Let ’s front it — the iMac , Apple ’s flagship consumer desktop model , was long overdue for a facelift . The sparse - display - on - a - solid - pes design first arrived on the aspect in August 2004 as the iMac G5 , and survived through the Intel transition ( the iMac was Apple ’s first Intel - based system ) in January 2006 . Sure , Apple has made some major improvements inside , but it ’s beenthree yearssince the iMac has set about any cosmetic enhancements . That ’s definitely changed with the later round of iMac update .
A new look
Gone is the distinctive snow - white iMac case — Apple ’s design squad has done some tweaking to the conversant all - in - one computer .
Color SchemeThe latest iMac replace much of the body , with a solid piece of anodized aluminum — direct a cue from the Mac Pro ( ) and MacBook Pro ( ) models . The hoar Apple logotype has become an obsidian - like black , which couple the nearly inch - blanket black border around the display . And the intact back is a mat black with a shining Apple logotype .
Apple says the atomic number 47 and black look appeal to professional users , who are choose for iMacs more and more , but also to consumers look for something a piddling more , well , mainstream . The overall flavour resemble an LCD video you might have in your aliveness room .
Interestingly , Apple decide to keep the gray-haired power electric cord , white mouse , and clean transmission line for the shiner and keyboard . Also , the keyboard ( more on that briefly ) retains its gleam livid keys — a pattern decision , Apple tells us , because it looked better than having black keys . The silvery , calamitous , and white combination sense a niggling less interconnected to my eyes than the premature model , but that ’s a affair of taste . Overall , the look is pleasantly monochromatic .
Thin DesignAnother affair you ’ll notice mightily aside when looking at the iMac in visibility is that it looks thinner than the old design . appear down from the top or from the side the case depend very sleek , but since the back of the iMac bulges a minute more than before , the overall deepness is about the same — it ’s fairly of an visual illusion , but a very effective one .
Glossy Wide ScreenUntil now , all iMacs have had matte screens . The current card feature a musical composition of glass cover the front of the display , which give it a much more brooding quality ( similar to that of the MacBook [ ] and glossy - blind MacBook Pro ) .
The glass makes the display depend bright and kinky . Colors pop , the blackamoor look rich , and paradigm are very pleasing . I ’ve come to enjoy the shining display on Apple ’s laptop models , but it can be potentially problematical on this larger framework under certain conditions . The monitor ’s eminent horizontal surface of reflectiveness mean that if your iMac is set up in a position with a tidy sum of Inner Light , the show can act very much like a mirror — especially where the cover is moody or black , say , when you ’re see a letterboxed movie or looking at a inglorious and lily-white image . Some people may find the glossy screen distracting , particularly since the 20- and 24 - inch displays are big than anything you ’ll find in Apple ’s MacBook parentage . And unlike with a laptop , it ’s not as light fiddle with the iMac ’s post and angle to find the perfect locating ( although you may train your eye to look “ behind ” the glassful and ignore your reflection after a while ) . It ’s really more of a personal preference than a design flaw , so hear and take a look at one of the new iMacs in individual before you ordinate one to control that the screen wo n’t be a problem for you .
But that brings up another proceeds — the color shift that happens as you move your head to more utmost viewing angles . Especially on the 20 - column inch models , I find some rather secure shifts in colour and dividing line , including colouring material looking washed out , as I watch the screen from above and side to side . Apple says the 20 - inch model has a viewing angle of 160 degree ( both up and down and side to side ) , which is 10 percentage less than the 24 - inch model ’s 178 degree . The difference was very obtrusive when viewing the two sizes next to each other , with the 24 - in model retaining much better color and contrast as I moved my principal all around it . ( The 24 - in model is also 31 percentage brighter than the 20 - inch iMac , which , surprisingly , was n’t as obvious as the much smaller variation in viewing angle . )
How much of a difference this makes will look on how you employ your iMac . For most people who park themselves in front of the blind to go or play , a right calibrated display will be just fine . If you influence in an environment where you have lots of people get together around your computer to await at mock - ups , for example , then the 24 - column inch modeling makes more sense ( both in terms of color stability and overall projection screen sizing ) . At the same time , compare to the older 20 - column inch white iMac , the novel 20 - column inch version is much brighter and sharper when viewed straight on .
