iMacs with M4 Processors Roll Out as Apple Prepares More Mac Announcements

Apple’s new 24-inch iMac, featuring the latest M4 processor, brings a significant performance upgrade as the company hints at more Mac announcements throughout the week. This update marks a major step in Apple’s transition from Intel to in-house silicon, a shift that began with the M1 chip in 2020 and continues to boost performance and efficiency across their devices. The iMac M4 rolls out on November 8 at a starting price of $1,299.

The M4 chip, built on a second-generation 3nm process, comes with up to 10 CPU cores and 10 GPU cores, and is reported to offer a 1.7x speed boost in daily tasks and 2.1x in intensive applications like gaming and photo editing over the M1 model, per Apple. Apple has also equipped this iMac with Apple Intelligence, an AI suite that leverages the M4’s 16-core neural engine to enhance Siri and add generative AI tools. According to Apple’s SVP of Engineering, John Ternus, this AI suite aims to make the new iMac the “world’s best all-in-one for AI,” with the neural engine delivering triple the AI speed compared to the M1ra and Display Upgrades.

Video conferencing also sees a boost with a new 12MP Center Stage camera. Center Stage keeps users centered on screen during calls and includes Desk View, which allows the simultaneous sharing of both user and desk. Apple has added a glare-reducing nano-texture glass option for the 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, a first for iMacs. Thunderbolt 4 ports are standard, allowing multiple 6K displays to connect, along with new color choices of yellow, purple, and orange.

Apple’s new hardware arrives at a strategic moment as the company positions itself against rivals like Dell and Microsoft, who continue to use Intel and AMD processors in their desktop offerings. The M4 chip, aimed at both casual users and creative professionals, could offer Apple a strong edge in high-performance computing, especially given recent global semiconductor shortages that have challenged production timelines for competitors like Microsoft’s Surface lineup.

This week, Apple is expected to reveal more Mac products. Speculations point to potential M4-equipped MacBook models, but official details remain under wraps.