Does the Apple M1 Actually Make Sense in the New iMac?

A slimmer-than-ever Apple iMac with a 24-inch screen arrives next month with a completely redesigned exterior and some significant changes to the internal components. The big one? The Apple M1.

After making its debut on the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro, and the Mac mini six months ago, the M1 chip is at last coming to the iMac. Ditching Intel Core processors in favor of silicon designed in-house was a ground-breaking achievement for Apple’s laptops. But other than incorporating the M1, the new MacBooks are identical to their predecessors.

That’s not the case with the new iMac, which adds a new screen size and a rainbow of color options to Apple’s all-in-one desktop (AIO) lineup. It’s an entirely new PC, and based on what we know about it so far, an extremely relevant option for those searching for a new work-from-home platform.

5 Reasons Why the M1 Is Perfect for the New iMac...

But since the new model is available only with the Apple M1 processor, and the company will continue to sell the older 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs with Intel processors for the time being, it’s worth a closer look at why the M1 is (and isn’t) the best choice of processor to power what has been an Editors’ Choice-winning AIO year after year. 

1. The Promise of Faster Performance

The most important reason to choose an M1 iMac is the most obvious: The new processor should offer eyebrow-raising performance under certain circumstances. We already know that in the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, the M1 chip rivals and sometimes exceeds the performance of Intel’s latest mobile-grade Core i7 CPUs, even while it’s running software that hasn’t been optimized for Apple Silicon.

So how fast will the M1 be in the new iMac? Independent tests aren’t yet available, of course, but Apple is making some impressive claims. The eight-core processor offers up to 85% faster CPU performance than the Intel chips in the previous-generation iMac. This is important mainly for niche but demanding workflows—exporting video projects or manipulating truly massive images (100 megapixels or more), for example. 

Apple also claims that the M1’s graphics capabilities are much improved compared with the Intel integrated graphics in the entry-level version of the old 21.5-inch iMac, which will continue to be sold for the time being. GPU performance is up to 50% better than the upgraded 21.5-inch model with a discrete AMD Radeon GPU, which is no longer available. The improvement should mean that playing lightweight games such as Minecraft or performing simple GPU-accelerated tasks will be much more enjoyable.

2. Better-Quality Video Calls

With most of us using our computers as essential tools for work and social interactions during these socially distant times, video and audio quality are more important than ever. Apple recognized this early in the pandemic, or at least was in lucky lockstep, adding a 1080p webcam and a three-mic array to the 27-inch 5K iMac introduced last summer. 

The new M1-powered 24-inch iMac also has a 1080p webcam, so it’s automatically a big step up from the legions of laptops and other AIOs that come with 720p cameras. But Apple says that the M1’s built-in image-processing capabilities make video quality on the M1 iMac even better than it is on the 27-inch iMac. 

On the 27-inch iMac, image signal processing is handled by a dedicated chip, the Apple T2. It can automatically detect faces and apply exposure adjustments and tone mapping accordingly to keep the faces in focus. On the new 24-inch iMac, the M1 will handle all of these computations. Potential improvements are related not only to the M1’s inherent performance advantages, but also to the fact that the video data doesn't need to be shunted between the T2 chip and an Intel Core processor. 

3. The Great Slimming-Down: A Smaller, Sleeker iMac

The M1 chip works splendidly in the MacBook Air, Apple’s smallest laptop. So it stands to reason that even with the added cooling fans and larger logic board of the iMac, the M1 can still enable a much slimmer, lighter machine than the years-old design of Intel-powered iMacs.

That’s exactly the approach that Apple decided to take, and the effect is impressive. The new 24-inch iMac measures 18.1 by 21.5 by 5.8 inches (HWD) and weighs 9.88 pounds. Compare that with the 21.5-inch iMac's dimensions of 17.7 by 20.8 by 6.9 inches (HWD) and weight of 12.1 pounds. The slimming effect is especially noteworthy when you take the 24-incher’s larger screen into account. 

