M3 24-inch iMac review roundup: from raves to disappointment

AppleInsider

The first reviews of Apple's new M3-based 24-inch iMac are beginning to appear, and so far it's earning everything from raves at the speed, to shrugs at everything else remaining the same.

The new 24-inch iMac

Apple's first refresh of the 24-inch iMac since its launch in 2021 has seen no changes to the chassis -- in particular the ports -- or even the color options. What it has seen, though, is the addition of the new M3 processor.

The question for reviewers is whether this is sufficient to keep the 24-inch iMac a good buy for consumers.

M3 makes all the difference

PC Magazine gives the New iMac its Editors' Choice award, saying that "the field is more competitive than ever, but the M3 processor takes Apple's 2023 edition of the all-in-one 24-inch iMac desktop to new performance heights, even for gaming."

"Apple didn't stray from the sophisticated and colorful design of the 2021 iMac," summarizes CNET in its review, "but the 2023 iMac's M3 chip puts this all-in-one in a class by itself."

Then Pocket-Lint is equally unconcerned about how the M3 is the only update. "The iMac got a complete design overhaul in 2021," it says, "so it's perhaps unsurprising that for the 2023 model, that design remains consistent."

"Inside, there's been a pretty substantial performance boost with the M3 chip," continues the publication, "making it one of the most powerful desktop computers around."

"If you have the iMac (M1, 2021), I would say there's no real need to upgrade to the 2023 iMac," says Pocket-Lint's reviewer, "but if you have an older Intel-based iMac, or you're looking to buy an iMac for the first time, this model is quite simply fantastic."

The new iMac is offered in the same seven colors as the old

Not everyone is a fan

Forbes

is a little more sarcastic about the lack of any design change, but it, too is calling the new model "the ideal family desktop computer."

"You know the iMac that was in Apple stores last week, the design here is the same as that," it says. "No, really, I mean it looks identical."

"Put the iMac with M1 chip and the new one with the M3 processor side by side," it continues, "and the only way you'll tell them apart is the M1 model has probably accrued some dust in the two years since it was released."

TechCrunch likes how switching to an iMac meant "I suddenly have a lot of more space on my desk than I did an hour ago." Otherwise, though, says it's "not really" worth the upgrade.

"If, however, you're looking to replace an older machine or for something compact and zippy for a dorm room or cubicle," it continues, "or just an apartment with a space crunch, it's a nice little option that's far more accessible than the pro-focused Mac Studio."

Then there's Tom's Guide, which agrees that there is much to like for a "no-frills desktop running macOS." But then it says that "the system's limitations, lack of upgradeability, and pricey upgrades remain frustrating."

"Unfortunately, there are quite a few 'gotchas' here," it continues. "While the $1,299 starting price is enticing, you're saddled with just 8GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD."

"That's hardly enough to futureproof the iMac," says the reviewer. "A simple upgrade to 16GB of memory costs a staggering $200, while storage upgrades are equally pricey."

"I must admit that the white bezels around the display looked odd to me at first," continued the reviewer. "I'm used to black bezels on almost all my computing devices, so Apple's peculiar design choice truly stands out."

DigitalTrends complains that "it's not the one everyone's been waiting for." But if it isn't a larger-screen iMac with M3 Pro, "But what we do have is an updated iMac that provides a significant uplift in performance over the M1 iMac, especially on the GPU front."

"This might not be the iMac you've been wanting, but it might be the one you need right now," it continues.

There are other changes

You can't see them, but there are other differences between the new 24-inch iMac and its predecessor, as Forbes notes.

"All the other changes to the new iMac are internal, including WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3," it says. "|If these are just numbers to you, you're not alone. Essentially, these updates are better... all of which are worth having, for sure."

Throughout all of the reviews currently published, no reviewer recommended against buying the 24-inch iMac. Many say that if users have the M1 version from 2021 then there is no compelling reason to update.

But significantly, despite PC Magazine saying that the all-in-one field is crowded, none of the reviews seemed able to find an alternative that they recommended more.



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rob53

How many people actually upgrade their computers? I’m sure there’s some study that shows only a minor amount of people even think about upgrading their existing hardware, they simply replace it. 

