Tuesday, October 31st 2023

Apple Supercharges 24-inch iMac with New M3 Chip

Apple today unveiled the new 24-inch iMac featuring the amazing M3 chip, making the world's best all-in-one even more powerful and more capable. Thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon, the new iMac delivers a huge leap in performance in its remarkably thin design and spectrum of seven vibrant colors that users love. iMac with M3 is up to 2x faster than the prior generation with M1.1 And for those upgrading from an Intel-based iMac, the new iMac is up to 2.5x faster than the most popular 27-inch models, and 4x faster than the most powerful 21.5-inch model. It also features an expansive 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels and over a billion colors, faster wireless connectivity, and a seamless experience with iPhone. Combined with its best-in-class camera, speakers, and mics, along with macOS Sonoma, iMac with M3 is better than ever—perfect for everyone, from families to small businesses, aspiring creatives, students, and gamers. Customers can order the new iMac starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, November 7.

"We're excited to give iMac a big boost in performance with the M3 chip," said John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. "Millions of users absolutely love iMac for its stunning design and expansive 24-inch, 4.5K Retina display that's the perfect size to spread out with all their favorite apps and get things done. And now M3 brings even more speed to everything users do, whether multitasking, creating captivating images and videos, working on a business plan, or playing their favorite games. The new iMac with M3 is incredible for anyone, especially those who haven't yet upgraded from Intel, providing a giant leap in performance and capabilities only possible with Apple silicon."
Supercharged by M3
The M3 chip brings another huge leap in performance to iMac, featuring an 8-core CPU, up to a 10-core GPU, and support for up to 24 GB of unified memory. It's up to 2x faster than the previous generation with M1.1 Users will feel the speed and power of M3 in everything they do, from multitasking across everyday productivity apps to exploring creative passions like editing high-resolution photos or multiple streams of 4K video. Featuring the next-generation GPU of M3, iMac supports hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, providing more accurate lighting, reflections, and shadows for extremely realistic gaming experiences, and making three-dimensional design and creation even faster. With a 16-core Neural Engine and the latest media engine, iMac also delivers blazing machine learning and video performance.

iMac delivers phenomenal productivity to small businesses, students, gamers, and everyday consumers. When compared to the previous-generation 24-inch iMac:
  • Safari, the world's fastest browser, performs up to 30 percent faster.
  • Productivity apps like Microsoft Excel perform up to 30 percent faster.
  • Games load even faster, and users will experience up to 50 percent faster frame rates.
From content creation to video editing or photography, iMac is perfect for aspiring creatives. When compared to the previous-generation 24-inch iMac, creatives can:
  • Edit and play back up to 12 streams of 4K video, which is 3x more than before.
  • Produce video projects in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro up to 2x faster.
  • Process photos in apps like Adobe Photoshop up to 2x faster.
  • A Perfect Desktop for Intel Upgraders and New Mac Users
For Intel-based upgraders, iMac with M3 delivers a huge difference in performance and features. Upgraders will experience 4x faster performance than the most powerful 21.5-inch iMac model, and up to 2.5x faster performance when compared to the most popular 27-inch iMac models.2 They'll love the immersive 24-inch, 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, and it's the perfect size and resolution to replace both the 4K and the 5K Intel-based models in an even more versatile design. Upgraders also get its industry-leading camera, speakers, and mics, the advanced technologies of Apple silicon, like the Neural Engine and media engine, and the option to choose Touch ID.

New iMac customers will enjoy all of these benefits and see up to 4x faster performance than the bestselling 24-inch all-in-one PC with the latest Intel Core i7 processor. The stunning 4.5K Retina display features 5x more pixels than the bestselling 24-inch all-in-one PC. Additionally, Migration Assistant makes getting started on the Mac easy, and Continuity features let users work effortlessly between iPhone and their other Apple devices.

