M3 or M4?

[BackgroundWitty]

So I can buy a 2023 iMac for significantly less than a new 2024 iMac (€300 difference). Both 16 GB RAM / 512 GB SSD. Is the difference between them enough to justify paying the higher price? I don't know how big of a step up the M4 chip is.

I am not a power user, my last Mac lasted me 10 years. I use the computer for work (Word/Pages and Excel/Numbers) and web browsing. I am looking for another one that will work for a similarly long time if treated equally well.

 

[richmlow]

So I can buy a 2023 iMac for significantly less than a new 2024 iMac (€300 difference). Both 16 GB RAM / 512 GB SSD. Is the difference between them enough to justify paying the higher price? I don't know how big of a step up the M4 chip is.

I am not a power user, my last Mac lasted me 10 years. I use the computer for work (Word/Pages and Excel/Numbers) and web browsing. I am looking for another one that will work for a similarly long time if treated equally well.

For your current workflow, the 2023 iMac is more than sufficient! Good luck in your purchase decision!


richmlow

 

[theluggage]

So I can buy a 2023 iMac for significantly less than a new 2024 iMac (€300 difference). Both 16 GB RAM / 512 GB SSD. Is the difference between them enough to justify paying the higher price? I don't know how big of a step up the M4 chip is.

The performance will almost certainly be more than enough for your needs.

The M4 has some other advantages - e.g. better external display support and the 4-port version has 4 full Thunderbolt ports whereas the 4 port M3 has 2xTB4 + 2xUSB 3.2 only.

That might not be important to you - esp. since the M4 you're looking at is probably the 2-port version.

It's worth checking whether the M3 is the 2-port base version or the 4-port version (which had a slightly better GPU and came with ethernet in the power brick) - if only to get a better idea of how good the deal is. Also, whether it came with any extras in the keyboard/mouse department.

If you're looking at a 10-year lifespan (probably a bit optimistic anyway) then be aware that it is likely that the M3 will lose support before the M4 does - Apple's "vintage/obsolete product" clock starts when they are no longer selling the product - so not only is the M4 newer, that clock hasn't started ticking yet. Also, the M3 Macs were only on sale for a very short time so it's possible they'll get the "minimum acceptable" long-term support - that's all speculaton, of course.

It's really up to you if you're prepared to pay that €300 for the benefit of a newer product which might (no guarantees) be supported for an extra year or two.

 

[BackgroundWitty]

Thanks to both of you!

These are the specs:

• 10-Core GPU
• Thunderbolt 4, USB 4, USB 3.1 Gen 2, DisplayPort

I am confident it will meet my future needs, I was really just thinking about futureproofing. My old Mac was fairly top of the line for its time but it did last me for 10 years so I got my money's worth. It worked without issue for a long time so I guess I am trying to figure out which model would be most likely to do the same again?

The performance will almost certainly be more than enough for your needs.

The M4 has some other advantages - e.g. better external display support and the 4-port version has 4 full Thunderbolt ports whereas the 4 port M3 has 2xTB4 + 2xUSB 3.2 only.

That might not be important to you - esp. since the M4 you're looking at is probably the 2-port version.

It's worth checking whether the M3 is the 2-port base version or the 4-port version (which had a slightly better GPU and came with ethernet in the power brick) - if only to get a better idea of how good the deal is. Also, whether it came with any extras in the keyboard/mouse department.

If you're looking at a 10-year lifespan (probably a bit optimistic anyway) then be aware that it is likely that the M3 will lose support before the M4 does - Apple's "vintage/obsolete product" clock starts when they are no longer selling the product - so not only is the M4 newer, that clock hasn't started ticking yet. Also, the M3 Macs were only on sale for a very short time so it's possible they'll get the "minimum acceptable" long-term support - that's all speculaton, of course.

It's really up to you if you're prepared to pay that €300 for the benefit of a newer product which might (no guarantees) be supported for an extra year or two.

 

[theluggage]

It worked without issue for a long time so I guess I am trying to figure out which model would be most likely to do the same again?

Nobody can tell you that with any certainty. I think expecting a current totally-non-upgradeable Mac to last you for 10 years is optimistic... not impossible, but optimistic. For the iMacs you're looking at I would say the M4 because - as I said - the M3 is at least 1 year, maybe more (depending on when the current M4 model is discontinued), closer to Apple's "vintage" and "obsolete" points.