22july2013

rob53 said:

How many people actually upgrade their computers? I’m sure there’s some study that shows only a minor amount of people even think about upgrading their existing hardware, they simply replace it. 

Perhaps I'll ask the next technician I see at Best Buy how many PCs per week he upgrades. I really don't know what he will say. And even if he tells me, I may not know what the answer would have been 20 years ago.

bbh

Just ordered one to replace my perfectly usable 2019 Intel i9 21.5 iMac. I like the Yellow, so that pushed me "up" a bit into the 500SSD  with two more "C" ports, ethernet (I back up to my NAS via ethernet...) , ID keyboard, but still with 8GB. Upgraded to 1TB and 16GB RAM. I am just a retired hobbyist and am looking forward to the expected upgrade in "snappiness".  There are some very clever, color coordinated USB hubs that provide USB "A" accesses an even a home for an nvme SSD for storage. 

If you were not fixed on a color that included those extras, the Base (maybe a RAM upgrade) with a hub/stand and a 2TB SSD makes a nice setup. 

USB C Hub for iMac 24 inch 2021/2023, Minisopuru USB Hub Adapter Support M.2 NVMe SSD, iMac USB Hub for iMac M1/M3, iMac Accessories with USB C 10Gbps, USB A 3.2, SD/TF, M.2 SSD(Not Included), Silver. 

danox

Great machine for anyone who needs a fast usable computer that slices through school work, video, pictures, audio and anything else like butter.

And is the perfect desktop (with a iPad) for school age kids 3rd grade thru college age, who actually get homework done. (I’m sure some kids would disagree because of the relative lack of gameplay)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8R2T1cNP-k.   Molina

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ7flQhzvnQ.  Fibi 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBZ6kW8G8Y8  iJustine unboxing and casually editing 8K footage 8:10 mark.

kiltedgreen

The design hasn’t changed because it’s as great as it was when it was introduced - slim, colourful and elegant.

Does anyone ever think about WHY they want things to continually change rather than just stay the same? Do they just want it to “look new” so their friends don’t make the faux pas of saying “So you got the M1 iMac?” … err, no, it’s the M3 iMac actually.

QUAD sold the first full-range domestic electrostatic loudspeaker in 1957 - it was regarded by many as the world’s finest loudspeaker. It was withdrawn from sale 25 years later with absolutely no changes made to its design in that time and many considered it still to be the world’s finest domestic loudspeaker then. When you get it right …

badmonk

kiltedgreen said:

The design hasn’t changed because it’s as great as it was when it was introduced - slim, colourful and elegant.

Does anyone ever think about WHY they want things to continually change rather than just stay the same? Do they just want it to “look new” so their friends don’t make the faux pas of saying “So you got the M1 iMac?” … err, no, it’s the M3 iMac actually.

QUAD sold the first full-range domestic electrostatic loudspeaker in 1957 - it was regarded by many as the world’s finest loudspeaker. It was withdrawn from sale 25 years later with absolutely no changes made to its design in that time and many considered it still to be the world’s finest domestic loudspeaker then. When you get it right …

And I still listen to my early 1970s version of the 1957 QUAD ESL, still has great midrange (though I probably need to think about re-refurbishing them).

Guests in my home are mesmerized by how cool they still look.

citpeks

I wonder if those whose negative critique of the lack of external design changes are willfully ignorant that the previous iMac design soldiered from 2012-2020, or just ignorant to expect that Apple would make any changes to the first model revision of this form factor?

The "tapered edge" design itself was only a mild evolution from the original aluminum models, which served from 2007 to 2011.

The Mac mini hasn't seen a change in form factor since 2010, so Apple's MO when it comes to desktop design shouldn't be any sort of mystery.

marklark

I got a refurbed 27" iMac with a 10-core i9 @3.7GHz last year.  With 128GB of RAM in it, I expect it to last me about 10 years.  (like my mid-2011 4-core i7 @2.94GHz)

For work, (compiling Docker-based React & python apps), it's much faster than the M1 Pro MacBook Pro my company gave me.  And much easier to look at.

A "pro" iMac with memory, screen size, and a lot of Mx cores would be very tempting.