Apple has always been active in creating best and the most reliable products. The devices by the Cupertino giant are designed and built to perfection. One such example of the strenuous hard work of the company is its iMac range. iMacs can really be considered as the most solid achievement of Apple till now.
What is iMac?
iMac is basically a super thin desktop computer by Apple. The range is available in the popular, 21.5- and 27-inch sizes. Users have an option of choosing the build-to-order upgrades. The iMacs have been under constant progression by the company. The Cupertino giant updated its iMac line recently on October 13, 2015.
The mainstream 27-inch models were updated to all-Retina display, while, the 21.5-inch range got 4K Retina display. Both of the lineups have been converted to high-tech, high-end products by the company. Not only are the iMacs best part of your home but they also provides you with an immerse desktop experience.
What’s New In i Mac’s?
The 21.5 inch i Mac got the following new features in their recent update;
- Intel Iris Pro 6200 integrated graphics were introduced in most of the models
- 4096 x 2304 Retina display was introduced
- Up to 3.3 GHz Broad-well processor
Pricing for the 21.5 inch i Mac ranges around $1099 for plain displays and $1499 for Retina option 4
On the other hand the elder and the bigger, 27-inch i Mac got the following updates;
- Up to 4.0 GHz Skylake processor
- AMD discrete graphics were introduced
- 5120 x 2880 Retina display
Pricing for the 27-inch i Mac lineup begins at $1799
What’s New Under-The-Hood?
Apple very keenly re-energized its i Mac range with little subtle changes, here and there. For the first time in the recent update, Cupertino introduced Skylake chips and AMD graphics for the upgraded models. Moreover, the displays were also promoted to 5K Retina in the 27 inch models. As for the 21.5 inch i Macs Broad-well chips and 4K Retina display were the novel additions.
It is important to note that none of the above mentioned ranges got the external updates. No apparent design changes were introduced. The appearance is still the mainstream thin and laminated bodies which were launch, back in 2012. Although, some very significant system changes were introduced in the new models.
Coming to the point, Apple has removed all the 27-inch i Mac models with non-Retina display out of the scene. The refreshed list offers new, magnificent 5120 x 2880 5K Retina displays, quad-core Skylake processors, and AMD Radeon graphics. The same model also offers three base configurations for all the models. The initial model has a 1TB 5,400 RPM hard drive, 3.2GHz processor and whooping 8GB RAM. These models are priced at $1,799. The little more advanced units have the same processor and Ram but have more fast 1TB Fusion Drive. These models are available for $1,999. Finally, the most compatible and high-tech models offer you 3.3GHz processor, 8GB RAM, and the most powerful 2TB Fusion Drive.
As for the less improved 21.5-inch i Mac range, the models have the same non-Retina displays. But, some new units have been added to the lineup which has 4K Retina display. All of such i Macs have Broadwell processors and the integrated graphics option. For the initial version of the screen sizes, there is a 1.6GHz dual-core Broadwell processor with 1TB 5,400 RPM hard drive and 8GB RAM. There are advanced Intel HD Graphics 6000 with the old 1920 x 1080 display. These models are available for $1,099. The mid-range i Macs have more advanced quad-core 2.8GHz Broadwell processor, a 1TB hard drive and Iris Pro Graphics 6200. This range can be bought for $1,299. Finally, the high-tech 21.5-inch i Mac models have promoted 4096 x 2304 Retina display with a quad-core 3.1GHz Broadwell processor, Iris Pro Graphics 6200, 8GB RAM, and a same 1TB hard drive.
CPU Performance For i Macs
As compared to the predecessors which had Haswell and Broadwell chips the new refreshed 27-inch i Mac range has the recent and the most efficient Skylake chips. The new chips have brought some very important changes to the device.
If we opt for the Geek bench results of the chips, the 3.2GHz chips used in the first two levels of the 27-inch iMac range scored 3,931 and 12,079 for single-core and multi-core respectively. The previous chips got the score of 3,339 and 10,632, the results are thus apparent. As for the most high-end range, there is a 3.3GHz processor which resulted in 4,214 on the single-core test and 13,081 on the multi-core Geekbench test. If we compare it to the previous 3.5GHz Broadwell processor the difference is obvious with the result for the ancestor chip as 3,844 on the single-core test and 12,192 on the multi-core test.
