Apple today updated the entire iMac family, bringing a stunning new Retina 4K display to the 21.5-inch iMac for the first time and the Retina 5K display to every 27-inch iMac. The new Retina displays make photos and videos more immersive and true-to-life thanks to a wider color gamut and spectacular image quality. The updated iMacs also feature more powerful processors and graphics, two Thunderbolt 2 ports and new storage options that make the high-performance Fusion Drive even more affordable.
Apple today also introduced a new lineup of wireless accessories including the all-new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2. The Magic devices have been redesigned to feel more comfortable than ever, and feature rechargeable batteries that completely eliminate the need for disposable batteries. The new Magic Trackpad 2 also brings Apple’s revolutionary Force Touch interface to the desktop, adding a new dimension to the iMac experience.
“From the first iMac to today, the spirit of iMac has never wavered — deliver the ultimate desktop experience with the latest technologies, gorgeous displays and cutting-edge designs,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, in a statement. “These are the most stunning iMacs we’ve ever made. With our gorgeous new Retina displays, more powerful processors and graphics and all-new Magic accessories, the new iMac continues to redefine the ultimate desktop experience.”
With Retina display, text appears sharper than ever, videos are unbelievably lifelike and you can see new levels of detail in your photos. The 21.5-inch iMac is available with the all-new Retina 4K display featuring an amazing 4096 x 2304 resolution and 9.4 million pixels, 4.5 times more than the standard 21.5-inch iMac display. Every 27-inch iMac features a Retina 5K display, the world’s highest resolution all-in-one display with a stunning 14.7 million pixels, 7 times more pixels than an HD display. With a Retina display now on the 21.5-inch iMac and every 27-inch iMac, iMac with Retina display is more affordable than ever.
The new Retina displays feature a wider color gamut that brings more brilliant and true-to-life colors to your desktop. With standard sRGB-based displays, many of the colors you see in real life never make it to your screen. The new Retina 5K and 4K displays feature a wider P3-based color gamut that provides a 25 percent larger color space, and with more available colors, images are more vivid, reveal even greater detail and appear more lifelike than ever.
Faster and more powerful than ever, the new 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display now comes with sixth-generation Intel Core processors and the latest AMD high-performance graphics that deliver up to 3.7 teraflops of compute power. The new 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display features a fifth-generation Intel Core processor and enhanced Intel Iris Pro Graphics. Two Thunderbolt 2 ports now come standard on all iMacs and deliver up to 20Gbps data transfer speeds for external drives and high-performance peripherals. And three stream 802.11ac Wi-Fi allows iMac to support up to 1.3Gbps wireless networking.*
Fusion Drive combines the large storage capacity of a hard drive with the high performance of flash to deliver shorter boot times and faster access to apps and files. Fusion Drive works in conjunction with OS X® to adapt to the way you use your iMac and automatically moves the files and apps you use most often to flash storage. The incredible performance of Fusion Drive is now more affordable with a new, lower-priced configuration that pairs a 1TB hard drive with 24GB of fast flash. Fusion Drive is also available with 2TB and 3TB configurations with 128GB of fast flash for more demanding workloads. For the ultimate in storage performance, optional all flash storage is available up to 1TB and is now up to 2.5 times faster.**
The all-new Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2 are more comfortable, capable and environmentally friendly. Designed around a built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, all three accessories eliminate the need for disposable batteries and feature a noticeably more solid internal structure and quality feel. The new Magic Keyboard features a full-size keyboard in a sleek new design that takes up 13 percent less space on your desktop. With a new scissor mechanism and lower profile, the Magic Keyboard provides an incredibly stable, precise and comfortable typing experience. The new Magic Mouse 2 is lighter, sturdier and features an optimized foot design for a smoother glide. The new Magic Trackpad 2 features a 29 percent larger surface and brings Force Touch to the desktop for the first time. Force Touch enables a range of new ways to interact with your Mac®, including the new Force click to quickly look up a word, preview a file or bring up a map from an address. The new Magic devices pair instantly with your Mac as soon as they are plugged in via the Lightning®-to-USB charging cable, and can last about a month or more on a full charge.***
Every new Mac comes with OS X El Capitan, the latest version of OS X that refines the Mac experience and improves system performance. El Capitan builds on the groundbreaking features and beautiful design of OS X Yosemite, with updates to window management, built-in apps and Spotlight® search, and performance improvements to make everyday activities — like launching and switching apps, opening PDFs and accessing email — faster and more responsive. El Capitan was specifically designed for the Retina display and features a new system font called San Francisco that has been fine-tuned for optimal readability on a Retina display.
iMovie, GarageBand and the suite of iWork apps come free with every new iMac. iMovie, updated today to support 4K video, lets you easily create beautiful movies, and you can use GarageBand to make new music or learn to play piano or guitar. The iWork suite of Pages, Numbers and Keynote makes it easy to create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Pages, Numbers and Keynote for iCloud let you create a document on iPhone or iPad, edit it on your Mac and collaborate with friends, even if they are on a PC.
