Apple announces colorful new iMac with stunning redesign

By Stephen Warwick
last updated

Apple New Imac Spring21 Hero
Apple New Imac Spring21 Hero (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple has unveiled a completely redesigned iMac at its April event.
  • The new iMacs come in seven different colors.

At its 'Spring loaded' event, Apple announced (opens in new tab) a completely redesigned iMac in a ton of new colors: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Orange, and White.

The new iMac is incredibly thin with a single sheet of glass covering the front display and thinner bezels than the last generation. Apple says that, while the front of the iMac is meant to be toned down for your content, the back is meant to celebrate color.

"M1 is a gigantic leap forward for the Mac, and today we're excited to introduce the all-new iMac, the first Mac designed around the breakthrough M1 chip," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "With its striking design in seven stunning colors, its immersive 4.5K Retina display, the best camera, mics, and speakers ever in a Mac, and Touch ID, combined with the amazing performance of M1 and the power of macOS Big Sur, the new iMac takes everything people love about iMac to an entirely new level."

The new iMac comes packed with Apple's M1 processor, the same chip that currently powers the other Apple silicon computers that were unveiled in the fall of 2020. The chip enables the new iMac to use reduced thermals due to its power efficiency which means that it will be very quiet and cool to the touch. Apple says that the graphics performance on the new iMac, due to the power of the M1 processor, is 50% faster than the last generation of the 21.5-inch iMac. Apple also noted that there are now thousands of universal apps that support Apple silicon, so you'll be able to get the most out of the new iMac.

Apple New Imac Spring21 Lifestyle02

Apple New Imac Spring21 Lifestyle02 (Image credit: Apple)

The updated iMac is also incredibly thin. Coming in at just 11.5mm thin at its thinnest point, it's the thinnest iMac Apple has ever released. Apple has also upgraded the size of the display to 24" in a footprint that is also slightly larger than the last generation of the 21.5-inch iMac. The new 4.5k display features 11.3 million pixels, 1 billion colors, and 500 nits of brightness. It also features TrueTone to adjust its brightness and color temperature to match your environment, creating a more natural viewing experience. It also has a low-reflective coating to ensure that glare doesn't wash out your display.

One thing that everyone will celebrate is a new FaceTime camera! The new camera is 1080p, finally leaving behind that 720p camera that users have complained about for years. The new camera features double the resolution and a larger sensor for better performance in low light. It also works with the neural engine built into the M1 chip to use smarts to create the best picture possible.

Apple New Imac Spring21 Input Output

Apple New Imac Spring21 Input Output (Image credit: Apple)

In addition to a new camera, Apple has added three studio-quality microphones into the new iMac that will work to reduce background noise and focus on your voice. The speakers have also received an upgrade, with two force-canceling woofers to reduce vibration when you turn things up to higher volumes. It also includes high-performance tweeters, totaling out to a new six-speaker system.

When it comes to connectivity, the new iMac features four USB-C ports, two Thunderbolt ports, and support for an additional 6K display like the Pro Display XDR. Ethernet has even been built into the new power cable.

Apple has also unveiled new colorful keyboards, mice, and trackpads to pair nicely with your new colorful iMac. The new Magic Keyboard even features Touch ID, bringing it to the iMac for the first time ever.

Apple New Imac Spring21 Pt Purple Touch Id

Apple New Imac Spring21 Pt Purple Touch Id (Image credit: Apple)

The packaging for the new iMac is 100% recycled as well as the rare earth elements used in the product.

The new iMac will start at $1299 in four colors, with all seven colors being available for an 8-core configuration for $1499. Preorders will begin on April 30th with shipping set to begin in the second half of May.

Imac 24 Blue Selection Hero

 (opens in new tab)
iMac (2021)


The new iMac features a stunning redesign and the M1 processor in seven new colors.

Stephen Warwick
Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9

7 Comments
  • Swing and a miss. It's great they upgraded the 21.5" iMac to 24" and a M1 but they totally missed on people in the 27" 5k market. They better hit that one in June at WWDC. 24" screen is just not enough for me, 27" is the bare minimum.
  • Exactly. I'm very disappointed. My 27" iMac really needs to be replaced and I might have settled for 24" if they allowed upgrading the storage and RAM to at least what I've had since 2015: 3 TB fusion drive & 32GB of RAM. I will have to wait, but how long? My iMac is making weird noises and I'm not sure how much longer it will last. What am I missing here?
  • I will be shocked if they don't announce a ~32" that's approximately the same size as the current 27" at the next WWDC. M1+ or M2, 32 or hopefully 64GB of RAM, more cores, better GPU, etc. A successor to both the current 27" and the iPad Pro. This is replacing their current 21" iMac and as a replacement for this it is great. Wait for it; won't be long now. I have to say, Apple's approach with the M1 is something that I think will be studied in business schools in the future. They've introduced a product at the low end that disrupts what makes high-end, while maintaining great high-end machines for users that need them. Assuming their WWDC machines in June are as much better as the current M1s are compared to the old models, it has the potential to upend a lot of markets. (And also everyone who needs performance that bought a current M1 machine can upgrade to the latest and greatest; Apple wins again.)
  • Looks like a home run to me! Pretty much checks all the boxes at this price point, huge jump in all areas over the old entry level machine.
  • A lot of great features but it's two steps forward one step back. Unless there is a larger 5 or 6k screen coming in the near future there will not be a new iMac in my home and I really want to get one bt it has to be 27-32" plain and simple.
  • I'd like if it had more of a tilt to the stand so it could be laid flat (or close to flat) and had Apple Pencil support. Could be like a Drafting Table at that point.
  • Yes, Apple's take on the Surface Studio would be great.