iMac (Intel-based)

The Intel-based iMac is a discontinued series of Macintosh all-in-one desktop computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Inc. from 2006 to 2022. While sold, it was one of three desktop computers in the Macintosh lineup, serving as an all-in-one alternative to the Mac Mini, and sat below the performance range Mac Pro. It was sold alongside the Xeon-based iMac Pro from 2017 to 2021.

iMac (Intel-based)

iMac (2020)
Developer	Apple Inc.
Type	All-in-one PC
Release date	January 10, 2006 (2006-01-10) (original model) August 4, 2020 (2020-08-04); 13 months ago (last model)
Discontinued	April 20, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-04-20) (Retina 4K 21.5-inch) October 30, 2021; 19 months ago (2021-10-30) (21.5 inch) March 8, 2022; 15 months ago (2022-03-08) (27-inch)
Operating system	macOS
CPU	Intel Core i5, i7, i9 Intel Core Duo (original model)
Predecessor	iMac G5 eMac
Successor	iMac (Apple silicon)
Related	Mac Mini Mac Pro iMac Pro

Pre-2009 iMac models featured either a white polycarbonate enclosure or an aluminum enclosure. The October 2009 iMac model featured a unibody aluminum enclosure, a version of which could had been seen on the latest models before the launch of the Apple silicon colourful iMacs. The iMacs released in October 2012 also featured a much thinner display, with the edge measuring just 5 mm.^[1]

The Intel-based iMac was succeeded by the iMac M1 beginning in 2021 as part of the Mac transition to Apple silicon. On April 20, 2021, Apple discontinued the 21.5-inch Intel iMac with 4K Retina Display following the release of a 24-inch model based on the Apple M1 processor, and discontinued the remaining non-Retina models in October 2021. The 27-inch model was discontinued on March 8, 2022, following the announcement of the Mac Studio and 27-inch Apple Studio Display.^[2]

History

At the Macworld Conference and Expo on January 10, 2006, Steve Jobs announced that the new iMac would be the first Macintosh to use an Intel CPU, the Core Duo. The introduction of the new iMac along with the Intel-based MacBook Pro was the start of the Mac transition to Intel processors. In the following months, the other Mac products followed, including the introduction of the Intel Core-powered Mac mini on February 28, 2006, the MacBook consumer line of laptop computers on May 16, 2006, the Mac Pro on August 7, 2006, and the Xserve in 2007, completing the transition.

The features, price, and case design remained unchanged from the iMac G5. The processor speed, however, according to tests run by Apple using SPEC,^[3] was declared to be two to three times faster than the iMac G5.

On June 22, 2020, Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote included the announcement that future Macintosh computers would transition yet again to Apple's own ARM-based system-on-chips;^[4] in April 2021, Apple unveiled a redesigned iMac based on its M1 system-on-chip.^[5]

Polycarbonate (2006)

Polycarbonate iMacs

 

17-inch Polycarbonate iMac

 

17", 20", and 24" iMacs from late 2006

Alongside the MacBook Pro, the iMac Core Duo represents Apple's first computer to feature Intel processors instead of PowerPC processors. It retained the style, design, and features of the preceding iMac G5.

In early February 2006, Apple confirmed reports of video display problems on the new Intel-based iMacs. When playing video on Apple's Front Row media browser, some 20-inch iMacs (those built-to-order with upgraded video cards) showed random horizontal lines, ghosting, video tearing and other problems. The problem was fixed with a software update.

In early September 2006, Apple introduced a new version of the iMac including a Core 2 Duo chip and a lower price. Apple added a new 24-inch model with IPS-display and a resolution of 1920 × 1200 (WUXGA), making it the first iMac to be able to display 1080p content in its full resolution, and a VESA Flat Display Mounting Interface. Except for the 17-inch 1.83 GHz processor model, this version also included an 802.11n draft card.^[6]

Specifications of polycarbonate iMacs

All of these models are obsolete.^[a][7]

Model	Early 2006^[8]		Mid 2006^[9]	Late 2006^[10]
Component / processor model	Yonah Intel Core Duo			Merom Intel Core 2 Duo
Release date	January 10, 2006; 17 years ago (2006-01-10)^[11]		July 5, 2006; 16 years ago (2006-07-05)^[12]	September 6, 2006; 16 years ago (September 6, 2006)^[13]
Model number	A1173	A1174	A1195		A1208	A1207	A1200
Model identifier^[14]	iMac4,1		iMac4,2	iMac5,2	iMac5,1		iMac6,1
Apple order no.^[15]^[16]^[14]	MA199	MA200	MA406	MA710	MA590	MA589	MA456
Enclosure	White polycarbonate
Display	17-inch 1440 × 900	20-inch 1680 × 1050	17-inch 1440 × 900			20-inch, 1680 × 1050	24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS
	Widescreen 16:10, matte display
Processor	1.83 GHz (T2400 Yonah) Intel Core Duo 2 MB L2 cache	2.0 GHz (T2500 Yonah) Intel Core Duo 2 MB L2 cache	1.83 GHz (T2400 Yonah) Intel Core Duo 2 MB L2 cache	1.83 GHz (T5600 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo 2 MB L2 cache	2 GHz (T7200 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo 4 MB L2 cache	2.16 GHz (T7400 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo 4 MB L2 cache
	—				Optional: 2.16 GHz (T7400 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo	Optional: 2.33 GHz (T7600 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo
System bus	667 MHz front-side bus
Memory	667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SO-DIMM SDRAM
	512 MB single SO-DIMM, one slot free Optional: 2 GB				512 MB (2× 256 MB) or 1 GB (2× 512 MB) Optional: 4 GB (3 GB usable)
Video card	ATI Radeon X1600 with 128 MB GDDR3 SDRAM		Intel GMA 950 with 64 MB shared memory		ATI Radeon X1600 with 128 MB GDDR3 SDRAM		nVidia GeForce 7300GT with 128 MB GDDR3 SDRAM
	—	Optional: 256 MB	—	—	—	Optional: 256 MB	Optional: 7600GT with 256 MB
Storage / Hard drive	160 GB Optional: 250 GB	250 GB Optional: 500 GB	160 GB Optional: 250 GB	160 GB	160 GB Optional: 250, 500 GB	250 GB Optional: 500 GB
	Serial ATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive	Slot-loading 8× SuperDrive with 2.4× DL recording (DVD+R DL, DVD±RW, CD-RW)		24× combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW)		SuperDrive
Connectivity	Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g Gigabit Ethernet Apple Remote infrared receiver Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (except late 2006 1.83 GHz)				Internal Airport Extreme 802.11a/b/g (draft-n disabled by default) Gigabit Ethernet Apple Remote infrared receiver Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Camera	iSight camera (640 × 480, 0.3 MP)
Video out	Mini-DVI
Peripherals	3× USB 2.0 2× FireWire 400 Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in			3× USB 2.0 2× FireWire 400 Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input			3× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 400 1× FireWire 800 Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input
Minimum operating system	Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Maximum operating system	Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard if 1 GB RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard			Mac OS X 10.7 Lion if 2 GB RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Unofficially able to go to OS X 10.11 El Capitan by modifying the EFI or replacing it's motherboard with an iMac motherboard that included in iMac released between 2007 and 2008 (pre-2009) and either have merom or penryn core 2 duo on 24" models only^[17] using third-party programs.^[18]
	Microsoft Windows 10 (32 bit)			Microsoft Windows 10 (32 and 64 bit)

