New M1 iMac - Another transitional product. Disappointing.

[johnhackworth]

Must admit I'm pretty disappointed with the new M1 Macs. Not because I'm in the market for one but more because I'd hoped that they'd indicate where Apple might be going next with the Apple Silicon architecture. I also feel that the M1's RAM limit was justifiable in true transitional first-gen products like the MBA, MBP and Mini. The 16Gb RAM limit on the M1 iMac feels like a constraint which should not still be there - especially since Apple will now sell you a tablet with the same amount of RAM.

I wonder if the ongoing chip shortages are affecting Apple's transition to ARM in terms of the speed at which new ARM processor models can be rolled out?

OTOH, I'm really pleased with the 10 Gigabit ethernet on the Mini.

 

[LiE_]

Since the 24" iMac is squarely aimed at general consumers, 16GB is more than enough. Most will be happy with 8GB. Users who need more RAM will be catered for by the pro iMacs when those are released.

I edit big RAW files in Lightroom and the M1 with 16GB RAM is plenty.

 

[Serban55]

i wonder, since Apple said that the gpu is 50% better than the 21.5" dgpu....that means the M1 is higher cloked than the M1 macbook pro 13"
Because the mbp13" with m1 is not 50% better in gpu than the vega 20...

 

[ruka.snow]

i wonder, since Apple said that the gpu is 50% better than the 21.5" dgpu....that means the M1 is higher cloked than the M1 macbook pro 13"
Because the mbp13" with m1 is not 50% better in gpu than the vega 20...

They did give it a much more beefy cooling system than the M1 needs so it is possible this a higher speed M1. I mean a Computer can have a i5 1.8 GHz or a i5 3.2 GHz... these will be vastly different but still i5's. Apple seem to be moving away from talking about computer specs to the point that I am surprised they even mention the core counts.

 

[johnhackworth]

They did give it a much more beefy cooling system than the M1 needs so it is possible this a higher speed M1. I mean a Computer can have a i5 1.8 GHz or a i5 3.2 GHz... these will be vastly different but still i5's. Apple seem to be moving away from talking about computer specs to the point that I am surprised they even mention the core counts.

I think you're right - the (consumer) Mac product line becomes more like the iPad and iPhone product lines inasmuch as the specs become largely irrelevant to the customer. Whatever model you pick is fast enough - you mainly just need to pick a colour.

 

[Serban55]

Yes, the cooling system is definitely meant for the future of this design..from profit margins even if M1 doesnt need those 2 fans...i bet the next M3 or M4 from 3-4 years from now...will need it (they dont want to make the same mistake like they did with the trashcan mac pro) So from the beginning add proper cooling for years to come
Hopefully they change the M1 a little bit since its in an closer a lot bigger with 2 fans in it

 

[Significant1]

i wonder, since Apple said that the gpu is 50% better than the 21.5" dgpu....that means the M1 is higher cloked than the M1 macbook pro 13"
Because the mbp13" with m1 is not 50% better in gpu than the vega 20...

Didn't see the event, but dgpu (discrete) is not egpu (external). And AFAIK vega20 was never an option in iMac 21'

 

[romanof]

Techies are disappointed at the announcements because their was nothing earth-shaking in this presentation. Well, maybe the Airtags. I will probably get some. This iMac is perfect for the average citizen who needs new hardware. We all were hoping for an M^X that would blow the world away again and the letdown is natural. But I suspect that need will be addressed before the year is out.

On the other hand, while I am not a tablet person, that iPad pro is really impressive. I would get one if I could find a single reason for its use in my activities. Alas, I can barely draw water from a well and a thousand bucks is pretty steep for someone who would use it to scribble.

 

[MacCheetah3]

i wonder, since Apple said that the gpu is 50% better than the 21.5" dgpu....that means the M1 is higher cloked than the M1 macbook pro 13"
Because the mbp13" with m1 is not 50% better in gpu than the vega 20...

Compared: 24-inch M1 iMac vs 21.5-inch and 27-inch Intel iMac | AppleInsider

The iMac has undergone some major changes in 2021, with a refreshed appearance and the addition of Apple Silicon, but how much of an upgrade is it from the previous generation? We look at the specifications.

appleinsider.com

The 21.5-inch model settled for a Radeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 in the base configuration, but with a maximum graphics choice offered of a Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4GB.

For graphics, the one M1 listing under the Metal test is reported at 20,573. It is unclear if this is for the seven-core or eight-core variant, but it is likely to be the latter.
The 27-inch iMac GPUs range from 36,910 on the Radeon Pro 5300 to 58,471 on the Radeon Pro 5700 XT, which are considerably higher than the M1's listing. On the 21.5-inch side, the Radeon Pro 555X manages 13,906, and the Radeon Pro Vega 20 hits 26,462.
On paper, this suggests that the M1 is roughly comparable to the graphical capability of the 21.5-inch iMac. It's not great news, but there is a plus side to this: It shows how good Apple's integrated GPU is against discrete GPUs.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"The 16Gb RAM limit on the M1 iMac feels like a constraint which should not still be there"

I'm thinking that the "16gb limit" is a design limitation of the m1 series CPU itself.

The reason there's no option for "more RAM" is because it's not possible with the current technology/design of the chip.

Mx CPU's, hopefully coming a little later this year, may be able to "up" their RAM capacities, perhaps with a 64gb "limit" next time.

 

[JPack]

The largest memory packages are currently 12GB, so Apple could have offered 24GB RAM.

But this is a 24” iMac for consumers. Even the colors say that. Any professionals these days that need more than 16GB will be using a 27” or larger display.

As chip design becomes more complex for Apple, they will be using the same chip in more products and for a longer time. This helps lower the per unit NRE costs. So the M1 being used in so many products isn’t surprising.

 

[carlos700]

Apple has been using LPDDR4x on M1 so far, but I wonder if we will see something like HBM3 leveraged for higher-performance SoCs which would both improve bandwidth and capacity constraints as HBM can be stacked.

 

[joshwithachance]

This computer is geared towards students taking classes at home & families that only need a computer for basic daily tasks. And based on the design and the way it was presented this is squarely who Apple expect to buy the 24" iMac. And those consumers don't care about specs.