Updated iMacs have been released with the same overall design as before — but with faster processor speeds, greater storage options, and improved GPUs available in custom configurations. As part of its hardware announcements ahead of the March 25 event, Apple has revamped the iMac with two new models that improve on all previous specifications but retain the same physical design of the previous models. In their first update since June 2017, Apple's new iMacs again come in two sizes. The 21.5-inch iMac now features 8th-generation quad-core processors, and can be configured with six-core processors, delivering up to 60 percent faster performance, according to Apple. The 27-inch iMac now for the first time features up to 9th-generation six-core and eight-core processors, delivering up to 2.4 times faster performance. Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics can be added to the 21.5-inch iMac, delivering up to 80 percent faster graphics performance than the previous model. The 27-inch iMac with optional Radeon Pro Vega 48 now delivers up to 50 percent faster graphics performance. Neither the iMac 4K, nor the iMac 5K have Apple's T2 chip, as found in the MacBook Pro and Mac mini. Both are available to order starting on Tuesday from apple.com and the Apple Store App, and in Apple Stores and through Apple Authorized Resellers the week of March 25. The new 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display starts at $1,299 and the new 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display starts at $1,799. The non-Retina display iMac configuration continues to be available for $1,099. 21.5-inch iMac 4K configurations The base model iMac 4K has a 3.6 GHz quad-core eighth-generation i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and a Radeon Pro 555x. A $1499 configuration has a 3.0 GHz six-core eighth generation i5 processor, a 1TB fusion drive and the Radeon Pro 560X. The $1499 configuration can be upgraded with a 3.2GHz eighth-generation i7 processor for $200, and the Vega 20 graphics for an additional $350. Upgrading to 512GB of flash storage retails for $300. A configuration with that i7 processor, Vega 20, 512GB of flash storage and 16GB of RAM retails for $2549, with shipments on April 3. 27-inch iMac configurations The 27-inch iMac base configuration for $1799 includes a 3.0 GHz six-core eighth generation processor with a peak speed of 4.1 GHz, 8GB of DDR4RAM, a 1TB fusion drive, and a Radeon Pro 570X. A 27-inch configuration is available for $2299 that has a 3.7 GHz six-core ninth generation i5 processor with a peak speed of 4.6 GHz, 8GB of RAM, a 2TB Fusion Drive, and the Radeon Pro 580X. The RAM on all configurations has been upgraded to 2666MHz DDR4, and is user-upgradeable. The i9 processor can be added to the $2299 27-inch iMac configuration for $400, with Vega 48 graphics available for $450. Moving to 512GB of flash storage on the high-end incurs a $100 charge as well. Adding the i9, 512GB of Flash instead of the super drive, the Vega 48 graphics, and upgrading to 16GB of RAM will retail for $3349, with delivery around April 3. Previous iMacs Previously, those same base prices got you a 2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor in the 21.5-inch model and a 3.0 GHz quad-core version in the 27-inch model. Both models used to come with a base of 8GB and were upgradeable to 16GB. There was a second version of the 27-inch iMac that had a 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 which was also upgradeable to 32GB RAM and cost from $1499. The 21.5-inch version shipped with a 1TB hard drive but could be configured to either a 1TB Fusion Drive or 256GV SSD. The 3.0 GHz 27-inch iMac also shipped with a 1TB hard drive as standard but added a 512GB SSD upgrade option. The 3.4GHz model further added a 1TB SSD option. The graphics in the 21.5-inch iMac were powered by an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 processor while the 3.0 GHz iMac ran a Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB of VRAM. The more expensive 3.4 GHz 27-inch iMac had a Radeon Pro 560 with 4GB of VRAM. The previous update to the line in 2017 was also primarily a speed bump but it did replace the older models' Thunderbolt 2 connectors with Thunderbolt 3.