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

[TruthAboveAllElse]

OK, can you explain why you would give up 1/8 inch or 1/4 inch depth so you can get poorer performance because of reduced cooling and heat extraction, which causes Apple to reduce the CPUs clock speed.

Oh, I get it you probably don't really do much except email. Right, that is really a good application for an iPad.

I use it to write papers referencing academic journals. Much easier to do on a large display and macOS. Other people use it for other things as well, I’m sure.

 

[WC7]

Save your money and wait for the next upgrade. Otherwise sell it on eBay for more than the crumbs Apple is offering you for trade in.

Already set everything up with the new iMac 2023. Don't have the time for eBay ... easier just to take the old to the Apple Store and get the new!

 

[Warped9]

So now I have to decide: blue (nice and safe), green (also nice and not quite as common) or yellow (bold, different and uncommon).

 

[Agincourt]

So now I have to decide: blue (nice and safe), green (also nice and not quite as common) or yellow (bold, different and uncommon).

I'd go green.

 

[Agincourt]

Generally when Apple presents a new generation of a particular computer line, the new one pretty much always matches or exceeds the specs of the previous one. My biggest gripe is that the M1 is a significant downgrade from the intel generation in key areas.

Now it may be a step up from the 20' machines in terms of screen size and even maybe RAM, but it still remains a significant step down from the 27 for most people. Even consumer grade customers may simply want a larger screen and be happy with low specs otherwise, which is why I'm keeping my old non-retina iMac. The thing is that a maxed out iMac today is inferior to the mini even if money were no objective.

I can forgive the 8 GB starting RAM, but why is it stunted at only 24 max? The last one topped out at 128! Storage could also have been significantly improved if Apple didn't decide to shrink the form volume to the point of absurdity. These aren't mobile devices, they don't have to be as small as possible! And they thought taking the power out and replacing that with a BRICK?!

Oh and we still got that 'chin' that many had hoped would vanish with each generation. They couldn't even do THAT right! I know why it's there, but this new design is so much less practical than the intel body iMacs.

 

[WC7]

Generally when Apple presents a new generation of a particular computer line, the new one pretty much always matches or exceeds the specs of the previous one. My biggest gripe is that the M1 is a significant downgrade from the intel generation in key areas.

Now it may be a step up from the 20' machines in terms of screen size and even maybe RAM, but it still remains a significant step down from the 27 for most people. Even consumer grade customers may simply want a larger screen and be happy with low specs otherwise, which is why I'm keeping my old non-retina iMac. The thing is that a maxed out iMac today is inferior to the mini even if money were no objective.

I can forgive the 8 GB starting RAM, but why is it stunted at only 24 max? The last one topped out at 128! Storage could also have been significantly improved if Apple didn't decide to shrink the form volume to the point of absurdity. These aren't mobile devices, they don't have to be as small as possible! And they thought taking the power out and replacing that with a BRICK?!

Oh and we still got that 'chin' that many had hoped would vanish with each generation. They couldn't even do THAT right! I know why it's there, but this new design is so much less practical than the intel body iMacs.

I like my 'chin'. Haha. I noticed that my RAM usage runs at about 7 out of 8 GB no matter what my combination of 'lite' tasks. Apple must have it tuned to that (for the lite user) ... it fits my needs. The 24.5 inch screen is my ideal by using the 2nd from largest zoom (in System Settings) ... and Stage Manager to switch between applications. I am happy with the baseline, low energy usage machine.

 

[erinsarah]

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.

I wrote a comment earlier about how I opted to buy a mini over an iMac for my wife's freelance writing business, and omigod the cabling thing is a huge issue for me! I built her a desk with a little cubby underneath it to hold the mini and hide the cables, and I feel like I'm constantly crawling under there to plug in something new. the monitor, webcam, mouse dongle, speakers, external drives, etc...it's painful. And yes, I realize a smarter person would have at least put the mini inside its little holder with the cables facing out, but I'm not that smarter person.

 

[WC7]

I wrote a comment earlier about how I opted to buy a mini over an iMac for my wife's freelance writing business, and omigod the cabling thing is a huge issue for me! I built her a desk with a little cubby underneath it to hold the mini and hide the cables, and I feel like I'm constantly crawling under there to plug in something new. the monitor, webcam, mouse dongle, speakers, external drives, etc...it's painful. And yes, I realize a smarter person would have at least put the mini inside its little holder with the cables facing out, but I'm not that smarter person.

That's why I bought the baseline iMac ... only two ports to worry about.