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Full Performance Review Apple new iMac 27-inch, Great Performance with luxury design

Big update for iMacs with Intel CPUs installed, the new Mac flagship.

Story Highlights
  • Apple's integrated the desktop "iMac" 27-inch model that appeared on August 4
  • Inside Box: 27‑inch iMac with Retina 5K display, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, Power cord, Lightning to USB Cable, Polishing Cloth.

After Apple announced it would move its Mac CPUs from Intel to ARM, the first major update was the Mac-most-like Mac, the 27-inch iMac model, which represents Mac. Nowadays, many people might feel surprised to upgrade such flagship machines with Intel CPUs installed. Sure, this might be the last big update for iMacs with Intel CPUs. Here, let’s explore the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch from various angles.

The latest form of Intel iMac? Review Apple New iMac 27-inch model is a pinnacle machine

Even if you take the “among Apple products” boundaries and look at the entire PC industry, you can’t find another enduring machine with the same name as the iMac and has changed its style significantly during that period. Looking back, the original iMac was a CRT integrated product with a see-through body, with the color name “Bonsai Blue” being the keyword. It was August 1998, so it was exactly 22 years ago. This was a fairly new design even then, and it influenced the design of all industrial products, not just personal computers.

After that, products that pursued a change in appearance with a variety of colors and textures due to painting were continued, even though their shapes were almost the same. As LCD monitors became popular, the iMac was born with a new design, with flexible stainless steel arms that grew from the top of a half-spherical body that looked like a bowl, and an LCD monitor mounted on the end.

After that, I set the style for placing the PC body inside the LCD monitor, which has the same basic shape as the current one. Initially using a poly-carbonate body, but as aluminum processing technology evolved, came the iMac with an integrated LCD that used the same aluminum body as it is today.

In this way, the iMac has not only been a flagship product of Macs for some time but continues to lead the entire Mac series in terms of new features and new CPU adoption. In the past, the first iMacs were the first to adopt a USB port, and when Mac CPUs transitioned from PowerPC to Intel, iMacs were the first to be sold with Intel CPUs.

The highlight of this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch is this product update. Of course, iMac products are expected to continue, but for models with Intel CPUs, this will likely be the last major update. Given that Apple has announced that it will complete the transition from Intel to ARM in almost two years, it is unlikely that there will be another major iMac update after next year.

Doubled memory, quadrupled storage, increased maximum number of cores to 10

With this update, almost no changes in appearance. In other words, most of the items that were updated were focused on improvements and internal performance. I say “almost” here because it contains only one appearance-related update. And that’s what you can see as the biggest feature of this update. Let’s play later and first check out the part where the internal specifications have been improved.

What directly affects performance is the CPU increase. There are three types of standard configuration models prepared for this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch. The CPUs of each standard model consists of 6-core Core i5 at 3.1GHz, 6-core Core i5 at 3.3GHz, and 8-core Core i7 at 3.8GHz, starting from the low end.

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In the CTO option, only the top two models except the lower one can choose the 10-core Core i9 which operates at 3.6GHz. The upgrade price is USD 471+ from the middle 3.3GHz Core i5 model (hereafter, all prices are tax-exclusive), and USD 377+ from the top 3.8GHz Core i7 model.

The on-board memory is 2666MHz DDR4, and all standard models start at 8GB. The options available for CTO are very wide, 16GB (USD 188+), 32GB (USD 565+), 64GB (USD 942+), and a maximum of 128GB (USD 2450+). This is double the amount possible with the older model.

In the case of a CTO, up to 32GB is USD 188 per 8GB, but 64GB is around USD 132 per 8GB, 128GB is around USD 160, and unit prices fluctuate, making it difficult to choose from a cost-performance perspective.

