Apple iMac (2017)

When Apple first launched the iMac more than two decades ago, Steve Jobs envisioned an Apple computer for the everyman. He wanted it to feature a playful, but practical unibody design – but no floppy disk or CD tray. Now, 20 years later, the iMac 2017 is closer to Steve Jobs’ original vision than ever before.

While it’s definitely not cheap, the iMac is still one of the best Macs when it comes to pure value – though the new Mac Mini might give it a run for its money. The iMac 2017 does away with unnecessary CD drives and mechanical hard drives, and is the closest incarnation to Steve Job’s vision we’ve ever seen. It comes packed with a wireless keyboard and mouse, and they effortlessly sync with the iMac. It’s the pure ideal of the all-in-one PC, which alone makes the iMac 2017 one of the best PCs you can buy today.

The iMac 2017 doesn’t feature any dramatic changes, but this works in its favor. It takes new 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake silicon and effortlessly adapts it into the iMac form factor. The pure simplicity of the design speaks volumes, both about Apple and Intel’s formulaic upgrade structure. It just works – while keeping a respectable price tag.  

Price and availability

For a mere $1,099 (£1,049, AU$1,599), you can buy an iMac that includes both a Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Keyboard in the box. That’s a $178 (£178, AU$248) value for the accessories alone.

Of course, for that price you’re getting a 21.5-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display model with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 graphics chip integrated into the 7th-generation, dual-core 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor, but it’s a commendable value all the same.

As you can see from the spec sheet, the iMac we were sent for review is a step up from the entry-level model in every regard, save for the hard drive, and for just another 200 bucks at $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899).

From there, you can configure the iMac with just about every component better than the last. Need discrete graphics to live out your creative aspirations? You can get a 21-inch iMac with up to AMD Radeon Pro 560 graphics. Or, if 32GB of RAM suits your fancy, you can demand that Apple install that too.

If that’s not enough, we’d have to recommend that you take a look at the iMac Pro, coming in at $4,999 (£4,899, AU$7,299), it’s an extravagant purchase for most people, but the prospect of up to 18 cores of raw power should be very enticing to the professional or power users out there.

These prices mostly fall in line with other high-end all-in-one PCs out there, namely the iMac’s newest challenger in the $2,999 (£2,999, AU$4,699) Surface Studio. Now, while you’ll be able to find plenty of cheaper all-in-ones out there, they won’t be this well built or include as powerful components.

You’ll be able to find all of the 2017 iMacs through Apple’s website itself, or other retailers like Amazon. 

Design

The iMac looks and feels pretty much the same as it has for the last few years. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as this brushed aluminum all-in-one is a pleasure to behold. However, after a few persisting design choices – not to mention its overall design in the face of new rivals – give us a bit of pause.

That iMac silhouette is still iconic, though – there’s a reason that it’s become a staple of offices, home and otherwise, in TV and films for years. The iMac’s simple yet elegant appearance manages to be both striking and avoids getting in the way while working.

Then, of course, there’s the seemingly impossible thinness of the iMac, considering exactly how much is packed into the display portion of the computer (i.e. literally everything).

However, with the Microsoft Surface Studio as competition, it’s hard to ignore just how much thinner and more impressive the iMac could be if Apple just leveraged its learnings from developing Mac mini computers toward crafting a different kind of iMac base. You know, one that holds all of the computer’s guts and ports?

Looking at the Surface Studio in the TechRadar office and then back at the latest iMac, it’s frankly baffling that Apple didn't beat Microsoft to that punch years ago.

Despite this, Apple managed to cram all the ports you could ever want or need from an all-in-one computer into the back of this iMac, so kudos.

Further to the point, Apple’s pursuit of absolute thinness despite cramming all of the iMac’s innards behind the display has only led to suffering audio. A total of two stereo speakers rest within both sides of the iMac’s bottom-most edge and, while they deliver impressive volume, as a result the narrow chambers deliver highs and mids no better than your average Ultrabook can.

That’s not cool for a device that takes up as much space as an all-in-one does – no matter how impossibly thin it is.

Finally, that Magic Mouse 2 simply needs a revamp. It tracks and clicks amazingly, which is wholly unsurprising for the company that inspired everyone else to up their input game years ago. However, the fact that you can’t charge this mouse while using it, because of where the Lightning charging port is located, is simply bananas.

Fortunately, the iMac’s included Magic Keyboard 2 is simply delightful to type on, and the days long battery life of both input devices are a major plus – considering that you have no other choice but to buy older wired models, if you’re not into wireless peripherals.

Performance

Since Apple’s macOS isn’t compatible with the majority of normal benchmarks that we run at TechRadar, it’s difficult to compare the iMac against the Windows 10-based all-in-one PCs we’ve reviewed in a comprehensive way.

That said, it’s clear in the tests that this iMac benefits quite a bit from its 7th-generation (Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5 processor over the Surface Studio’s quickly-aging, 6th-generation chip.

For example, the Apple iMac shows stronger single-core performance over the Surface Studio as well as moderately higher multi-core performance in Geekbench. Still, the Surface Studio does have a stronger GPU with more memory, which shows in the numbers – the Microsoft all-in-one scores 20fps faster in Cinebench than the iMac, despite the older chip. 

At any rate, we find the latest iMac to be a strong performer regardless. It handles our normal workloads of dozens of Google Chrome tabs and the Slack chat client – both RAM and processor-hungry apps – with ease, and could likely take on a bit more. While we did bear witness to the spinning beachball more times than we’d like from a newly-opened Mac, it didn’t appear frequently enough to the point of it outright being a detraction. (No matter how new your computer is, it’s not immune to the spinning wheel regardless of color or shape.)

Our biggest takeaway from using the latest iMac is its simply stunning display. Seriously, if you can swing it, spring for the mid-range 21.5-inch model, because that 4x jump in pixel density – and the better graphics tech behind it – is well worth it.

Photos look impressive on the iMac’s panel and are expertly colored, thanks to its P3 color gamut. That’s an important point, because that improved color reproduction affects all ends of the system, regardless of the resolution of the content you’re viewing. Even videos at 1080p look drastically improved thanks to P3. Sadly, this has made going back to our usual 1080p screens with RGB color a sobering experience.

Final verdict

All in all, the 2017 iMac is a fine update to Apple’s all-in-one computing platform. For the money, at least for the 21.5-inch model, you’re getting a beautiful machine that’s more than capable of handling every task you throw at it – from web browsing to photo editing.

That said, nothing exists (for long) in a vacuum. We can’t ignore that the iMac seems to have fallen behind the trends of modern all-in-one computers, namely those spearheaded by Microsoft’s Surface Studio. Plus, we’re not fans of the audio performance and, while the Magic Mouse 2 is a wonderful mouse to use, the fact that it can’t be used while charging is an oversight.

At any rate, those seeking a 4K-ready – or even a 1080p – all-in-one that’s as powerful as it is stylish will find what they’re looking for in the 2017 iMac. Despite a few bugbears and an arguably dated design, the average Mac fan (or would-be fan) will find plenty to love about yet another iconic Apple computer.

Gabe Carey has also contributed to this review