The World's Best All-in-One
iMac features an industry-leading 4.5K Retina display, the latest wireless connectivity, and best-in-class camera, speakers, and mics, all in a strikingly thin design — making it the world's best all-in-one.
  • Expansive Retina display: iMac features a 24-inch, 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, a P3 wide color gamut, over a billion colors, and 500 nits of brightness.6 iMac delivers a vivid and brilliant viewing experience, whether users are working on presentations, managing their small businesses, editing photos, or watching movies and shows.
  • Advanced connectivity: iMac now features Wi-Fi 6E, which delivers download speeds that are up to twice as fast as the previous generation, and Bluetooth 5.3, which allows users to connect to the latest Bluetooth accessories. It also features up to four USB-C ports, including two Thunderbolt ports for superfast data transfer; support for Gigabit Ethernet standard on select models; and up to a 6K display.
  • Camera, mics, and speakers: With a 1080p FaceTime camera and studio-quality mics, iMac delivers an unmatched video conferencing experience, so users can look and sound their best while taking calls from home or the office. It also boasts a six-speaker sound system with support for Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos for a theater-like experience.
  • Standout design: iMac transforms any space with its spectrum of seven vibrant colors. Available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver, iMac comes with new, bold, color-matched wallpapers, and its strikingly thin, all-in-one design measures just 11.5 millimeters, which is only possible with Apple silicon.
  • Color-matched accessories and Touch ID: iMac features a color-matched keyboard, mouse, and trackpad. With the option to choose a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, users can easily and securely unlock their computer, use Apple Pay, and download apps. Additionally, Touch ID works with Fast User Switching, so customers can change to a different user profile with just the press of a finger.
  • Better together with iPhone: With the magic of Continuity, iMac delivers a seamless experience with iPhone and other Apple devices on a big, beautiful screen. Users can send a message or answer a phone call right from their iMac, or scan a document with their iPhone and watch it instantly appear on their iMac. And with Universal Clipboard, they can easily copy images, video, or text from an app on iPhone and seamlessly paste them into another app on a nearby iMac. All together with iPhone, iMac delivers an unmatched experience.
macOS Sonoma Brings the iMac Experience to the Next Level
macOS Sonoma brings a rich set of features to iMac that make work and play even more powerful. Widgets unlock an entirely new way to personalize. Users can now place widgets right on the desktop, interact with them with just a click, and through the magic of Continuity, access the extensive ecosystem of iPhone widgets on their iMac. Video conferencing gets more engaging with great features to help users present remotely, like Presenter Overlay, which places a presenter on top of the content being shared, and Reactions, which enables fun gesture-triggered video effects in cinematic quality. Significant updates come to Safari, taking the web experience to the next level. Profiles keeps browsing separate between multiple topics or projects, and web apps provide faster access to favorite sites. macOS Sonoma also comes with a collection of stunning new screen savers featuring slow-motion videos of locations around the world. With Game Mode, gaming gets even better by prioritizing graphics tasks to deliver consistently high frame rates and drastically reducing latency with wireless accessories, so users can enjoy even more immersive gameplay with titles like Baldur's Gate 3, Lies of P, and DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR'S CUT.

Better for the Environment
iMac is designed to minimize its impact on the environment. The new iMac with M3 is built using 100 percent recycled aluminium in the stand, recycled rare earth magnets, recycled tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards, and, in a first for iMac, 100 percent recycled gold in the plating of multiple printed circuit boards. iMac is also free of numerous harmful substances such as beryllium, brominated flame retardants, and mercury, and 100 percent of the wood fiber in the packaging is recycled or comes from responsibly managed forests.

Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, all the way to recycling and material recovery, will be carbon neutral.

Pricing and Availability
  • The new 24-inch iMac with M3 is available to order today, Monday, October 30, on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app in 27 countries and regions, including the U.S. It will begin arriving to customers and will be in Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting Tuesday, November 7.
  • iMac with 8-core GPU starts at $1,299 (U.S.) and $1,249 (U.S.) for education, and is available in green, pink, blue, and silver. It features an 8-core CPU, 8 GB of unified memory, 256 GB SSD, two Thunderbolt ports, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse.
  • iMac with 10-core GPU starts at $1,499 (U.S.) and $1,399 (U.S.) for education, and is available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. It features an 8-core CPU, 8 GB of unified memory, 256 GB SSD, two Thunderbolt ports, two additional USB 3 ports, Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Magic Mouse, and Gigabit Ethernet.
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22 Comments on Apple Supercharges 24-inch iMac with New M3 Chip

#1
Prima.Vera
" 8 GB of unified memory, 256 GB SSD "


