Comparing the New 27-Inch iMac to the Previous Generation 2019 iMac

Let's start by comparing the new 27-inch iMac to the previous generation 2019 iMac, starting with the same base models that are available for both. Both models begin at $1,800 and share similar ports, including Wi-Fi (6) on both, but the new model features Bluetooth 5.0 and offers an upgrade option for 10Gigabit Ethernet instead of standard Gigabit Ethernet.

One of the most frequently asked questions about the new iMac was whether it would have user-replaceable RAM. Good news is that it does, with the same user-replaceable ram slots as before. Simply remove the socket and replace the existing RAM. The base model starts with 8GB of RAM, which is considered paltry at this point in time, but can be upgraded to a maximum of 128GB.

Another notable change is the shift from Fusion Drives to SSDs (solid-state drives) on all new models, whereas prior generations only came with an SSD that could be upgraded. The new iMacs come with 256GB of SSD storage by default and support configurations up to 8TB of total storage capacity.

The design of the new iMac remains largely unchanged from previous generations, which has been criticized for its chunky bezels. However, Apple did make some notable changes, including the introduction of Nano Etched Glass for an additional $500 and True Tone technology, which adjusts the display's white balance to match the surrounding environment.

In terms of performance, the new iMac starts with a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, clocking at 3.1GHz with 6 cores and 12 threads. This represents a significant upgrade over the previous generation's 3rd-gen Intel Core i5 processor, which had a base clock speed of 3GHz. Geekbench scores demonstrate improved performance in both single and multi-core tests, with the new model outperforming the 2020 by roughly 20%.

The iMac also features the T2 chip for enhanced security features, including secure boot and video encoding capabilities. Graphics-wise, the previous generation's Radeon Pro 570X is replaced by the more powerful Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory.

Another notable upgrade is the camera, which now features a 1080p sensor compared to the 720p sensor on the previous model. The new camera also includes Studio-quality 3-mic array technology, making it significantly better than before.

