When it comes to deciding which model of the new 24-inch iMac is right for you, there are several factors to consider. While it's partially dependent on your specific needs and preferences, one thing is clear: the base unit of the 24-inch iMac is not the best option.

There are certainly use cases where the base unit of the 24-inch iMac would be sufficient, but for most people, the additional features and options available in the higher-end models make them a better value. For $200 more than the base unit, you get access to a range of additional features that can make a significant difference in your computing experience.

One of the key areas where the base unit falls short is in its lack of Gigabit Ethernet connectivity. The higher-end models include this feature as standard, making it a convenient option when setting up your computer. However, on the base unit, you're stuck with just two ports that are USB 4 Thunderbolt compatible. If you need more ports, you'll have to step up to one of the higher-end models.

Another drawback of the base unit is its limited color options. While it's available in blue, green, silver, and pink, if you want to get your hands on orange or purple, you'll have to go for a higher-end model. This might not seem like a major issue for everyone, but for those who care about aesthetics, it's worth considering.

In terms of performance, the base unit also falls behind in its use of a seven-core GPU versus the eight-core GPU found on the higher-end models. If you're planning to do a lot of graphics-intensive work or video editing, this could be a significant drawback. Additionally, if you want to upgrade your storage beyond 512GB, you'll only have the option to go up to two terabytes on the mid and top-tier models.

Finally, one more thing that sets the base unit apart from its higher-end counterparts is the keyboard. On the base unit, you get the standard Magic Keyboard, while the higher-end models come with a fancy new keyboard featuring Touch ID. This means if you want the extra convenience of biometric authentication, you'll have to pay an additional $50.

Given all these factors, it's clear that the mid-tier model of the 24-inch iMac is the way to go. Starting at $1,499 for the base configuration with eight gigs of RAM and a two-terabyte SSD, this model offers a great balance of performance and features without breaking the bank. With its eight-core GPU, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, Thunderbolt ports, Touch ID keyboard, and higher storage options available on the top-tier model, this is the best value for most people.

The only thing you really need to worry about upgrading is your storage – 16 gigs of RAM might be overkill for most users, and as long as you're comfortable with that, the base configuration should suffice. By choosing the mid-tier model, you'll save $200 compared to the top-end option while still getting a wealth of features and performance.

