I'm starting to think that the iMac 24" is perfectly adequate for my needs, why wait for the larger 27" replacement?

[Traverse]

I mean, I love buying the biggest most expensive model for my prosumer needs as a hobby.

Seriously though, I honestly just wanted a larger screen (24" is a bit small since I'm used to 27") and I want a minimum of 4TB of onboard SSD storage. If it wasn't for those two issues, I think the M1 iMac would have been perfect.

Though, I am an old fart and prefer black bezels.

 

[WC7]

Ever since the new 24" iMac was introduced, I've been anxiously awaiting the 27" replacement and thinking that I should plan to get one as soon as it is released.

I've been influenced by the discussions lamenting the ability to get more than 16GB RAM in the 24" iMac, and I had convinced myself that a bigger display than 24" was necessary (bigger even than the 27" I have now).

But with more models now released using Apple Silicon, it's becoming apparent to me that the performance of all of the M1 family chips is well beyond anything I will realistically need. And 16GB RAM is likewise certainly sufficient for me.

And really, the 24" display is also large enough for my needs, sure it is a bit smaller than my 27" iMac but it also will take up less desktop space. Do I really need or want a 30" iMac (if that is what they end up releasing next year)?

Why not save some $$ (potentially a lot of $$) and get a well-spec'd 24" iMac now - $2499 for 16GB RAM, 2TB SSD - which is $500 less than I paid for my 27" iMac almost exactly 7 years ago (16GB RAM and 500 GB SSD) - vs what could easily be $3-4000 for a nicely spec'd 27"-30" iMac in early / mid 2022.

I'm not a power user by any stretch of the imagination, no video or audio editing for me, just web browsing, e-mail, Office type programs, and so forth. The 24" iMac will handle all of my needs without breaking a sweat. I have no doubt about that.

I could wait a few months and see what the next iMacs look like, and they will surely be fabulous, and then order one with more RAM (that I don't really need), a faster and more powerful processor (likewise), and spend a lot more. Other than the bigger display, which I would love to have, I don't think there is any compelling reason to wait. I could end up waiting, and decide to order the 24" iMac anyway!

I bought the base model ... don't need anything more ... I only use the included Apple software: Notes, News, Mail, Messages, Numbers, Pages, Keynote, and Safari. I like to read, so Books, too. And Music. The 24 inch $1299 base model does everything I need. Also, by trading in my previous older iMac I actually paid just under one grand. Recently upgraded to Monterey ... everything is working great. I feel Apple optimized everything for a basic user ... which is me!

 

[fivenotrump]

My 2010 27" iMac failed in March. I already had an M1 Air from launch day which I love, so wasn't in a rush to replace the iMac. Then came the 24" so I got one straightaway to see how the screen size suited me, thinking that if it didn't then I would trade it in for a larger one when they eventually went on sale. Now five months later I'm still interested in what they announce, but I shan't be buying one anytime soon: this one's a keeper!

 

[WC7]

Oh, one more thing ... there is a forum thread somewhere that indicates you may need 16GB instead of 8GB memory. I've found 8GB fine for me (the basic user). If I open Activity Monitor my biggest memory hog is the Apple News but that is probably because I have so many Channels I follow. Usually, I run around 1 GB of Swap memory. This isn't bad and nothing feels like it is running slow. Plus, I also don't get any 'spinning beachballs'. I lied, I do perform some lite coding with Xcode which causes a beachball for a moment until everything is loaded (probably because I put my development files on the iCloud). Really, a good experience with the basic iMac (8 core/ 7 GPU) set-up.

 

[briloronmacrumo]

For my needs even a 27 inch iMac is a little small, so definitely hoping the larger iMac will be more than 27 inches. I'll reassess once Apple releases a larger iMac and might even wait for their Apple Silicon Mac Pro depending on the new iMac details.