However, with the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch model, users can immediately access the memory slot and replace it after purchasing. You can buy an iMac with the minimum configuration initially, then purchase additional memory as needed and add it yourself. That way, you can buy memory at today’s market prices, so you don’t have to worry about at least buying an iMac.

review apple new imac
How to install the memory is posted on Apple’s official website

One of the main features of the iMac is that all models now come standard with an SSD. The traditional Fusion Drive has been discontinued. Currently, SSDs are standard for the 21.5-inch iMac and Mac mini models, and no Mac model will come equipped with a Fusion Drive anymore.

The standard of this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch configuration model SSDs come with 256, 512, and 512 GB capacities in the lower order of the models. Only the top two models, excluding the bottom model, can change the storage capacity with the CTO.

There are two options for the medium model, 1TB is USD 188+ and 2TB is USD 565+. Additionally, the top model has USD 1,130+ options for 4TB and USD 2,261+ for 8TB. Since the old 27-inch SSD’s maximum capacity was 2TB, the maximum capacity as an SSD has been expanded four times.

The iMac also features an independent GPU, except for the lowest traditional 21.5-inch model. All the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch models come standard with the Radeon Pro. The standard model is the Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory at the bottom and center, and the top model is the Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6 memory.

Of these, only the top model can upgrade the GPU with a CTO. You can change to the Radeon Pro 5700 8GB for USD 283+ and the 16GB Radeon Pro 5700 XT for USD 471+. Apple predicts the GPU will offer a performance increase of around 50% compared to the Radeon Pro Vega 48 available on the older model.

In this way, when looking at the improvement in the capabilities of each of the three standard configuration models by the CTO, a large asymmetry is observed. Memory is the same for all models with the same standard specs and maximum capacity, but for other CPUs, GPUs, storage, etc., there is a big difference in the options to choose from. When considering customizing it for your own use, you should be careful not to make mistakes at the starting point.

Review Apple New iMac 27-inch support Nano-textured display, silky finest touch

The Review Apple New iMac 27-inch Retina 5K iMac display has a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels, a 1 billion color display, 500 nits brightness, a wide color gamut compatible with P3, True Tone technology, and at least a personal computer screen integrated with the screen.

As for quality, it has reached the highest level without any complaints. This is the first iMac to support True Tone technology, so it can adjust automatically to optimal viewing even when the brightness of the work environment changes.

And another notable display is the Nano textured glass, previously only used as an option on Apple’s Pro Display XDR, which can now be selected as a CTO option. This is a type of non-glare treatment, which is a mechanism for suppressing reflections by diffusing outside light on the surface of the glass.

However, the smoothness is different from typical non-glare processing. Apple describes it as engraving on a glass surface, literally at the nanometer level. In comparison, the effect level is completely different from the typical non-glare treatment. In general, the outline of the reflection is the most opaque, but with the Nano texture, the reflection appears to be scattered over a fairly large area.

In addition, the surface texture of the screen is completely different from the texture of a typical liquid crystal display, giving a moist impression as if you were viewing an image projected on a smooth, silks screen.

For the Pro Display XDR, it’s quite expensive as a standalone display, and when Nano textured glass was chosen, it was USD 5650, more USD 659 higher than the case without it. The effect is so obvious that it’s no wonder anyone would want to buy Pro Display XDR just for this Nano textured glass.

You can see it as an option available for USD 471 on the iMac price. Additionally, this Nano textured glass option is rarely available to choose from in the three standard configuration models.

review apple new imac
Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Standard Magic Mouse 2

Easy-to-use wireless keyboard / mouse

Compared to the Nano textured glass, this doesn’t really matter, but another option that you can choose from on all standard configuration models is a keyboard, mouse, or trackpad.

First of all, the keyboard language can be selected from English (US / UK), Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, and Spanish in addition to standard Japanese. There is no additional fee for language selection. And for each language, you can select the version with the numeric keypad. Changing from standard Magic Keyboard to Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad costs USD 28+.

review apple new imac
Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Standard Magic Mouse 2, Magic Trackpad 2

On the other hand, for mice, Magic Mouse 2 is installed as standard. It costs USD 47+ to convert it to Magic Trackpad 2, and USD 121+ to add Magic Trackpad 2 while keeping Magic Mouse 2 on.

review apple new imac
You can always check the remaining battery level on macOS even while charging

All keyboards, mice, and trackpads are wireless types that connect via Bluetooth. It has a built-in battery that is rechargeable and once charged, can be used for a while so you can forget about the battery.

