Apple iMac M4 2024, 16GB, 256GB SSD, Silver

The Apple iMac 2024 is a stunning all-in-one desktop with a best-in-class 4.5K display and silent M4 performance. It's perfect for home offices and Apple households, but the small base storage and weak gaming chops mean it's not for everyone. If you value design and a hassle-free experience over raw upgradeability, this is the one to get.

The M4 chip is a solid step up, even if it's not a generational leap over the M3. In our testing, the 10-core CPU landed in the 55th percentile against other all-in-ones, which puts it firmly in the 'strong' category for everyday productivity. It chews through web browsing, office apps, and even light photo and video editing without breaking a sweat. The integrated GPU, with its 48GB of shared memory, sits at the 60th percentile. That means it's above average for an integrated solution, but don't mistake it for a dedicated gaming card. It'll handle 4K video editing in Final Cut Pro smoothly, but it's not going to push high frame rates in demanding AAA titles.

The real star of the show is the unified memory architecture. Our unit had 16GB, which feels more efficient than 16GB on a Windows machine thanks to how tightly Apple integrates hardware and software. The 256GB SSD is, frankly, the spec sheet's weak spot, landing in the 16th percentile. It's fast, but it's tiny. You'll be leaning on external drives or iCloud storage sooner rather than later if you keep a lot of files locally. For a machine that starts at this price, a 512GB base would have been a lot more comfortable.

Stacked against Windows all-in-ones like the HP OMEN GT22-3080 or the Dell Tower ECT1250, the iMac plays a totally different game. Those machines often pack dedicated GPUs and more RAM for the money, making them better fits for gaming or heavy 3D work. The HP OMEN, for instance, will run circles around the iMac in games, but it's louder, hotter, and stuck with a lower-resolution screen. The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i is another strong competitor if raw power per dollar is your main metric.

Where the iMac pulls ahead is in the stuff you can't put on a spec sheet. The 4.5K display is sharper and more color-accurate than what you'll find on most competitors. The six-speaker sound system is genuinely good enough to skip desktop speakers. And the lack of fan noise makes a bigger difference in daily use than you'd think. If your workflow lives in Adobe Creative Cloud or Microsoft 365, both run natively and fast on Apple Silicon. But if you need a machine for engineering software or serious gaming, a Windows tower is the more practical choice.

Pricing on the 2024 iMac is a bit of a moving target. We saw a spread from $1,352 to $1,899 across different vendors, so it pays to shop around. At the lower end of that range, it's a genuinely good deal for the build quality and display you're getting. At the full $1,899, you're paying a hefty Apple tax for the design and ecosystem. The base 256GB storage is the real kicker here. If you can snag a deal closer to $1,350, it's a lot easier to stomach the cost of an external SSD. Compared to a Windows all-in-one like a high-end HP or Dell, you're trading raw specs and upgradeability for a polished, quiet, and cohesive experience. For the right person, that trade-off is worth every penny.

The 2024 iMac is Apple doing what Apple does best: making a computer that feels less like a tool and more like a piece of furniture you actually want in your living room. It's an all-in-one desktop built around a gorgeous 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, now running on the M4 chip with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU. If you're looking for a family computer, a home office centerpiece, or a creative workstation that doesn't involve a rat's nest of cables, this is pretty much the poster child for that. Our configuration came with 16GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD, which is the base model, but you can spec it up from there.

Apple Intelligence is the big software story here, baking AI writing tools and photo editing tricks right into macOS. But honestly, the real draw is how this thing handles day-to-day life. The M4 chip makes multitasking feel snappy, apps open instantly, and the whole system runs dead silent. It's not a machine for tinkerers or hardcore gamers, but for the other 95% of people who just want a computer that works beautifully, the iMac nails it. The seven color options are a nice touch too, letting you match your desk setup or just add a pop of personality.

Setup is laughably easy. You pull it out of the box, plug in a single power cable, and you're off. The included Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse (or trackpad, if you choose) pair automatically, and the battery life on those accessories lasts for months. If you're already in the Apple ecosystem with an iPhone or iPad, the integration is seamless. You can copy something on your phone and paste it on the Mac, take calls, or even mirror your iPhone screen. It's the kind of stuff that makes switching away from Apple really hard once you're used to it.

Skip the iMac if you're a PC gamer, an engineer who needs specialized Windows software, or anyone who likes to upgrade their own machine over time. The integrated graphics and sealed chassis make it a poor fit for those use cases. You'd be much happier with a user-upgradeable Windows desktop like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5i or a custom-built PC. It's also a tough sell if you're not already invested in the Apple ecosystem, as a lot of the magic relies on having an iPhone or iPad nearby.

The 2024 iMac is a brilliant computer for a specific person. If you want a beautiful, quiet, and fast all-in-one for a home office, family room, or dorm, and you're already using an iPhone, this is a no-brainer. The display is top-tier, the performance is snappy, and the whole experience feels polished in a way that Windows all-in-ones still struggle to match. It's the best all-in-one for everyday life, bar none.

But you should know exactly what you're getting into. This is not a machine you can upgrade later. The base storage is tight, and gaming is a real blind spot. If you're a power user who likes to tinker, or you need a computer that can double as a gaming rig after work, you'll feel constrained pretty quickly. For everyone else, the iMac is a joy to use and easy to recommend.