iMac
Apple refreshed its iMac lineup in March 2019, introducing 8th and 9th-generation Coffee Lake processors and more.
Author:Daniel BarrettAug 19, 20221187 Shares237314 Views
With so many Apple products rumored or confirmed to be getting updates in 2020, from the iPad Pro to an overhauled MacBook Pro 14, attention has now turned to the iMac.
Apple refreshed its iMac lineup on March 19, 2019, after a two-year wait, introducing 8th and 9th-generation Coffee Lake processors and upgraded Radeon Pro Vega graphics options for major performance improvements over 2017 models. Apple’s tagline for the update, is, in fact, “freaking powerful.”
The 21.5 and 27-inch 4K and 5K models continue to use the same “ultra-thin” slim-bodied design that was first introduced in 2012.
The 21.5-inch models have been updated with Intel’s 8th-generation chips with up to 6 cores at the high end, while the highest-end 27-inch iMacs feature Intel’s 9th-generation chips with up to 8 cores.
There were also no updates to the display, which was refreshed in 2017 with what Apple said at the time was the “Best Mac display ever,” offering 500 nits brightness and 10-bit dithering for accurate reproduction of up to a billion colors.
The Cupertino-based firm has introduced Radeon Pro Vega graphics in both the 4K and 5K iMac models. In the 4K Macs, Radeon Pro Vega graphics offer 80 percent faster graphics performance, while in the 27-inch model, the upgraded option provides 50 percent faster graphics performance.
The 21.5-inch 4K iMac is priced starting at $1,299, while the 27-inch 5K iMac is priced starting at $1,799.
All 27-inch models and the higher-end 21.5-inch iMac ship with Fusion Drives as a standard storage option, but they can be upgraded with SSD storage for an additional cost. The entry-level 2019 4K 21.5-inch iMac and the still-available low-end 2K 21.5-inch iMac continue to come with traditional hard drives.
Both the base 21.5-inch 4K iMac models can be configured with up to 32GB of fast 2666MHz RAM, while the higher-end 27-inch iMac models can be configured with up to 64GB of 2666MHz RAM.
The new models are equipped with two USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, 4 USB-A ports, a headphone jack, an SD card slot, and a Gigabit ethernet port. A FaceTime HD camera, stereo speakers, and a microphone are also standard on all models.
According to Apple, the 21.5-inch model is up to 60 percent faster than the previous-generation model, while the 27-inch iMac is up to 2.4 times faster.
Apple’s iMacs ship with an Apple Magic Keyboard that can be upgraded to a Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad for $30 and a Magic Mouse 2 that can be upgraded to a Magic Trackpad 2 for $50.
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