Apple's 2017 4K iMac: A Well-Rounded Machine for Creative Tasks and Beyond

The 2017 4K iMac has become Apple's most popular desktop Mac model externally, offering a stunning design reminiscent of Apple's light and thin MacBooks. The unibody all-in-one iMac line has seen minimal changes from previous editions, with the main update being the shift from Thunderbolt 2 to USBC Thunderbolt 3 ports. These new ports provide backwards compatibility or adaptability to most older ports on the 4K iMac, allowing users to connect a single external 5K or two 4K UHC displays at 60 Hz while also powering the built-in 10-bit dither display with support for 1 billion colors.

The 4K iMac's display has been enhanced, boasting 43% more brightness than before. This increase in brightness, along with better colors and contrast, makes the display a joy to work on. Apple still provides four standard USB3 ports, making it easy to plug in existing peripherals and iOS devices without needing any adapters. A lightning cable is also included in the box to recharge the Bund super thin Wireless magic keyboard and Magic Mouse.

Inside the entry-level 4K iMac, Intel's kBL quad-core i5 processor is provided, which at 3 GHz is more powerful than the Broadwell Core i5 in the previous model. Despite being clocked 100 megahertz lower, kBL can hardware accelerate H.265 video, a feature that Apple introduced in High Sierra and iOS 11 devices to slash the file size of 4K videos. When testing the higher-tier model with a 3.4 GHz i5 CPU, it delivered geekbench scores 13% higher than the previous 4K model introduced at the same price.

However, the leap from one generation of processors to the next is not significant, highlighting why Apple has increasingly focused on graphics processing rather than CPU performance. Thankfully, the 4K iMac now comes with a discrete GPU, as opposed to just integrated Iris Pro without any upgrade options. This marks a notable change compared to previous models.

Apple claims that the higher-tier 4K iMac offers a speed boost of up to 1.5 times faster video editing, twice as fast 3D graphics, and three times faster gaming due to its faster dedicated graphics. Both 4K iMac options now utilize faster RAM with support for up to 32 GB, which should be sufficient for almost everyone, including content creators. The base 4K iMac still ships with a slow 5400 RPM hard drive, whereas the higher-tier model is offered with a 1 TB Fusion drive that includes 32 GB of SSD cache.

It is recommended to upgrade to a faster PCI SSD starting at $100 more for 256 GB of storage with the updated kBL processor and faster graphics. This will significantly improve performance and provide a much better overall experience. The 2017 4K iMac is a well-rounded machine capable of not only simple tasks like email and web surfing but also content creation such as photo and video editing, and even a bit of gaming if one doesn't mind the smaller screen size.

Saving about $500 compared to a 5K iMac while having close to the same raw performance is a significant advantage of this model. However, for last year's model, the inclusion of dedicated graphics and an updated bright and color-accurate DCI-P3 display make it a worthwhile option for those looking for a reliable and efficient workstation without breaking the bank.

