This week Apple has refreshed the 27-inch iMac and left the 21-inch iMac as it is for now. The new iMac has the exact same design as the past iMacs from 2012 onwards but it now has a lot of little improvements to bring it closer in line with some of the newer MacBooks which have been launched recently.
For example, new 10th generation Intel processors are now here, along with new AMD graphics chips, higher capacity for more RAM, larger SSDs as well as True Tone and the T2 Security chip.
The addition of the 10th generation Intel processors allow up to a 65% increase in performance Apple says and it can be specced with up to a 10-core Intel Core i9. For graphics, Apple is offering AMD Radeon Pro with the option of up to 16GB of GDR6 memory. In terms of RAM, the old iMac 27-inch could technically run with 128GB RAM but now Apple is officially supporting it and from factory, it can be specced with up to 128GB now, however the user expandable slot on the back still remains which is still a cheaper way to upgrade.
For storage, Apple has brought the max SSD option of 8TB to the iMac too, the old model could only have a maximum of 2TB and the option for a Fusion Drive has now been eradicated. Apple has also upgraded the FaceTime camera from 720p to 1080p and the T2 Security Chip has been added too, first seen on the iMac Pro and has since been added to the MacBook line.
In terms of the display, Apple has added a new Nano-Texture anti-glare option, at a $500 / £500 upgrade fee and is similar to the Pro Display XDR coating. True Tone has also been added, first seen on iPad and iPhone models are few years ago.
The new 2020 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799 in the US and £1,799 in the UK and comes with:
- 3.1GHz 6-core 10th generation Intel Core i5
- 8GB DDR4 RAM – can take up to 128GB
- 256GB SSD
- Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
- 5K display, with True Tone
The 21-inch iMac hasn’t seen any spec bumps, however the base non-4K iMac now comes with a 256GB SSD as standard, whereas before it came with a 1TB spinning hard drive. The option of a 1TB Fusion Drive does remain however.
