Overall, I like the current iMac design a lot, both its looks and the size. I wish Apple would add an SD card slot next time around as it's done with the MacBook Pro. A height-adjustable stand option would be nice also. Those are small considering the rest of the package, though. The M3's performance is a huge plus for everything from basic home office and school tasks to content creation. Just make sure you pick your configuration carefully with an eye toward how you'll use it now and how that may change later. The 24-inch iMac seems especially well-suited as a family computer or if you want something other than a laptop to easily move from room to room. It's small enough to squeeze into tighter spaces, like a kitchen nook, but big enough to spread out your work, kick back and stream a movie or do some casual gaming.
The 24-inch iMac is the most beautiful desktop machine Apple has ever built, I'd say. Its svelte profile, gorgeous display and handsomely color-matched accessories are all a delight—Lightning connectivity notwithstanding. If you have an iMac with M1 processor, but if you're coming to Mac desktop computing from a non-Apple brand or from an Intel iMac, it's a no-brainer. It's a spectacular home computer with speed, power and stamina. And the fact that it's the same price as the M1 iMac on sale last week, but has double the speeds in some metrics, makes it more appealing still.
The M1 model that arrived in 2021 represented a big shift the iMac line, both in terms of design (the old one was getting long in the tooth) and the jump from Intel to Apple Silicon. Two years later, it's safe to say that the follow up doesn't represent the same caliber of update. Much of the hardware remains the same here, which is, perhaps, to be expected — especially in an era when so much of the systems' value is determined by the SoC. After skipping the M2 altogether, the M3 absolutely brings impressive gains over the already powerful M1. Is it worth the upgrade from the 2021 model? Not really. If, however, you're looking to replace an older machine or for something compact and zippy for a dorm room or cubicle, or just an apartment with a space crunch, it's a nice little option that's far more accessible than the pro-focused Mac Studio.
If you're in the market for a new desktop Mac and you like the idea of an all-in-one, the iMac M3 is easy to recommend because you get decent performance at pretty much everything but serious gaming and creative work in a package that costs under $2,000. That's a better deal than paying over $2,000 to pair a Mac mini M2 ($799) with an Apple Studio Display ($1,599), which would be another way to build a desktop Mac setup that, as you can see from our testing, would deliver similar performance to the iMac M3. And that's why it's hard to heartily recommend existing iMac M1 users upgrade to this new M3 model: It's not that much faster or better, and it still has all the same weaknesses. It's disappointing that there's so little room to move the display on the stand, especially when so many competing Windows all-in-ones come with VESA mount brackets built in and offer more options to adjust display height, angle and tilt. And it just feels silly that you effectively have to pay Apple a $200 upcharge if you want one in purple. But the extra ports and other amenities that come with it are worth it, and you do get what you pay for: a speedy Mac all-in-one that looks and sounds great, making it one of the best all-in-one computers of the year.
Those who waited to see how Apple Silicon pans out, and let others get compatibility data for crucial apps now have more than enough evidence collected to determine if making the switch is a good idea. With the performance gap widening even further with the new M3 releases, there's never been a better opportunity for Intel Mac owners to finally make the leap to Apple Silicon.For those who want to go down that route, the 24-inch iMac is an excellent starting point for their Apple Silicon adventure.
Als ik tussen de regels door lees, kom ik uit op: leuk ding, maar de update vanaf een M1 niet waard. Het is het allemaal nét niet.
Ik had nog een beetje hoop dat Apple een M-versie van de 27-inch iMac zou uitbrengen ter vervanging van mijn Late 2015 & ben heel erg teleurgesteld.Alternatief zou zijn om een macStudio met scherm (en dan toch maar de Studio Display, omdat de alternatieven het net niet zijn, IMO) aan te schaffen, maar een beetje okay uitgeruste combi kost al snel dik 5 mille… Dan heb het dus over de M2 12 core CPU / 30 core GPU / 16 core Neural Engine, opgewaardeerd tot 32 GB + 2 TB.Ik kan het vervangen van mijn iMac niet al te lang uitstellen (houdt er soms mee op om onduidelijke redenen); nu hoop ik dus maar begin volgend jaar de macStudio ook M3 wordt.
@bertvanderveen: Is MacMini dan geen optie voor jou? Die is goedkoper.
Citaat van: Night, 9 november 2023 - 13:03Als ik tussen de regels door lees, kom ik uit op: leuk ding, maar de update vanaf een M1 niet waard. Het is het allemaal nét niet.Je zou een dief van je portemonnee zijn als je je Macs (welke dan ook) vanaf M1 gaat upgraden.
De iMac M1 16GB/1TB is nu €300 goedkoper dan de M3.
Voor een M1? Dat vind ik best duur. Mijn M3 kost €2079,-. Inclusief een grotere SSD.
Mooie machine in mijn ogen, maar voor de juiste doelgroep. Hier nog een review van iemand die meer pro georiënteerd is.
Enfin, ook hier op MacFreak heeft nog niet iedereen het begrepen.
Gast
