The new small iMac comes with a 24″ display. The still quite thick display bezel is now white, the cases are – with the exception of the usual aluminum one – colorful. The white bezel is reminiscent of this Thunderbolt display accessory from this small accessory manufacturer from a few years ago. The thick aluminum frame under the display has also remained, but now without the Apple logo.
The camera has improved – it is supposed to deliver 1080p, and the image quality is supposed to be improved by a processor. The microphones and speakers also offer a much better quality.
Users who hate the hubs and docks that are necessary for a sensible use of the MacBook will not be happy about the iMac: Apple has eliminated all ports, with the exception of the power port and a 3.5 audio port, there are only two USB-C ports on the entry-level model. That’s right, two. Just like on a MacBook Air. USB-A, Ethernet and SD card slot are completely omitted. If you choose the larger model, you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an Ethernet port hidden in the external power supply. Many had always bought an iMac so that there was not such a power supply lying around. But since these are also supposed to get thinner and thinner, it is not technically feasible otherwise.
The keyboard now has a Touch ID sensor built in. Much better than before, but unfortunately no Face ID. This rules out anyone who would like to use a different keyboard. The Magic Mouse still looks like 2009, but is available in different colors. The chip is already M1 with eight cores from other Apple products, which supports a maximum of 16 GB of RAM.
So, Apple has trimmed the small iMac to be as cheap as possible and to offer what is probably called an entry-level or hobby user. Since the connectivity and the computing power are the same or significantly worse than the MacBook Air and Mac mini, you could also consider buying one of these computers plus an elegant monitor. Users who have been waiting for a 32″ model as a successor to the 27″ iMac will have to be patient. As it seems, Apple is distributing the M1 in all devices for now and for the best iMac, this chip is not yet good enough with the current computing power, the limited RAM and the very limited number of ports.
