The Apple iMac 24-inch is a favorite of mine. It’s powerful, compact, stylish, bright and gives you everything you need from it.
The iMac is a great choice for many people because of the webcam. Now the web camera has 1080 resolution.
I like the iMac because of the screen. Every time I use a Macbook, I start to like the iMac even more.
To top it all off, the sound on the iMac is great; sometimes, I use it as a TV to watch Netflix.
It’s powerful, doesn’t freeze, has a fast response, and overall I have no problems with its performance.
So let’s look at the features in more detail. I also noticed some shortcomings related to accessories.
Why did I choose an iMac?
Display and design
There’s a lot to be said about the iMac’s display. When I turned on the iMac for the first couple of weeks, I enjoyed the 4.5K resolution quality. Every time I use the Macbook, I notice a difference. And that’s what’s really cool.
Retina displays with a new low-reflective coating. 218 pixels per inch and True tone support. 500 nits of brightness.
Brightness is really cool, and viewing angles are maximized.
The processor, cooling, everything, and even the speakers are built into the bottom frame. But it’s also very minimalistic.
The iMac is the same thickness as the iPhone 2G.
There is a cable to the back Apple logo, and it serves as a Bluetooth Wi-Fi antenna.
On the back, there are ports and the power button.
It weighs about 9.9 lbs; for comparison, the 27-inch Mac with Retina 5k display weighed 19 lbs.
Colors
You can choose from 7 available colors: blue, green, pink, gray, yellow, orange, and purple.
Many people choose the iMac because of the variety of colors. It’s cool to have a green or orange iMac at home. The more common colors are blue and gray.
And the best thing is that your keyboard, mouse, and wire are also in the color of the iMac.
And even the Finder is the same color as the iMac. All folder names on the left side will be brightly colored iMac.
Processor
Along with the M1, the iMac has a new cooling system. It has two small ventilators that replace the large thermal system of the previous generation. And I’ve never heard them working. So the Mac is completely silent.
The M1 can be considered comparable in performance to the Intel Core 11.
Some compare the M1 to discrete video cards such as the GTX 1050ti.
Sound, camera, and connection
Wi-Fi version 6, Bluetooth version 5, and a 1080p front-facing camera.
Along with this comes improved exposure, and white balance, which ultimately results in really high-quality video for Zoom communication.
There are 3 microphones built into the iMac. In addition, the sound in iMac 24 is amazing. The sound is a bit better in iMac Pro, but only because the display is thicker and bigger. But trust me, if you are just planning to buy an iMac 24-inch, its sound is great.
MacOS usability
In fact, I can’t imagine being able to use Windows comfortably. I really like how macOS and iOS interact with each other.
I can easily send any file to macOS through my iPhone. Start working on my iMac, then a couple of clicks later, I open the same tabs on my MacBook.
The convenience of changing the Mac’s position
This may be a small thing to many people, but I really think that you can just touch the iMac to make it tilt or level for your convenience.
This feature is really important when you’re working for long periods. It’s like a laptop.
But the mechanism isn’t flimsy, and the screen won’t slide down without your input.
Compactness
The iMac takes up very little space, despite the large screen. Buying an iMac means you don’t need space for a system unit. My desk is small; I originally bought it for my MacBook. But the iMac doesn’t take up as much space as I thought it would.
iMac tech specs
The iMac is equipped with the M1 chip, which has a lot of power. The M1 combines the processor, graphics, memory, and more on a single chip. There are 3 variants of the iMac.
The cheapest iMac is equipped with:
- 8-core processor with 4 performance and 4 efficient cores
- a 7-core graphics processor
- 8GB unified memory
- 256 GB storage
- 24-inch display
- Screen resolution 4.5K
- Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
- Magic Keyboard
- Available in 4 colors: blue, green, pink, and gray
This iMac costs $1,299.00.
Second option:
- 8-core processor with 4 performance and 4 efficient cores
- 8-core GPU
- 8GB unified memory
- 256 GB storage
- 24-inch display
- Screen resolution 4.5K
- Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
- Two USB 3 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Available in 7 colors: blue, green, pink, gray, yellow, orange, and purple
This iMac is $1,499.00.
Third option:
- 8-core processor with 4 performance and 4 efficient cores
- 8-core GPU
- 512GB storage
- 8GB unified memory
- 24-inch display
- Screen resolution 4.5K
- 24-inch 4.5K Retina display²
- Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
- Two USB 3 ports
- Gigabit Ethernet
- Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Available in 7 colors: blue, green, pink, gray, yellow, orange, and purple
This iMac is priced at $1,699.00.
Are there any disadvantages to the iMac 24?
