The Apple iMac (M4): Old school cool, new school smart

I still remember when my dad came home with the Apple iMac G3. I specifically say ‘came home with’ because it was so long ago, you had to go and physically buy these things then.

I was 10 years old and I thought the iMac G3 was amazing. Its coloured, semi-translucent back that showed off some of its internals was fun, and I’d be very much in favour of the hockey puck mouse that came with it making a comeback. You could even charge it while using it, would you believe?

Still, without showing my age too much here, the iMac G3 launched back in 1998 so it’s been a minute and we’ve seen several generations of iMac since. When the iMac moved over to Apple Silicon with the iMac (M1), it was redesigned again (that had already happened several times since the G3). As a result, it looked significantly different to the G3, but it was still cool with its coloured rear and funky design. We didn’t get an M2 model, but we did get an M3 model last year and this year, we have been treated to the iMac with M4, offering support for Apple Intelligence. 

What’s new about the iMac (M4) and how is it different to the iMac (M3)?

The iMac (M4) has the same design as the iMac (M3) model and the iMac (M1), but that’s no bad thing. It’s a slim and slender design, with a coloured rear and matching coloured accessories that come in the form of the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and optional Magic Trackpad.

Colour options remain at Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green and Silver, but they are new shades for the M4 model and more vibrant than they were previously. The colour-matched accessories also have USB-C instead of Lightning (finally), though the charging port on the Magic Mouse remains in a cumbersome position. 

Elsewhere, the 24-inch display with its 4480 x 2520 pixels and 500 nits brightness is available as a Nano-Texture option for the iMac (M4), which is an option that launched with the iPad Pro (M4) and it is gorgeous. It reduces reflections and glare so it means if you were to opt for it on your iMac, you’d be able to pop your iMac in a living room with the sunlight streaming through the window and you’d still be able to see the screen without a problem.

There’s also a new camera for the iMac (M4), with a 12-megapixel resolution that offers Apple’s Centre Stage feature and support for Desk View. Centre Stage will keep you in view when you’re on a video call, even if you move around, while Desk View makes use of the wide-angle lens to simultaneously show you, as well as a top-down view of your desk.

The ports have also been slightly adjusted with the four-port iMac (M4) option offering four Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than two Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB 3 ports. Last but certainly not least as it’s the reason we have a new iMac at all, is the move to the M4 chip from last year’s M3 chip. It’s a 10-core CPU instead of an 8-core and up to 32GB memory instead of 24GB.

Apple says the iMac (M4) is up to 1.7x faster for daily productivity than the iMac (M1) and up to 2.1x faster for demanding workflows, like photo editing and gaming. The big story here however, is that the M4 chip means the iMac supports Apple Intelligence, like the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, the iPad Air (M2), iPad Pro (M4) and the recently announced iPad mini (A17 Pro). 

I’ve covered off Apple Intelligence separately, but in a nutshell, it offers features like Writing Tools for refining your words by rewriting, proofreading, and summarising text systemwide wherever you write, Image Playground for creating images with generative AI, and eventually, a smarter Siri that you can type to ask too.

What else has happened? Let’s talk about iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1

Along with the announcement of the new iMac (M4), Apple also announced that Apple Intelligence is now available – or the start of it anyway. The final software builds of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 are available to download to compatible devices (as of 28 October), though if you want to access Apple Intelligence, you will need to have your device set to US English.

Support for more languages will arrive in December, and these will include localised English in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. Apple also released the developer beta of iOS 18.2 on 23 October, which brings more Apple Intelligence features so the testing and third party developing of those has started.

I’d expect the public beta of 18.2 to be released sometime soon, which will allow you to try a few more of the Apple Intelligence features if you are using the beta software. For now, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 introduce Writing Tools, a more natural and conversational Siri, a smarter Photos app including the Clean Up tool for getting rid of unwanted objects in your photos, and Priority Messages at the top of your inbox in Mail.

Apple Intelligence aside, there are a number of other features that launch with iOS 18.1 too, including call recording for live calls, and the Hearing Test and the Hearing Aid features for AirPods Pro 2nd Gen. The software is available to download for free. Just head to Settings > General > Software Update.

When can I buy the iMac (M4) and how much does it cost?

Back to the iMac (M4) then. This sadly isn’t free and instead starts at £1,299 in the UK and $1,299 in the US. That’s for the two-port model with 256GB storage. You pay extra if you want four ports, as well as if you opt for more storage and if you choose the Nano-Texture display option.

The iMac (M4) comes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage options and it is available to pre-order from today, 28 October, with availability from 8 November 2024.