According to Apple, the Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad 2 could last a month or more on a single charge. With the numeric keypad, the expression is slightly different, saying, “You can move the keyboard for about a month or so on a single charge.”

Review Apple New iMac 27-inch Battery life will depend a lot on how you use it, but you can expect it to last for at least a month. There’s no mention of battery life for the Magic Mouse 2.Unfortunately, I haven’t really tested it that far, but you can think of it as the same level as a keyboard or trackpad.

Use the USB-Lightning cable that came with your iMac to charge it. Initially, I felt a little uncomfortable because there was no LED on the keyboard or mouse to indicate the charging status. However, there is no particular inconvenience as the remaining battery level can always be checked on the side of macOS even while charging.

Both the keyboard and mouse have small power buttons, but you don’t have to worry about running out of battery and turning them off every time you’re done using your Mac. Unless it’s clear you won’t be using it for a long time, or if you’re moving it, you can leave it at any time.

Needless to say, this Magic Keyboard of Review Apple New iMac 27-inch is full-sized and has a standard 19mm key tone. The typing feel is similar to the built-in Magic Keybaord type installed in the MacBook series, but the independent Magic Keyboard scratches about 1.5 mm compared to about 1 mm strokes on the MacBook series, making it easier to typing. Even if you type at high speed so you press harshly, there is no thunderous sound and it is quiet.

review apple new imac
The position relationship between the eye level of the user sitting in front of the iMac and the top edge of the screen tends to be such that a typical Japanese user always looks up at the screen.

Review Apple New iMac 27-inch: A body size that is difficult to handle even now

This isn’t new, especially since the 27-inch iMac first appeared, but perhaps the biggest drawback of the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch is its overall size. That may seem obvious because it has a built-in 27-inch screen, but that’s not always the case. Even the stand-alone 27-28 inch display is comfortable and much more compact than the iMac, if you pay attention to the installation method. The iMac has the disadvantage of not being able to do that.

The root of the problem is that the seat height cannot be adjusted and it is too high. As a result, the height of the top of the main body is 516 mm according to the specifications, and the actual size is about 520 mm. The problem here is the position relationship between the eye level of the user sitting in front of the iMac and the top edge of the screen.

In a job called VDT, facing a personal computer screen or the like, it is said that the top edge of the screen should be installed in such a way that it is lower than eye level. Otherwise, you will always look up at the screen and your neck will tire easily.

If you are tired, you may want to take a break, but if you work in an unnatural posture every day, you will develop a cervical herniation in the worst case and you will suffer a lot.

For the average Japanese user, the seat surface needs to be set high enough so that the top edge of the 27-inch iMac model screen is under your eyes. Of course, this depends on the height of the table where the iMac is positioned, but for a general workbench, the seat height adjustment range may be exceeded.

If you lower the table height, you can fit the standard chair’s height, but that will lower the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad on the table. Then, you have to type with your wrist bent or operate a mouse or trackpad, which increases your risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

If high support is an issue, you may be wondering if you should buy a VESA-mounted iMac. The VESA mount type may not be available at bulk retailers, but at the Apple Store, you can select one for USD 38+ for each standard model. Attaching it to the height-adjustable VESA arm will alleviate the situation a bit.

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There is an air cooling fan outlet on the bottom of the main unit

If the lower part of the main unit is installed in such a way that it is attached to the table, the height of the top end can be lowered to about 465 mm. However, since there is an air cooling fan outlet at the bottom of the main unit, it is necessary to leave a small gap. The height of the top edge of the body is at least 470mm.

