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MKBHD reviews the new M1 iMac
- Thread starter petvas
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Love the blue iMac color with color coordinated Magic keyboard & mouse.
Subtle front colors versus bold rear colors - it's new generation Apple.
No longer boring silver and space gray!
3 days to go for my blue base iMac !
Subtle front colors versus bold rear colors - it's new generation Apple.
No longer boring silver and space gray!
3 days to go for my blue base iMac !
It looks fantastic. He will get over his 'white bezel' hatred once this sits in his office for a few days.
It looks nice as an entry-level desktop. I'm probably one of the few that actually really likes the ~24" display size as there's less distortion than on the 27" (I run both of those sizes together currently).
I just wish the front chin wasn't a pastel "baby" version of the body color. I'd rather see the nice saturated body color on the front where you can see it, and of course white bezels are not to my liking really as they stand out so sharply when watching content (like a movie). Height-adjustable would also be great as I use that on mine (especially as I have a sit-stand desk and raise the monitors in the standing position).
I just wish the front chin wasn't a pastel "baby" version of the body color. I'd rather see the nice saturated body color on the front where you can see it, and of course white bezels are not to my liking really as they stand out so sharply when watching content (like a movie). Height-adjustable would also be great as I use that on mine (especially as I have a sit-stand desk and raise the monitors in the standing position).
Since you have a 24" and a 27" display, how do you feel about the size difference?
I currently have a 27" iMac and I am thinking of getting the 24" iMac. I don't mind if it's seen as entry level or low end. The M1 CPU is so amazing that the 24" iMac would be an upgrade to my 27" i6 6-core iMac in every way but the display. I also don't need more than 16Gb of RAM, despite the fact that I currently have 48Gb RAM on my 27" iMac..
I have tried to make a comparison of the two iMacs, and the difference doesn't seem to be that big. So, what do you think?
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It depends a bit on the workflow. In my current setup, I either use just the 24", or both the 24" + 27" in dual setup. I really only do this if I'm working on something that involves having multiple windows open, or want to watch a stream in the background on the second display. I'd actually probably prefer having matching 24" displays, but the 27" is definitely very nice when I really need the extra real estate.
Something about the 24" just feels like the sweet spot though for me. The 27" puts the corners at more oblique angles and the sides are more barreled. For normal browsing and use, I find it less convenient to use -- more mouse and eye movement, the extremities (where much of the UI is located) are further and more off-angle/distorted. It isn't a colossal difference, but that's just how I feel about it. And you could always put the 27" further away and make the UI larger and have the perspective be about the same.
The screen real estate I really want is height and the difference between the two is only about an inch. The 27" does give more space for side-by-side windows, however with the high resolution of the 4.5k 24" iMac, it's probably fine if the content is a bit smaller.
It really comes down to what you need to do with it. I'd still go for the 27" if I did design work (video, 2D, 3D), or anything with workflows that demand lots of space. Hope this helps!
Distortion? I’m not sure I know what you mean by that
me neither,but having said that im kinda looking forward to the 23.5 screen after using my 2011 27 all these years.I wont have to move my head so much 😁
There is one potential future monitor that may satisfy you! BOE are planning a 24 inch 16:10 2560x1600 panel (125 dpi).
BOE Latest Panel Development Plans – Oct 2020 - TFTCentral
Share this contentWe have some updates from one of the smaller LCD panel manufacturers BOE about their panel development plans. This is BOE as a panel manufacturer, as opposed to....[click link for more]
www.tftcentral.co.uk
For me too, I really need height. I actually find for professional use a 24 inch 16:10 is the sweet spot, but up until now those are only available in low resolution.
Effectively, the closer you get to the rectangular display / or the larger it gets, the less rectangular it appears from your perspective. The center of the screen is closer than the corners, which are no longer perpendicular to you (they are angled away). The perspective of the geometry changes. Curved displays attempt to address this by curving along the long axis and probably work pretty well if you're near the focal point of the curve.
