Today's announcement of the M4 iMac shows how serious Apple is about its all-in-one desktop line.
The M1 iMac was a huge hit. It brought back color, had a giant iPad-like design, and had a larger, higher-resolution display than the 4K 21.5-inch Intel iMac it replaced. Then Apple introduced the M2 chip, put it in a bunch of Macs, and left the M1 iMac untouched.
That sparked interest in the M3 iMac. The first version of the M-series iMac came in the same color options and still included Lightning peripherals and keyboards. Meanwhile, the iPhone moved to USB-C, which marked the end of the Lightning port. Not using USB-C felt a little odd.
It turns out Apple was saving the switch from Lightning peripherals to USB-C for an updated color line. Apple probably had a lot of Lightning peripherals in the right color to sell first.
And there’s a lot more to the M4 iMac than the expected chip upgrade and USB-C peripherals. The new color options aren’t night and day, but they do show that Apple is still interested in making the iMac playful.
Meanwhile, bumping the base model from 8GB of RAM to 16GB of RAM is a huge deal for iMac customers. Sure, you can configure the M1 and M3 iMacs with 16GB of RAM, but I’m willing to bet many iMac customers are opting for the pre-configured builds that are already in stock at retailers. This also bodes well for the M4 MacBook Air refresh expected early next year.
Finally, and I’m writing this from an iPad Pro with nanotexture, is there an option to upgrade to nanotexture on the M-series iMac? Apple introduced nanotexture with the Pro Display XDR, and then added it to the 27-inch Intel iMac as an option. Nanotexture is an option for the Studio Display, but it’s been missing from the iMac line since the last Intel model was discontinued. Pretty cool for those of us who prefer anti-glare and anti-reflective screens.
Biggest gripe with the M4 iMac? The Magic Mouse still charges from the bottom — now with USB-C instead of Lightning — but that’s always been more of a meme than an actual issue. Welcome back, iMac!
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