Aluminum (2007–2009)

 

24-inch Aluminum iMac

In August 2007, Apple introduced a complete redesign of the iMac, featuring an aluminum, glass and plastic enclosure. There is only one visible screw on the entire computer, located at the base of the iMac for accessing the memory slots. It has a black, plastic backplate that is not user-removable. The 17-inch model was completely removed from the lineup.

In March 2009, Apple released a minor refresh of the iMac line. Changes included a fourth USB port, replacement of two FireWire 400 ports with one FireWire 800 port, replacement of mini-DVI with Mini DisplayPort, and a slightly redesigned base which is thinner. The exterior design was almost identical to the older Intel-based iMacs. The models were one 20-inch configuration and three 24-inch configurations (instead of two at each screen size as before).^[19]

Apple doubled the default RAM and hard-disk size on all models, moving the RAM to the DDR3^[20] specification. This revision also introduced a new, smaller, and more compact Apple Keyboard that excluded the numeric keypad and forward delete key in favor of the fn + Delete keyboard shortcut by default.^[19] Users could, however, replace this version with a more traditional, full-size model with a numeric keypad by requesting Apple to build their machine to order through its online store.

Specifications of aluminum iMacs

All of these models are obsolete.^[a][7]

Model	Mid 2007^[20]			Early 2008^[21]				Early 2009^[22]		Mid 2009 (education only)^[23]
Component / processor model	Merom Intel Core 2 Duo			Penryn Intel Core 2 Duo
Released	August 7, 2007^[24]			April 28, 2008^[25]				March 3, 2009^[26]		April 7, 2009^[27]	March 4, 2010^[28]	May 3, 2011 ^[28]
Discontiued	April 28, 2008			March 3, 2009				October 20, 2009		March 4, 2010	May 3, 2011	March 7, 2012
Model number	A1224		A1225	A1224		A1225		A1224	A1225	A1224
Model identifier^[14]	iMac7,1			iMac8,1				iMac9,1
Order number^[15]^[16]^[14]	MA876	MA877	MA878	MB323	MB324	MB325	MB398	MB417	MB418 (256 MB/640 GB/2.66 GHz) MB419 (256 MB/640 GB/2.93 GHz) MB420 (512 MB/1 TB/3.06 GHz)	MC015/A	MC015/B	MC015/C
Enclosure	Aluminum, glass and plastic
Display	20-inch 1680 × 1050		24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS	20-inch 1680 × 1050		24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS		20-inch 1680 × 1050	24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS	20-inch 1680 × 1050
	Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:10
Processor	2.0 GHz (T7300 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo 4 MB L2 cache	2.4 GHz (T7700 Merom) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.8 GHz (X7900 Merom XE) Intel Core 2 Extreme 4 MB L2 cache	2.4 GHz (E8135 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo 6 MB L2 cache	2.66 GHz (E8335 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.8 GHz (E8235 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo 6 MB L2 cache	3.06 GHz (E8435 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo	2.66 GHz (E8135 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo 6 MB L2 cache	2.66 GHz (E8135 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo or 2.93 GHz (E8335 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo 6 MB L2 cache	2.0 GHz (P7350 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo 3 MB L2 cache	2.26 GHz (P7550 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo 3 MB L2 cache
								Optional: 2.93 GHz (E8335 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo	Optional: 3.06 GHz (E8435 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo		Optional: 2.66 GHz (E8135 Penryn) Intel Core 2 Duo
System bus	800 MHz front-side bus			1066 MHz front-side bus
Memory	1 GB (2× 512 MB) or 2 GB (2× 1 GB) Optional: 6 GB (4 GB, officially)			1 GB (2× 512 MB) Optional: 6 GB (4 GB, officially)	2 GB (2× 1 GB) Optional: 6 GB (4 GB, officially)			2 GB (2× 1 GB) or 4 GB (2× 2 GB) Optional: 8 GB		1 GB (1× 1 GB) Optional:2, 4 GB, expandable to 8 GB		2 GB (2× 1 GB) Optional:4 GB, expandable to 8 GB
	SO-DIMM DDR2 SDRAM-667 MHz			SO-DIMM DDR2 SDRAM-800 MHz				SO-DIMM DDR3 SDRAM-1066 MHz
Video card	ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128 MB GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM		Nvidia GeForce 8800 GS with 512 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory	Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory or Nvidia GeForce GT 120 with 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory
	Optional: 2600 PRO with 256 MB		—			Optional:NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS with 512 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	—
Storage / Hard drive	250 GB Optional: 320, 500, 750 GB, 1 TB		320 GB Optional: 500, 750 GB, or 1 TB	250 GB Optional: 320, 500, 750 GB, 1 TB	320 GB Optional: 500, 750 GB, 1 TB		500 GB Optional: 750 GB, 1 TB	320 GB Optional: 640 GB or 1 TB	640 GB Optional: 1 TB	160 GB Optional: 320 GB
	Serial ATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive	8× double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Connectivity	Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled) Gigabit Ethernet Apple Remote infrared receiver Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR			Internal AirPort Extreme (802.11n) 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled) Gigabit Ethernet Apple Remote infrared receiver Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR						Internal AirPort Extreme (802.11n) 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled) Gigabit Ethernet
Camera	iSight camera (640 × 480, 0.3 MP)
Video out	Mini-DVI							Mini DisplayPort
Peripherals	3× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 400 1× FireWire 800 Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input							4× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 800 Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input
Minimum operating system	Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger			Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Maximum operating system	OS X 10.11 El Capitan if 2 GB RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard							OS X 10.11 El Capitan		OS X 10.11 El Capitan if 2 GB RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard		OS X 10.11 El Capitan
	macOS 13 Ventura with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) ^[29]