For more news, reviews, and how-to guides, check out appleinsider.com and subscribe to Apple Insider on YouTube.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enApple first announced a threatened display 4K iMac a year and a half ago one year after introducing the high-end 5K iMac providing the power of a desktop with the stunning design of Apple's light and thin MacBooks the unibody all-in-one iMac line has become Apple's most popular desktop Mac model externally the 2017 4K iMac is essentially unchanged from previous editions apart from its two Thunderbolt ports shifting from Thunderbolt 2 to USBC Thunderbolt 3 which is backwards compatible or adaptable to most older ports on the 4K iMac the Thunderbolt 3 ports can drive a single external 5K or two 4K UHC displays at 60 HZ while also powering the built-in 10bit dither display with support for 1 billion colors Apple has also enhanced the 4K iMac display which is now 43% brighter than before with better colors and contrast Apple still provides four standard usb3 ports making it easy to plug in existing peripherals and iOS devices without needing any adapters a lightning cable is included in the Box to recharge the Bund super thin Wireless magic keyboard and Magic Mouse too inside the entry level 4K iMac now provides Intel's kbl quad core i5 processor which at 3 GHz is notably more powerful than the Broadwell Core i5 in the previous model despite being clocked 100 megahertz lower among other things kbl can Hardware accelerate h.265 video the advanced new codec Apple's using in High Sierra and iOS 11 devices to slash the file size of 4K videos we tested the higher tier model with a 3.4 G I5 CPU it delivered geekbench scores 13% higher than the previous 4K model introduced at the same price while in Improvement that's not a tremendous leap across two generations of processors underlining why Apple has increasingly focused on Graphics processing rather than CPU thankfully the 4K iMac now comes with a discrete GPU as opposed to just integrated Iris Pro without any upgrade options Apple claims speed boost of up to 1.5 times faster video editing twice as fast 3D graphics and three times faster gaming on the higher tier 4K iMac thanks to its faster dedicated graphics both 4K iMac options now use faster Ram with support for up to 32 GB twice the previous amount which should be enough for almost everyone including content creators the base 4K IMAX still ships with a slow 5400 RPM hard drive where the higher tier is offered with 1 TB Fusion drive that includes 32 GB of SSD cache we suggest upgrading to a much faster PCI SSD starting at $100 more for 256 GB of storage with the updated kbl processor and faster Graphics the 2017 4K iMac is a much more well-rounded machine capable of not only simple tasks like email and web surfing but also content creation like photo and video editing and even a bit of gaming if you don't mind the smaller screen size you could save about $500 compared to a 5k iMac while having close to the same raw performance which just wasn't possible with last year's model for the included dedicated graphics and the updated bright and color accurate DCI ip3 display Apple Insider is raising the score from the previous 4 out of five to a 4.5 out of five for more news reviews and howtos check out appleinsider.com and subscribe to Apple Insider on YouTubeApple first announced a threatened display 4K iMac a year and a half ago one year after introducing the high-end 5K iMac providing the power of a desktop with the stunning design of Apple's light and thin MacBooks the unibody all-in-one iMac line has become Apple's most popular desktop Mac model externally the 2017 4K iMac is essentially unchanged from previous editions apart from its two Thunderbolt ports shifting from Thunderbolt 2 to USBC Thunderbolt 3 which is backwards compatible or adaptable to most older ports on the 4K iMac the Thunderbolt 3 ports can drive a single external 5K or two 4K UHC displays at 60 HZ while also powering the built-in 10bit dither display with support for 1 billion colors Apple has also enhanced the 4K iMac display which is now 43% brighter than before with better colors and contrast Apple still provides four standard usb3 ports making it easy to plug in existing peripherals and iOS devices without needing any adapters a lightning cable is included in the Box to recharge the Bund super thin Wireless magic keyboard and Magic Mouse too inside the entry level 4K iMac now provides Intel's kbl quad core i5 processor which at 3 GHz is notably more powerful than the Broadwell Core i5 in the previous model despite being clocked 100 megahertz lower among other things kbl can Hardware accelerate h.265 video the advanced new codec Apple's using in High Sierra and iOS 11 devices to slash the file size of 4K videos we tested the higher tier model with a 3.4 G I5 CPU it delivered geekbench scores 13% higher than the previous 4K model introduced at the same price while in Improvement that's not a tremendous leap across two generations of processors underlining why Apple has increasingly focused on Graphics processing rather than CPU thankfully the 4K iMac now comes with a discrete GPU as opposed to just integrated Iris Pro without any upgrade options Apple claims speed boost of up to 1.5 times faster video editing twice as fast 3D graphics and three times faster gaming on the higher tier 4K iMac thanks to its faster dedicated graphics both 4K iMac options now use faster Ram with support for up to 32 GB twice the previous amount which should be enough for almost everyone including content creators the base 4K IMAX still ships with a slow 5400 RPM hard drive where the higher tier is offered with 1 TB Fusion drive that includes 32 GB of SSD cache we suggest upgrading to a much faster PCI SSD starting at $100 more for 256 GB of storage with the updated kbl processor and faster Graphics the 2017 4K iMac is a much more well-rounded machine capable of not only simple tasks like email and web surfing but also content creation like photo and video editing and even a bit of gaming if you don't mind the smaller screen size you could save about $500 compared to a 5k iMac while having close to the same raw performance which just wasn't possible with last year's model for the included dedicated graphics and the updated bright and color accurate DCI ip3 display Apple Insider is raising the score from the previous 4 out of five to a 4.5 out of five for more news reviews and howtos check out appleinsider.com and subscribe to Apple Insider on YouTube\n"