Apple iMac M4 24″ (2024) – Review

Apple has once again redefined the landscape of all-in-one desktops with the release of the 2024 24-inch iMac, powered by its latest M4 chip. Back in 2021, the debut of the M1-powered iMac marked a significant leap forward, harnessing Cupertino’s cutting-edge M-series processors. Since then, the competition, particularly from Windows-based all-in-ones like those from HP and Lenovo, has intensified. These rivals have stepped up their game, making the iMac encounter a much tougher market environment than its predecessors.

In response, Apple has launched its 2024 iteration of the iMac starting at a low S$1,799, now powered by the M4 chip that debuted earlier this year in the iPad Pro. While the M4 chip offers a noticeable bump in overall speed compared to the M3 – we’re talking 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU versus the previous 8-core configurations – the real story lies in its neural capabilities. Apple claims a staggering 111% increase in Neural Engine performance, jumping to a mind-boggling 38 trillion operations per second. This isn’t just about snappier responses, it’s a clear indication that Apple is laying the groundwork for a future where artificial intelligence (AI), or its own Apple Intelligence, is deeply integrated into the macOS experience.

Okay, enough with the silicon deep-dive. What does all this horsepower actually do for the average iMac user? Apple’s own numbers paint a rosy picture, with the M4 model delivering a 1.7x speed boost over the original M1 model for everyday tasks. But let’s be real, most iMac owners aren’t exactly pushing the limits of their machines with endless spreadsheets and email chains. The real test comes with heavier lifting – photo editing, video rendering, even some casual gaming. Here, Apple claims a 2.1x performance gain. Coupled with that expanded 32GB memory ceiling, the iMac M4 is clearly flexing its muscles, especially when you consider that the M3, while a solid performer in its own right, topped out at 24GB of RAM. But is raw power enough to keep users in Apple’s ecosystem?

That’s where the artificial intelligence revolution comes in. With the macOS Sequoia 15.1, Apple is introducing Apple Intelligence, a suite of tools designed to weave AI assistance into the fabric of your digital life, from helping you draft emails, summarising long content, to editing away minor obstructions in holiday photos. Privacy-conscious users will be pleased to hear that most of the processing happens locally on the iMac, marking a stark departure from the cloud-centric approach of its competitor, Google. 

Apple’s introduction of the Apple Intelligence suite is fragmented and staggered, with some still currently in beta for developers, but what’s available presents an intriguing though incomplete picture of AI integration compared to the seamless experience on iOS devices. These AI tools, designed to enhance tasks such as writing, photo editing, and email composition, have not yet made a profound impact on the Mac user experience. This might simply be a matter of time, as users and Apple itself adjust to the new capabilities and optimise their use in the desktop environment.

Productivity is clearly a key focus for Apple Intelligence. The ability to rewrite, proofread, and summarise text system-wide is undeniably useful, whether you’re crafting an email, composing a message, or jotting down notes. In my tests for the Writing Tools, the AI did a decent job of rewriting emails in different tones, maintaining the original intent while adjusting the formality.  On my end, I found myself rarely reaching for these tools. Perhaps it’s the writer in me, accustomed to self-editing and refining my own words. But it also highlights the challenge of integrating AI into workflows that already feel comfortable and familiar. Though I can see the value for users who struggle with composing professional emails, for many, these features may simply be more than an afterthought. 

These AI features do hold promise, especially for those who may struggle with drafting polished professional emails or who might benefit from quick, AI-driven edits, the transition to incorporating these tools into everyday use may take time and an extra step or two, as users outside the US, for instance, must switch their language settings to English (US) to access them for now. Users might find them a valuable time saver under pressure, yet the necessity for a final, human review remains – underscoring that while AI can enhance productivity, it doesn’t yet replace the nuanced touch of a dedicated writer. For those overwhelmed by frequent, complex email interactions, Apple’s Smart Reply in Mail could indeed offer relief, though we’re still some distance from trusting AI to handle all our digital communications autonomously.

In my experience, Smart Reply is highly contextual, appearing primarily when the original message poses a specific question. For instance, an email inquiring about my availability for a meeting might trigger “Yes” and “No” prompts. Tapping either generates a concise, albeit somewhat generic, reply like, “Hi [Name], Yes, I am available for a meeting at that time. Best,” or “Hi [Name], Thanks for reaching out. No, I am not available for a meeting at that time. Best,”  These responses are arguably a bit bland, but they’re certainly suitable for professional interactions, which is precisely how I tend to use my iMac. For more nuanced or complex emails though, it may struggle to provide truly helpful suggestions. 