Screen SizeThe iMac comes in 20- and 24 - inch size only . Apple abandoned the old - stock 17 - inch size of it , presumably because most customer preferred larger displays . I think that was a in force decisiveness , as I ’ve consider the 20 - in size to be the odorous spot for some meter — big enough to declare oneself 1,680 - by-1,050 - pixel resolution , and for the same price as the 2GHz 17 - inch manakin of yore ( ) . And with only two size , the 24 - inch , 1,920 - by-1,200 - pixel example does n’t feel like overkill ( plus , that sizing is now $ 200 less than before ) .
iSightThis iMac includes a new iSight tv camera that blends almost utterly into the black CRT screen border — fix the one blemish on the front of the premature model . As with other iSights , Apple ’s package limits its resolution to 640 - by-480 picture element , which provide unspoilt caliber video and stills . The microphone is now site at the top of the display , and has eight tiny laser - disregard hollow for picking up sound . It appear elegant , and the person on the other end of a television schmooze had no problem hearing my vox .
RAM AccessThe RAM access door is still locate at the bottom of the iMac . But there are a few differences in this manakin . The unexampled iMac uses a single screw ( instead of two ) to attach the RAM door — which Steve Jobs says is the only external jailor on the entire computer . absent the door still reveals two RAM time slot , but they ’re now come out side by side ( rather than stack vertically ) And , take over an idea from its laptop model , Apple has replaced the plastic levers with tabs to make remove and replacing RAM comfortable than before — a prissy touch .
Keyboard
Perhaps the most radically redesigned element to the unexampled iMac — and the most controversial — isn’t part of the data processor itself , but rather the keyboard that accompanies it . The new keyboard uses the same type of Florida key ( with identical spatial arrangement ) as the MacBook , but come out atop a thin slice of aluminum that matches the iMac ’s body .
As a MacBook possessor , I ’ve amount to enjoy — in very curt order , I should add up — these new keys . And they carry over well to the iMac ’s keyboard too . While they do n’t provide you with the same grade of tactile or auditory feedback as the previous iMac keyboard , the key feel soft and comfortable .
The keyboard ’s thin designing also gives it a sleek , modern feeling . But more than that , the fact that the front edge is only about one - third of an inch high mean that it keeps your wrists and hands in a more natural , arched lieu ( something piano player instruct early ) . That hired man position is generally debate more ergonomic , and does n’t require a wrist rest .
This keyboard is also the first from Apple to include USB 2.0 port built - in ( premature keyboard have been limited to slower USB 1.1 ) speeds . The larboard are point on the sides of the keyboard , and Apple ’s included Mighty Mouse comes with a brusk cord because the black eye transmission line does n’t have to achieve far enough to plug into the back of the keyboard , as in the past times . And Apple also tells us that the keyboard acts as a USB 2.0 hub , giving enough baron to punch in one USB gimmick ( iPod , iPhone , digital camera , and so on ) so that it will work the same as plugging it into one of the three USB 2.0 ports on the iMac ’s back .
Apple has also changed some aspects of the keyboard form . Most of the first 12 function keys ( there are 19 ) serve twofold duty , with consecrated key for luminousness control , Exposé and Dashboard activation , arrangement volume , as well as iTunes controls for swordplay / pause , old cart track , and next runway . Many companies make keyboard with metier controls , but this is the first from Apple , and it lay some useful , nicely judge features , at your fingertips . And Apple has , once and for all , removed the Apple picture from its Command key and replace it with the word program line , stop the last holdout from the days of the Apple II .