Unibody (2009–2011)

 

27-inch Unibody iMac

In October 2009, a 16:9 aspect ratio screen was introduced in 21.5" and 27" models, replacing the 20" and 24" 16:10 aspect ratio screens of the previous aluminum models (a 24" iMac was brought back in 2021). The back is now a continuation of the aluminum body from the front and sides instead of a separate plastic backplate. Video card options entirely switched to AMD, save for the standard onboard Nvidia card in the base smaller model. The iMac's processor selection saw a significant increase.

The Intel i-series chips are introduced to Mac for the first time on the higher-spec 27-inch models.

Default RAM has also been increased across the iMac range. With the advent of the larger screens, Apple doubled the number of memory slots from two to four. Consequently, the maximum memory capacity was also doubled (to 16 GB),^[30] and for Intel Core i-series (27-inch), quadrupled, to 32 GB.

The 27-inch models of the line became the first to offer Target Display Mode, allowing the iMac to be used as an external display for another Mac computer when connected via Mini DisplayPort, a feature that was extended to the 21.5-inch models onwards with the introduction of Thunderbolt.

The Mid 2010 iMac 27" has AMD Radeon HD5650 and HD5750 graphic cards. Both cards cannot support the low-level Metal API, preventing this model from upgrading to Mojave and Catalina. AMD had developed a firmware upgrade that would allow both graphic cards to support Metal and Mid 2010 iMac to be upgraded to latest macOS, but Apple had refused to certify them.

The Late 2011 Unibody iMac is also the last model to include an internal SuperDrive.

Specifications of unibody iMacs

All of these models are obsolete.^[a][7]

Model	Late 2009^[31]				Mid 2010^[32]				Mid 2011^[33]				Late 2011 (education only)^[34]
Component / processor model	Wolfdale-3M Intel Core			Lynnfield Intel Core	Clarkdale Intel Core			Lynnfield Intel Core	Sandy Bridge Intel Core
Release date	October 20, 2009^[35]				July 27, 2010^[36]				May 3, 2011^[37]				August 8, 2011
Discontinued Date	July 27, 2010				May 3, 2011				October 23, 2012				March 5, 2013
Marketing model no.^[15]^[16]^[14]	MB950	MC413	MB952	MB953	MC508	MC509	MC510	MC511	MC309	MC812	MC813	MC814	MC978
Model number	A1311		A1312		A1311		A1312		A1311		A1312		A1311
Model identifier^[14]	iMac10,1			iMac11,1	iMac11,2		iMac11,3		iMac12,1		iMac12,2		iMac12,1
Enclosure	Aluminum and glass
Display	21.5-inch 1920 × 1080		27-inch 2560 × 1440		21.5-inch 1920 × 1080		27-inch, 2560 × 1440		21.5-inch 1920 × 1080		27-inch 2560 × 1440		21.5-inch, 1920 × 1080
	Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology
Processor	3.06 GHz (E7600 Wolfdale-3M) Intel Core 2 Duo 3 MB L2 cache			2.66 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) (750 Lynnfield) Intel Core i5 8 MB L3 cache	3.06 GHz 2-core (540 Clarkdale) Intel Core i3 4 MB L3 cache	3.2 GHz 2-Core (550 Clarkdale) Intel Core i3 4 MB L3 cache		2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.33 GHz (760 Lynnfield) Intel Core i5 8 MB L3 cache	2.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz) (2400S Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i5 6 MB L3 cache	2.7 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz) (2500S Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i5 6 MB L3 cache		3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz (2400 Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i5 6 MB L3 cache	3.1 GHz 2-core (2100 Sandy Bridge) 3 MB L3 cache
	Optional: 3.33 GHz (E8600 Wolfdale) Intel Core 2 Duo 6 MB L2 cache			Optional:2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.46 GHz) (860) Intel Core i7	Optional:3.2 GHz 2-Core (550) Intel Core i3 or 3.6 GHz (680 Clarkdale) Intel Core i5		Optional:3.6 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.86 GHz) (680 Clarkdale) Intel Core i5	Optional: 2.93 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (870) Intel Core i7	—	Optional: 2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) (2600S) Intel Core i7	—	Optional: 3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) (2600) Intel Core i7	—
System bus	Front-side bus			Intel Direct Media Interface
	1066 MHz Optional: 1333 MHz with 3.33 GHz Core 2 Duo option			2.5 GT/s
Memory	4 GB (two 2 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16 GB			4 GB (two 2 GB, two slots empty) Expandable to 32 GB^[38] (16 GB supported by Apple) except 2-core i3 and i5 models which only support 16 GB									2 GB (one 2 GB) Optional: 8 GB
	1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM			1066 MHz PC3-8500 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM (Upgradable to 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM)	1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM
Video card	Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory	ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM	ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512 MB GDDR3 SDRAM		ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB GDDR5 SDRAM	AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512 MB GDDR5 SDRAM		AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 256 MB GDDR5 SDRAM
												Optional: with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Storage / Hard drive	500 GB Optional: 1 or 2 TB		1 TB Optional: 2 TB		500 GB Optional: 1, 2 TB	1 TB Optional: 2 TB	1 TB Optional: 2 TB and/or 256 GB SSD		500 GB	1 TB Optional: 2 TB and/or 256 GB SSD			250 GB
	Serial ATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive	8× double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Connectivity	Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n Gigabit Ethernet Built-in infrared (IR) receiver for Apple Remote Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR												Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n Gigabit Ethernet Built-in infrared (IR) receiver for Apple Remote
Camera	iSight camera (640 × 480, 0.3 MP)								FaceTime HD camera 720p (1280 × 720, 0.9 MP)
Video out	Single Mini DisplayPort Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort adapters available								Single Thunderbolt 1 (21.5-inch) Dual Thunderbolt 1 (27-inch)				Single Mini DisplayPort
Peripherals	4× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 800 SD card slot Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input				4× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 800 SDXC card slot Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input				4× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 800 SDXC card slot Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input 1x Thunderbolt port (21.5 in (550 mm)) 2x Thunderbolt ports (27 in (690 mm))				4× USB 2.0 1× FireWire 800 SDXC card slot Headphone/digital audio output Audio line-in/digital audio input
Minimum operating system	Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Latest release operating system	macOS 10.13 High Sierra
	macOS 13 Ventura with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) ^[39]