Yeah...NO.
Posted on Reply
#2
unwind-protect
That's a lame duck release if I've ever seen one. I mean it's a desktop and they are limiting computer resources to what a Macbook Air can do?
Posted on Reply
#3
rv8000
unwind-protectThat's a lame duck release if I've ever seen one. I mean it's a desktop and they are limiting computer resources to what a Macbook Air can do?
When youve got an uninformed user base frothing at the mouth to browse facebook, instagram, add a color filter to a clip, and photomerge two images in PS, they can charge whatever they want. Which is oh so sad.
Posted on Reply
#4
Chaitanya
Prima.Vera" 8 GB of unified memory, 256 GB SSD "


Yeah...NO.
Yeah and they have hubris to ask $1299 for it plus unlike MacBook "Pro" there is no option for Pro and Max M3 CPUs with this AIO.
Posted on Reply
#5
bonehead123
O.
M.
F.
G......

I'm usually somewhat supportive of Apple's upgrades and improvements, but I have to say that I am extremely disappointed with this round.....other than the possible exception of the M3 chip itself and 4x USB-C ports, cause the rest of the specs are just downright silly in today's market....

However, I know the fruity boy crowd will probably still buy them in droves, which will continue to fuel my stock dividends, so I guess I will just live with it :D
Posted on Reply
#6
neatfeatguy
Prima.Vera" 8 GB of unified memory, 256 GB SSD "


Yeah...NO.
What are you talking about?

", two Thunderbolt ports, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse"

TWO!

Clearly you under estimate the value there with two, not 1, but two Thunderbolt ports! Also, it comes with a Magic Mike Mouse!
Posted on Reply
#7
unwind-protect
Well, the screen might be nicer than an average monitor.

But what is the point of going 4.5k resolution? Doesn't that lower quality when you want 4k videos full-screen?
Posted on Reply
#8
kapone32
I can't believe they mentioned Gaming and Apple in the same article.
Posted on Reply
#9
jimmyxxx
unwind-protectWell, the screen might be nicer than an average monitor.

But what is the point of going 4.5k resolution? Doesn't that lower quality when you want 4k videos full-screen?
There is multiple potential reasons to have a 4.5K resolution:
1) If you are a video editor, you can preview the video at native 4K resolution and have extra real estate for the editing tools column and timeline row. This also applies for 4K native photo editing, which seems like the most popular use case for the specs of the new iMac.
2) At 4.5K most programmers will be happy for the extra horizontal and vertical space. And the iMac specs are also suited for most programming work flows.
3) At 4.5K you can view 4K youtube videos at native resolution without having to go full screen, so it also becomes a very interesting content consumption machine.

The only downfall of this resolution is watching 4K content at full screen, but I don't think many will use this computer for that specific purpose.
Posted on Reply
#10
kapone32
jimmyxxxThere is multiple potential reasons to have a 4.5K resolution:
1) If you are a video editor, you can preview the video at native 4K resolution and have extra real estate for the editing tools column and timeline row. This also applies for 4K native photo editing, which seems like the most popular use case for the specs of the new iMac.
2) At 4.5K most programmers will be happy for the extra horizontal and vertical space. And the iMac specs are also suited for most programming work flows.
3) At 4.5K you can view 4K youtube videos at native resolution without having to go full screen, so it also becomes a very interesting content consumption machine.

The only downfall of this resolution is watching 4K content at full screen, but I don't think many will use this computer for that specific purpose.
Why not use one of those USB C ports to hook the Computer to a 4K TV or that LG 5K screen. I just hope it has USB C. A 256GB SSD is a slap in the face for that cost though. I mean that is literally at the most $5-10 per unit for Apple. Talk about nickel and diming.
Posted on Reply
#11
HairyLobsters
Prima.Vera" 8 GB of unified memory, 256 GB SSD "


Yeah...NO.
Not to defend them for that price point, but memory is utilized differently on a mac OS than windows.
Posted on Reply
#12
evernessince
HairyLobstersNot to defend them for that price point, but memory is utilized differently on a mac OS than windows.
I can understand if maybe mac is more efficient with it's memory use but it's not going to make up anywhere near the difference of having 8GB vs 16GB. As other posters have pointed out, it might not be a huge issue given the light use case of most mac users. For PCs we aren't super far off from 32GB becoming standard.
Posted on Reply
#13
unwind-protect
There is no significant difference between how OSes handle virtual and physical memory, Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, all the same. It is dictated by the MMU hardware. ARM and x86 basically have the same MMU.