Then there’s Priority Messages, a feature designed to surface time-sensitive emails to the top of your inbox. In theory, it’s a brilliant way to cut through the clutter and focus on what truly matters. Perhaps my inbox is simply too chaotic, but the AI seems to have a hard time distinguishing between truly urgent messages and the everyday noise. More often than not, I don’t see any priority messages at all. And when I do, they’re often for things like verification codes, while important, are already handled efficiently by Mail’s autofill feature. Right now, Priority Messages feels more like a source of amusement than a genuinely helpful tool.  Hopefully, Apple can refine its algorithms and deliver on the promise of a truly intelligent inbox.

Priority Messages may be a swing and a miss, but Apple’s attempt to tackle notification overload with Summaries in Mail and Messages is a more promising endeavour, offering a concise overview of what’s waiting in your inbox. In my experience, these summaries have been surprisingly accurate, conveying the gist of an email thread at a glance. It’s a feature that shines in those moments when you need to quickly assess the contents of your inbox without getting bogged down in individual messages. And the summaries themselves, though not always perfect, are generally accurate enough to provide a useful overview. Then again, while Apple has engineered these summaries to provide a quick understanding of an email’s content, their practicality varies. In some instances, they brilliantly condense long media invites into digestible snippets, yet in others, like expansive newsletters, they offer little real benefit over traditional preview lines.

Apple Intelligence has also made its way into handling notifications from messaging apps like Discord, Telegram, and WhatsApp. This feature proves particularly useful in managing the overflow from my active group chats, summarising content to present only the most pertinent information. Such capabilities hint at the potential for more passive, yet practical applications of AI, paving the way for a future where technology more intuitively aligns with human needs and behaviours.

Furthermore, Apple has infused its Photos app with a dose of intelligence. The new Clean Up tool, for instance, lets you effortlessly remove unwanted objects from your photos. Simply circle the offending element, and the AI magically erases it, leaving a seamless image behind. What’s remarkable is the AI’s ability to anticipate your needs, often highlighting potential distractions before you even lift a finger. The results can vary depending on the complexity of the image, but it’s still a powerful tool for tidying up your photos and ensuring the focus remains where you want it. This is the kind of practical AI application that can genuinely enhance everyday workflows, eliminating the need for expensive photo editing software like Adobe Creative Suite.

Of all the Apple Intelligence features I’ve tested, summaries have proven the most consistently useful and practical on the macOS. That being said, Apple Intelligence does feel like an afterthought on the iMac. Unlike the iPhone, where Apple Intelligence features such as summaries are deeply integrated into everyday interactions, their implementation on the Mac feels somewhat tacked on. Users find themselves taking additional steps to access functionalities that are more intuitively available on mobile devices. The potential is clearly there, but Apple needs to refine the implementation and make Apple Intelligence a more integral part of the macOS experience.

But let’s move beyond the AI and talk about another important component: performance. Our review unit, decked out in a vibrant green finish and boasting a fully upgraded configuration – 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a spacious 2TB of storage – is an absolute workhorse. It effortlessly handled a typical workday workload, juggling over 30 Chrome tabs and multiple applications, including Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, without breaking a sweat.  Even under heavy duress, the iMac remained whisper-quiet and remarkably responsive, never exhibiting any lag or excessive fan noise. Of course, this level of performance comes at a premium. Our souped-up configuration, complete with nano-texture glass and the full suite of Magic accessories, would set you back a hefty S$4,299 – a significant jump from the S$1,799 base price.

Speaking of price, Apple is clearly targeting this new iMac at owners of the ageing M1 model, touting the M4 as the ultimate upgrade. And with good reason. The M4 brings a significant performance boost, enabling a host of new AI features and enhancing capabilities across the board. To put this to the test, we threw some demanding tasks at the iMac, using it to process a 10-minute 4K video using Adobe Premiere Pro. We converted a fully fleshed-out 10-minute project consisting of 4K footage, and exported it to 1080p resolution, which took all of six minutes. As for transcoding speeds, the iMac M4 also clocked six minutes to fully convert 10 minutes of 4K 60fps footage to 1080p resolution on HandBrake.

Geekbench 6 recorded an overall GPU reading of 35,528, with the single and multi-core sections coming in respectively at 3,768 and 14,777, marking an improvement over a similarly specced 24-inch M3 iMac build (25,692). 

In comparison, Novabench yielded a 2,515 score (an improvement compared to a similarly specced 24-inch M3 iMac build with a 1,899 score) attained from the following: 

• CPU: 1374 
• GPU: 196 
• Memory: 534
• Storage: 411

Meanwhile, Cinebench 2024 recorded the following:

• GPU (System Requirements): 4,343 pts
• CPU (Multi Core): 868 pts
• CPU (Single Core): 170 pts

The GPU is an improvement from the similarly specced 24-inch M3 iMac build that measured 3,711 pts, along with the CPU Multi Core and Single Core that had 665 pts and 140 pts respectively. While benchmarks don’t always tell the whole story, this impressive speed indicates that the iMac can handle even demanding tasks with ease.

