Apple updates iMac with M6 chips. The next generation of iMac was introduced today, giving Apple’s all-in-one desktop a performance boost via the same chipset Apple introduced with the Mac Mini in August. Prices start from $1,499 and the design otherwise appears largely unchanged. The update was announced ahead of Apple’s “Pro and Tell” event scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
This refresh comes two years after Apple overhauled the iMac with M4 chips, meaning we’re skipping the M5 series on this hardware entirely. This should make this upgrade more meaningful. The M6 is Apple’s first 2nm chip and features a dual 16-core neural engine that can improve performance when running AI tasks on the device. According to Apple’s press release, the M6-equipped iMac “delivers up to 5x faster on-device AI performance” compared to the M4 model.
M6 configurations start from a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU for $1,499, the same price as the 8-core CPU-equipped M4 iMac. There’s also a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU starting at $1,699. Pre-orders launch at 1:10 p.m. ET on October 28 and will be fully available starting November 6.
Besides the chip upgrade, the new iMac doesn’t get much of a hardware refresh. It now has Apple’s N1 wireless networking chip, as well as Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 on the base model, instead of just the higher-spec variant. However, it still has the same Thunderbolt limitations as the iMac M4: you only get two ports on the 10-core version and four on the 12-core upgrade.
There are also new restrictions and fees included in the setup options. If you want to customize the iMac with a Magic Trackpad instead of a Magic Mouse, it will cost you $50 more, although it was a free change on the previous iMac. Ethernet has been upgraded from 1 gigabit to 2.5 gigabits, but this is now a premium $30 upgrade compared to maintaining a Wi-Fi only setup. Apple also won’t let you configure the iMac M6 with a Magic Keyboard that has Touch ID, but not a numeric keypad – despite showing an image of it on the new iMac announcement page.
If you were hoping for new color options, you’re out of luck. Apple is offering the exact same color variants as with the M4, to the point where it simply reused some marketing images and updated them to show more up-to-date content. The M6 chip offers a nice performance boost, but otherwise it’s a small spec bump for Apple’s colorful all-in-one.
Gn tech
