New 24" iMac

[eytonxav]

Anyone ordered a new iMac yet? I am really considering it, as my 2013 iMac has too many ram issues and slow startups. I suppose I could crack the case open and upgrade the ram, but considering it's about 8 years old, not sure it would be worth it. Also, I keep hearing about chip shortages and not sure whether that might impact Apple at some point in the future if I delay buying.

 

[braumeister]

Here's a good summary that might help you decide what to get.

Should You Buy the iMac?

 

[target2019]

memory slots don't require cracking the case.

 

[Midpack]

I ordered one. Really looking forward to it after 38 years with WinPCs, but my iMac delivery is 5-6 weeks out…

I’ve read every article and watched every video I could find - you can find whatever conclusion you’d like, wildly positive, decidedly negative and anything in between - like almost everything on the internet…

 

[Beldar]

If you can live with a 24" monitor go for it. Personally, I'd wait for the 27" version to arrive later this year.

I have the 27" intel iMac and could never go to something smaller. And get the largest ssd you can afford. Mine boots in less than 10 seconds.

Aftermarket RAM upgrades are always less expensive (especially with Apple). Currently only the 27" version has RAM access through a panel. I don't know about the newer generation though.


_B

 

[eytonxav]

memory slots don't require cracking the case.

AFAIK my iMac cannot be easily opened without prying the screen apart to access the memory slots.

 

[eytonxav]

Here's a good summary that might help you decide what to get.

Should You Buy the iMac?

That was a good summary, thank you.

If you can live with a 24" monitor go for it. Personally, I'd wait for the 27" version to arrive later this year.

I have the 27" intel iMac and could never go to something smaller. And get the largest ssd you can afford. Mine boots in less than 10 seconds.

Aftermarket RAM upgrades are always less expensive (especially with Apple). Currently only the 27" version has RAM access through a panel. I don't know about the newer generation though.


_B

I am not sure whether I would appreciate having the larger screen size or not. Plus it will be more $s, although that is not really a concern. The 24" is already a bit larger than my 21.5" iMac and has a much sharper display, so I suspect it would be an enjoyable upgrade configuring it with more ram and an SSD.

 

[Ronstar]

I have a 2013 iMac with similar issues to OP. I shelved it and now use my 2018 MacBook Pro (16gb ram) with a 32" dell external monitor.

I really like the big monitor and don't think I could go back to a smaller monitor. But the MacBook Pro is a little sluggish in photo editing software - sometimes running multiple photo editing apps simultaneously.

My experience tells me that next time I Buy I need to put a lot of ram in it.

 

[explanade]

Rumors are that the larger iMac may have a 30-inch screen.

 

[steelyman]

Rumors are that the larger iMac may have a 30-inch screen.

27” would be fine with me. I’ll be interested in the memory options.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I ordered one. Really looking forward to it after 38 years with WinPCs, but my iMac delivery is 5-6 weeks out…

I’ve read every article and watched every video I could find - you can find whatever conclusion you’d like, wildly positive, decidedly negative and anything in between - like almost everything on the internet…

You will not regret it. I made the switch just before ER in 2017 and only regret not doing it sooner (both Mac and ER). There's a couple of things to get used to, like clicking on the upper left corner of a window to close it instead of the upper right (but that's what it was once upon a time with Win 3.1 if I recall correctly), and the fact that the menu bar stays put at the very top of the screen regardless of where the active window is, but it didn't take me long. And I don't reboot the machine every night - I don't recall the last time I had to reboot.

I have to admit I'm not super-fond of the keyboard and I miss having a delete key. There's one labeled "delete" but it's really a backspace key. I should get a different keyboard, I suppose.

[edit to add] I think I need to order the "magic keyboard with numeric keypad."

 

[Jerry1]

One of the reasons I’d be interested in an iMac is that it would sync with my phone, similar to my iPad. I wonder if anyone knows, does the iMac have a mechanism to separate the machine so that me and my wife can both link/sync or phones to the desktop? I’m thinking each person could log in and see the machine as their own, sync’d and all. Is that possible?

Also, put me in the camp of waiting for a larger screen. A 30” screen would be sweet.

 

[Ronstar]

I have to admit I'm not super-fond of the keyboard and I miss having a delete key. There's one labeled "delete" but it's really a backspace key.

The Mac "delete" key is a "delete" key. The difference between the delete keys on the Mac and Windows is that the Mac deletes the character to the left of the cursor and IIRC, Windows computer delete keys delete the character to the right of the cursor.

It is a pain to get used to.

 

[explanade]

One of the reasons I’d be interested in an iMac is that it would sync with my phone, similar to my iPad. I wonder if anyone knows, does the iMac have a mechanism to separate the machine so that me and my wife can both link/sync or phones to the desktop? I’m thinking each person could log in and see the machine as their own, sync’d and all. Is that possible?

Also, put me in the camp of waiting for a larger screen. A 30” screen would be sweet.

There are few reasons to sync with a Mac any more.

For instance, you have some music or video files that you have on your computer that you want to load on your iPhone or iPad.

Another reason to sync would be if you want to back up your iPhone or iPad to your Mac rather than to iCloud, because of security or privacy concerns.

 

[Midpack]

Rumors are that the larger iMac may have a 30-inch screen.