The mid-range and high-tech models can be updated to more advanced 4.0GHz quad-core Core i7 processor. The new processor has more solid results with obvious weight over the other processors available.
Coming towards the mid-range and high-end 21.5-inch i Macs, the performance of both the units is par-excellence. The new models incorporate Intel’s Broadwell chips, while the 2013 i Macs used Haswell chips. The performance of the latest chips has made the new i Macs faster than ever.
Seeing the Geekbench results, the 21.5-inch 4K Retina i Mac scored 3,787 on the single-core 64-bit test and 12,803 on the multi-core test. The predecessor had earned 3,543 points in a single-core test and 10,685 points in multi-core. The mid-range got the score of 3,532 and 11,865 due to a 2.8GHz quad-core processor.
Finally, like the elder 27-inch range, the 21.5-inch 4K Retina i Mac can also be updated to a 3.3GHz quad-core Core i7 processor. The performance of the updated version will be better than all the above discussed.
Display
The display of both the i Macs lineup is mesmerizing. The clarity and the resolution are par excellence. For the 21.5-inch i Mac lineup, there is the standard 1920 x 1080 display. The actual wonder is the 4k resolution which is 4.5 times more than the normal display resolution. The actual figure is 4096 x 2304 resolution which includes 9.4 million pixels.
Apart from the re-touched 4K display, there is a wide P3-based color gamut that offers a 25 percent larger color space. The color gamut uses red-green phosphor LEDs instead of standard white LEDs. The images on the display are very clear and vivid. The color intensity is so pure it seems that you are seeing an actual object in a real life.
Now for the bigger version, the 5K 27 inch Macs is also the masterpiece. The display includes wider P3 color gamut. The gamut expands the different color range which adds life to the images. The display contains about 14.7 million pixels. The LEDs used in this range are red-green phosphor LEDs which show the red, green and white color more accurately.
Extra Features Of The i Mac
Apple’s modern i Mac lineup includes entertaining features with better connectivity. Both sized- lineups include stereo speakers, and dual microphones for good voice quality. There is an additional Face Time HD video camera.
For connectivity options there is Bluetooth 4.0 support along with extremely fast 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The super-fast Wi-Fi is already a part of MacBooks and i Mac for the past few years. Similarly, due to the super fast Wi-Fi connectivity, the wireless performance has increased three times than the 802.11n. It supports the transfer rate of 1.3 gigabits per second.
The back side of the i Mac also includes 3.5mm headphone jack, four USB 3.0 ports, an SDXC card slot. There are also two Thunderbolt 2 ports, and a Gigabit Ethernet port.
Accessories For i Macs
Apple’s new i Macs do not come alone. They come with a set of new and attractive accessories, which are very helpful for the users. The recent i Macs ship along with a Magic Mouse 2 and a Magic Keyboard.
Those who are a big fan of trackpads and gamepads etc can also exchange Magic Mouse 2 for a Magic Trackpad 2 by adding an extra $50. Moreover, the Magic Mouse 2 is priced at $79 while Magic Trackpad 2 set you $129 back, individually. The Magic Keyboard is available for $99.
The Magic accessories mentioned above are compatible with the i Macs operating on OS X 10.11 El Capitan. On the other hand, the new Magic Trackpad 2 requires a Bluetooth 4.0-comaptible Mac.
Interested in i Mac? How To Order?
If you are interested in ordering i Mac after reading all the features and details then the procedure is quite simple. Both the i Macs, 21.5 and 27-inch, can be ordered from the Apple Online Store and different Apple retail stores.
For the US customers, order ships out within 24 hours of being placed. The delivery would be made in few days. i Mac with certain build-to-order options will take more time to prepare and ship. That would be equal to about a week and half, depending upon the shipping option chosen.