Slim Unibody (2012–2017)

 

27-inch Slim Unibody iMac

In October 2012, a new iMac model was introduced that featured a smaller body depth than the previous models, measuring 5 mm at its thinnest point, and without an internal SuperDrive. This was partly achieved by using a process called Full lamination. The display and glass are laminated together, eliminating a 2 mm gap between them. The 21.5-in and 27-in screens remained at their previous resolutions, 1920 × 1080 and 2560 × 1440 respectively.

As with the 2009 model, memory has been upgraded; the standard specification is now 8 GB, with the 21.5-in model supporting up to 16 GB and the 27-in model supporting up to 32 GB. It was reported that the 21.5 in iMac would have non-replaceable soldered memory similar to the MacBook Air and Retina display MacBook Pro^[40] though tear-downs show that it uses removable memory but accessing the modules requires ungluing the screen and removing the motherboard.^[41] The 27-in version features an access port to upgrade memory without disassembling the display.^[42] Apple also upgraded the computers' processors, using Intel's Ivy Bridge microarchitecture-based Core i5 and Core i7 microprocessors.

Video cards are now Nvidia as standard. USB 3.0 ports are now included for the first time. The 2012 iMac also features the option of a Fusion Drive which combines an SSD and a conventional HDD to create more efficient and faster storage. Apple also removed the built-in optical drive starting with the 2012 model.

On March 5, 2013, Apple quietly announced an education-only version of the iMac, with less powerful specs for a cheaper price. It included a 3.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB memory, a 0.5 TB (1 TB = 1000 billion bytes) hard drive and Intel HD Graphics 4000, retailing for US$1,099, $200 cheaper than the base-level consumer iMac.^[43]

On September 24, 2013, the 2012 iMac model was updated with 4th-generation Intel Haswell processors and Nvidia 7xx series GPU, promising up to 1.4× improvements in performance. It also has 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is capable of reaching speeds up to 1300 Mbit/s^[44] and PCIe-based flash storage, offering up to 1.5× the performance of previous Ivy Bridge unibody iMacs. This applies to both the Fusion Drive and pure-SSD options. These became the last iMacs to offer Target Display Mode, as the Retina line introduced the following year are incompatible with the feature due to resolution differences.

At WWDC on June 5, 2017, a refreshed model was added with Kaby Lake processors and Bluetooth 4.2 support. Apple retailed the 21.5-inch model until October 29, 2021. It was sold in a single stock configuration priced at $1,099 with a 2.3 GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor. The machine was heavily criticized (more so towards the end of its production) for its lagging specifications, outdated design, and comparatively high price. The machine, however, was said to be popular among education shoppers.^[45] It was the last Mac to have a Fusion Drive (albeit as an option), and after having them for 36 years, the last Mac to have a traditional hard drive, also It was the last Apple Product to have non Retina Display.

