The M3 iMac has arrived and it's "Scary Fast". Unveiled at Apple's event on October 30, the upgrade to the 24-inch iMac brings a much-anticipated refresh to everyone's favorite all-in-one computer.
Externally, everything is the same including the color options but internally, there's a brand-new M3 chip that brings huge performance gains over the M1 version from 2021.
The M3 iMac also has some connectivity updates including Wi-Fi 6E and the best bit is the computer starts at the same $1,299 price point as the previous generation.
Here's everything you need to know about the M3 iMac, Apple's best-ever all-in-one desktop.
New iMac: Release date
The new 24-inch iMac is available to pre-order now and will be released on Tuesday, November 7.
New iMac: Price
The new 24-inch iMac is available with an 8-core GPU starting at $1,299. The 10-core GPU model is $1,499. As per usual, you can add more memory and storage at a fee. 16GB of unified memory is an extra $200, while 24GB is $400. Base storage is 256GB, 512GB of SSD storage is an extra $200, and 1TB is an extra $400. There's a Gigabit Ethernet option for $30, too.
New iMac: Screen size and display
The 24-inch iMac with M3 features the same 4.5K Retina display as the last model. That means 4480-by-2520 resolution at 218 pixels per inch with support for 1 billion colors and 500 nits of brightness.
New iMac: M3 Processor
The new M3 processor is the iMac's party piece. It comes with an 8-core CPU (4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores) and either an 8-core or 10-core GPU.
Both come with hardware-accelerated ray tracing, a 16-core Neural Engine, and 100GB/s memory bandwidth. They also have Apple's Media engine featuring Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW, Video decode engine, ProRes encode and decode engine, and AV1 decode.
Apple says the new M3 is 2x faster than the previous M1 chip found in the previous iMac, and the GPU gains are even more potent thanks to hardware-accelerated ray tracing and dynamic caching.
New iMac: Design and colors
The new M3 iMac features an identical design to last year's model and all the same colors, too: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. It's 18.1 inches tall, 21.5 inches wide, and 5.8 inches deep. Although, you'll need to pay for the 10-core CPU model to get yellow, orange, or purple.
New iMac: Ports and connectivity
The new iMac features two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and the option for Gigabit Ethernet. The more expensive model features four ports on the back, including an extra two USB 3 ports. The iMac also features Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.
New iMac: Other features
The M3 iMac features the same 1080p FaceTime HD camera as the last model, as well as the same six-speaker audio system.
Will Apple release a new iMac in 2023?
Yes, Apple released a new iMac on October 30.
Will there be a new 27-inch iMac this year?
No, the next big iMac is rumored to come in 2025.
Will Apple ever make an iMac Pro?
There are rumors of a new iMac with a 32-inch mini-LED display tipped for 2025, which could well be a reboot of the iMac Pro.
