Apple has introduced a new 24-inch iMac powered by the M6 chip, according to a post on its newsroom. Pre-orders open on October 28 in 35 countries and regions, including the United States, with shipping and in-store availability starting November 6.
Chip and performance
The M6 in the iMac comes in two configurations: a 10-core CPU with a 10-core GPU, or a 12-core CPU with a 12-core GPU. Apple says the top option adds two CPU cores and two GPU cores compared with the previous generation, and that each GPU core now includes a Neural Accelerator. The company also cites memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s and a dual 16-core Neural Engine.
Apple's own comparisons include up to 5x faster on-device AI than the M4 iMac, up to 2x faster graphics than M4, and up to 18x faster performance than the most popular Intel-based iMac. It also says the SSD delivers up to twice the read and write speeds of the previous model. These figures are Apple's claims and have not been independently tested.
Display, camera and ports
The iMac keeps the 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and P3 wide color. A nano-texture option is available on the 12-core models. The 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View, a three-microphone array and a six-speaker system with Spatial Audio return.
Connectivity moves to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Models with the 12-core chip get 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet and four Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the iMac can drive up to two 6K external displays. Touch ID is standard on the 12-core models.
Colors, software and price
The iMac is offered in seven finishes: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange and silver. It ships with macOS 27 Golden Gate. Apple notes that its Siri AI is available in beta in macOS 27.2 in English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, and that some server-side AI features have daily usage limits, with a fee for expanded access planned for the future.
In the U.S., the 10-core model starts at $1,499 and the 12-core model at $1,699. Education pricing starts at $1,449 and $1,599 respectively. Apple also lists its Upgrade lease program from $28.99 a month for 36 months, based on the base model.
Environmental details
Apple says the stand is made from 100 percent recycled aluminum, the magnets use 100 percent recycled rare earth elements, and the circuit boards use recycled gold plating and tin solder. The company also points to fiber-based paper packaging.
The iMac is the second Mac Apple has announced this week, following the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 earlier on Tuesday.
0 comments