How much are you willing to pay for a new family computer? PC and Mac sales have been down since the pandemic, making your answer to this question critical. At least for Apple, whose new iMac with M3 chip has everything to please… except its price.
You don’t need to do more than place the word “inflation” anywhere in the conversation to remember that the average family these days no longer has the same purchasing power as it did a year ago. When going to see a concert in town costs roughly the same as a month’s rent, there are compromises that must be made. Is a new $2000 computer necessary?
Apple has enjoyed great commercial success over the past three years with its iPhone by gradually increasing the selling price of its popular phone. The Californian manufacturer is opting for a different strategy for its iMac. Its retail price has only changed due to the change in the exchange rate between the US and Canadian dollars.
Macintosh memory
Apple’s new all-in-one Mac is almost twice as powerful as its predecessor and it costs $100 more, at $1,700, base. Its most attractive version is around $2000. Everything else remains unchanged. The newcomer has the same ultra-thin form factor, 24-inch display and wireless peripherals as before. These need a Lightning cable to charge. Fortunately, all of this is in the box.
Practical detail: the keyboard sold with the iMac includes a fingerprint reader for security. The device recognizes users and automatically opens the account of the person who places their finger on the sensor.
Casually, the iMac is the most direct descendant of the original Macintosh. It does not disappoint, design-wise, since its footprint on the desk is really minimal: its monitor is raised and its USB-C ports (compatible with the Thunderbolt 4 standard) are on the back.
Its Retina display is significantly better than that of the oldest Intel-processor iMacs. Its six-speaker sound system produces sound rich and powerful enough to serve as a large room sound system. Its full HD camera can focus on its subject’s face during a video call, which is handy.
One thing that the iMac does that the good old Macintosh could never do is access audiovisual content from Apple’s online services and others. At 24 inches, we’re not talking about a home theater, but the iMac still easily replaces a television.
The device is powerful enough to appeal to creative minds who need professional software to bring their imaginations to life. The iMovie video editor is available for free and exports videos in just a few minutes, whereas older Macs took a few dozen minutes. Even the advanced Final Cut Pro editor works smoothly, with a real-time preview of effects and filters applied to the final cut.
Eventually, Apple hopes that video game enthusiasts will adopt its iMac. For that, it will be necessary to expand the catalog of titles available on Mac a little…
Intel in the crosshairs
Obviously, no one would be crazy enough to change their Mac just two years after buying it. Especially since the M1 processor still has several good years of performance ahead of it. The M3 processor should also be quite durable. If both share the same ARM architecture, the M3 is however produced using a more modern process reducing the scale of its printed circuits to 3 nanometers, rather than the 5 nanometers of the M1.
Apple is looking to owners of an Intel-based iMac or an old desktop PC who want to modernize their hardware. These will see the performance gain.
Apple is also taking back old Macs from its new buyers and will pay up to $460 for an old iMac. Is this enough to make the newcomer more attractive? Yes, when compared to other all-in-one PCs, since their average retail price ranges between $1600 and $2000. And if there’s one thing that time has proven, it’s that Macs generally live longer than PCs.
The iMac with the M3 chip is more powerful and it shows as soon as it is turned on. Would a slightly less efficient Mac at a lower price have been more appropriate? Good question. In any case, those who do not need the highest performance and who have a not too old monitor on hand can still save precious money by looking at the Mac mini with an M2 processor, which costs half the price of an iMac.