In some ways , I cerebrate the keyboard excogitation is more of a triumph than the iMac itself ( and for $ 49 , you’re able to add it to an exist Mac as well ) , and I extremely suggest give it a chance before indite it off as being too different . For $ 50 , you’re able to also raise to the new Bluetooth mouse and keyboard .
Technology
Except for the $ 999 , 17 - inch iMac ( ) , all of the late - generation iMacs were on adequate footing in several key areas — and that drift continues here .
All model include 1 GB of RAM in a single slot . For many people , that will be enough . But as a system that ’s now gear to appeal to both consumers and pro likewise , Apple makes it easy to total RAM in the costless one-armed bandit . And the iMac can now plow 4 GB of RAM ( up from 3 GB ) with dual 2 GB SO - DIMMs .
The newfangled iMacs include the late Core 2 yoke central processing unit from Intel in 2.0GHz and 2.4GHz speeds ( plus a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo Extreme progress - to - social club selection ) . The premature model range from 1.83GHz to 2.16GHz in the standard configuration . Those newfangled chips admit a immobile system bus as well — up from 667MHz to 800MHz , which theoretically speeds up the line of communicating between the iMac ’s processor and the main memory ( although the RAM still runs at 667MHz , so the welfare is n’t noticeable mightily now ) .
Hard driving space has improved from 160 GB to 250 GB on the low - end model , and 250 GB to 320 GB on the other theoretical account . And Apple now propose up to 1 TB of storage for the 24 - column inch model with a single drive ( for an extra $ 550 ) .
There are still three USB 2.0 ports on the back , but Apple added a bully feature that lets you shoot down an iPod from one of these ports even when your iMac is sleep . antecedently the calculator had to be both on and awake to turn on your iPod . Plus , a FireWire 800 port comes standard on all iMac models ( previously only the 24 - inch example had one ) . That means 20 - inch user lose one standard FireWire 400 port to make room for the FireWire 800 support . For chore like plugging in a backup operose drive , that surplus data point bandwidth really comes in ready to hand — yet another nod to the pro user .
The mini - DVI interface let you connect to an international monitor of up to 1,920 - by-1,200 - pixel resolution ( the same as Apple ’s 23 - column inch Cinema HD Display ) for either mirroring what ’s on your screen or broaden your desktop to another showing .
The work up - in speaker unit ( located at the bottom of the case ; audio comes out through holes on the side of the RAM accession room access ) sound very in effect , meaning you do n’t needfully call for to buy an external loudspeaker system to enjoy medicine , movies , or games on the iMac .
All models also admit an 8x CD- and DVD - burn SuperDrive , but double - layer writing has increased from 2.4x to 4x speeds since the last round of iMacs .
Performance
Design is an important component to any Mac , but a calculator has to do more than sit down around looking pretty . In my worldwide utilisation , all example matt-up snappy and responsive . But Macworld Lab also ran all three models through our standard cortege of tests to see how well they perform , as well as how they equate to the best of the last generation of iMacs . The interior variety between former and new iMacs are minimum , but the latest harvest does show some improvement . The current 2.0GHz 20 - inch model eked out one more point than the previous high - end system of rules , the 2.16GHz 24 - inch in our Speedmark suite — virtually the same performance for $ 800 less . The one region where the new model really put behind bars was in Unreal Tournament 2004 frame pace ; the art processor in the 2GHz 20 - column inch model deal 21 percent fewer frames per 2d than the top of the line ( at the time ) telecasting card in the elderly iMac , which had twice the graphic memory .
Aluminum iMac Benchmarks
Best termination inbold . Reference systems initalics .
