Review: Apple iMac (24-Inch, 2021)

Unboxing the new 24-inch iMac isn't any different from the experience I went through last year when I tested Apple's 27-inch version of its all-in-one desktop computer. Yet the two machines feel poles apart. Maybe it's the fact that my partner and I spent a few minutes discussing which new iMac color would look best in the bedroom. Maybe it's the sheer lightweight and slim nature of the machine, or its many color-matching accessories. It just looks so pretty, I want to carve a space for it in my home.

The 2021 version of the PC marks the first major redesign Apple has made to the iMac in years. It's just as simple to operate as before. Out of the box, accessories like the keyboard and mouse are already paired to the machine. All you need to do is find a space for the svelte body and plug in the magnetic power cord. It's one of the easiest setup experiences around, and (forgive me for this oft-used phrase) it just works. This approachability—which is certainly amplified by the aesthetics—is important, as Apple is touting this as a computer to be used by the whole family.

It's also the first iMac with Apple's own M1 processor, and as we've seen from other M1 machines, the hardware is overall very reliable. That said, there are just a few quirks I hoped Apple would've addressed by now. 

Look at all the colors.

Photograph: Apple

If you must know, my partner and I decided the yellow iMac would make a lovely contrast against our dark blue bedroom walls. Our second choice was purple, which was the test unit Apple sent my way. It's just as nice! Honestly, all tech should come in an array of colors that aren't black or white. (You can also opt for an iMac in green, pink, orange, silver, or blue.)

I thought the white trim around the screen and the large “chin” below the display, which is where the computing components are housed, would bother me, but I don't mind them at all. They lend to this iMac's playful theme of looking and feeling nostalgic—like the Bondi Blue iMac of old— without looking dated.

Before I talk about the iMac experience, I need to note that the base model has many omissions that make it a little tough to recommend. For $1,299, your only choices are blue, green, pink, or silver. Want the ability to connect an Ethernet cable instead of relying on wonky Wi-Fi? That option is an extra $30. Would you like the new Magic Keyboard that enables you to log in with Touch ID? Add $50 more, please. Biometric authentication shows up even in a $400 iPhone nowadays, so it's baffling that these basic features aren't in the base model. Plus, the cheapest model has only two USB-C ports instead of the four that come in the $1,499 version. 

You'll definitely want to pay for Touch ID. It's integrated into the top-right part of the keyboard, just like it is on MacBooks, and it makes logging in to the machine and all your favorite apps and services so much easier. Plus, if you plan to add multiple accounts, as you might want to do on a family computer, each person just needs to hold their finger to the sensor to log in to their respective macOS user profile. The gigabit Ethernet add-on, which is implemented into the power adapter, is also worthwhile; a hardwired internet connection is always more reliable. 

With those upgrades—oh, and the $50 Magic Trackpad instead of the awful Magic Mouse you still can't use as it charges—your total is $1,429. Touch ID, Ethernet, and a good mouse shouldn't be add-ons. At this point, the $1,499 model makes more sense because it includes Ethernet and Touch ID, plus more ports and an extra core for the graphics processing unit (a total of $1,549 with the upgrade to the trackpad). In any case, don't stick with the base iMac. Customize your order and add these features. 

The two other upgrades worth considering are storage and RAM. Most folks may get by just fine with 256 gigabytes of storage, but you can add up to 1 terabyte. Similarly, the standard 8 gigs of RAM should be sufficient for most people, but you should know that there are zero ways to upgrade RAM in M1 Macs. If you're doing creative work with photos and videos, pay the $200 extra for 16 gigabytes. If not, 8 GB will more than satisfy, though having more RAM is always the safer option to future-proof your machine.

The M1 chip inside is the same as the one in the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Air, and the Mac Mini. Unlike the Air, the iMac has a fan to dissipate heat, so it can eke out and sustain a tiny bit more power for heavier workloads. (The fan rarely turned on in my experience and is very, very quiet when it does switch on.) My benchmark tests show performance sitting smack dab between the Air and the Pro, which makes sense considering the M1 here is powering a larger and higher-resolution screen.