Specifications of slim unibody iMacs

Obsolete^[7]

Vintage

Discontinued

Model name		Late 2012^[46]^[47]				Early 2013 (education only)	Late 2013^[48]^[49]				Mid 2014^[50]	Late 2015^[51]		2017
Component / processor model		Ivy Bridge Intel Core					Haswell Intel Core					Broadwell Intel Core		Kaby Lake Intel Core
Timetable	Released	November 30, 2012^[52]		2013 ^[53]^[54]		March 5, 2013	September 24, 2013^[55]				June 18, 2014^[56]	October 13, 2015^[57]		June 5, 2017
	Discontinued	September 24, 2013				June 18, 2014	October 13, 2015				October 13, 2015	June 5, 2017		October 29, 2021
	Vintage
	Obsolete
Model numbers	Model	A1418		A1419		A1418			A1419		A1418
	Model identifier^[14]	iMac13,1		iMac13,2		iMac13,1	iMac14,1	iMac14,3^[58]	iMac14,2		iMac14,4	iMac16,1		iMac18,1
	Apple Order number^[15]^[16]^[14]	MD093	MD094	MD095	MD096	MD699	ME086	ME087	ME088	ME089	MF883, MG022	MK142	MK442	MMQA2, MHK03 (2020 SSD revision)
Enclosure		Aluminum and glass
Display		21.5-inch 1920 × 1080		27-inch 2560 × 1440		21.5-inch 1920 × 1080			27-inch 2560 × 1440		21.5-inch 1920 × 1080
		Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology
Performance	Processor	2.7 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) (3330S Ivy Bridge) ^[59] Intel Core i5	2.9 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (3470S Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i5 Optional: 3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (3770S Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7 8 MB L3 cache)	2.9 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (3470S Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i5	3.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (3470 Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i5	3.3 GHz 2-core (3225 Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i3 Optional: 3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (3770 Ivy Bridge) Intel Core i7 8 MB L3 cache)	2.7 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) (4570R Haswell) Intel Core i5	2.9 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (4570S Haswell) Intel Core i5 Optional: 3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (4770S Haswell) Intel Core i7 8 MB L3 cache)	3.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (4570 Haswell) Intel Core i5 Optional: 3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (4770S Haswell) Intel Core i7 8 MB L3 cache)	3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz (4670 Haswell) Intel Core i5	1.4 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz (4260U Haswell) Intel Core i5 Optional: 3.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (4771 Haswell) Intel Core i7 8 MB L3 cache)	1.6 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz (5250U Broadwell) Intel Core i5	2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz) (5575R Broadwell) Intel Core i5	2.3 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (7360U Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5
		6 MB L3 cache				3 MB L3 cache	4 MB L3 cache	6 MB L3 cache			3 MB shared L3 cache		4 MB shared L3 cache	4 MB shared L3 cache and 64 MB L4 cache
	System bus	Intel Direct Media Interface 5 GT/s
	Memory	8 GB (2× 4 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot) Optional: 16 GB		8 GB (2× 4 GB, 2× empty slot) Optional: 16 and 32 GB		4 GB (two 2 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot) Expandable to 16 GB with third-party modules.	8 GB (two 4 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot) Optional: 16 GB		8 GB (2× 4 GB, 2× empty slot) Optional: 16 or 32 GB		8 GB (soldered on-board)	8 GB (soldered on-board) Optional: 16 GB		8 GB (two 4 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot) Optional: 16 GB, expandable to 32 GB with third-party modules.
		1600 MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM									1600 MHz PC3-12800 LPDDR3 SDRAM (soldered on-board)	1867 MHz PC3-14900 LPDDR3 SDRAM (soldered on-board)		2133 MHz DDR4
	Video card	Nvidia GeForce GT 640M with 512 MB GDDR5 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce GT 650M with 512 MB GDDR5 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M with 512 MB GDDR5 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 675MX with 1 GB GDDR5 SDRAM Optional: Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Intel HD Graphics 4000	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200	Nvidia GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce GT 755M with 1 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM Optional: Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Intel HD Graphics 5000	Intel HD Graphics 6000	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
Storage / Hard drive		1 TB Optional:1 TB Fusion, 128, 256, 512 GB SSD Fusion Drive initially only for high-end model, later added low-end model support^[60]^[61]		1 TB Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512, 768 GB SSD		500 GB	1 TB Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 256 or 512 GB SSD		1 TB Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1 or 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD		500 GB Optional:1 TB HDD, 1 TB Fusion, or 256 GB SSD	1 TB Optional: 1 TB Fusion or 256 GB SSD	1 TB Optional: 1 or 2 TB Fusion, or 256 GB SSD	256 GB SSD Optional:1 TB Fusion (1 TB HDD discontinued since Q3 2020)
		Serial ATA 5400 rpm and Mini-SATA III (6 Gbit/s) for SSD		Serial ATA 7200 rpm and Mini-SATA III (6 Gbit/s) for SSD		Serial ATA 5400 rpm	Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCIe 2.0 ×2 5.0 GT/s (8 Gbit/s) for SSD		Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCIe 2.0 ×2 5.0 GT/s (8 Gbit/s) for SSD		Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCI-e for SSD
Connectivity		Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 4.0					Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 4.0							Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 4.2
Camera		FaceTime HD camera 720p (1280 × 720, 0.9 MP)
Video out		Dual Thunderbolt 1; up to two 2560 x 1440 displays										Dual Thunderbolt 2; up to two 3840 x 2160 (4K) displays	Dual Thunderbolt 2; up to two 4096 x 2304 (4K UHD) displays	Dual Thunderbolt 3; up to two 4096 x 2304 (4K UHD) displays or one 5120 x 2880 (5K) dual-cable display
Peripherals		4× USB 3.0 SDXC card slot Headphone/digital audio output Kensington Lock Slot
		2× Thunderbolt ports Mini DisplayPort output, VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort adapters (for input) available										2x Thunderbolt 2 Mini DisplayPort output, VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort adapters (for input) available		2x Thunderbolt 3 DisplayPort output, VGA, DVI, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 adapters available
Operating system	Minimum	OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion									OS X 10.9 Mavericks	OS X 10.11 El Capitan		macOS 10.12 Sierra
	Latest release	macOS 10.15 Catalina									macOS 11 Big Sur	macOS 12 Monterey		macOS 13 Ventura
		macOS 13 Ventura with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) ^[62]

Retina (2014–2020)

 

27-inch Retina iMac

A Retina Display "5K" model with a resolution of 5120 × 2880 was introduced alongside the previous year's models during a keynote on October 16, 2014. This 27-inch model was given faster Haswell processors and its two Thunderbolt ports were updated to Thunderbolt 2. Secondary storage was also upgraded to a 1 TB^[63] Fusion drive as standard and video options changed over to AMD Radeon R9 M290X and M295X.

