M4 iMac: Five upgrades to expect later this month

Apple is expected to hold another keynote in the fall, probably in October. The company will likely update some Mac and iPad models, including the iMac. Here's everything you can expect from Apple's Next iMac refresh.

New M4 chip

Apple last updated the iMac last October, upgrading it from the M1 chip to the M3 chip. Fortunately, the iMac won't be without chips again, and we expect to see the M4 chip in the iMac later this year, based on TSMC's second-generation 3nm process.

This upgrades the iMac from an 8-core CPU to a 10-core CPU, which is a performance increase of around 20-25%.

USB-C Magic accessories

Although there are no concrete rumors, Apple will have to switch all of its new devices from Lightning to USB-C by the end of this year in order to comply with European regulations.

Therefore, we should expect USB-C on the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad to ship with the next iMac.

Additional unified storage

Previous reports from Bloomberg suggested that all M4 Macs would launch with at least 16GB of RAM, according to developer logs. This would also apply to the iMac with M4, so we'll likely see 16GB of RAM across the board on all base iMac models, with the option to upgrade to 32GB of RAM.

Previously, the M3 iMac came with 24GB of RAM.

More Thunderbolt ports

The connection situation on the 24″ iMac has always been a bit strange. There is a cheaper base model with just 2 Thunderbolt ports and a higher-end model with 2 Thunderbolt ports and an additional 2 standard USB-C ports.

While there's nothing to suggest that Apple will increase the number of ports on the base model, there's a good chance that all four ports on higher-end iMac models will be Thunderbolt, rather than just half.

According to an analysis of an M4 chip conducted by Fred on Twitter, Apple's M4 chip appears to come with four Thunderbolt controllers, compared to two on the M3 chip and previous versions. This could mean that Apple may ship 4 Thunderbolt ports on the upcoming M4 iMac.

WiFi 7

Apple will likely support the Wi-Fi 7 standard on the upcoming M4 iMac, as it did with the iPhone 16 series.

Wi-Fi 7 supports speeds of up to 46Gbps, which is more than five times faster than Wi-Fi 6E's 9Gbps. Wi-Fi 7 also works on 320 MHz channels and supports the 6 GHz band, significantly reducing interference and signal congestion.

Wrap up

Although it's a small update, there are a few things to look forward to if you're in the market for a new iMac. Unfortunately, there are no rumors that Apple is still working on a larger iMac or an iMac Pro. At least according to Apple, the 24″ iMac will be all they will make for now.

That's definitely a shame if you don't like the 24-inch iMac for some reason, be it the size, design, or the fact that you need an external power supply. Apple recommends purchasing a Studio Display and pairing it with a Mac of your choice if you want the experience of a larger iMac.

Are you excited about the M4 iMac? Let us know in the comments.

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