Portable desktop with lots of color and lots of power

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The iMac 2021 not only comes in a radically new design, but is also an official upgrade to its predecessor. We’ll tell you in hands-on how the desktop has fared in everyday t3n life.

The new iMac 2021 doesn’t have much in common with its predecessors. Apple has given the desktop its first major redesign since 2012 and hits the mark. Viewed from the side, the iMac raises the question of how it is possible to get the hardware of a desktop computer in such a slim case. The iMac is thin – so thin you could almost mistake it for an oversized iPad Pro. The computer is only around 11.5 millimeters thick throughout, and the iMac is really lightweight at around 4.5 kilograms. The new M1 processor is largely responsible for this.

The fans and speakers are on the bottom, while a headphone jack is on the left. The power button, Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C ports and the power supply are located on the back.

The (almost) 24-inch display has a screen diagonal of 61 centimeters and it is noticeable that the familiar Apple logo is missing on the front. In addition to the slim design, the color of the iMac naturally catches the eye. For a long time, Apple was not as brave with the color scheme as with the new iMac. In addition to the silver model we tested, the iMac is also available in green, orange, yellow, blue, purple and rose. The front shines with pastel color, while the frame and back in a rich variation of the respective color are real eye-catchers.

The display itself is surrounded by a white – not a black – frame. This design decision was probably made in favor of the colors in order to better bring them to life. The iMac is delivered with a matching color keyboard, mouse and / or trackpad. The keyboard of the new iMac is also optionally available with a Touch ID sensor. Overall, the iMac looks like a combination of a well-known desktop computer and designer furniture. In any case, the device is nice to look at.

When we presented the new iMac 2021, we asked ourselves what Apple would like to position its new desktop as. You saw the iMac in the video in a wide variety of situations: sometimes at the desk, sometimes in the children’s room, but also on the work surface in a kitchen. And yes, when you unpack the iMac for the first time, due to its dimensions and low weight, you can assume that you could really use the computer as a mobile computer at least in your own four walls. The computer’s footprint is so small that it would be perfectly practical.

Thanks to the M1 – more on that later – the iMac has enough power for serious work, and thanks to the fact that different users can log in with their fingerprint, the device, in combination with its rudimentary portability, is also ideally suited as a family computer in our opinion .

After we already tested the new Macbook Pro (13 inch) and tried the new iPad Pro with M1, it was not surprising that the iMac is also a real power machine.

Our test device had the more expensive configuration with eight cores and 16 gigabytes of RAM. The iMac made a very good impression in everyday life – regardless of whether we were dealing with multiple browser windows – each with a lot of open tabs -, taking part in video conferences, dealing with spreadsheets or using Slack; And also in the photo workflow with Mylio as DAM and Affinity Photo for image processing, everything went smoothly.

Thanks to the M1, the iMac generally feels very fluid. The computer wakes up almost instantly from hibernation, and even when booting it is really nimble with around 25 seconds – definitely significantly faster than its Intel predecessor. The fan only started when gaming during the test period, but was pleasantly quiet even then.

From the front, the iMac consists almost entirely of a screen. At 23.5 inches, the 4.5 K display is large enough that you can open two documents side by side and work on them comfortably. This is partly due to the resolution of 4,480 by 2,520 pixels, which enables a very sharp and detailed display. The Retina display offers a maximum contrast of 1,166: 1 and a maximum brightness of 500 nits and is therefore ideal for film lovers – even without HDR support. The screen also shines in terms of color accuracy and color space.

Finally, Apple has decided to install a webcam with 1080p. You may not be state of the art with this, but you no longer have to be ashamed of yourself in video conferences. Despite the thin case, the six speakers of the iMac 2021 make a good impression. The sound is just as adequate for built-in speakers as the volume that is sufficient to fill a room with sound. Incidentally, support for Dolby Atmos is on board.

First and foremost, the new iMac 2021 is chic and fast. Compared to its predecessor, it’s a big upgrade that is better in almost every way. The screen is larger and of very good quality, the M1 has a slimmer design as well as significantly more power and a lower operating volume. The available colors ensure a fresh look.

However, there are also points of criticism. In the basic version, the iMac only offers two USB-C ports, and even the more expensive models only offer four USB-C ports. USB-A or card reader is missing. We also have to complain that the screen cannot be adjusted in height. In addition, storage space and main memory cannot be expanded at a later date. This is also the reason why interested parties should think carefully about which model to choose before buying. Upgrading later is simply impossible.

As almost always with Apple, the basic version is not advisable in most cases. The entry-level model for around 1,450 euros comes with 256 gigabytes of memory, two instead of four USB-C ports and a GPU with seven instead of eight cores. If you are willing to spend 200 euros more, you also get a keyboard with Touch ID, an Ethernet connection in the charging cable and can also choose from the colors purple, yellow and orange. The top model with 16 gigabytes of RAM and two terabytes of storage costs around 2,820 euros.

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