In May 2015, a separate, affordable, budget counterpart of the 5K 27-inch iMac was announced with lower specifications. That same day the Late 2013 iMac lineup was completely discontinued. Later that year, a 21.5-inch "4K" model with a resolution of 4096 × 2304 was released on October 13, 2015 with older Broadwell processors, as the 27-inch counterparts were upgraded that day directly to Skylake ones. The new rechargeable and wireless peripherals were also introduced that day.

In 2017, both 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs were refreshed with Kaby Lake processors, DDR4 memories and upgraded AMD graphics with doubled or more graphic memories, Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, and Bluetooth 4.2. They were refreshed again in 2019 with Coffee Lake processors, including an 8-core build-to-order option, faster memory, and upgraded graphics including AMD Vega graphics as top of line build-to-order options.

On August 4, 2020, Apple refreshed the 27-inch 5K iMac with Comet Lake processors, AMD RDNA architecture GPUs, the T2 security chip, a 1080p FaceTime camera, Bluetooth 5, improved speakers and microphones, and solid state drives (SSD) standard. 10 Gigabit Ethernet and nano-etched glass, similar to the Pro Display XDR, are available as upgrade options. All models include non-replaceable, soldered SSDs, while models upgraded to 4 TB and 8 TB include an expansion bay for a second SSD. It was the last Mac with an Intel processor introduced by Apple, as well as the only Intel Mac introduced after the announcement of the Mac transition to Apple silicon.^[64]

The 2019 21.5-inch models remained available but received a minor configuration change with SSDs standard, with higher-capacity Fusion Drives as a free build-to-order option, while hard disk drives were no longer available.^[65] The 2020 refresh marked the end of hard disk drives in standard configuration Macs, having been available in Macs since the Macintosh XL in 1985, as the 21.5-inch iMac was the only Mac still sold with them.^[66] In March 2021, Apple silently removed the 512 GB and 1 TB SSD configurations for the 21.5-inch iMac.^[67]

The 21.5 inch iMac with 4K Retina Display was discontinued on April 20, 2021, after the announcement of the first Apple silicon-based iMac. The 27-inch model was discontinued on March 8, 2022, after the announcement of the Mac Studio and 27-inch Apple Studio Display, and marked the end of Intel-based iMac models, and the return of the iMac to a single sized model since the introduction of 17" inch iMac G4 in 2002.

Specifications of Retina iMacs

Obsolete^[a]