Pricing & Availability
The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display is available today at Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 27-inch iMac comes in three models starting at $1,799 (US), $1,999 (US) and $2,299 (US). Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/imac.
The 21.5-inch iMac is available today at Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 21.5-inch iMac is available in three models starting at $1,099 (US) and $1,299 (US) and with a Retina 4K display starting at $1,499 (US). Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/imac.
Every new iMac comes standard with the new Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2, and customers can order the new Magic Trackpad 2 as an option. The new Magic accessories are also available at Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. Magic Keyboard is available starting today for $99 (US). Magic Mouse 2 is available starting today for $79 (US). And the Magic Trackpad 2 is available starting today for $129 (US).
*Actual speed will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network and other factors.
**Testing conducted by Apple in September 2015 using preproduction and shipping 27-inch iMac configurations. For more information visit www.apple.com/imac/features.
***Testing conducted by Apple in September 2015 using preproduction Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Trackpad 2 devices, firmware and software with shipping iMac systems.
Source: Apple Inc.
OK, so I’m going to be buying one of these babies anyway, but I really can’t understand why Fusion drives aren’t standard now. The HD tech Apple are supplying in base models is akin to offering Core Duo processors or USB 1.1. They really need to just take the leap.
It is because Apple is cheap. Vampire Video (Intel Integrated Graphics) in a $1,500 Mac- no effin way.
And sad to say, many people will choose the lower end iMac, with all its cheapness in components and standards thinking its so advanced with the retina display.
Sorry to see, Apple does at times make poor judgements and profits largely by it.
I once spent twice as much on a TREK bike because I wanted a gray one and not the flashy red or purple at the lower end. This is how business works. Don’t like it? Don’t buy it.
Apple maintains margins around 30%. Part of that comes from selling overpriced hardware. Apple sells Macs with hardware commonly found in PCs that are 30-40% less expensive.
Again, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. Of course, you’re also paying for integration, design, OS X, and other things. I know, as someone who can’t understand economics, the idea of paying other people for their expertise escapes you, but please do try.
But Bernie the magic Socialist will make all these bad things that Apple does go away, right?
Geez, why can’t you be consistent? You know, like, if you don’t like abortion, don’t have one?
Maybe things have changed of late but the last time a while back I compared all in ones I couldn’t find a PC that charged anything like 30 to 40% less for similar spec indeed it was difficult to find one that was cheaper at all. But hey as I say maybe it’s all changed in the last year or so.
Fusion drives are difficult to work with, mostly noticeable in enterprise deployments.
They are good for individuals.
Better, not performance wise, is pure HDD or SDD.
I haven’t found this to be true. My fusion is just perfect. Lightning fast and seamless. (I do video editing and graphics.) What problems do you encounter?
I went back and reviewed the issue. It was what I thought it was. Imaging and Bootcamp. However I have been informed the problem has been resolved.
So Apple, when is the keyboard going to be backlit? Sigh…
Yeah what happened to the Apple statement, Apple builds quality devices. USB 1.1 is long over – Apple make them all USB 3. Where also is the i7 option?
What, no Magic Mic?
🙂
I don’t get it… where is all the magic Apple?
I do know the battery is now a built in rechargeable.
Bluetooth enabled devices are no longer a magical implementation.
cost too much. I’m still fine with my 2012 mac mini. can’t justify the expense
The value may be somewhat subjective, but I’d argue, you’re wrong (in that it costs too much). iMacs have started at $1,100 for a very long time (coming down from the original starting price of $1,300, almost twenty years ago!). That has long been established as by far the best value in all-in-one desktops, surpassing the value of screenless desktops (the standard PC setup, with separate computer and display). The retina display premium is extremely reasonable, considering the competitive comparison out there.
As for your 2012 Mac Mini, you will be fine with that one for quite some time; Macs are resilient, long-living animals and yours will serve you well for years, no doubt. When you are financially ready for a better computer, there will be a great choice of excellent Macs waiting for you at Apple. And your Mini will likely fetch a decent resale value (eBay, CraigsList, or some other marketplace…).
