sandyman18

I got an M2 pro version and Studio Display early last year because Apple was ignoring the iMac.  They still don’t offer anything beyond an entry level chip in the iMac.

it is a great setup for my home office.  I actually prefer the look of the mini over the Mac Studio, whose design I feel was phoned in.

“At the entry-level, it sticks with the 10-core CPU”

The M2 chip only has 8 CPU cores in both versions.

charlesn said:

macxpress said:

The 24" iMac could be updated just to keep it current. It's getting a little long in the tooth. 

It could be updated with an M2 just for marketing purposes--as we now know, the basic M2 is not significantly faster than the M1--but otherwise, what do you think makes it "long in the tooth?" There hasn't been much in the way of advancements since it debuted as an all-new model/design of iMac just a little over 18 months ago. 

The M1 iMac was underpowered at launch.  Previously, the smaller iMac had the same chip and graphics offerings as the Macbook Pro.  So it should come with a Pro and Max chip - but does not.  Though the M1 is superior to any previous intel chip from a computing standpoint, the current iMac cannot match a fully speced 21.5" version on graphics.

At this point, there is a huge gap in Apple's desktop offerings between the most capable iMac and the base Studio/Studio Display.  The best iMac is an M1 with 8 GPU cores and 16 gigs of RAM, which goes for $1,899.  The base Studio/Studio Display has an M1 Max with 24 GPU cores and 32 gigs of RAM, fetching around $3,900 with a mouse and keyboard.  If Apple put the M2 in the iMac, at least you could get two more graphics cores and 8 more gigs of RAM.  Ideally, I would like a 24" with a Pro chip and 32 gigs of RAM!

As Dewme points out, if you want a chinless design get a Mac mini and a studio display.  A chinless iMac would look like just another monitor sitting on the desk.

What about the 24” iMac?  I hope Apple offers an M2 Pro in that too.