Vintage

Discontinued

Model	Late 2014^[68]	Mid 2015	Late 2015^[69]^[70]				2017					2019					2020
Component / processor model	Haswell Intel Core		Broadwell Intel Core	Skylake Intel Core			Kaby Lake Intel Core					Coffee Lake Intel Core					Comet Lake Intel Core
Release date	October 16, 2014^[71]	May 19, 2015	October 13, 2015^[57]				June 5, 2017					March 19, 2019					August 4, 2020
Discontinued Date	October 13, 2015	October 13, 2015	June 5, 2017				March 19, 2019					April 20, 2021		August 4, 2020			March 8, 2022
Model number	A1419		A1418	A1419			A1418^[72]		A1419			A2116^[73]		A2115^[74]			A2115
Model identifier^[14]	iMac15,1		iMac16,2	iMac17,1			iMac18,2		iMac18,3			iMac19,2^[75]		iMac19,1^[75]			iMac20,1^[75]		iMac20,1, iMac20,2^[76]
Part number^[14]	MF886	MF885	MK452	MK462	MK472	MK482	MNDY2	MNE02	MNE92	MNEA2	MNED2	MRT32, MHK23 (SSD revision)	MRT42, MHK33 (SSD revision)	MRQY2	MRR02	MRR12	MXWT2	MXWU2	MXWV2
Display	27-inch 5120 × 2880		21.5-inch 4096 × 2304	27-inch 5120 × 2880			21.5-inch 4096 × 2304		27-inch 5120 × 2880			21.5-inch 4096 × 2304		27-inch 5120 × 2880
	Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology		Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology with P3 color gamut				Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology with P3 color gamut 500 nits brightness										Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting, and IPS technology with P3 color gamut. 500 nits brightness, support for True Tone technology. Configurable with nano-texture glass for $500 before 2021-04-21, then $300^[77]
Processor	3.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz (4690 Haswell) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.3 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz) (4590 Haswell) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (5675R Broadwell) Intel Core i5 4 MB shared L3 cache and 128 MB L4 cache	3.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (6500 Skylake) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache		3.3 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (6600 Skylake) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.0 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz) (7400 Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) (7500 Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache		3.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz) (7600 Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz) (7600K Kaby Lake) Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.6 GHz 4-core (8100 Coffee Lake) Intel Core i3 6 MB shared L3 cache	3.0 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz) (8500 Coffee Lake) Intel Core i5 9 MB shared L3 cache		3.1 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.3 GHz) (8600 Coffee Lake) Intel Core i5 9 MB shared L3 cache	3.7 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz) (9600K Coffee Lake) Intel Core i5 9 MB shared L3 cache	3.1 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz) (10500 Comet Lake) Intel Core i5 12 MB shared L3 cache	3.3 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.8 GHz) (10600 Comet Lake) Intel Core i5 12 MB shared L3 cache	3.8 GHz 8-core (Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz) (10700K Comet Lake) Intel Core i7 16 MB shared L3 cache
	Optional: 4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.4 GHz) Haswell Intel Core i7 8 MB shared L3 cache	—	Optional: 3.3 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) Broadwell Intel Core i7 6 MB shared L3 cache and 128 MB L4 cache	—	Optional: 4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz) Skylake Intel Core i7 8 MB shared L3 cache		Optional: 3.6 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz) Kaby Lake Intel Core i7 8 MB shared L3 cache (i7 7700)		—	Optional: 4.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz) Kaby Lake Intel Core i7 8 MB shared L3 cache (i7 7700K)		Optional: 3.2 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz) Coffee Lake Intel Core i7 12 MB Cache (i7 8700)		—	Optional: 3.6 GHz 8-core (Turbo Boost up to 5 GHz) Coffee Lake Intel Core i9-9900K w/ 16 MB Cache		—	Optional: 3.6 GHz 10-core (Turbo Boost up to 5 GHz) Comet Lake Intel Core i9-10910 w/20 MB Cache
System bus	Intel Direct Media Interface 2.0			Intel Direct Media Interface 3.0
Memory	8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16 or 32 GB		8 GB (soldered on-board) Optional: 16 GB	8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional:16, 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third party modules.^[78]			8 GB (two 4 GB), non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot Optional: 16 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third-party modules.^[citation needed]	8 GB (two 4 GB), non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot Optional:16 or 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third-party modules.^[citation needed]	8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16 or 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third party modules.^[79]	8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16, 32, 64 GB		8 GB (two 4 GB), non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot Optional: 16 or 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third party modules.^[citation needed]		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16 or 32 GB, expandable to 128 GB with third-party modules.	8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16, 32, 64 GB, expandable to 128 GB with third party modules.^[80]		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty) Optional: 16, 32, 64 GB, expandable to 128 GB
	1600 MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM		1867 MHz PC3-14900 LPDDR3 SDRAM (soldered onboard)	1867 MHz PC3-14900 DDR3L SO-DIMM SDRAM			2400 MHz PC4-19200 DDR4 SO-DIMM SDRAM						2666 MHz PC4-21300 DDR4 SO-DIMM SDRAM
Graphics	AMD Radeon R9 M290X with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM 30-bit Deep Color Optional: AMD Radeon R9 M295X with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM^[81]	AMD Radeon R9 M290 with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM 30-bit Deep Color	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM 30-bit Deep Color	AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM 30-bit Deep Color	AMD Radeon R9 M395 with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM 30-bit Deep Color Optional: AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 560 with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 570 with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 575 with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 580 with 8 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 555X with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 560X with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM Optional: Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4 GB HBM2 memory	Radeon Pro 570X with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 575X with 4 GB GDDR5 SDRAM	Radeon Pro 580X with 8 GB GDDR5 SDRAM Optional: Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 8 GB HBM2 memory	Radeon Pro 5300 with 4 GB GDDR6 SDRAM		Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8 GB GDDR6 SDRAM Optional: Radeon Pro 5700 with 8 GB GDDR6 SDRAM or Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
Storage / Hard drive	1 TB Fusion Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD	1 TB Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1 or 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD	1 TB Optional: 1 or 2 TB Fusion, 256 or 512 GB SSD	1 TB Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1, 2, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB SSD	1 TB Fusion Optional: 2 or 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD	2 TB Fusion Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD	1 TB Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 256 or 512 GB SSD	1 TB Fusion Optional: 256, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD	1 TB Fusion Optional: 2 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD	1 TB Fusion Optional: 2, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD	2 TB Fusion Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1, or 2 TB SSD	1 TB Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD After Aug 4, 2020: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD After Mar 20, 2021: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion	1 TB Fusion Optional: 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD After Aug 4, 2020: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD After Mar 20, 2021: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion	1 TB Fusion Optional: 2 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD	1 TB Fusion Optional: 2, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD	2 TB Fusion Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1, 2 TB SSD	256 GB SSD	512 GB SSD Optional: 1, 2 TB SSD	512 GB SSD Optional: 1, 2, 4, 8 TB SSD
	Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD		Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCI-e for SSD	Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD			Serial ATA 5400 rpm	Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCI-e for SSD	Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD			Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCI-e for SSD		Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD			soldered on board
Security Chip	None																Apple T2
Connectivity	Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 4.0						Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 4.2										Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Gigabit Ethernet Bluetooth 5.0 Optional: 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Camera	720p FaceTime HD camera																1080p FaceTime HD camera
Video out	Up to two 4096 x 2304 (4K UHD) displays or one 5120 x 2880 (5K) dual-cable display^[82]						Up to two 4096 x 2304 (4K UHD) displays or one 5120 x 2880 (5K) display^[83]					Up to two 4096 x 2304 (4K UHD) displays with support for millions of colors or one 6016 x 3384 (6K) display with support for 1 billion colors^[84]							In addition: Up to two 6016 x 3384 (6K) displays with support for billions of colors w/ Radeon Pro 5700 or Radeon Pro 5700 XT
Peripherals	4× USB 3.0 SDXC card slot Headphone/digital audio output 2× Thunderbolt 2 ports Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort adapters available Kensington Lock Slot						4× USB 3.0 SDXC card slot Headphone audio output 2× Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C 3.1 gen 2) ports Kensington Lock Slot										4× USB 3.0 SDXC card slot (UHS-II) Headphone audio output 2× Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C 3.1 gen 2) ports Kensington Lock Slot
Minimum operating system	OS X 10.10 Yosemite		OS X 10.11 El Capitan				macOS 10.12 Sierra					macOS 10.14 Mojave					macOS 10.15 Catalina
Latest release operating system	macOS 11 Big Sur		macOS 12 Monterey				macOS 13 Ventura					macOS 14 Sonoma
	macOS 13 Ventura with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) ^[85]