The reason why the display position of this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch cannot be lowered sufficiently even if you choose the VESA mount is because of the wide bezel. First of all, the distance from the edge of the liquid crystal display where the image is actually displayed to the outer edge of the main body is about 27 mm on the left, right, and topsides. It’s a pretty expansive look these days, and I wonder why it’s so necessary. However, the width of the left and right and top bezels is not directly related to the height adjustment limit of the main body.

The problem is the width of the bezel at the bottom of the screen. The bezel of the pure screen part painted black measures 25mm, but the height of the aluminum section of the iMac body below is 60mm. The total is 85mm. Even on the recent 27-28 inch grade general liquid crystal display products, the width of the bezel at the bottom is at most about 20 mm. There are no air conditioning vents at the bottom, so if you want you can mount the bottom of the screen so that it almost touches the table.

The Review Apple New iMac 27-inch have wide frame and “body” that protrudes from the bottom of the screen may be due to the emphasis on the iMac’s traditional design. It is designed on the basis of an American, who is much bigger than the average Japanese, so the problems described here will never be recognized. If 27 inches is too big, you might suspect you have a 21.5-inch iMac. Of course, if the height is 21.5 inches, the overall height is low and easy to handle even with the physique of an average Japanese.

However, the 21.5-inch screen on the desktop seems cramped at the moment, and even considering the possibility of customization with the CTO option, it has a similar appearance, but differs in content from the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch model. I think it’s better to think. It’s hard to be a replacement machine.

Review Apple New iMac 27-inch: 10 cores testbed Benchmark results

The machines tested of this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch are the 10th generation Intel Core i9 with 10 cores at 3.6GHz and the Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16GB GDDR6 memory, both equipped with the best CPU and GPU with CTO options. Apart from that, it’s a pretty high specs machine with 64GB of memory and 4TB of storage. Performance that takes full advantage of the specifications of such a machine may not be realized by benchmark testing alone, but we did the usual benchmark testing for comparison with the latest machines we have reviewed so far.

Benchmark test results of the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch

PlatformsiMac 27 2020
10 cores (10.15.6)
MacBook Pro 13 2020
4 ports (10.15.5)
MacBook Pro 16 2019
8 cores (10.15.1)
GeekBench CPU/Single Core134012531126
GeekBench CPU/Multi Core951044626622
GeekBench Compute/OpenCL83253081
Same as above external GPU5464729104
GeekBench Compute/Metal100663647
Same as above external GPU5610528638
CineBench CPU540418743318
Disk Speed Test Write2985 MB / s2320 MB / s2587 MB / s
Disk Speed Test Read2555 MB / s2058 MB / s2643 MB / s
Folder copy49.8 seconds80.2 seconds
iMac 27 vs MacBook Pro

First, let’s look at the results of GeekBench, which comprehensively evaluates the execution speed of various programs using the CPU and GPU. The models to be compared this time are the 16-inch (8-core) MacBook Pro that emerged late last year and the 13-inch (4-core) MacBook Pro that emerged this spring. The CPU performance of a single core is not that big, although there is a difference of about 20% in terms of ratio. However, in terms of multi-core performance, it shows a unique high performance for 10 cores. CPU performance when multi-core is about 7 times that of single-core, and considering that there are 10 cores sharing one main memory, it can be said that high efficiency is maintained.

Unlike the MacBook Pro, iMac does not allow GPUs with internal CPUs to be used alone. Therefore, GeekBench GPU performance is also measured only by the external GPU. The result isn’t double that of the 16-inch MacBook Pro model, but it’s very close to it, and it’s like a desktop GPU.

CineBench, which evaluates the performance by rendering with pure CPUs, has so far set the highest level for Macs equipped with Intel Core processors. If you only compare it to the 16-inch MacBook Pro model, it’s about 1.6 times as much, which is also a satisfactory value as a desktop machine that represents a Mac.