Well put Predrag. I wanted to replace my 2011 Mac Mini with one which has support for USB 3.0. I waited for the 2014 models to come out. Was disappointed with the 2014 offerings. Found a new, 2012 quad core Mac Mini on sale at Best Buy shortly after the 2014’s were released. Was able to sell my 2011 Mac Mini on eBay for a significant portion of the purchase price for the 2012 model. The Mac Mini is a great machine. For those who need a little more power, the iMac offers a great value – especially with the new displays.
I understand that $1,499 is a lot of money, but this is incredibly inexpensive for what you get. Compare this to previous models using inflation adjusted dollars and it is jaw droppingly inexpensive. We spent thousands of dollars more for far less capable machines in the past.
what happened to my 8K 27″?
Special K.
The screen still sits way too high off the desk with no way to adjust its vertical height.
iMac: The computer designed for giraffes.
Get a taller chair.
fortunately my chair is adjustable and the minimal amount needed to fine tune my viewing experience is negligible…
You’re tilting it wrong… 😉
The new iMacs can be ordered with a VESA mount so you can hang it on the wall, move it to the optimal viewing position and free up desk space.
I got news for Apple PR- the previous generation of Apple mice, keyboards and trackpads could be used with rechargeable batteries. Apple’s batteries were Eneloops (previously Sanyo- now Panasonic) and they work just fine.
Jony’s sick obsession with sealed batteries is not environmentally friendly or consumer friendly. Planned obsolescence worked so well for General Motors, right?
Well I bought the apple rechargeable batteries AND Sanyo Enerloop extras, but I always had trouble getting them properly seated to charge. The damn charger would keep blinking red and after 10 or so tries it would finally keep a stable glow showing its charging. Really annoyed me. I would much rather just plug in a lightning cable to charge up. Plus, the new trackpad offers Force Touch.
Not that I can afford to replace my whole suite of Apple input devices but it’s nice to know there’s an upgrade if mine break or fail to work
I gave my Apple charger away and use an Envelop charger which works just fine.
You made an economic decision all by yourself? Without government helping you? How is that possible since you support Socialist Bernie Sanders? Socialism is predicated on the belief that people are too stupid to make economic decisions all by themselves…unless…oh I see. You are one who hopes to be in the ruling class, eh?
How did this nonsense get inserted into the discussion about batteries and chargers…???!!!
Agreed Predrag, I just dropped in today to look around. I quit MDN around 5 years ago because of the stupid political posts and after 5 minutes I see nothing has changed. I do remember Predrag – few others. See ya all in another 5 years.
Although you might be right that its not as environmentally friendly as rechargeable batteries, it might be better than regular batteries. And I wonder how many use rechargeables? I did, and I get about 3 months out of them. I don’t know if I want this new mouse, because it basically means I am just getting an inside lithium battery. also, the cord entry is directly on the back….so don’t plan on charging this while using it.
I too used rechargeable Energizer batteries turbo charged in 15 minutes in Energizer’s charging unit. Typically lasting 3 months a charge. Some Apple decisions I dislike. Too simple is not good; I am capable of servicing my own batteries… no need thanks Apple.
Meaning two hours of no computer use
while the darn mouse charges – unless you have a back-up mouse.
On side note though, supposedly it only takes 2 minutes of charge to get 9 hours of mouse battery life. At least there is that.
Or 15 seconds for a 30-minute charge. Like the Pencil for the iPad Pro.
I have Eneloop batteries that I use in my Macs and remotes that can be charged as many as 2,100 times. So far, I have not had a problem in YEARS with my Eneloops.
I commonly get about 2 weeks out of my Eneloops on keyboards, trackpads and mice. TV remotes last months.
Panasonic bought Sanyo specifically to get the Sanyo battery technology- which Apple used in it’s batteries.
http://www.panasonic-batteries.com/eu/news/panasonic-launches-eneloop-rechargeable
I doubt that the Apple built in battery will be properly recycled. It’s more bullshit from Jony who has a hard on for no user accessible design.
Yea, but the batteries couldn’t be charged in the keyboard/mouse/trackpad. Taking the batteries out and back in after recharging instead of just plugging in the device was a pain.
I think the new ones are a good idea.
Love it. My next iMac will be Retina for sure! 😀
Honestly may not have a choice unless you buy used.
You can always buy the low-end iMac, which is non-retina (starting at $1,100).
Great, now if they’d go another step with a low-key update to the iPad Air with the A9x processor I could finally upgrade from my iPad 3.
Magic Trackpad 2 and the new Magic Keyboard…
It’s in my bag…
Finally! They’re amazing accessories I’ve been waiting for!
I like how they managed to update the 5K iMac processor, yet the option to go with a proper GPU that supports the industry standard CUDA is continuously ignored. I bet the forthcoming macpro update will remain AMD-only, as well.