Review: Apple 2021 iMac sets out to colour us happy

Apple has returned to the dazzling days of yesteryear with the 2021 iMac range.

2021 24-inch Apple iMac with M1 processor

Apple has returned to the dazzling days of yesteryear with the 2021 iMac. If you have a long memory, you’ll remember the iMac G3 and the beautiful array of colours it came in. It showed that tech could not only be functional, but stylish too.

The original iMac was the baby of Steve Jobs after he returned to Apple in 1997. The iMac was seen as having rescued the company and put it on the path to its incredible success today.

In 2021, Apple has released a 24-inch iMac range with seven colour choices – green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver. The base, bezel and back all sport the chosen colour. Even the cable that connects the iMac base to the power pack is colour co-ordinated.

The old colourful iMacs

As for me, back in those days, I habitually unscrewed the top of computers to modify them and had wires going in all directions. Aesthetics meant little. Times have changed.

The technicolour range sees Apple branding the new iMacs as devices you show-off on a kitchen bench or dining table, or in a hallway so it can be referenced by multiple family members.

There are two basic configurations with the cheaper iMac sporting a seven core GPU instead of 8 cores. This cheaper $A1899 model has only two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports on the back. You could add an adaptor, but it still would be limiting to users who attach all kinds of devices to a stand-alone computer such as multiple monitors, external hard drives, microphones and wired headphones. Go for a model with two USB-3 and two USB4/Thunderbolt connections at least.

Thunderbolt 4 offers a theoretical download speed of up to 40 Gb/s and while you won’t reach that speed, you won’t be wanting.

You are stuck with what you get with an all-in-one computer. The display and computer are a single unit, and there is little flexibility. You can’t change the graphics card or install an extra hard drive as with a traditional desktop.

If you are happy with an all-in-one, you get a quality build with the new iMac. There’s a low-carbon aluminium frame and an impressive 24-inch Apple 4.5K retina display.

The one word of caution is that today, 24-inches isn’t that big for a computer display. My local retail store sells 32 and 49-inch monitors. Apple iMac screens cut out at 27-inches for now. There’s a big 5cm coloured lip below the 24-inch screen that makes the display look larger than it is. The entire front of the iMac is covered by a piece of glass.

2021 Apple 24-inch iMac with M1 processor

The most important addition is Apple’s home grown M1 chip. We’ve already seen the improvement that M1 has brought to the Mac mini, Macbook Air and MacBook Pro models released late last year.

I ran some tests to gauge performance. Cinebench 15 recorded a graphics performance of 88 fps which indicates that this iMac will handle most everyday gaming and image and video editing with ease.

Geekbench 5 returned 1745 for single core operation, a much better score than previous iMac models. For example, the 27-inch iMac released mid 2020 typically scored around 1250.

The M1 chip won’t handle some programs or apps. Apple has partly compensated for this with an interpreter that will run programs yet to be converted for the M1, but be wary if you use older programs that have been discontinued or superseded.

The 2021 iMac will run your iPhone and iPad apps in what’s becoming a unified iOS/Mac Apple ecosystem.

You get a 1080p full HD FaceTime camera for video calls and the speakers offer crisp and loud sound without distorted bass. The volume is loud enough to be enjoyable without attracting the ire of neighbours.

2021 Apple iMac

Other Apple devices combine with the iMac to add extra functionality. I could unlock my review iMac simply by wearing an Apple Watch. The new iMac wireless keyboard includes a TouchID key so I could unlock the iMac with that.

I could use the sidecar feature where an iPad becomes the iMac’s second screen. I could use the handoff feature to swap from viewing a web page on the iMac to quickly viewing the same web page on an iPad.

In all the 2021 24-inch iMac with the M1 chip offers more power and graphics capability that before, improved specs and new functionality. The issue is whether you like Apple’s all-in-one form factor.

Prices start at $1899 (7-core GPU) and $2199 (8-core GPU) for 256GB solid state drives. The cheaper iMac can be configured up to 1TB of storage and the 8-core iMac to 2TB. The iMacs go on sale this Friday May 21.