Speedmark 4.5 wads are proportional to those of a 1.25GHz Mac miniskirt , which is assigned a musical score of 100 . Adobe Photoshop , Cinema 4D XL , iMovie , iTunes , and Finder scores are in minutes : instant . All systems were running Mac OS cristal 10.4.10 with 1 GB of RAM , with processor public presentation set to Highest in the Energy Saver druthers pane when applicable . The Photoshop Suite test is a solidification of 14 written tasks using a 50 MB file . Photoshop ’s memory was position to 70 pct and chronicle was determine to Minimum . We recorded how long it took to fork up a scene in Cinema 4D XL . We used Compressor to encode a 6minute:26second DV file using the videodisk : Fastest Encode 120 minutes – 4:3 setting , using Apple ’s qmaster computer software to create a two example cluster to treat the job . In iMovie , we applied the senior video outcome to a 1 - instant movie . We converted 45 minutes of AAC audio files to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality setting . We used Unreal Tournament 2004 ’s Antalus Botmatch average - human body - per - second score ; we tested at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 picture element at the Maximum setting with both sound recording and graphics enabled . We created a Zip archive in the Finder from a 1 GB folder . To liken Speedmark 4.5 scores for various Mac systems , visit our Apple Hardware Guide .—MACWORLD LAB examination BY JAMES GALBRAITH , JERRY JUNG , AND BLAIR HANLEY FRANK .
As you might expect , the two new 2.4GHz model performed nearly identically ( the only remainder between them being the display size ) . Each bested the previous high - terminal model by almost 10 percent in the Speedmark mark . Those fresh iMacs trim 11 seconds off the Adobe Photoshop CS3 mental testing ( a 16 percentage improvement ) , 16 irregular off our zip archive creation test ( 11 percent better ) , and 7 seconds off encoding a CD as MP3 filing cabinet ( also 11 pct betterment ) . So you may bear very modest speed increase over the previous generation of iMacs .
The new iMacs use ATI Radeon HD series computer graphic CPU . The graphical performance of both the Radeon HD 2400 XT and the Radeon HD 2600 leave the new iMac in the mainstream performance family when it fall to games and 3 - five hundred covering , but it also paves the way for future capableness . The Unified Shader Architecture touted by Apple and ATI / AMD will make it easier for game developers and others to show off fancy new special effects in their computer software . The new chips can also perform 128 - turn High Dynamic Range ( HDR ) rendering , which will give games more intense , naturalistic lighting and shadows . As with the low - last model , the only place where the faster iMacs really come down behind was in the Unreal Tournament test ( albeit only more or less ) , illustrating that the new graphics have a lot of succeeding potentiality that ’s not render up in our tests — which will make your iMac last longer before becoming outdated ( a very big concern in the technical school humanity ) . But in playing 1080p HD movie poke from Apple ’s World Wide Web site , I found no deficiency when it came to the onboard computer graphic — and for the record , playact a solo friction match in Unreal was smooth and pleasurable , so unless you ’re a hard-core gamer , you likely wo n’t miss those surplus 2.4 form per second .
Macworld’s buying advice
With orotund displays , room for a mint of inner store and RAM , and a striking new pattern , the latest iMacs are a gracious whole tone forward — and a good economic value to boot . public presentation gains are minimal over the last iMacs , but as electronic computer that straddle the line between consumer and professional system , they offer enough to masses on both ends of the spectrum to be worth serious consideration . The two big change — the shining showing and new keyboard — may have more of an impingement on your purchasing decision than anything inside the iMacs .
If you ’re looking for a performance - for - the - price exemplar , then the 2.4GHz 20 - inch iMac is the most well - rounded of the grouping . you could lay aside $ 300 by opting for the 20 - inch , 2GHz model , but you ’ll lose a little performance , operose drive infinite , and graphics power , and in all probability feel the need to replace your computing machine that much sooner . But with its new , humbled price , the 24 - inch model is really the title-holder . It do the same as the 20 - inch model with the same component , but the larger screen is a joyfulness , offering more pixels and a better overall view experience .
[ Senior news editor program Jonathan Seff also reviewed the last round of iMac updates forMacworld . ]
