14 
Gadgets get thinner. Apple’s gadgets more than most. That’s just the natural order of things. But while thin and light are two of the chief virtues of mobile, and prettier is always better, the new deskbound iMac has to prove it’s more than just a diet plan.
The iMac’s new, thinner design is the centrepiece of this update. It tapers to 5-mm at the edges, creating a pretty stunning optical illusion—a waif of a desktop.
Actually turning the computer on and using it pretty much unchanged from any other iMac before it, aside from the speed. Apple’s SSD/HDD Fusion Drive hybrid keeps pace with the SSDs in the MacBook Air, for the most part.
Programs like Premiere Pro CS6 or Photoshop open at full SSD speed. Same goes for file transfers within the confines of the SSD (all file transfers seem to go to the SSD by default, and then migrate to the HDD later, given I/O speeds). If you’re transferring 100GB+, you’re going to kick over to the HDD and see some slowdown.
As for actual brute force computing prowess, in our standardised render test, the new iMac averaged 43 seconds. That came out well ahead of the Retina MacBook Pro 13-inch (54 seconds) and an older Mac Pro (2 minutes), but it was behind a Retina MBP 15-inch (34 seconds) that had double the RAM and a beefier graphics card. Real world-wise, that nudges the bang-for-buck value toward the RMBP 15, especially since its default graphics card is a little better.
For gaming, our near-base configuration was fine. It’s 1080p (non-Retina) screen ran Diablo 3 at 1080p on medium settings at close to 60fps. But for any heavy lifting, you’re going to want to upgrade to the beefier cards on the 27-inch iMacs. If you ramp up the settings on D3 or Witcher 2, you’re not going to squeeze great performance out of the baseline GT cards. Our framerate dipped under 30 on both games, in a hurry.
It’s a fast iMac. As frustrating (and Apple-like) as it can be to have basically no options for what goes where on the drive, Fusion Drive does its job well. It makes the entire OS feel snappier in ways that simple 8 or 16GB smartcache solutions don’t, really. Aside from moving around huge files (videographers beware), it really feels like having your whole system running on an SSD, just with a high capacity drive.
The design upgrades do little to improve the desktop experience. For most people, the biggest upgrade to usability here is the Fusion Drive, by a pretty good margin. But the slim new design does nothing for you. In fact, it gets in the way—it’s nearly impossible to upgrade RAM on the 21-inch version, and the razor-thin side moves the SD card slot to the less convenient back panel.
Inconvenient ports are the biggest deficiency on an all-in-one. Someday, someone’s going to figure out how to do it right. But it’s probably not going to be by making the machines thinner.
The thinner design also has the sort-of unexpected effect of making the iMac easier to budge. If you grab the edge to wipe a smudge off of it, or just bump it as you reach for something, it’s more likely to shift on the table top.
- Retina 13: 2.9GHz Dual Core Ivy Bridge Core i7, 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, Intel HD Graphics 4000 768 MB, OS X 10.8.2
- MacBook Air 11: 2GHz Dual Core Ivy Bridge Core i7, 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4000 512MB, OS X 10.8.2
- Mac Pro: (Early 2008) 2x 2.8GHz Quad Core Intel Xeon, 34GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM, ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB, OS X 10.7.4
- After loading up the machine with a bunch of files, apps, and games—enough so it wasn’t all just lumped on the SSD portion of the drive—it only took a few uses of a program for the drive to learn it should be prioritizing it. So three or four launches of Premiere Pro was enough to knock its launch time from 15-20 seconds back down to 5.
- The display on the new iMacs is supposed to be better because Apple removed the 2mm air gap between the LCD and the glass. Apple claims it reduces reflectiveness, but day-to-day it didn’t seem to make much of a difference. Although, this could be because our office is as dim as an opium den.
Sure. Maybe. If you want an iMac as a pretty-looking home station, there’s no reason to not go for the slimmer design with better guts and the option for the fusion drive. But if you’re considering this 21-inch model, be aware that it’s much tougher to customise by yourself than its 27-inch counterpart. You should also know you’re not getting top-end gravel-chewing performance—for that, you’d be better off with a Retina MacBook Pro.