As usual, the less reliable Disk Speed Test returns the same or better results than the 16-inch MacBook Pro model, but it’s not a valid performance evaluation. Therefore, I measured and compared the copy times of large folders measured when evaluating the 13-inch MacBook Pro model. Actually the time it takes to copy the iMovie application package (2.82 GB) in Finder. On the MacBook Pro, it took 80.2 seconds, but it took 49.8 seconds, and the copying process was complete in about 60%.

review apple new imac

The Review Apple New iMac 27-inch model LCD panel has a hardware resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels, but if you use it as is, characters and images will be too good to look at. Therefore, we have introduced a unique “pseudo resolution” for Retina displays so that every user can use them at the optimal resolution. The default pseudo resolution is 2560 x 1440, which is halved both vertically and horizontally, but the adjustment range is wide, with roughest “enlarge text” at 1600 x 900 and best “zoom in space” at 3200 x 1800.

Here, along with the apparent resolution values of each setting, Safari is displayed in full screen in each setting, and the results of checking how many columns and rows of Google Sheets cells are displayed on one screen are displayed. When you actually look at it, the difference in resolution seems much larger than you can imagine from the numbers in this table.

ConfigurationPseudo resolutionSS column × row
Enlarge the text1600 × 90015 × 31
2048 × 115220 × 43
Default2560 × 144025 × 57
2880 × 162028 × 66
Expand space3200 × 180031 × 74
Review Apple New iMac 27-inch | the difference in Pseudo resolution
review apple new imac 27-inch
The Review Apple New iMac 27-inch full sets

Summary of Review Apple New iMac 27-inch

With the updated of this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch, how much does it cost to go with the full option? First, choose the highest standard model (USD 3748), and as a CTO option, Nano textured glass (+471 USD), 3.6GHz 10-core Core i9 (+377 USD), 128GB memory (+2449 USD) If you choose the 16GB Radeon The Pro 5700 XT (+471 USD), 8TB SSD storage (+2261 USD), and 10 Gigabit Ethernet (+94 USD), total costs USD 8476. It even looks like a completely different machine category when compared to the base price.

If this is the case, you might think your rival is the iMac Pro. But iMac Pro is another category of machine. Only one type of base model with costs USD 5264. If you choose the full option for show only, the price will exceed USD 13188. Even so, the Review Apple New iMac 27-inch has several advantages. Nano textured glass and maximum storage capacity (iMac Pro maximum is 4TB). And to mention the details, the iMac Pro hasn’t adopted True Tone technology either.

review apple new imac
The Review Apple New iMac 27-inch model is equipped with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera

In view of the parts that are not directly related to computer performance, this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch model is recently equipped with a FaceTime HD 1080p camera, high-quality speakers, and a studio-quality 3 microphone array. This is a unique feature of Review Apple New iMac 27-inch that has not been realized in the current 21.5-inch model.

When you actually play music on the main unit speaker of this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch, the sound field is reproduced so you may feel like there’s a trick or where the speakers are. The bass power also surpasses typical small desktop speakers. Unless you’re just making music, you probably don’t need external speakers. 3 array of microphones, which can record clear sound with reduced environmental noise, absolute distance from the user’s mouth because it is equipped with the main body is made far away, it is inevitable to become off-mic sound. If you want to ensure that you only receive user voices at online meetings, you may want to consider using a separate microphone pin.

For those who wish to continue using a representative Mac model with an Intel CPU for a long time, this Review Apple New iMac 27-inch is definitely worth to buy. This Review Apple New iMac 27-inch PC also considered a monumental model in the sense that it is the culmination of the twists and turns since the birth of the Mac.

Check our store if you are interested to buy this Apple New iMac 27-inch with great deals and other parts accessories there. You can also click the Shop Now button below to buy it on external vendors.

Score Assessment

Performance - 9.5
Facilities & Features - 9
Design - 8.5
Price - 7

8.5

Overall

For those who wish to continue using a representative Mac model with an Intel CPU for a long time, this Apple New iMac 27-inch is definitely worth to buy. This Apple New iMac 27-inch PC also considered a monumental model in the sense that it is the culmination of the twists and turns since the birth of the Mac.Shop Now

User Rating: 4.68 ( 2 votes)

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Source
CnwinTech Labs

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