Supported operating systems

Supported macOS releases
OS release	Polycarbonate			Aluminum			Unibody			Slim unibody			Retina
	Early 2006	Mid 2006	Late 2006	Mid 2007	Early 2008	Early 2009	Late 2009	Mid 2010	Mid 2011	Late 2012	Late 2013	Mid 2014	Late 2014	Mid 2015	Late 2015^[b]	2017^[b]	2019	2020
10.4 Tiger	10.4.4	10.4.7	10.4.10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10.5 Leopard					10.5.2	10.5.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10.6 Snow Leopard	Requires 1 GB RAM or more						10.6.3	10.6.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10.7 Lion	requires iMac Late 2006 or later		Requires 2 GB RAM or more					—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10.8 Mountain Lion	requires iMac Mid 2007 or later		requires iMac Mid 2007 or later	Requires 2 GB RAM or more					10.8.1	10.8.4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
10.9 Mavericks	requires iMac Mid 2007 or later	patch, requires either processor upgrade or iMac Mid 2007 or later, no graphics acceleration	requires iMac Mid 2007 or later	Requires 2 GB RAM or more							10.9.3	—	—	—	—	—	—
10.10 Yosemite	patch, requires either iMac Mid 2007 or later or a processor upgrade, no graphics acceleration		requires iMac Mid 2007 or later, no graphics acceleration	Requires 2 GB RAM or more									10.10.3	—	—	—	—
10.11 El Capitan				Requires 2 GB RAM or more											—	—	—
10.12 Sierra				requires either a processor upgrade or iMac Late 2009 or later for Sierra and High Sierra, and as for Mojave and Catalina: requires iMac Late 2012 or later	requires iMac Late 2009 or later											10.12.5	—	—
10.13 High Sierra					requires iMac Late 2009 or later												—	—
10.14 Mojave					requires iMac Late 2012 or later												10.14.3	—
10.15 Catalina					requires iMac Late 2012 or later													10.15.6
11 Big Sur				patch, requires either a processor upgrade or iMac Mid 2014 or later, no bluetooth	requires iMac Mid 2014 or later
12 Monterey				patch, requires either a processor upgrade or iMac Late 2015 or later, no bluetooth, wifi, or graphics acceleration	patch, no bluetooth, wifi, or graphics acceleration, requires iMac Late 2015 or later					requires iMac Late 2015 or later
13 Ventura										requires iMac 2017 or later
14 Sonoma										requires iMac 2019 or later

Supported Windows versions
OS release	Polycarbonate		Aluminum	Unibody			Slim unibody	Retina
	Early 2006	Mid 2006-Early 2009		Late 2009	Mid 2010	Mid 2011	Late 2012-Mid 2015		Late 2015	2017–2020
Windows XP 32-bit^[Note 1]^[86]^[87]				requires iMac Early 2009 or earlier
Windows Vista 32-bit^[Note 2]^[86]^[87]				requires iMac Early 2009 or earlier
Windows Vista 64-bit^[Note 2]^[86]				requires iMac Early 2009 or earlier
Windows 7 32-bit^[Note 3]^[86]^[88]
Windows 7 64-bit^[Note 4]^[86]^[89]
Windows 8 ^[Note 5]^[Note 6]^[86]					requires iMac Mid 2011 or later^[Note 7]
Windows 8.1 ^[Note 8]^[Note 6]^[90]^[89]					requires iMac Mid 2011 or later^[Note 7]
Windows 10 ^[Note 9]^[Note 6]^[91]^[89]					requires iMac Late 2012 or later	requires iMac Late 2012 or later

Timeline of iMac models

Timeline of iMac and eMac models (sorted by screen sizes) v t e
See also: List of Mac models

Notes

1. Apple products that were discontinued 7 years ago and no longer receive hardware support from Apple or service providers but still supports the latest software release.
2. Includes 21.5" non-Retina models released in the same date (Late 2015 and Mid 2017)

1. Windows XP can only be installed on Macs built up until late 2009 with Boot Camp 3 or earlier, excluding the late 2009 high-end 27-inch model. This includes Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier and copies of Mac OS X 10.7 that have not been updated to Boot Camp 4.
2. Windows Vista can only be installed on Macs built up until late 2009 with Boot Camp 3 or earlier, excluding the late 2009 high-end 27-inch model. This includes Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier and copies of Mac OS X 10.7 that have not been updated to Boot Camp 4.
3. The 32-bit version of Windows 7 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 3.1 to 6.0. This includes OS X 10.11 and earlier.
4. The 64-bit version of Windows 7 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 3.1 or later, running macOS High Sierra or earlier. Later versions of macOS no longer support Windows 7.
5. Windows 8 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 5.0 to 6.0. This includes OS X 10.11 and earlier.
6. Only 64-bit versions of Windows are supported for Windows 8 and later.
7. Only the 27-inch model of the Mid-2010 and later versions of iMac supports Windows 8 and 8.1. The 21.5-inch model is not supported. The Mid-2011 and later versions of the 21.5-inch model are supported.
8. Windows 8.1 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 5.1 or later, running macOS High Sierra or earlier. Later versions of macOS no longer support Windows 8.1.
9. Windows 10 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 6.0 or later. It is the only supported version of Windows on macOS Mojave and later.

References

1. https://www.apple.com/imac/design/ August 20, 2014, at the Wayback Machine - Retrieved December 2012
2. Hall, Zac (March 8, 2022). "Goodbye, 27-inch iMac; hello Mac Studio and Studio Display — Apple discontinues all-in-one". 9to5Mac. from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
3. . Apple Inc. Archived from the original on May 29, 2006. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
4. . Ars Technica. June 22, 2020. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
5. Gonzalez, Oscar. "New iMac comes with magnetic power plug that doubles as Ethernet cable". CNET. from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
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