n addition to the M4 iMac’s new colors, USB-C peripherals, and an upgraded 12MP FaceTime camera, Apple is also increasing the starting RAM from 8GB to 16GB. There aren’t many other drastic performance differences over last year’s model, but the added power and memory are a welcome boost for handling the AI-powered Apple Intelligence features that are arriving this week as part of macOS Sequoia 15.1.
Those features will seed to older M-series Macs as well and should be usable on devices with less memory. However, Apple seems to be establishing an ideal baseline for its future AI plans with the 2024 Macs. We haven’t tested the new iMac (yet), but if you fancy yourself an early adopter, there are a lot of preorder options to consider.
The iMac comes with a Magic Keyboard and your choice of a Magic Mouse or a Magic Trackpad (the latter of which costs $50 extra), all of which now feature USB-C ports. It will be available on November 8th, but you can preorder it now from Apple in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver, with the base model starting at $1,299.
The entry-level version offers a pair of Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, along with an 8-core CPU and an 8-core GPU. It also offers 16GB of RAM, but you can upgrade to 24GB for $200 more. The iMac also features 256GB of storage by default, but an extra $200 gets you 512GB of storage, while $400 more gets you 1TB of storage. For another $200, you can add nano-textured glass, which helps scatter light and minimize screen glare.
The higher-end models, meanwhile, are available from Apple starting at $1,499 and come with four Thunderbolt 4 ports, 16GB RAM, and 256GB of storage. Paying $200 extra allows you to upgrade to either 24GB of RAM or 512GB of storage. If you need even more storage, you can get 1TB or 2TB for an extra $400 or $800, respectively. Apple also lets you upgrade to 32GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $400 extra.
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