Getting a service for your Apple product after its warranty has expired – Apple Support (UK)

Find out more about your options for getting a service and parts for Apple devices that are past their warranty period.

support.apple.com

Although that's just talking about hardware, I suspect the reality is that as long as Apple might have to repair a model there will be a supported version of MacOS (receiving essential security updates & not locked out of any pre-existing Apple services) for it.

That's not the same as being able to run the latest version of MacOS - that's harder to predict since Apple has no published policy but tends to extend for 5-6 years after release. Honestly, we haven't seen Apple's behaviour w.r.t. Apple Silicon Mac yet. It could go either way - it should be easier to offer long-term support for Apple Silicon - with so much of the functionality on Apple's own system-on-a-chip & the same few SoCs used across the whole Mac range there are far fewer processor variants, 3rd-party GPUs & other 3rd party components/drivers for Apple to keep check on c.f. the Intel Macs. OTOH, the tighter control Apple has may encourage them to double-down on "planned obsolescence"

There's all sorts of imponderable questions - as long as it stays working it should keep doing whatever it does today, but these days we can't be sure whether (say) Microsoft will try and force you onto a new version of Office (either via subscriptions/updates or by changing the file format...), when you won't be able to run a "safe" web browser, or when Mail will stop connecting to your work email because security (this happened to me a few years ago with an old MBA - don't bother suggesting work arounds, folks - when work IT say "no" that's the end of it).

Given you're starting at 16GB RAM/512GB SSD I don't think that upselling you to an iMac with more RAM and storage will have a big impact on longevity (I wouldn't get 8GB or 256GB).

Now, please don't rely too much on the following, but going for a M4 Mini + separate display might be better for longevity because:

1. If either the display or the computer fails, you can replace it separately
2. The M4 Mini at least has socketed SSD modules (probably the most likely bit to die) so, at a minimum, an Apple repair place should be able to replace them (& there's still the off-chance that DIY repairs/upgrades might become feasible).

...but that does raise the dilemma about which display to get (you can search these forums for s lot of argument about that).

 

[BackgroundWitty]

Nobody can tell you that with any certainty. I think expecting a current totally-non-upgradeable Mac to last you for 10 years is optimistic... not impossible, but optimistic. For the iMacs you're looking at I would say the M4 because - as I said - the M3 is at least 1 year, maybe more (depending on when the current M4 model is discontinued), closer to Apple's "vintage" and "obsolete" points.

Getting a service for your Apple product after its warranty has expired – Apple Support (UK)

Find out more about your options for getting a service and parts for Apple devices that are past their warranty period.

support.apple.com

Although that's just talking about hardware, I suspect the reality is that as long as Apple might have to repair a model there will be a supported version of MacOS (receiving essential security updates & not locked out of any pre-existing Apple services) for it.

That's not the same as being able to run the latest version of MacOS - that's harder to predict since Apple has no published policy but tends to extend for 5-6 years after release. Honestly, we haven't seen Apple's behaviour w.r.t. Apple Silicon Mac yet. It could go either way - it should be easier to offer long-term support for Apple Silicon - with so much of the functionality on Apple's own system-on-a-chip & the same few SoCs used across the whole Mac range there are far fewer processor variants, 3rd-party GPUs & other 3rd party components/drivers for Apple to keep check on c.f. the Intel Macs. OTOH, the tighter control Apple has may encourage them to double-down on "planned obsolescence"

There's all sorts of imponderable questions - as long as it stays working it should keep doing whatever it does today, but these days we can't be sure whether (say) Microsoft will try and force you onto a new version of Office (either via subscriptions/updates or by changing the file format...), when you won't be able to run a "safe" web browser, or when Mail will stop connecting to your work email because security (this happened to me a few years ago with an old MBA - don't bother suggesting work arounds, folks - when work IT say "no" that's the end of it).

Given you're starting at 16GB RAM/512GB SSD I don't think that upselling you to an iMac with more RAM and storage will have a big impact on longevity (I wouldn't get 8GB or 256GB).

Now, please don't rely too much on the following, but going for a M4 Mini + separate display might be better for longevity because:

1. If either the display or the computer fails, you can replace it separately
2. The M4 Mini at least has socketed SSD modules (probably the most likely bit to die) so, at a minimum, an Apple repair place should be able to replace them (& there's still the off-chance that DIY repairs/upgrades might become feasible).

...but that does raise the dilemma about which display to get (you can search these forums for s lot of argument about that).

Thank you, this is very helpful.