Internal components may have received a significant overhaul, but the external design remains largely unchanged. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the 24-inch iMac’s sleek aesthetic, with its impossibly thin profile and vibrant colour options, still holds up well. The familiar all-in-one construction, featuring a flat rectangular chassis and a minimalist stand, is both elegant and functional. And while the port selection remains unchanged, with Thunderbolt 4 ports tucked away on the bottom right corner and an optional Ethernet port on the power brick, it’s still more than adequate for most users.

Apple has definitely injected a bit of fresh energy into the design with a new palette of vibrant colours. Gone are the muted tones of previous generations, replaced by a rainbow of eye-catching hues: blue, purple, pink, orange, yellow, green, and silver. Each colour option features a subtle two-tone scheme, with a bolder shade on the back of the machine and a more subdued version on the stand and front panel. Our review unit, a vibrant green, perfectly exemplifies this approach. The pale green front panel exudes a sense of understated elegance, and the saturated green back adds a touch of personality. It’s a refreshing change that injects some much-needed personality into the iMac lineup.

But while the front of the iMac is all about minimalist elegance, the back is where the action happens. Here you’ll find the power button and the iMac’s four Thunderbolt/USB-C ports lined up along the rear left side. With all ports being identical, there’s no need to fumble around blindly trying to find the right connection. The lack of legacy ports may frustrate some, but the Thunderbolt/USB-C standard offers impressive versatility, supporting everything from high-resolution displays (my personal favourite is the espresso Display which seamlessly connects with a wire) to external storage devices.

Unfortunately, one aspect of the design that hasn’t seen any improvement is the stand. The same aluminium stand that drew criticism on the previous model makes a return, with its limited tilt adjustment and complete lack of height or rotation control. While this may not be an issue for users of average 1.62m height like me, those who are particularly tall or short may find themselves struggling to find a comfortable viewing angle.

Thankfully, other aspects of the design have received some much-needed attention. The webcam, for instance, has been significantly upgraded, replacing the previous 1080p sensor with a 12MP Center Stage snapper. This not only delivers a sharper, more detailed image but also introduces Center Stage technology to the iMac for the first time. This intelligent tracking feature keeps you perfectly framed during video calls, even if you move around. It’s a welcome addition, especially for those like me who rely on video conferencing for work meetings and interviews.

Another notable improvement is the optional nano-texture glass, a S$300 upgrade that drastically reduces glare and reflections. This is a boon for users who work in brightly lit environments or have their iMac positioned near a window. Since my iMac isn’t facing a window, this feature doesn’t impact my setup significantly. 

However, the standard 24-inch 4.5K Retina display is still a visual treat, boasting vibrant colours and impressive clarity thanks to its 4,480 x 2,520 resolution, over 11 million pixels, and the ability to display over a billion colours. With a peak brightness of 500 nits, visuals are vivid and clear, making it ideal for both work and entertainment. While I enjoyed streaming content like Jujutsu Kaisen on Netflix, the lack of HDR support is a notable omission in an otherwise stellar display, especially given HDR’s growing prevalence in digital media.

Audio performance on the iMac remains a strong point, with its six-speaker system – including four force-cancelling woofers and two tweeters – producing rich and clear sound. Enhanced by Dolby Atmos and Apple’s Spatial Audio technology, the audio setup creates an immersive 3D soundscape that appears to envelop the listener. This advanced sound technology is particularly noticeable when enjoying music from artists like Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, where the depth and layers of the music are beautifully rendered. The speakers are quite powerful too, capable of reaching high volumes that fill a room without distortion, though users might need to be mindful of the volume in shared spaces.

Ultimately, the 24-inch iMac M4 model stands out as a remarkable all-in-one desktop that excels across a wide array of tasks, making it a top contender for the best in its class. Equipped with the new M4 chip, this iMac not only handles high-intensity tasks with ease but also showcases the advanced capabilities of Apple’s latest silicon innovations through Apple Intelligence. 

While the M4 chip targets those upgrading from the M1 or older Intel-based systems, offering them a significant boost in performance, the benefits for M3 users are more nuanced. Those who already own an M3 and use their systems for standard tasks might not find the upgrade necessary. Even so, power users who frequently engage in highly demanding applications may see substantial advantages in adopting the newer model. 

As the iMac continues to evolve, it still stays true to its roots, offering a robust performance with the intuitive operation Apple users have come to expect. Whether for professional creative work, everyday productivity, or high-end computing tasks, the iMac M4 24-inch model is designed to meet diverse needs and exceed expectations, confirming its place at the pinnacle of all-in-one desktop computing.

The 24-inch iMac with the M4 chip is available for pre-order on the Apple website.