M1 vs. M3 iMac Buyer's Guide: 15+ Differences Compared

[OrenLindsey]

Won't be (recognized as) an iMac without it.

A ton of Apple's decisions come from brand value and visual recognition. The "MacBook/Air/Pro" labeling below the screen of old MacBooks, the chin on the iMac, the notch on the new MacBooks, the glowing apple logo on older MacBooks, white being the only color option of AirPods, etc. They want people to be able to see that you're using an Apple product from a distance.

 

[Adelphos33]

Notice that people that actually own these iMacs all universally say they are great machines that are fast, silent and attractive on the desk.

 

[satchmo]

Somewhat controversial, perhaps. But:
The iMac is a broken concept.

A Studio Display + a Mac mini is a much better and much more sustainable setup.

The iMac could easily be just as sustainable if Apple re-implemented target display mode.

 

[erinsarah]

A nice machine let down by white bezels, older connectivity (lightning), screen size…

I think they could have made improvements in these other places other than the CPU and had a machine that would make a great proposition for many to upgrade.

For the target user of this device, M3 doesn’t really bring much to the table.

IMac used to be about exciting design for those wanting a first Mac, someone just wanting a nice PC for family use etc.

The price is way too high. You’d be better off getting base Mac mini and spending the saved money on a really great monitor, keyboard and trackpad/mouse… and still have money left over.

So, while I agree with you regarding the sustainability of the Mac mini (i.e. it's much cheaper to upgrade the mini itself when the time comes, without swapping out the whole computer), as a first time Mini buyer I am not sure I would agree with the idea of it being a massive cost savings.

My wife is a freelance writer. she doesn't need scary fast performance, but certainly she needs a good screen, up to date OS, and a solid machine for doing Teams and Zoom meetings. I debated between a 2021 iMac and a Mini, and ended up with the Mini. Ended up with the base model but bumped up the Ram, and with a friends & family discount I think it was around $650. Ended up spending about $300 on a monitor, plus probably another $250 on a webcam, external speakers, new mouse and keyboard. Overall not a substantial savings.

Funny thing is, we just redid her office and the black monitor with all the wires hanging out of it is by far the ugliest thing in there. We're highly considering getting her an M1 iMac instead, and I'd take the frankenMini to replace my 2013 Retina iMac that can't run the latest OS anymore but is still blazing fast.

 

[OrenLindsey]

Notice that people that actually own these iMacs all universally say they are great machines that are fast, silent and attractive on the desk.

Exactly. These are really good devices, all the complainers are people who never would have bought them no matter what.

 

[ric22]

This iMac is an absolute joke.

• Terrible design with white bezels and pastel colors
• Odd screen size with only 60Hz and no local dimming/HDR support
• 8GB RAM in almost 2024?!
• 256GB base storage in almost 2024?!
• Accessories still have a Lightning port
• Very minor upgrade in a few years time where only the chip changed
• And despite all of the above, a starting price of EUR 1,560 (USD 1,660) in Europe.

Costs even more in the UK 😂

 

[ric22]

Somewhat controversial, perhaps. But:
The iMac is a broken concept.

A Studio Display + a Mac mini is a much better and much more sustainable setup.

A monitor that costs a fraction of the ridiculously priced Studio Display + the Mac Mini, you mean?

 

[Agincourt]

I don't buy all the complaining and whining however I think a 27" model will go a long way.

Compared to the specs of the mini verses its price, the iMac has been severely stunted since shifting to the M1 processor. This recent upgrade simply leaves much to be desired. Were its base stats higher and had 64 GB RAM + 4 TB storage as an option, then it might make for a decent upgrade over the intel computers. Sale of the iMac have been down as of late and not likely to improve.

 

[Feek]

The new iMac is up to 2x faster than the prior generation with the M1 chip, according to Apple, meaning that it should deliver a considerable performance improvement for those who need it.

Overall, the 2023 iMac is a very minor upgrade over the 2021 model

Contradictory much?

 

[Velli]

You are correct; I verified the controller is in the iMac as well. I just learned something new - thanks for letting me know!

So, the problem was imaginary?

 

[Student of Life]

I suspect they don’t make a 27” or larger iMac because it would eat into their display sales.
its insane how popular the 30” Cinema Display was. Just give people what they want and stop driving customers to third party display manufacturers.

Are they moving the 27 display in number for this to make any sense? The 27 display is barely any better than the previous 27 iMac display and cost more than the 27 iMac which is a problem. If the 27 display had features worthy of the price I could see more reluctant acceptance. The main difference is it's a little bit brighter and the 12 mp camera which has issues, hard sell and a hard pass.

The 27 iMac is popular and one could see them outside of the house in hotels, business settings etc and even small businesses. The new 24 iMac because of its colorful look and size isn't used the same way nor does it attract the previous customers.

 

[Velli]

Won't be (recognized as) an iMac without it.

Does every iMac look like a G3?

 

[kazmac]

I was fortunate enough to get a maxed-out M1 iMac (4-port 16/2T) for only $400 from a client that upgraded to a Studio with a fancy, self-calibrating monitor. I likely won’t need to upgrade for a decade!