The new 24-inch iMacs will go on pre-order on April 30th, starting at $1,499 for the base model. If you want to pick one up for yourself, be sure to check out the link in our description for more information. And don't forget to let us know on Twitter at AndrewUndersosu which color you think you'll go with – we'd love to hear your thoughts!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up my lovely audience how are all of you doing today it is andrew here from apple insider and i am in a chipper mood today because we are talking imacs one of my favorite apple products despite the fact that i've used one like for a very limited amount of time i've other been otherwise been stuck on a mac pro or a laptop but i just love the all-in-one design and the retro ones with the colorful backs oh i'm obsessed with them so the fact that apple brought back the colors is amazing i'm going to need to fit one into a workflow somewhere but in this video i'm going to be talking to you guys about which imac that you should be ordering do not make these mistakes do not get the wrong one and then be kicking yourself when you do them so we're going to walk through that in this video and tell you everything that you need to know about the new 24 inch imacs before you order real quick before we get into which model to get let's run down some of the specs of the new 24-inch imacs these new imacs they come at an eleven and a half millimeter thick design which is pretty incredible how thin these things actually are they are so thin that apple had to relocate the headphone jack to the side because headphone jack usually takes about 14 millimeters of space these things are so thin that it couldn't fit a headphone jack so the headphone jack got relocated to this side of the device so 14 uh 11 and a half millimeter thick is 24 inch display four and a half k resolution it sports the m1 chip on the inside comes with either a seven quart or an eight quarter gpu on that chip you can get either eight or 16 gigs of ram on the inside and go from 256 to 2 terabytes of storage on the inside there is a six speaker array that can produce actually a kind of spatial audio with dolby atmos support uh there's a 1080p facetime camera that got a big upgrade this time around and there are several studio quality mics not to mention the new colors as well as the whole redesign in general but to get back to the question that i am here to answer which model do you get well it's partially which model you get but bigger is which model should you not get and not surprisingly it's the base unit there are a number of reasons that you should avoid the base unit of the new 24 inch imac i will say there are use cases for that 24 inch base unit there are plenty of people that are just fine apple didn't take anything you know critical away from that entry level model but there's a lot of small things that add up and for a 200 price difference you get a bunch of additional features and options on that machine so what do you lose if you go with that base unit one ethernet there's no gigabit ethernet on this model the base unit just doesn't have it all the other ones have it included on the power adapter which makes it super handy when you have your ethernet down below plug in there one less wire going up to your desk but no ethernet on the base unit you also only get two ports they are two usb 4 ports that work with thunderbolt but the additional models all have four ports two usb4 and two usb 3 type c ports so if you want the additional ports two additional ports on there you have to go with a step up and not the base unit the base unit also only comes in blue green silver and pink colors but if you wanted orange yellow or purple you have to go with one of the upper level models those three colors are not offered on the base unit the base unit also has a slower or less powerful gpu it's only a seven core gpu on that m1 processor so if you do a lot of graphic stuff then it makes sense to go with any of the other ones because they all come with an eight core gpu uh you're also limited in storage you can go up to a 512 or one terabyte configuration but if you were hoping for two terabytes and you were fine with a seven core gpu you're out of luck only the mid and up have the ability to go up to a two terabyte uh internal ssd so if you wanted that you can't do it on the base unit and finally i think this is a big one you only get this the stock magic keyboard with the base unit if you want the new fancy ones with touch id you have to pay an additional 50 dollars to get those so if you want that extra fancy keyboard 50 bucks more now it is only two hundred dollars to go from that base unit to the mid-tier unit and that mid-tier unit comes with an eight-core gpu two usb 3 ports on your machine it comes with the ethernet it comes with three additional color options you can choose from you can go up to two terabytes of storage and it has that touch id keyboard built in right away for that stock price of 14.99 so again 200 bucks and that's a lot of extra stuff that you get for not all that much money so the model that i think most people should be getting is the mid-tier unit the one that starts at 14.99 that's the one you should get you don't need to go to the 16 gigs of ram most people won't if you're opening a ton of tabs in safari and running a bunch of like graphics programs and stuff like that then sure i can understand why you may want to go with 16 gigs of ram but the average person is only going to need 8 gigs of ram so that base configuration of 8 gigs of ram is fine the only thing you need to worry about upgrading is that storage don't worry about the ram and that's really the only difference but that base unit strips so much away 200 bucks difference and you're getting all those additional features i think that is worth it and that's why most people should just stick with that mid-tier unit or if anything just upgrade the storage 512 a terabyte or even two terabytes of internal storage but it is thunderbolt equipped so you can just add a thunderbolt or any other external i o you can easily add external storage for not that much money add terabytes of storage that way and don't worry about putting it on the internal drive so that is an option as well and can save you some extra cash so let me know what you guys think the new 24-inch imacs go up for pre-order on april 30th they start at 12.99 though we already talked about it you should start off with that 14.99 unit so go grab them when they are on sale