The only difference on recent Macs is that they have very fast SSDs for swap. But if you actually use that you wear out your SSD.
Posted on Reply
#14
AnotherReader
evernessinceI can understand if maybe mac is more efficient with it's memory use but it's not going to make up anywhere near the difference of having 8GB vs 16GB. As other posters have pointed out, it might not be a huge issue given the light use case of most mac users. For PCs we aren't super far off from 32GB becoming standard.
I'm not even sure of how true that is as Windows supports memory compression just like OS X and many of the cheaper Windows laptops still come with 8 GB of RAM and work just fine. Apple is doing their excellent cores a disservice by choosing this miniscule amount of RAM. The Macbook Pro with the same chip can be configured with 24 GB of RAM so there's no technical limitation.
Posted on Reply
#15
TheinsanegamerN
Only an M3. How pathetic. Apple can figure out how to fit an M3 max and 128GB of RAM into a 14" macbook pro, but not a 24" iMac.
HairyLobstersNot to defend them for that price point, but memory is utilized differently on a mac OS than windows.
Yeah sure, just like AMD's HBM was "utilized differently" then GDDR5.

Capacity is capacity. MacOS's memory handling only helps if the software utilized is built to take advantage of it and had assets shared in both system and video memory when it was unnecessary. 8GB on a Mac is asking for constant NVMe swapping (how convenient that drive cant be replaced once you wear it out) and beachball annoyances.
Posted on Reply
#16
kapone32
TheinsanegamerNOnly an M3. How pathetic. Apple can figure out how to fit an M3 max and 128GB of RAM into a 14" macbook pro, but not a 24" iMac.

Yeah sure, just like AMD's HBM was "utilized differently" then GDDR5.

Capacity is capacity. MacOS's memory handling only helps if the software utilized is built to take advantage of it and had assets shared in both system and video memory when it was unnecessary. 8GB on a Mac is asking for constant NVMe swapping (how convenient that drive cant be replaced once you wear it out) and beachball annoyances.
So when the SSD is full what do you do?
Posted on Reply
#17
QUANTUMPHYSICS
These computers are for older people who don't need all the pro-user feature...or younger people who don't need all the pro user features.

After all, most "pro users" aren't buying a computer like this.

This is a Christmas or Birthday gift for your kid going to high school or college who needs a small, reliable machine for work and productivity.

OR: the older user who is just checking emails or running a small business.

APPLE didn't get to be a $3 Trillion Dollar company making mistakes. They researched their user base. They researched their analytics of Mac use. They precision engineer these machines to deliver profitable performance.

Need more?

Buy Mac Pro!
Posted on Reply
#18
rv8000
kapone32So when the SSD is full what do you do?
Burn another 2 grand and line up for next years M”amazing”
Posted on Reply
#19
Prima.Vera
HairyLobstersNot to defend them for that price point, but memory is utilized differently on a mac OS than windows.
Bro again, unified memory. Means that CPU and GPU share the RAM. You know what that means , right?
Posted on Reply
#20
Minus Infinity
unwind-protectThat's a lame duck release if I've ever seen one. I mean it's a desktop and they are limiting computer resources to what a Macbook Air can do?
I wouldn't even accept those specs in a Macbook Air. I got a second hand M1 based Macbook Air with 16GB and 512GB ssd and those are IMO the bare minimum acceptable specs. Going forward It'll need to be 32GB and 2TB when I update my old Dell 2016 XPS maybe next year.
Posted on Reply
#21
phints
"users will experience up to 50 percent faster frame rates."

1080p 60Hz lowest setting Mac gamers should remember that 50% faster than 20fps is only 30fps :kookoo:
Posted on Reply
#22
forman313
kapone32So when the SSD is full what do you do?
You watch it crash. But there is no need for concern, because a message on the screen is telling you "The device was restarted to improve performance".

Apple devices never crash. They only improve performance. The more you (dont)crash the more performance you get. Just like nVidia; the more you buy, the more you save.
Posted on Reply
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