It’s the world’s best AIO; the difference between M1 and M3 is mostly pointless. You don’t need a Ferrari if you already have a Porsche.

Can't beat that price. Congratulations.

I still really like iMacs, but I just wish the M3s were better specc'd for the starting price point.

 

[Velli]

No; I think WiFi will be the future for labs in higher ed for all but the heaviest needs. That being said, it doesn't help now when the WiFi infrastructure in most places wouldn't be able to handle the load compared to the ethernet infrastructure, so in most places ethernet is still the default for a desktop system. Maybe in like 5-10 years, if universities make the investment in the WiFi infrastructure and reduce expense on wired infrastructure, that will flip, but it is going to take awhile and a lot of money.

It’s not out of the ordinary for Apple to remove an interface ten years before the rest of the industry, or even the average customer…

 

[Student of Life]

Exactly. These are really good devices, all the complainers are people who never would have bought them no matter what.

Thats an over generalization. I want to buy and iMac but I dont want the 24 inch screen size, been there done that with the previous intel iMac. Give the option of a 27 or greater iMac and 90% of the complains go away.

 

[Jacoblee23]

Notice that people that actually own these iMacs all universally say they are great machines that are fast, silent and attractive on the desk.

100% agree. My m1 is awesome.

 

[Adelphos33]

A Mac mini, specked

Thats an over generalization. I want to buy and iMac but I dont want the 24 inch screen size, been there done that with the previous intel iMac. Give the option of a 27 or greater iMac and 90% of the complains go away.

I get that - but that doesn’t justify the (mostly incorrect) criticism of the current machine. The machine may not be what you want - but it is objectively a powerful little machine that can be much more cost effective than buying a Mac mini + $1,599 studio display.

 

[TigerNike23]

At this point, I’ll just wait for the M1 model with 8/512 or 16/256 to drop below $1,000 and scoop it up.

I like the design, but I don’t understand their ethos.

2 MB Air screen sizes
2 MB Pro screen sizes
2 base iPhone screen sizes
2 iPhone Pro screen sizes
2 iPad Pro screen sizes
2 models of base iPads

1 iMac model?

Might as well go all the way, right Tim?

 

[satchmo]

Are they moving the 27 display in number for this to make any sense? The 27 display is barely any better than the previous 27 iMac display and cost more than the 27 iMac which is a problem. If the 27 display had features worthy of the price I could see more reluctant acceptance. The main difference is it's a little bit brighter and the 12 mp camera which has issues, hard sell and a hard pass.

The 27 iMac is popular and one could see them outside of the house in hotels, business settings etc and even small businesses. The new 24 iMac because of its colorful look and size isn't used the same way nor does it attract the previous customers.

Yeah, I've yet to see any of the bright coloured 24 inch iMacs in any establishments where I live. Frankly I think they're most popular with families with teenagers.

If Apple simply introduced a 24" iMac in space grey colour, I think they'd see an uptick in sales to small businesses.

 

[JohannesO]

The iMacs body could easily cool the M3 PRO.

 

[kagharaht]

Love it. Ordering mine. This will be the configuration. Perfect to replace my struggling Late 2013 iMac.

Apple M3 chip with 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, 10-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine
Silver
2TB SSD storage
24GB unified memory

 

[skitidetdu]

A ton of Apple's decisions come from brand value and visual recognition. The "MacBook/Air/Pro" labeling below the screen of old MacBooks, the chin on the iMac, the notch on the new MacBooks, the glowing apple logo on older MacBooks, white being the only color option of AirPods, etc. They want people to be able to see that you're using an Apple product from a distance.

That is what I wrote but with more words 😄👍

 

[Jaymes]

Exactly. These are really good devices, all the complainers are people who never would have bought them no matter what.

Really? We have hundreds, and they are poor compared to the Mac Studio. We have dongles hanging off each one just to allow USB-A and SD card access. What an iMac used to be able to do, you now have to get a Mac Studio to be comparable. Not saying they don't have their place for home use or light office use, but they definitely took a step backwards in functionality for what a major part of their audience was previously (higher education customers). Anyway, I digress - I just recommend everyone to the Mac Studio these days who wants a desktop. iMac has lost its position.

 

[subjonas]

This iMac is an absolute joke.

• Terrible design with white bezels and pastel colors
• Odd screen size with only 60Hz and no local dimming/HDR support
• 8GB RAM in almost 2024?!
• 256GB base storage in almost 2024?!
• Accessories still have a Lightning port
• Very minor upgrade in a few years time where only the chip changed
• And despite all of the above, a starting price of EUR 1,560 (USD 1,660) in Europe.

I would bet almost all of the target buyers for this iMac either don't agree with or care about all these things. Things are subjective and people are pretty fundamentally different.

 

[Jaymes]

So, the problem was imaginary?

No - crawling under the desk to plug in the ethernet cord to the power brick and securing the power brick are not imaginary. In a computer lab setting, where you have to set up hundreds of these devices, it is a lot more struggle then just running an ethernet cable to the back of the device. Additionally, a lot more cost if one comes up missing over an ethernet cable and a standard power cord.