Of course, Apple could have gone several steps further with the design of the new iMac, perhaps adding a more flexible stand that would allow the unit to lay flat on your desk. But such improvements, while certainly a missed opportunity, aren't directly related to the M1 chip.  

4. Speeding Up Entry: Touch ID

In addition to handling image processing, the T2 chip used in several other Apple products originally handled the authentication of your fingerprint when you use the Touch ID sensor to log in to your macOS account. It was somewhat puzzling to me when Apple elected not to add a Touch ID sensor to the Magic Keyboard last year following the debut of the T2 on the 27-inch iMac, but the situation has now been rectified.

The new 24-inch iMac not only relinquishes security duty to the M1 chip, but it also now features an optional Magic Keyboard with a Touch ID sensor. There’s a dedicated component on the keyboard that communicates directly with the M1, which means that your fingerprint data is encrypted when it’s sent between the two. 

This is the first time that Touch ID has been available on an Apple desktop, and the M1 makes it all possible. However, I can’t help but note that there’s yet another missed opportunity here. Apple could have added a Face ID component to the new iMac’s camera, letting you log in as you do on countless Windows laptops and AIOs (and, of course, the iPhone and iPad). 

5. Support for Mobile Apps

The M1 chip shares the same software architecture as the A-series chips in Apple smartphones and tablets, which means it can run iPad and iPhone apps. This isn’t unique to the iMac, as the M1-powered Macs announced six months ago also feature this capability. Nevertheless, the ability to pull up a phone app in the corner of the expansive 24-inch display will entice many users. 

...and Two Reasons Why the M1 Might Not Make Sense

While all of the above benefits make the new iMac an ideal tool for the hectic home computing lives we all lead right now, there are still a few reasons why you might want to sit out the M1-powered iMac and buy the 27-inch or 21.5-inch Intel versions instead. 

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Slimmer, 24-Inch Apple iMac Arrives Next Month With M1 Chip

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Apple iMac 27-Inch (2020) Review

1. Performance Could Have Been (and Will Be) Even Faster

As capable as the first iteration of Apple Silicon is, we’ve only seen what it can do in a single chip. That same chip, with minor variations in cooling and graphics capabilities, now powers the latest versions of the MacBook Pro, the Mac mini, the iMac, and the iPad Pro. Sure, it’s versatile, but I can’t help but feeling it needs some differentiation. 

For example, the M1’s system-on-a-chip design means that the single piece of silicon handles all of the computer’s processing needs. This is efficient and delivers extraordinary performance up to a point, and that point seems to be the difference between the everyday workloads that the 24-incher will likely perform and the CPU-crunching tasks of pro users.

For the latter, Apple is still selling (and recommending) the 27-inch iMac with Intel processors and AMD Radeon graphics. It’s a tacit acknowledgement of the limitations of the M1, and we have yet to see an implementation of the M1 paired with a discrete graphics processor.

Again, no independent tests are available yet, but the top-of-the line 27-inch iMac we tested last year with a 10-core Intel Core i9 is still likely to outperform the new 24-inch iMac. Will this always be the case? Probably not. Apple will almost certainly release more powerful versions of its silicon. But if you need the most powerful iMac available right now, the M1 version very well might not be it. 

2. You Can’t Run Windows (Easily)

A final minor quibble with M1-powered Macs is that installing and running Windows on a separate hard drive partition isn't as user-friendly as it is on Intel-powered Macs. You can now run a beta version of Windows in the latest Parallels Desktop app on M1 Macs, but you'll need to pay extra for the third-party app and be a member of Microsoft's Insider Program.

Because there are relatively few standout Windows AIO PCs, running Windows on the iMac is potentially more useful for many customers than running Windows on a MacBook. Until the situation changes, you’ll need to stick with an Intel-powered iMac if you want a straightforward dual-boot experience.

The M1 has been an extraordinarily successful launch for Apple so far in terms of the hype it’s generated, and we can’t wait to see if it continues its streak as soon as we’re able to test the new iMac ourselves. Stay tuned!

Apple's 4/20 event gave us AirTags, an M1 iPad Pro, and a brand new iMac