<doc-sep>Photo : Apple Apple just announced that its iMac lineup will get a meaningful update thanks to 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processors and a Vega graphics option. This is a big deal for iMac power users, but for me, an almost iMac power user, I’m feeling sheepish. Is Apple just going to keep stuffing new chips into its flagship desktop, ignoring innovative design, until I die? Advertisement I don’t know. This new MacBook update is cool, though, since Intel’s i9 processors are solid pieces of hardware. You can now buy a 27-inch iMac with a 5K Retina display, a 3.6GHz 9th-gen i9 processor, and a Radeon Pro Vega 48 GPU for $3,150. If you max out the specs with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD drive, that iMac will cost you $5,250. That’s not the cheapest option, of course. Apple is offering a slew of new configurations for both its 27-inch and 21.5-inch iMacs, starting at $1,300. In every case, the new iMacs look just like the old iMacs, but they have new guts. The new iMacs are also on par with the recently refreshed Mac Mini lineup. The fact that the Mac Mini went a full five years without an update might lead you to wonder whether Apple even cares about these silly desktop computers anymore. After all, the company’s future is all about services. Again, I don’t know! It does always seem strange that Apple likes to stuff new chipsets into old computers and call them new again. “Refreshed” is the word the PR teams like you to use. As someone who’s worked on a 2012 iMac since it was new, I also have to admit that I don’t have many complaints with the computer’s design. It seemed like an instant classic seven years ago, although today’s news leaves me wondering what I’m missing out on with so many innovations in desktop design. Take the Microsoft Surface Studio 2, for instance. That’s also a beautiful computer that can simply do things an iMac can’t. The Surface Studio 2 is what it would be like if Apple created a giant iPad, put it on a perfect hinge, gave it the same kinds of graphics and computing power, and called it a desktop. A giant iPhone on a hinge would, honestly, be more intriguing than the current design of the iMac. At the same time, I’m not trying to throw my iMac out the window. It’s a fine computer in the same way that an iPhone 5 is a fine phone that can probably still make phone calls. Only probably. Folks who are fans of Apple innovation might feel duly disappointed that the company continues to recycle old designs while adding new components—many of which are far from the best—and calling the final product state of the art. That’s what the new iMac lineup feels like. Sure, you can get a great desktop computer for at least $3,000. If you’re hungry for the very best hardware, you can buy an iMac Pro with 256GB of memory for up to $16,000. It still looks more or less like the 2012 iMac on my desk, though. Computers aren’t just about looks, and I’ll be the first to admit that. After too many years of stagnant desktop design, though, one has to wonder what Apple’s avoiding. Is the company really just trying to squeeze as much revenue out of a celebrated design? Or is it simply afraid to create something absolutely new and truly revolutionary?<doc-sep>Bank of America CEO on raising minimum wage: It's an investment in our teammates President Joe Biden stops to talk to the media as he drives a Ford F-150 Lightning truck at Ford Dearborn Development Center, Tuesday, May 18, 2021, in Dearborn, Mich. Ethereum's 27-year-old founder says we're in a crypto bubble. Did it just burst? Vitalik Buterin, co-founder and inventor of Ethereum speaks during Samsung Developer Conference in San Jose, California on October 30, 2019. QAnon is spreading in churches. These pastors are trying to stop it Left: James Kendall is the Senior Pastor at Grace Community Church in Madera, California. Kendall gave a sermon at his church warning congregants about QAnon. Right: Ben Marsh is a pastor at First Alliance Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has seen members of his church share conspiracy theories on their social media pages. Carlos Ghosn says he has to tell his side of the story TOPSHOT - Former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn looks on before addressing a large crowd of journalists on his reasons for dodging trial in Japan, where he is accused of financial misconduct, at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut on January 8, 2020. - Ghosn arrived at the venue, making his first public appearance since skipping bail in Japan. The fugitive tycoon, who denies any wrongdoing, skipped bail while awaiting trial on multiple charges of financial misconduct including allegedly under-reporting his compensation to the tune of $85 million. (Photo by JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images) B25_25594_R James Bond (Daniel Craig) prepares to shoot in NO TIME TO DIE, an EON Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios film Credit: Nicola Dove © 2020 DANJAQ, LLC AND MGM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Apple is on a product launch spree ahead of its spring press event. The company announced on Tuesday its iMac line is getting a refresh after nearly 14 months. Its new 21.5-inch iMac with a Retina 4K display, due out next week, will come with a 8th-generation quad-core processor, and for the first time 6-core processors. The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display features up to 6-core and 8-core processors, making it twice as fast as the previous model. The computers also come with an improved