I feel it's noticeable when side-by-side with the 24" and it's probably part of why the 24" feels more natural to me (that and the shorter distances for your mouse and eyes to move). Of course, when you need extra screen real estate, the tradeoff is worth it.
That does look interesting indeed. I do prefer 16:10 to 16:9, though the 28" 3:2 display of the Surface Studio would probably be my favorite setup (too bad they don't sell it on its own!).There is one potential future monitor that may satisfy you! BOE are planning a 24 inch 16:10 2560x1600 panel (125 dpi).
BOE Latest Panel Development Plans – Oct 2020 - TFTCentral
Share this contentWe have some updates from one of the smaller LCD panel manufacturers BOE about their panel development plans. This is BOE as a panel manufacturer, as opposed to....[click link for more]
For me too, I really need height. I actually find for professional use a 24 inch 16:10 is the sweet spot, but up until now those are only available in low resolution.
I do wonder what scaling would work best on 1600p @ 24". 100%/200% works nice for me on 1080p/4K, so probably 150%.
Your wishes may have been answered. This was launched today, and has a pretty good chance of making it to the international markets. 28 inches. 3:2. 3840 x 2560. 163 ppi. 500 nits. P3.
The Huawei MateView monitor is the Surface Studio of external monitors
Microsoft is yet to repurpose the Surface Studio as an external monitor, but the Huawei MateView comes close to realising that dream. The MateView has a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 28-inch panel size, a 4K native resolution and plenty of built-in ports.
But, isn't this and the surface studio essentially a 27 inch display with extra height. Therefore your point about distortion may also apply to these monitors??
I've used all sizes of monitors and TVs and have never noticed any such thing. Guess I'm just not perceptive enough 🤣
That sure does look nice! What timing, too.Your wishes may have been answered. This was launched today, and has a pretty good chance of making it to the international markets. 28 inches. 3:2. 3840 x 2560. 163 ppi. 500 nits. P3.
The Huawei MateView monitor is the Surface Studio of external monitors
Microsoft is yet to repurpose the Surface Studio as an external monitor, but the Huawei MateView comes close to realising that dream. The MateView has a 3:2 aspect ratio, a 28-inch panel size, a 4K native resolution and plenty of built-in ports.www.notebookcheck.net
But, isn't this and the surface studio essentially a 27 inch display with extra height. Therefore your point about distortion may also apply to these monitors??
Yeah it probably does suffer a bit from the same effect, but like I say, sometimes you just need the extra screen real estate. I think the 3:2 28" is still narrower than the 27" since that's 16:9 which is quite wide for its diagonal size.
If it doesn't bother you, don't go looking for it
I certainly do notice it side-by-side. Also, I find the way windows tend to float not at full-size in macOS, I notice it more using Windows and Linux. I really notice is on the ultra-wides that are not curved, though.
I'm having trouble making grammatical sense out of that. Could you maybe rephrase it? Not sure what you mean.
Sorry, I'm referring to the default behavior of app windows in macOS to be relatively small compared with the whole desktop size, and you kind of move them around in a "floating" way. As such, the window tends to be more centered, thus the UI elements also closer to center.
By contrast, with Windows, "maximized" (full screen but with borders visible) tends to be the norm, so the UI elements at the perimeter tend to be right on the edge of your screen.
So having the larger display giving distortion or just having everything further away affects me a little bit more in Windows than with macOS.
I use Windows at work every day and there are lots of programs that default to much less than full-screen. And of course the ones that do launch full screen can be resized at will.
In Windows, it saves the last state, so mine generally open in 'Maximized', but it's also quick to do. macOS never opens in maximized so they always float somewhere, and you only have the option to go Full Screen, which is different as it puts it in its own desktop space.
I have to use BetterSnapTool for window management or I wouldn't use macOS at all. It supports maximizing windows (drag to top) as well as the sides and corners for split views. Every linux distro and Windows seems to have this sorted for ages now... I have no idea what the hold-up is for Apple.