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M1 vs. M3 vs. M4 iMac Buyer's Guide: 25+ Upgrades Compared

Apple's third Apple silicon iMac gains the M4 chip alongside a range of other small but notable improvements, so how does the new machine compare...

One year later, the latest, M4 version of the device looks like a much more substantial upgrade, offering a dramatically more powerful Neural Engine, 16GB of memory as standard, a 12-megapixel camera with Center Stage, USB-C accessories, and a nano-texture display option. ‌iMac‌ (2021)‌iMac‌ (2023)‌iMac‌ (2024) M1 chip (made with TSMC's 5nm (N5) process)M3 chip (made with TSMC's 3nm(N3) process)M4 chip (made with TSMC's enhanced ‌3nm‌ (N3E) process)3.20 GHz maximum CPU clock speed4.05 GHz maximum CPU clock speed4.30 GHz maximum CPU clock speed16 billion transistors25 billion transistors28 billion transistors8-core CPU8- or 10-core CPU8- or 10-core CPU7- or 8-core GPU8- or 10-core GPU8- or 10-core GPUUpdated GPU architectureUpdated GPU architecture with improved efficiencyDynamic CachingDynamic CachingHardware-accelerated ray tracingHardware-accelerated ray tracingHardware-accelerated mesh shadingHardware-accelerated mesh shadingVideo decode engineHigher-bandwidth video decode engineHigher-bandwidth video decode engineHardware-accelerated H.264 and HEVCHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWProRes encode and decode engineProRes encode and decode engineSupport for AV1 decodeSupport for AV1 decodeLPDDR4X memory LPDDR5 memoryLPDDR5X memory68.25GB/s memory bandwidth100GB/s memory bandwidth120GB/s memory bandwidth8GB or 16GB unified memory8GB, 16GB, or 24GB unified memory16GB, 24GB, or 32GB unified memory16-core Neural Engine, 11 trillion operations per second16-core Neural Engine, 18 trillion operations per second16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second1080p FaceTime HD camera1080p ‌FaceTime‌ HD camera12-megapixel cameraCenter Stage with support for Desk ViewImage signal processor (ISP)"New" image signal processor (ISP)"New" image signal processor (ISP)Nano-texture display optionDedicated display engine3.5mm headphone jack3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphones3.5mm headphone jack with support for high-impedance headphonesUp to two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports and two USB 3 portsUp to two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports and two USB 3 portsUp to four Thunderbolt 4 portsWi-Fi 6Wi-Fi 6EWi-Fi 6EBluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.3Bluetooth 5.3Available in Silver, Green, Yellow, Orange, Pink, Purple, and BlueAvailable in Silver, Green, Yellow, Orange, Pink, Purple, and BlueAvailable in Silver, as well as new shades of Green, Yellow, Orange, Pink, Purple, and BlueMagic Keyboard and Magic Mouse/Magic Trackpad with Lightning portMagic Keyboard and Magic Mouse/Magic Trackpad with Lightning portMagic Keyboard and Magic Mouse/Magic Trackpad with USB-C portThe 2024 ‌iMac‌ with the M4 chip marks a much more substantial upgrade compared to the 2021 and 2023 models. Key improvements such as the significantly more powerful Neural Engine for AI and machine learning tasks, increased standard memory of 16GB, 12-megapixel camera with Center Stage, and support for USB-C accessories make it an appealing choice for future-proofing.

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