between the systems seamlessly.