Display: 21-inch 1080p
Processor: 2.9GHz Ivy Bridge i5 Quad Core
Memory: 8GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB
Storage: 1TB Fusion Drive
Price: £1,449
Gizrank: 3.5
The New iMac Is a Little Too Thin
Apple's New iMacs Are Crazy Thin
Apple's Running Out of 27-Inch iMacs, So Get Ready for a Refresh
http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/workstations/z1_features.html
But let’s be honest, it looks shit
Last time I used a P.C. it was to do stuff on not to look at.
but then you are probably not one of the people who would get a AIO computer anyway.
Think again, they’re exactly what I’ve been looking at getting recently.
Yeah man. I drive my Fiat Punto to work and back. I live in a bed sit. My gf is adequate.
My life is devoid of emotion. I’m a freakin’ robot maaaan!
Yeah because the sides of it are exactly what you look at when you’re looking at the front.
I love how that machine just pops open with no screws!
I would love that to be a standard feature for desktops/laptops
That is why I build my pc systems even though I also use an iMac for work. My pc rig doesn’t use screws as everything uses slide clips and makes changing/upgrading a breeze.
how’s your motherboard held in place?
Double sided tape? *shrug*
Oh good catch. That would be only one that does need screws. In terms of hot swappable parts like gpu, hdd or sdds, all slides in and clips.
I am sure there is such product around to replace screws. I remember the days when everything used to be attached with screws and will get cut thousand times by sharp case edges while attempting to get your HDD out!
That right there is what Apple will copy/beautify for the next Mac Pro.
Utterly ridiculous that apple made it impossible to upgrade the ram ON A DESKTOP! How important does the thinness of a DESKTOP have to be? And how crazy that on the 27″ of course they found the space to allow for RAM upgrades, leaving regular consumers who don’t need a 27″ with no expansion options…
It’s utter ridiculousness, I love Macs but Apple’s now the most money grabbing company in this world!
Making the new Retina Pros (which I own) completely un-upgradeable as well as all the macbook airs and now the 21″ iMac just shows how much apple wants your £160 for the ram upgrade, something that they either make 3-400% profit on or sell you a un-upgradeable machine that you’ll always feel it’s not the best and won’t have the option to upgrade so you’ll be itching to upgrade to a more top of the range machine with all the upgrades this doesn’t have… Apple does extremely slow incremental upgrades to their products, saving as many features as possible for future upgrades, they just want continuous growth, They Just Want Your Money! Apple is no longer an innovative company, it’s just another tech company who wants your money more than anyone else for dated technology. The technology you’ll see in iPhone 10 in ten years time with transparent displays, or touchscreen iMacs that will probably come after 2020 ALREADY EXISTS, if they strived to make those products now, then I would call them innovative again. NO RESPECT for jony and tim AT ALL.
They’re not appealing to your average desktop user, they’re appealing to those who care about looks e.t.c. You want raw power? Custom build. You want accessible power in a sexy machine? Apple. No middle ground is necessary for desktops.
True. These things are built for end user experience, the type why don’t want to fiddle around the insides.
You want more RAM? Let the I.T. department worry about it.
Your other alternative of course is to get the Mac Pro.
Why don’t people get that Apple build for people who prioritise the user experience and ecosystem, rather than raw power?
According to the article it’s not impossible to upgrade the RAM, though it’s not for the faint of heart. Also, the MacBook Air can be upgraded, the SSD anyway.
I think you’re not considering who this is aimed at. That person is not a power user (they’d go for the 27″). I’m not saying there’s some power users out there who wouldn’t want the 21″ over the 27″, but it’s more likely to be the other way around.
8GB is enough for most non-power users running OS X. I’ve got 16GB in a Mac Pro and rarely do I go over 8GB.
You know the price isn’t actually that bad for an all-in-one computer. Searching on PC World for something with roughly the same specs gives a Sony for £1.2k which isn’t as much of a gap as you’d (well I’d) normally expect.
Agreed.
Nonsense..
There’s laptops far far better than this for 650 quid on the web at the moment.
Including one with a i7 and a a gt650m with 2gb of ram as opposed to 512…..
500 pounds sees you with a ready build machine and better performance.
As for what you can get for 1400++……
All-in-one as opposed to Laptop. Some people prefer all-in-ones. I don’t! I’d have a phone, ultrabook, and massive custom-built desktop, if I could afford it.
But will said laptops run osx?
This may be true, but then I’d question the whole concept of an AIO, and not just the iMac. I’ve never really seen the point.