It's more power than most people need—and that includes folks editing photos in Photoshop and Lightroom or editing 4K videos in Adobe Premiere and other video-editing software. Games like Arkham City and Transistor ran without hiccups, and even if a great number of apps are now optimized for the M1, I haven't had any trouble with software written for Intel-based machines. 

The thing you'll be staring at the most, the 4,480- by 2,520-pixel LCD screen, looks great. It can get blindingly bright, colors look very natural, and it's wonderfully sharp. That said, I split my time watching the (ridiculously long) Snyder cut of Justice League between the iMac and the new iPad Pro, and I favored the experience on the latter. Apple's new Mini LED display tech in the iPad Pro produces nicer contrasts, with deeper blacks and brighter highlights. But it's something I noticed only with both screens side by side.

As someone who usually uses an ultrawide monitor, the 24-inch screen on the iMac feels cramped. Still, I've been able to make it work, with Safari front and center and Slack and Telegram readily accessible in the background. (Note: You can only natively connect one external display on M1 machines, so if you wanted a triple-screen setup, you'll need to look at third-party workarounds.) I do miss the nano-texture glass Apple uses in the 27-inch iMac. I had that machine set up in the same exact spot now occupied by the new iMac, and I never saw any glare. That's not the case with this model. It would've been nice to have that glare-free glass as an optional add-on for people who can only place their iMac near a window.

A bigger annoyance arises when you realize you can't adjust the height of the screen. You can only tilt the screen up toward your eyes by tugging the bottom edge forward. That's not ideal; for proper ergonomics, the top of your computer's display should be set at eye level, so being able to adjust the height is important. I currently have the iMac sitting on top of a stack of six books to boost the iMac's screen to the correct height. I am tall, but I shouldn't have to suffer, Apple! If you want to mount the whole iMac to an adjustable arm and gain the freedom to move the screen anywhere you want, you can. But you have to buy the version that only comes with a VESA mount preinstalled and does not include Apple's stand. It's silly that you have to make this decision at checkout.

The webcam is the same 1080p camera in the 27-inch Mac, but Apple says the M1's image signal processor allows for better clarity, noise reduction, dynamic range, and smarter exposure. It would've been nice to get a privacy shutter to round out those improvements, but alas. Still, the image quality is pretty good. It's easily better than any other Mac webcam. My face comes up bright, and colors don't look muted despite me sitting in a dimly lit bedroom. I wouldn't go so far as to say it blew me away. It still looks slightly low-res. The bar for a good webcam is really low across the industry, so I'd have liked to see Apple go further here and leapfrog the competition.

It's a similar story with the six speakers. The bass is underwhelming, but music and movies still sound great. However, too often I had the volume all the way up, whether during a Zoom meeting or when I was watching a show. It can fill up my small bedroom, but introduce some ambient noise, like the drone of an air conditioner or the TV in the living room, and you'll wish it could get louder. 

The triple-mic array, on the other hand, captures my voice really well—good enough for the Gadget Lab podcast! Just make sure to remove the plastic wrap around the iMac before joining your Zoom meeting. I didn't notice the thin layer of protective film when I was unboxing the machine and was very confused when my editor said I sounded awful. Days went by before I realized my mics were still covered.

The best part of using an iMac comes when you pair it with other Apple hardware. It always feels like magic when I can copy text on my iPhone and paste it on the iMac thanks to the universal clipboard. Or when I load up a Safari webpage on the iMac and immediately open it on the iPad with just a tap, then continue reading on the couch. This kind of seamlessness is nearly unmatched on any other ecosystem.

Whether everyone in the household uses an Apple gadget or not, the new iMac is a great little machine that excels in its simplicity. Yes, you can buy cheaper machines, whether it's a Windows all-in-one, a PC you built, or even by just hooking up the M1-powered Mac Mini to another monitor and peripherals. But that all requires a bit of fussing. 

You'll find little of that fussiness here. It's just pure, colorful bliss.