Photo: Mike Lau from 深圳, 中國 / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Wikimedia Commons · source
iMac (Late 2012)
Five millimeters thin at the edge, with no optical drive.
Overview
The Late 2012 iMac looked radically thinner. Its edge measured only 5 mm thanks to a laminated display with no air gap, a new manufacturing process that welded the aluminum panels, and a more compact internal layout. The center bulge held the computer.
The optical drive was dropped, a controversial but forward-looking move, and the new Fusion Drive pairing of 128 GB of flash and a hard disk became an option. Ivy Bridge Core i5 processors, NVIDIA GeForce graphics, four USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt ports completed the specification.
The 21.5-inch started at $1,299 with a 2.7 GHz quad-core and the 27-inch followed in December at $1,799.
Why it mattered
It defined the thin-edge iMac look and ended the era of optical drives in Apple desktops.
At a glance
- Announced
- October 23, 2012
- Released
- November 30, 2012
- Launch price
- $1,299
- Chip / processor
- Intel Core i5 quad-core, 2.7 GHz
- Display
- 21.5" or 27"
- Storage
- 1 TB
- Status
- Vintage
Highlights
- 5 mm edge profile
- No optical drive
- Fusion Drive option
- USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt
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
- Quad-core Intel Core i5, 2.7 GHz (21.5-inch) or 2.9 GHz (27-inch)
- CPU cores
- 4
Memory
- RAM
- 8 GB DDR3, up to 16 or 32 GB
- Storage options
- 1 TB hard disk; Fusion Drive and SSD options
Graphics
- GPU
- Nvidia GeForce GT 640M (21.5-inch) or GTX 660M (27-inch), 512 MB
Ports
- Ports
- 4 USB 3.0, 2 Thunderbolt, SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet
Camera
- Camera
- 720p FaceTime HD
Design
- Weight
- 5.7 kg (12.5 lb) for the 21.5-inch; 9.5 kg (21 lb) for the 27-inch
Software
- Launch OS
- OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
Availability
- Announced
- October 23, 2012
- Released
- November 30, 2012
- Launch price
- $1,299
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 (Late 2009)
The first 27-inch iMac and the first Magic Mouse.
iMac (Mid 2011)
Quad-core Sandy Bridge and Thunderbolt in the iMac.
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.