iMac 24" M1 Target Display Mode

[sam_dean]

Target Display Mode was a feature of 2011-2014 iMacs with macOS High Sierra to function as an external display for other 2019-earlier Macs with macOS Catalina. This is a useful feature if the display is good but the Intel chip is too old.

It would have been awesome if iMacs with Apple chips had this feature so say you have a 2021 iMac 24" M1 with a 4.5K Retina Display. By 2025 you want to upgrade to a Mac mini M4 it is fairly simple upgrade.

 

[pshufd]

Apple added Airplay to Mac mode in Monterey if you want to extend or mirror your screen. This works over you LAN or it can work via a point-to-point LAN. I measured the power draw of a 2010 iMac running in Target Display Mode and it's 155 watts vs 30 for a monitor. I've read that the M1 iMac is 80 watts draw at load but I haven't conducted a power meter test personally.

 

[sam_dean]

Apple added Airplay to Mac mode in Monterey if you want to extend or mirror your screen. This works over you LAN or it can work via a point-to-point LAN. I measured the power draw of a 2010 iMac running in Target Display Mode and it's 155 watts vs 30 for a monitor. I've read that the M1 iMac is 80 watts draw at load but I haven't conducted a power meter test personally.

Good point on the power draw that is publicly available at https://support.apple.com/en-ph/HT201918

Given a dozen years of power efficiency improvements it is possible that a iMac 27-inch replacement would have a max power consumption of ~100W