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iMac M4 (2024) vs iMac M1 (2021): Time to upgrade?
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iMac M4 vs iMac M1: Apple’s new iMac features M4 processors primed for Apple Intelligence. So if you’ve been rocking anM1 iMacsince 2021 that’s beginning to feel the pace, now sounds like a great time for an upgrade.
If the M2 iMac felt like a modest upgrade and theiMac M3didn’t blow your mind, then perhaps a new model that’s designed to make the best of Apple’s smartest new technology –Apple Intelligence– will convince you to up your iMac gain.
Apple’s key improvements are on the inside here. The design is the same, the display remains the same 24-inches in size, and with the same 4.5K resolution. There is an option to add nano-textured glass to the display to help with glare in sunlight but that’s an extra couple of hundred quid.
Let’s have a look at the key differences between this Mac models that are three years apart.
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M4 vs M1: What’s three generations?
Apple is keenly aware owners of the M1 model might be eyeing this release so they’re pitching this as the perfect upgrade. The world’s fastest CPU core (Apple’s words), is up to 1.7x faster than the M1 for productivity tasks, and up to 1.5x faster for browsing.
The GPU is 2.1x faster for photo and video editing than the M1, while it can offer up to 2x higher frame rates for gaming. Apple says the Neural Engine in the M4 is 3x faster than the M1.
That new NPU is designed for Apple Intelligence, which is now rolling out for M-Series Mac models. The new neural engine now has 16 cores and is capable of 38 trillion operations per second.
So, performance is likely to be greatly improved over the M1 when using Gen AI features and it’s likely, at some point, some features might not be available on M1 iMac models at all. That hasn’t been confirmed by Apple yet.
The base amount of RAM is now 16GB of Unified Memory, whereas Apple only offered 8GB as standard with the M1 iMac.
New connectivity options
The M4 iMac’s higher end configurations now includes four rear USB-C ports and all support Thunderbolt 4 connectivity (40Gbps). That’ll support more accessories like a pair of 6K displays at 60Hz and a single 8K display at 120Hz. There’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, a 3.5mm jack, and support for Gigabit internet. The older USB-A style ports have been phased out.
The iMac M1 included a pair of Thunderbolt 3 with data transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps. Meanwhile, it offered two USB-3 ports (10Gbps), Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 were offered, as well as Gigabit Ethernet, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.
New webcam keeps you Centre Stage
Apple is upgrading the iMac’s webcam,including the Center Stage technologyfor the first time. This intelligently tracks your movement while you’re sitting at your desk, keeping you in the centre of the frame. The M1 model just had a static 1080p FaceTime HD camera.
USB-C accessories are just Magic
Apple has replaced the Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad and Magic Mouse’s charging solution with USB-C. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you upgrading these accessories for your M1 if you fancy. The Magic Keyboard with Touch ID now comes as standard, whereas the key was an optional extra last time around.
New colours
The iMac M4 (2024) is available in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. There’s a two tone approach with Apple saying: “The back of iMac features bold colors designed to stand out, while the front expresses subtle shades of the new palette so users can focus on doing their best work.”
The M1 version came in blue, pink, orange, yellow, green, silver and purple.
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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
