Apple unveils iMac with faster M3 chips
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Apple unveils updated 24-inch iMac with M3 processor and identical colors during the Scary Fast event.
The 24-inch iMac launched in 2021 as one of the first Macs to feature the M1 processor. Its thin and light body with vibrant colors made it stand out, but it hasn't been updated since.
Apple finally unveiled the updated iMac on Monday evening, but there are few changes. The M3 processor was announced with the iMac, but the design and color scheme of the desktop computer remained untouched.
The 24-inch LED-backlit Retina 4.5K display returns with a resolution of 4480 x 2520. It also has 500 nits of brightness, wide color gamut (P3), True Tone, and a 1080p FaceTime HD camera on top.
The M3 processor follows the A17 Pro processor in the iPhone 15 Pro and is the second Apple Silicon chipset built on the 3nm process. It features 8 CPU cores and a 10-core GPU.
Another M3 feature that appeared in the M2 but not in the M1 is the Media Engine, which provides special elements of hardware acceleration for video encoding and decoding. This will mean a boost for video editing and similar workflows.
Apple has also included a faster Neural Engine and hardware ray tracing capabilities. Users can play games like Resident Evil 4 with ray tracing enabled on the 24-inch iMac, similar to how it works on the iPhone 15 Pro family.
A six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers also returns, as does a three-mic array with directional beamforming.
Support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are also improvements over the previous generation. Physical connectivity extends to two Thunderbolt/USB 4 and two USB 3 ports, depending on the model, and the Gigabit Ethernet connection is again housed in the power supply for a cleaner desktop appearance.
The updated 24-inch iMac costs the same, starting at $1,299. The base model has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while higher configurations have two Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB 3 ports.
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