i've got a link down below in the description if you want to pick one up for yourself and let me know over on twitter at andrew underscore osu which color you think you are going to go with youwhat's up my lovely audience how are all of you doing today it is andrew here from apple insider and i am in a chipper mood today because we are talking imacs one of my favorite apple products despite the fact that i've used one like for a very limited amount of time i've other been otherwise been stuck on a mac pro or a laptop but i just love the all-in-one design and the retro ones with the colorful backs oh i'm obsessed with them so the fact that apple brought back the colors is amazing i'm going to need to fit one into a workflow somewhere but in this video i'm going to be talking to you guys about which imac that you should be ordering do not make these mistakes do not get the wrong one and then be kicking yourself when you do them so we're going to walk through that in this video and tell you everything that you need to know about the new 24 inch imacs before you order real quick before we get into which model to get let's run down some of the specs of the new 24-inch imacs these new imacs they come at an eleven and a half millimeter thick design which is pretty incredible how thin these things actually are they are so thin that apple had to relocate the headphone jack to the side because headphone jack usually takes about 14 millimeters of space these things are so thin that it couldn't fit a headphone jack so the headphone jack got relocated to this side of the device so 14 uh 11 and a half millimeter thick is 24 inch display four and a half k resolution it sports the m1 chip on the inside comes with either a seven quart or an eight quarter gpu on that chip you can get either eight or 16 gigs of ram on the inside and go from 256 to 2 terabytes of storage on the inside there is a six speaker array that can produce actually a kind of spatial audio with dolby atmos support uh there's a 1080p facetime camera that got a big upgrade this time around and there are several studio quality mics not to mention the new colors as well as the whole redesign in general but to get back to the question that i am here to answer which model do you get well it's partially which model you get but bigger is which model should you not get and not surprisingly it's the base unit there are a number of reasons that you should avoid the base unit of the new 24 inch imac i will say there are use cases for that 24 inch base unit there are plenty of people that are just fine apple didn't take anything you know critical away from that entry level model but there's a lot of small things that add up and for a 200 price difference you get a bunch of additional features and options on that machine so what do you lose if you go with that base unit one ethernet there's no gigabit ethernet on this model the base unit just doesn't have it all the other ones have it included on the power adapter which makes it super handy when you have your ethernet down below plug in there one less wire going up to your desk but no ethernet on the base unit you also only get two ports they are two usb 4 ports that work with thunderbolt but the additional models all have four ports two usb4 and two usb 3 type c ports so if you want the additional ports two additional ports on there you have to go with a step up and not the base unit the base unit also only comes in blue green silver and pink colors but if you wanted orange yellow or purple you have to go with one of the upper level models those three colors are not offered on the base unit the base unit also has a slower or less powerful gpu it's only a seven core gpu on that m1 processor so if you do a lot of graphic stuff then it makes sense to go with any of the other ones because they all come with an eight core gpu uh you're also limited in storage you can go up to a 512 or one terabyte configuration but if you were hoping for two terabytes and you were fine with a seven core gpu you're out of luck only the mid and up have the ability to go up to a two terabyte uh internal ssd so if you wanted that you can't do it on the base unit and finally i think this is a big one you only get this the stock magic keyboard with the base unit if you want the new fancy ones with touch id you have to pay an additional 50 dollars to get those so if you want that extra fancy keyboard 50 bucks more now it is only two hundred dollars to go from that base unit to the mid-tier unit and that mid-tier unit comes with an eight-core gpu two usb 3 ports on your machine it comes with the ethernet it comes with three additional color options you can choose from you can go up to two terabytes of storage and it has that touch id keyboard built in right away for that stock price of 14.99 so again 200 bucks and that's a lot of extra stuff that you get for not all that much money so the model that i think most people should be getting is the mid-tier unit the one that starts at 14.99 that's the one you should get you don't need to go to the 16 gigs of ram most people won't if you're opening a ton of tabs in safari and running a bunch of like graphics programs and stuff like that then sure i can understand why you may want to go with 16 gigs of ram but the average person is only going to need 8 gigs of ram so that base configuration of 8 gigs of ram is fine the only thing you need to worry about upgrading is that storage don't worry about the ram and that's really the only difference but that base unit strips so much away 200 bucks difference and you're getting all those additional features i think that is worth it and that's why most people should just stick with that mid-tier unit or if anything just upgrade the storage 512 a terabyte or even two terabytes of internal storage but it is thunderbolt equipped so you can just add a thunderbolt or any other external i o you can easily add external storage for not that much money add terabytes of storage that way and don't worry about putting it on the internal drive so that is an option as well and can save you some extra cash so let me know what you guys think the new 24-inch imacs go up for pre-order on april 30th they start at 12.99 though we already talked about it you should start off with that 14.99 unit so go grab them when they are on sale i've got a link down below in the description if you want to pick one up for yourself and let me know over on twitter at andrew underscore osu which color you think you are going to go with you\n"