Apple iMac M4 Silver 2024

The Apple iMac M4 is a stunning all-in-one desktop with a best-in-class 4.5K display and a chip that makes everyday work and creative tasks fly. It's dead silent, gorgeous, and a dream if you're in the Apple ecosystem, but the weak GPU and non-upgradeable storage mean it's a terrible choice for gaming. For a home office or family computer, it's pretty much perfect.

The M4 chip is a little beast for single-core tasks, which is what makes everything from launching apps to scrolling through massive photo libraries feel instant. In our database, its CPU performance sits in the 58th percentile, which is solid but not chart-topping. But that number doesn't tell the whole story. The efficiency cores handle background tasks so well that the system never feels bogged down, even with a dozen apps open. For video editing in Final Cut Pro or working with large Photoshop files, the media engines on the chip make scrubbing through 4K footage feel like browsing a text document.

Now, the GPU is where you see the limits of an integrated chip in a thin desktop. It lands in the 11th percentile, which is frankly disappointing if you were hoping to do any serious gaming or 3D rendering. You can play some Apple Arcade titles or older games just fine, but this is not a machine for Cyberpunk 2077. The 16GB of unified RAM is fast and well-managed by macOS, but it's middle-of-the-pack in terms of raw capacity, sitting in the 45th percentile. For most users, it's plenty. For a pro who needs to run multiple virtual machines or massive orchestral sample libraries, you'll feel the ceiling.

Compared to the Windows all-in-ones in its orbit, the iMac M4 plays a different game. The Dell Tower Plus EBT2250 and HP Omen GT22 are more traditional desktop towers that will crush the iMac in raw GPU performance and upgradability, making them better for gamers or anyone who needs a dedicated graphics card. But they're also bigger, louder, and don't come with a 4.5K display. The Lenovo Legion 34IAS10 is a gaming-focused machine that's in a different universe for 3D performance, but its display won't touch the iMac's for color accuracy and sharpness.

For a creative professional deciding between this and an ASUS Republic of Gamers GM700TZ, the choice is really about macOS versus Windows. If your workflow lives in Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, or Xcode, the iMac is the obvious and only choice. If you're in a mixed workflow or need an NVIDIA GPU for rendering, one of those Windows towers paired with a pro-grade monitor will serve you better. The iMac's real competition is often Apple's own Mac Mini M4, which gives you the same chip for less money but requires you to bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse.

Pricing for the iMac M4 is a bit of a moving target, with a spread of $641 across different vendors. You can find it as low as $1500, which is a solid deal for the build quality and display you're getting. At the higher end of $2141, it starts to feel a little steep for 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, especially when you can get a powerful Windows desktop and a great monitor for less. If you're shopping around, it's worth hunting for the best price. The real value here isn't in raw specs-per-dollar, it's in the complete package: the display, the speakers, the webcam, the mics, and the software experience. You're buying a hassle-free appliance, not a box of parts.

The Apple iMac M4 is the latest version of Apple's iconic all-in-one desktop, and it's basically the poster child for 'if it ain't broke, just make it faster.' This 24-inch model packs the new M4 chip with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 16GB of unified RAM, and a 512GB SSD. It's clearly aimed at home offices, students, and creative pros who want a dead-simple, gorgeous computer that just works. The 4.5K Retina display is still the star of the show, and now it's powered by a chip that chews through everyday tasks and creative workflows without breaking a sweat.

If you're searching for the best all-in-one computer for a home office or a family hub, the iMac M4 is going to land at the top of a lot of lists. It's not a machine for hardcore gamers or people who need a ton of internal storage, but for its target audience, it's a knockout. The design is as thin and clean as ever, available in a bunch of colors that'll either blend in or pop on your desk. Setup is famously easy, and if you're already in the Apple ecosystem, the way it plays with your iPhone and iPad feels like magic.

We've been tracking this category for years, and the iMac's reliability and social proof scores are basically off the charts, sitting in the 99th and 95th percentiles respectively. That means owners are not just happy, they're evangelical about it. The base 16GB of RAM is a welcome change from the stingy 8GB of past models, making this a much more practical buy right out of the gate.

Hardcore gamers and 3D artists should skip the iMac M4 entirely. The integrated GPU just doesn't have the muscle for modern gaming or heavy GPU rendering, and you can get a Windows desktop with a dedicated graphics card for the same price. Anyone who needs a ton of internal storage or likes to upgrade their own machine over time should also look elsewhere, since everything is soldered down. A Mac Mini M4 paired with a high-refresh-rate gaming monitor would be a smarter path for a mixed-use desk, or a Windows tower like the HP Omen GT22 if gaming is the priority.

The Apple iMac M4 is the best all-in-one computer for the vast majority of people who just want a beautiful, fast, and reliable desktop that disappears into the background. It's not for tinkerers or gamers, and the base storage is a bit tight, but the experience is so polished that it's hard to care. The display alone is worth a chunk of the asking price, and the M4 chip ensures this machine will feel snappy for years to come.

Should you buy this? If you're a student, a writer, a casual photographer, or anyone running a home office and you value a clean desk and a great screen above all else, absolutely. It's a joy to use. If you need to play the latest AAA games or you're a video editor working with 8K RAW files, you already know you need something with a lot more graphical horsepower and expandability. For everyone else, this is the desktop to beat.