iMac (Late 2009)
The first 27-inch iMac and the first Magic Mouse.
Overview
This iMac changed the proportions of the display from 16:10 to 16:9 and added the biggest panel yet: 27 inches at 2560 x 1440 pixels, available alongside a 21.5-inch model at 1920 x 1080.
The 21.5-inch started at $1,199 with a 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB of memory and a 500 GB drive, while the 27-inch began at $1,699 with a 2.66 GHz quad-core Core i5 and an ATI Radeon HD 4670. It was the first iMac to offer Target Display Mode, letting the 27-inch work as a monitor for another Mac through its Mini DisplayPort.
It also introduced the Magic Mouse, a touch-sensitive mouse without scroll wheels, and gained an SD card slot and four USB 2.0 ports.
Why it mattered
It created the 27-inch iMac and brought multi-touch to the Mac mouse.
At a glance
- Announced
- October 20, 2009
- Released
- October 20, 2009
- Launch price
- $1,199
- Chip / processor
- Intel Core 2 Duo, 3.06 GHz
- Display
- 21.5" or 27"
- Storage
- 500 GB or 1 TB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- 27-inch 2560 x 1440 display debuts
- Quad-core Core i5 and i7 on 27-inch
- Magic Mouse included
- Target Display Mode on the 27-inch
Tech specs
Specifications as published at launch. Some values (like battery life) are manufacturer estimates.
Display
- Size
- 21.5-inch or 27-inch
- Type
- LED-backlit widescreen LCD
- Resolution
- 1920 x 1080 (21.5-inch), 2560 x 1440 (27-inch)
Chip
- Chip
- Core 2 Duo 3.06 GHz (21.5-inch); quad-core Core i5 2.66 GHz (27-inch)
Memory
- RAM
- 4 GB DDR3, expandable to 16 GB
- Storage options
- 500 GB or 1 TB hard disk
Graphics
- GPU
- Nvidia GeForce 9400M (21.5-inch); ATI Radeon HD 4670 (27-inch)
Ports
- Ports
- 4 USB 2.0, FireWire 800, Mini DisplayPort, SD card slot, Gigabit Ethernet
Camera
- Camera
- Built-in iSight
Design
- Weight
- 9.3 kg (20.5 lb) for the 21.5-inch; 13.8 kg (30.5 lb) for the 27-inch
Software
- Launch OS
- Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Availability
- Announced
- October 20, 2009
- Released
- October 20, 2009
- Launch price
- $1,199
Colors
- Finishes
- Aluminum
How it compares
More in the iMac family
iMac (Early 2006)
The first Intel Mac, in the familiar white iMac G5 body.
iMac (Mid 2007)
The all-aluminum, glass-front iMac arrives.
iMac (Mid 2011)
Quad-core Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt in the iMac.
iMac (Late 2012)
Five millimeters thin at the edge, with no optical drive.
iMac with Retina 5K Display (Late 2014)
Fourteen and a half million pixels in one 27-inch screen.
iMac (Late 2015)
A 4K Retina display comes to the 21.5-inch iMac, plus wide color.
iMac (Mid 2017)
Kaby Lake, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter, wider displays.
iMac (2019)
Up to 8 cores and Vega graphics in the familiar iMac body.
iMac (27-inch, 2020)
The last Intel iMac, with a 1080p camera and a nano-texture option.
iMac 24-inch (M1)
Seven colors, 11.5 mm thin, and an M1 chip behind a 4.5K screen.
iMac 24-inch (M3)
Same colorful slab, now with the 3-nanometer M3 chip.
iMac 24-inch (M4)
M4, 16 GB of memory and a nano-texture glass option.