Finally, the new iMac offers several other features, including support for invoking Siri with just the keyword and the ability to run up to two 6K displays at 60Hz, effectively making it a possible last model of the 27-inch Intel-based iMac. With all these upgrades and changes, this is one heck of an upgrade.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to apple insider everybody it is andrew here and this is the 2020 27 inch imac this is the base configuration but do not worry because we have many more comparisons coming on the line with the high-end configurations as well but to start let's compare this new 27-inch imac with previous generation 2019 imac 5k so the same base models compared both starting at eighteen hundred dollars the ports here are the same as is the wi-fi no wi-fi six for either model but the new model does have bluetooth 5.0 and for an upcharge the new model is able to be upgraded to 10 gigabit ethernet instead of just standard gigabit ethernet one of the most asked questions in our initial kind of announcement video of the new 27-inch imac was whether or not there was user replaceable ram and good news it is absolutely user replaceable same before you just remove the socket there and then inside you'll see the two ram slots you can remove those very easily and install your own by default this still starts off at eight gigs which i feel is a very paltry at this point in time but it can be upgraded to 128 that was the same on the previous generation as well starts at eight can go all the way up to a hundred and twenty eight one big change though is the new models are now shipping with ssds by default where prior generations came with a fusion drive which could be upgraded to an ssd previous generation capped out at a two terabyte ssd so this can be configured up to eight terabytes but comes with 256 gigs of ssd storage by default if it is not obvious from all of our b-roll shots here there is a very similar design is the same design as prior generations that has been around for quite some time and i know a lot of people are tired of it especially the large chunky bezels people are really looking for a new option when it comes to the design of these things and we believe that apple will be moving to a new design with the own apple silicon based imax which should be coming within the next two years at most but apple still did make some changes here for example you have the nano etched glass option for an extra 500 and now they also include true tone so you go into a system preferences and then the display you can toggle true tone on and off which will adjust the white balance of the display to the room that you're actively in performance wise the previous model started with an 8th gen intel core processor and the new ones now start with a 10th gen intel processor last generation start with a 3 gigahertz 6 core intel core i5 and the new model starts with a 3.1 gigahertz six core i5 processor with two reverse but it's the 10th gen so very similar spec chips but as you can see by the geekbench scores we do get better performance the 2020 outperforms in both single and multi-core tests even though the speeds are very similar just a newer generation chip speaking of chips apple has also taken the opportunity to add the t2 chip inside of the new max that helps with secure boot it helps with video encoding audio processing a whole bunch of different features if we compare graphics between these two models the previous generation started with a radeon pro 570x with four gigs of gddr5 memory the new model starts with a radeon pro 5300 with four gigs of gddr6 memory so how does that play out well in our compute benchmark using geekbench with metal turned on our base 2020 model got a 36 330 which is roughly 20 better than the 29 597 that our prior generation scored of course geekbench is not the end-all be-all we will continue to do more benchmarks both for processing power as well as graphics in our full review coming soon now speaking of other changes on the new imac we have an upgrade to the camera it is now a 1080p camera on top there rather than 720p and it makes a world of a difference we booted this thing up we were trying it out and there was a huge difference so if you are a student working from home you're a professional working from home and you want a better camera than the 720p terrible shooter that we had before here is the raw footage coming off it just is a lot better than it was last time around to go along with that camera we also studio quality three mic array rather than just a single standard microphone we were very impressed with the new imac we have been testing it all day now comparing it to our previous generation base model and there's just a huge difference everything we've outlined so far there's also support for invoking siri just those keywords and the ability to run up to two 6k displays at 60 hertz as possibly the last 27-inch intel imac this is one heck of an upgrade grab yours the link down below in the description and stay tuned for more coverage youwelcome to apple insider everybody it is andrew here and this is the 2020 27 inch imac this is the base configuration but do not worry because we have many more comparisons coming on the line with the high-end configurations as well but to start let's compare this new 27-inch imac with previous generation 2019 imac 5k so the same base models compared both starting at eighteen hundred dollars the ports here are the same as is the wi-fi no wi-fi six for either model but the new model does have bluetooth 5.0 and for an upcharge the new model is able to be upgraded to 10 gigabit ethernet instead of just standard gigabit ethernet one of the most asked questions in our initial kind of announcement video of the new 27-inch imac was whether or not there was user replaceable ram and good news it is absolutely user replaceable same before you just remove the socket there and then inside you'll see the two ram slots you can remove those very easily and install your own by default this still starts off at eight gigs which i feel is a very paltry at this point in time but it can be upgraded to 128 that was the same on the previous generation as well starts at eight can go all the way up to a hundred and twenty eight one big change though is the new models are now shipping with ssds by default where prior generations came with a fusion drive which could be upgraded to an ssd previous generation capped out at a two terabyte ssd so this can be configured up to eight terabytes but comes with 256 gigs of ssd storage by default if it is not obvious from all of our b-roll shots here there is a very similar design is the same design as prior generations that has been around for quite some time and i know a lot of people are tired of it especially the large chunky bezels people are really looking for a new option when it comes to the design of these things and we believe that apple will be moving to a new design with the own apple silicon based imax which should be coming within the next two years at most but apple still did make some changes here for example you have the nano etched glass option for an extra 500 and now they also include true tone so you go into a system preferences and then the display you can toggle true tone on and off which will adjust the white balance of the display to the room that you're actively in performance wise the previous model started with an 8th gen intel core processor and the new ones now start with a 10th gen intel processor last generation start with a 3 gigahertz 6 core intel core i5 and the new model starts with a 3.1 gigahertz six core i5 processor with two reverse but it's the 10th gen so very similar spec chips but as you can see by the geekbench scores we do get better performance the 2020 outperforms in both single and multi-core tests even though the speeds are very similar just a newer generation chip speaking of chips apple has also taken the opportunity to add the t2 chip inside of the new max that helps with secure boot it helps with video encoding audio processing a whole bunch of different features if we compare graphics between these two models the previous generation started with a radeon pro 570x with four gigs of gddr5 memory the new model starts with a radeon pro 5300 with four gigs of gddr6 memory so how does that play out well in our compute benchmark using geekbench with metal turned on our base 2020 model got a 36 330 which is roughly 20 better than the 29 597 that our prior generation scored of course geekbench is not the end-all be-all we will continue to do more benchmarks both for processing power as well as graphics in our full review coming soon now speaking of other changes on the new imac we have an upgrade to the camera it is now a 1080p camera on top there rather than 720p and it makes a world of a difference we booted this thing up we were trying it out and there was a huge difference so if you are a student working from home you're a professional working from home and you want a better camera than the 720p terrible shooter that we had before here is the raw footage coming off it just is a lot better than it was last time around to go along with that camera we also studio quality three mic array rather than just a single standard microphone we were very impressed with the new imac we have been testing it all day now comparing it to our previous generation base model and there's just a huge difference everything we've outlined so far there's also support for invoking siri just those keywords and the ability to run up to two 6k displays at 60 hertz as possibly the last 27-inch intel imac this is one heck of an upgrade grab yours the link down below in the description and stay tuned for more coverage you\n"