Which Mac is for you?

Looking for an Apple desktop upgrade but aren’t sure which offering is right for you? 

We’ve compared the specs of the recently announced iMac M4 to last year’s Mac Studio and highlighted the notable differences below to help you decide which one might be better suited to your needs. 

Price

The iMac M4 is currently available for pre-order and will launch on November 8th. Available in a choice of seven colours, it has a starting RRP of £1299/$1299 and includes the Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse in the box.

The Mac Studio is undoubtedly a much bigger investment than the iMac. The M2 Max version has an RRP of £2099/$2099 whereas the more powerful M2 Ultra iteration will set you back a whopping £4199/$4199.

The iMac comes equipped with a keyboard and mouse

Although both the iMac and Mac Studio are Apple desktops, they differ with their offerings. The iMac is an all-in-one desktop housed in a 24-inch, 4.5K Retina display whereas the Mac Studio is a compact computer without a dedicated display, keyboard and mouse. 

The iMac also comes with a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, which means it’s arguably better value than the Mac Studio. 

The fact the Mac Studio doesn’t come equipped with the extra gear isn’t necessarily a negative however as some users may appreciate the ability to add their own displays and keyboards to build a more customsied set-up.

The Mac Studio runs on a choice of two processors

Upon its launch back in 2023, Apple hailed the latest Mac Studio as one of the most powerful Macs ever made, with models running on either the M2 Max or the more powerful M2 Ultra. 

The M2 Max has a 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine with up to 400GB/s memory bandwidth which results in the Mac Studio 2023 being 50% faster than its predecessor. 

The M2 Ultra is built from two M2 Max chips and therefore delivers twice the performance and capabilities of the standalone M2 Max. The M2 Ultra is also three times faster than the previous Mac Studio with M1 Ultra.

The iMac on the other hand runs on Apple’s M4 processor which, according to Apple, features the “world’s fastest CPU core” and is up to 1.7x faster than the iMac with M1. Although we haven’t reviewed the new iMac yet, Apple promises that users will feel this power and performance across both everyday and more intense activities such as photo editing and gaming. 

Apple also explains that the M4’s Neural Engine is over three times faster than the iMac with M1, which should make it ideally suited for Apple Intelligence.

The Mac Studio has more connectivity ports

Both versions of the Mac Studio 2023 boast four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-As, an HDMI, 10Gb Ethernet and a headphone jack at the rear. On the front, the M2 Max sports two USB-C ports while the M2 Ultra boasts two Thunderbolt 4 ports instead. There’s also an SDXC card slot on both too.

The smallest sized iMac is made up of just two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a headphone jack and an Ethernet port whereas the other three iMacs sport a total of four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a headphone jack and an Ethernet port too. 

The iMac is fitted with Centre Stage technology 

The 12MP webcam on the iMac is fitted with Apple’s Centre Stage technology which ensures everyone on a video call remains in frame and perfectly centred. 

There’s also Desk View which allows users to simultaneously show both themselves and a top-down view of their desk, which Apple explains is useful for educators presenting a lesson to students or creators showing their latest DIY project.

The Mac Studio M2 Ultra supports up to eight displays

The Mac Studio running on M2 Ultra allows you to connect up to a whopping eight displays, or up to six Pro Display XDRs, for the ultimate working setup. The M2 Max can also support up to five displays too.

The iMac on the other hand supports up to two 6K external displays which Apple explains offers more than “50m pixels for users to spread out their work”.

Early verdict

Although we haven’t reviewed the iMac M4 yet, the specs suggest that this is a better suited option for everyday use and casual gaming. If you require anything more intensive or demanding, then the Mac Studio is likely to suit your needs better. 

If you consider the inclusion of the Magic Keyboard, Mouse and the display, the iMac appears as a better value option, especially as it’s considerably cheaper than either version of the Mac Studio 2023.