I really enjoy using the iMac, but there are a few disadvantages that I have noticed. All these drawbacks do not change my opinion that iMac is worth buying.
When I first unpacked the iMac and started working, I automatically put my AirPods case on the stand. After that, I realized how much I couldn’t get enough of the built-in charging in the iMac stand. Charging my iPhone or AirPods while working would have been very convenient.
The second drawback critical to me is the lightning port at the bottom of the Magic Mouse.
I have had many situations where the mouse has run out of power while working. I had to look for my Logitech Pebble. It would be much more convenient if the port were on the side. And then I wouldn’t have to stop working.
I also don’t like that the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is only in the more expensive packages.
The iMac has an external power supply instead of a built-in one. And for some reason, the wires in the power supply are different. On one side, the wire is cloth wrapped, looks nice, and fits the Mac. It’s also the same color as the iMac. But the other part of the wire looks poor quality, made of rubber material. From the outside, it looks like it is unfinished.
Many people don’t like that there is no black iMac. I like the colorful ones, so it is not a disadvantage for me.
I also read that a lot of people are not satisfied that there is no Apple logo on the front, on the panel below the display. To me, it’s even better. I also read an opinion on it that Apple made it so that it would be convenient for different companies to shoot promo videos, not to cover the logo.
And obviously, the main disadvantage of the iMac is gaming. If you need a computer to play games, the iMac is not what you need.
All in all, I love the iMac.
What Mac should you buy with the M1?
If you’re on the lookout for a device with the M1, you may be considering more than just the iMac 24 for purchase. So let’s compare the iMac 24″, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.
If you’re on the lookout for a device with the M1, you may be considering more than just the iMac 24 for purchase. So let’s compare the iMac 24″, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.
Which Mac is more powerful?
The iMac 24″, MacBook Air, and Mac mini all perform pretty much the same regardless of cores and graphics. There can be either 7 or 8 of them. I’ve read about texts of the different actions of these devices, and the difference was only a few seconds. So it’s worth comparing on other specs too.
iMac 24″
We already talked about iMac, and you know it’s my favorite. First of all it’s for those who don’t want to mess around and buy accessories and get a great display.
MacBook Air
There’s a lot of debate on what to choose between the MacBook Air and the iMac 24″. And it is quite understandable because they are similar in power.
The MacBook Air is for those who want portability. It’s the best option for most buyers. You can take it with you and not be tied to your desk. And by the way, it’s quiet because there are no coolers. I wrote above that iMac is for this, too.
Mac mini
This can be a budget option if you have a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and external SSD. The cost of the Mac mini is around $900.
| iMac | MacBook Air | Mac Mini | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | M1 | M1 | M1 |
| Cores | 8 (4P + 4E) | 8 (4P + 4E) | 8 (4P + 4E) |
| Storage | 256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD | 256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD 2TB SSD | 256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD 2TB SSD |
| Display | 24-inch 4.5K Retina display | 13.3-inch Retina display | Support display to 6K and to 4K |
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera | |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 6 |
| Price | From $1299 | From $999 | From $900 |
| Battery | - | Up to 15 hours wireless web | - |
So what is a better choice? I will describe my experience of using it and explain why, but you should familiarize yourself with the characteristics in the table so that you choose what is more important to you.
It’s worth saying Mac Mini is the right choice for you if you want to add a monitor and everything else. So, the Mac mini was not for me.
I have a Macbook and an iMac. I like to work using iMac, only because of the screen. The quality is great, and much larger than the Macbook.
But if I didn’t have a Macbook, I probably wouldn’t buy an iMac because I don’t like the fact that I can’t take it with me.
Mac features I use daily
MacOS actually has a lot of different features and capabilities. I feel like if I started listing all the features I use; you’d have to read this article for hours.
I would like to highlight a few of my favorite macOS features.
- Spotlight
Not only does it search for apps and folders, but it can also count and convert currencies and values. Just type the desired expression into the search box using spaces.
- Sorting icons on the macOS menu bar
You can press Command and move icons around as you like. To remove an unwanted icon, just drag it down to the desktop area.
- Calling emoji on Mac
It’s a well-known trick, but for some reason, it’s often forgotten and then searched for the combination in the browser.
To open the emoji panel on Mac, press Control+Command+Space.
- Built-in image converter
To convert an image on Mac, you need to:
- Find the image you want in the Finder.
- Right-click, select Quick Actions from the list.
- Then click on Convert Image.
- In the new window, select the format you need.
This way, you can make your user experience easier.
These chips can help you no matter what device you choose, an iMac 24 like me, or the others we compared.