graphics chip that’ll give video games and editing programs an 80% boost in performance. But the design remains unchanged, so you still won’t find FaceID or TouchID on the iMacs. Apple/CNN The new iMac “While the products themselves are more iterative than revolutionary — same basic design — Apple’s strategy in raising the spec ceiling should prove to be a prudent one,” said Linn Huang, a research vice president at market research firm IDC. “Since 2015, the entire all-in-one category has contracted each year. A continued shift toward mobility has been a primary inhibitor for this form factor, but options and economics play a large role as well.” Consumers can increasingly work around splurging for an all-in-one computer by buying monitors and other components separately, he said. For the last three years, sales for the category has dropped about 5% a year; whereas the “ultra-small desktop” category, meaning a computer only a few inches in size that requires a separate display, has grown about 9% each year. This is the second news announcement from Apple this week. On Monday, Apple quietly announced in a press release new versions of the iPad Air and iPad mini, the company’s first refresh for those products in years. Apple (AAPL)typically creates fanfare around the arrival of new hardware, but its focus at its upcoming spring event this year will be on its rumored streaming service. “Apple wants to get the iPad out of the way so it can hold its first event truly focused on streaming,” Lauren Guenveur, senior research analyst at IDC, told CNN Business at the time. “If Apple announced new Pads, it would turn into a hardware event, and that’s not what it wants.” Meanwhile, David McQueen, research director at ABI Research, argues Apple’s latest product announcements could compliment what will likely be announced at the event. “This could all be a wider plan by Apple to create a wealth of products with better specs across price points and device types to create an enhanced user experience and showcase for its soon-to-be-released streaming service — whatever that may be,” McQueen said. Perhaps Apple feels the same way about the new iMacs. The 21.5-inch iMac will start at $1,299 and the 27-inch iMac with will start at $1,799.<doc-sep>
Apple Apple Event This week's new iPad Air and iPad Mini are not the last word in Apple hardware before the company's expected video streaming service debut at an event on March 25. The iMac line of all-in-one desktops is getting a series of internal upgrades, with more powerful CPUs and better graphics. While the new iPad Air and last year's MacBook Air got big physical makeovers in their latest incarnations, the 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs are unchanged on the outside. Inside, however, it's a different story. Now playing: Watch this: Apple's iMac line gets spruced up a bit More cores Most of the iMacs are jumping from seventh-gen Intel processors to newer eighth-gen ones. For the 21.5-inch iMacs, that means either quad-core or, for the first time, six-core CPU options. Graphics go from Radeon Pro 555 and 560 GPUs to the newer Radeon Pro Vega 20. These changes only affect the $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,999) and $1,499 base model 21.5-inch iMacs. The entry level $1,099 model, with a dual-core seventh-gen Intel Core i5, remains unchanged. More interesting is what's happening to the 27-inch iMac. That model still starts at $1,799 (£1,749, AU$2,799) and comes with a standard 5K display, but the Intel CPUs start at eighth-gen six-core chips, and can go all the way up to the eight-core Intel Core i9, something usually only seen in high-end gaming systems or creative workstations. This could double performance speed in some applications, according to Apple. Graphics here go up to Radeon Pro Vega 48 from the older Radeon Pro 560/570/580, which Apple says is 50-percent faster. Reordering the Mac lineup With these updates, nearly every Mac computer has been recently updated or redesigned. Fall 2018 brought us a new MacBook Air and even a new Mac Mini (a system many had assumed was on its way out), while earlier in 2018 saw a notable processor jump in the MacBook Pro. Apple may be feeling the pressure to keep up to date with CPUs in systems, or risk losing creatives to Windows PCs with the latest and greatest components. These new iMacs, especially the 27-inch 6-core and 8-core versions, finally offer a pro-level alternative to the very expensive iMac Pro, which is a highly specialized product out of reach for most. Of course, none of this answers our burning questions about the future of the Mac Pro desktop, which Apple has promised to unveil sometime this year. The new 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs are available to order now, and should be in stores next week. See the buying link below, and note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of products featured on this page.