I’ve owned monitors (even Apple monitors) that look just as sexy when sitting on your desk, so it’s not for looks. A desktop computer only requires a couple of extra wires to set up and a small amount of floor space under your desk, so it’s not convenience. The only advantage I can see is portability (as it’s one box, not two), and that’s a niche requirement at best, yet the iMac attracts a mass market audience.
So what precisely is an all-in-one for, and why is it worth sacrificing the upgradability and value of a desktop?
You’re right, unless you’re super stuck for space or have some weird vendetta against wires then an AIO isn’t really necessary.
A reason I could see someone going for an AIO is if they … yeah I got nothing …
Just to clarify, I’m not defending the iMac or anything; I was just surprised at how “reasonable” the price was compared to other similar machines
Can’t argue with that, iMac pricing is relatively good, but then that’s in comparison with other AIOs that are similarly overpriced.
It’s just one of those products that seems to appeal for reasons other than common sense.
For my part. I’m looking at an all in one for use in a home recording studio setup, that’s where it makes most sense for me. To be able to either attach it to a wall or just perch it on top of my Keyboard stand without needing extra space for a mouse and keyboard would be bliss.
A GT650M? OUCH
If it’s good enough for the MBP w/Retina then it’s perfectly capable of filling the iMac’s needs.
This^ . Every game available on a mac will run on GT650M happily, and there isn’t a great deal of difference on GT650M vs other graphics cards on non-gaming applications.
Know about a little something called memory bandwidth? 128bit. Ouch. Exactly why the 660Ti, 660 and 650Ti are pretty much trash compared to their AMD equivalents. OK, right now, the performance for those cards is fairly decent, but that memory bandwidth WILL, and I repeat WILL choke them to barely anything in around a year. Gotta remember before you judge whether it runs happily NOW, what about a year? This is what I always hated about Apple. They have genuinely good products and then they put ridiculous bottlenecks in them.
Agree to disagree; you’re thinking of this Mac like it’s a PC. No developer would make a game that wouldn’t run on this iMac, for at least 3 years, more likely 5. It’s a more closed ecosystem, for better or for worse. Personally, I prefer the open ecosystems of Windows and Android, I just despise how wrong you are, by thinking of Mac and iOS in the same terms. (I know you didn’t mention iOS)
What has iOS got to do with any of this? If developers made games that would run on a given make for 5 years, how come I HAD to upgrade to my gaming computer because there was no game that my mid 2009 MBPro could run because it was so weak? Me and all of the Mac users I know use Steam, and pretty much everything there is just a port to PC. There ARE going to be exceptions.
It’s not a matter of how well people can code on a computer – yes, it goes quite far as you can see on consoles, but anybody who bothers to sit down and do some hard research will find even on the more powerful desktop variants (GTX 660Ti) what Nvidia did cost them the whole game with performance. Then consider on top of all of this there are still going to be the poor people who want to bootcamp on this…
Yes, but these aren’t aimed at boot campers, not any more. Bro, I’ve been building computers since I was 12, I agree with you completely, if this was running Windows, your points would be correct! But it’s built for the sort of people who buy iP5 when there are Nex4s around. It’s for the ecosystem, not the power.
I don’t know anything about memory bandwidth because I’m not a developer or work for a computer manufacturer. All I know is that using the 650M I can run my favourite game (Portal 2) at high graphic settings and at full resolution (2880*1800) with no perceptible drop in FPS. Maybe it will “choke to barely anything” next year, but I doubt it.
Doesn’t surprise me overly, Portal 2 is very well made for Nvidia.
Also, I’m not a developer, nor a computer manufacturer. I’m a 14 year old computer builder.
If you think that you can chug along at 2880×1800 in everything and anything for the next year with just 1GB of GDDR5, be my guest.
Just be sure to try Unigine Heaven in DX11 mode at full res with tesselation first and see how right I am.
Nah I think I’ll get back to doing the world that pays for me to buy imacs
MEGA LOL
At those specs and that price.
No wonder they have massive profit margins.
I’m surprised you’ve given it more than 3 stars.
Both this and the review of the 13 RMBP have confirmed, in my mind at least, that my decision to splash out on the 15 RMBP this summer was a good one (it was also my first mac). When I bought it, I was a little worried (as I always am when I buy an Apple device) that a newer and considerably better device would be released very soon after. But it seems I’m fairly safe for a few years