All the YT experts are saying the new larger iMac will be 30-32”, none of them expect 27”. Some of the rumors have said 32”, as well as 30.” I like large monitors but 32” is overkill for me. The larger iMac (M1X-M1Z-M2?) is supposed to have more CPU and GPU cores and 2-4X the RAM compared to the iMac 24” M1 SOC.

The iMac 24” is not RAM upgradable. And you pay about double for on board SSD, where you can always plug in external SSD and/or use cloud space - I’d want one or the other for backup anyway. It’s true the Apple on board SSD is lightning fast, but there are lower priced aftermarket plug in SSD drives just as fast (OWC Envoy Pro EX $300 1TB). Not that anyone cares, I got mine configured with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD (might change to 1TB), Magic Mouse & Trackpad and the Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad.

 

[target2019]

memory slots don't require cracking the case.

AFAIK my iMac cannot be easily opened without prying the screen apart to access the memory slots.

Sorry. I see you mentioned your model later. Of course there are three models for 2013, and you can check this page for what to expect for a particular model:
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...aq/how-to-upgrade-imac-ram-aluminum-2012.html

As you can tell Apple has made this very easy. /s

It's good to know that Apple has changed their engineering ways and made new models easily upgradeable by the consumer.

 

[braumeister]

One of the reasons I’d be interested in an iMac is that it would sync with my phone, similar to my iPad. I wonder if anyone knows, does the iMac have a mechanism to separate the machine so that me and my wife can both link/sync or phones to the desktop? I’m thinking each person could log in and see the machine as their own, sync’d and all. Is that possible?

Yes, you can have multiple users on a Mac, each with their own files.

 

[Ronstar]

One of the reasons I’d be interested in an iMac is that it would sync with my phone, similar to my iPad. I wonder if anyone knows, does the iMac have a mechanism to separate the machine so that me and my wife can both link/sync or phones to the desktop? I’m thinking each person could log in and see the machine as their own, sync’d and all. Is that possible?

Yes, you can have multiple users on a Mac, each with their own files.

Yes. I like it because the syncing doesn't require user interraction. The files are just there on both devices. Numbers, Pages, etc - apps have the same files present on Mac and phone/iPad. And there is a "Files" folder that has subfolders - documents, desktop, downloads. I'm fairly certain that these may need to be set up as iCloud folders to work across devices.

And on the computer you just need to log out of one user and log in as another to get that person's files.

 

[Midpack]

Yes. I like it because the syncing doesn't require user interraction. The files are just there on both devices. Numbers, Pages, etc - apps have the same files present on Mac and phone/iPad. And there is a "Files" folder that has subfolders - documents, desktop, downloads. I'm fairly certain that these may need to be set up as iCloud folders to work across devices.

And on the computer you just need to log out of one user and log in as another to get that person's files.

In the case of the new iMac, (unless you buy the base model) you can “login” as a user with just Touch ID, you don’t even have to type anything in. You see your files and common files/apps and the other user(s) see theirs.

 

[mpeirce]

You see your files and common files/apps and the other user(s) see theirs.

And if you want to see those same files on your iPhone or iPad or even via a web browser on some other device, you store them in iCloud. It's easy and very handy to set things up that way.

DW and I also have a shared iCloud folder were we keep all items we both want access to - receipts, tax records, etc. Also very handy.

 

[eytonxav]

The WWDC21 is coming up soon, so perhaps they might say a little bit more about a larger iMac and its config options.

 

[Midpack]

And if you want to see those same files on your iPhone or iPad or even via a web browser on some other device, you store them in iCloud. It's easy and very handy to set things up that way.

DW and I also have a shared iCloud folder were we keep all items we both want access to - receipts, tax records, etc. Also very handy.

Or OneDrive I assume?

DW insists “we” have the Office Suite, and Microsoft 365 comes with 6TB of cloud space (1TB x 6 users), so I might as well use it. I’ll probably leave our contacts, reminders, calendar, notes and select mobile files on the iCloud free 5GB.

 

[Midpack]

The WWDC21 is coming up soon, so perhaps they might say a little bit more about a larger iMac and its config options.

You never know. On the hardware side, most of the YT experts are guessing they’ll announce a new 14” and 16” MacBook Pro laptops with a better SOC than the M1 (M2, M1X, etc.), but could be a Mac Mini Pro and/or iMac Pro (30-32” iMac) too. DW is waiting on a new MacBook Pro (from her crummy Dell laptop), we’ll know more soon if the experts are right.

 

[eytonxav]

You never know. On the hardware side, most of the YT experts are guessing they’ll announce a new 14” and 16” MacBook Pro laptops with a better SOC than the M1 (M2, M1X, etc.), but could be a Mac Mini Pro and/or iMac Pro (30-32” iMac) too. DW is waiting on a new MacBook Pro (from her crummy Dell laptop), we’ll know more soon if the experts are right.

I did not get my Mac until I retired in 2013, but have absolutely no regrets. You are in for a treat.

 

[Ready]

We have a blue IMac on order. 8GB RAM and 256GB hard drive because that’s all DH needs. We could get it right away at Best Buy but he wanted a trackpad instead of the mouse, which requires a custom order from Apple. So we wait six weeks for it.