Apple iMac Apple - iMac 24-inch All-in-One - M4 chip - Built for Apple Intelligence - 8 Core CPU - 8 Core GPU - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Blue Review

The iMac M4 is a beautiful, reliable all-in-one built for the Apple ecosystem, not raw power. Its GPU sits in the 8th percentile, so gaming is off the table. Buy it for the stunning 4.5K display, top-tier webcam, and 99th percentile reliability if your work lives in a browser.

The new iMac with the M4 chip is a beautiful contradiction. It's an all-in-one that scores in the 99th percentile for reliability and the 95th percentile for its port selection, which is genuinely impressive for a machine this sleek. But those numbers tell a very specific story: this is a premium, well-built machine designed for a specific workflow, not a raw performance powerhouse. Its CPU lands in the 46th percentile, which is solid for everyday tasks, but the 8th percentile GPU and 15th percentile storage paint a clear picture of its priorities.

Let's talk about what the M4 actually does here. That 46th percentile CPU score means it's perfectly competent for the basics—browsing, office apps, video calls, and light photo editing will feel snappy. Apple's efficiency cores handle background tasks beautifully. But the 8th percentile GPU is the real story. This isn't a gaming rig or a 3D rendering workstation. It's built for Apple Intelligence and smooth UI interactions, not pushing polygons. The 16GB of RAM is fine for now, sitting in the 37th percentile, but that 256GB SSD in the 15th percentile is the biggest bottleneck. You'll be managing cloud storage or external drives from day one.

Priced between $1208 and $1299, you're not buying specs per dollar. You're buying an experience. The value is in the seamless integration, the best-in-class display and webcam, the dead-simple setup, and that legendary Apple reliability. Compared to a Windows all-in-one at this price, you'd likely get a more powerful CPU and a dedicated GPU, but you'd sacrifice the polish, the software integration, and the build quality. It's a premium for a premium package.

Stack this up against its natural competitors, and the trade-offs are stark. The HP Omen 45L or Dell Alienware Aurora will absolutely demolish it in gaming and creative workloads with their dedicated GPUs and more powerful CPUs, but they're massive towers, not elegant all-in-ones. For a more direct compact competitor, something like an Intel NUC mini PC paired with a nice monitor could offer similar or better CPU performance and more storage for less money, but you lose the integrated design, the fantastic display, and the plug-and-play simplicity. The iMac wins on aesthetics and ecosystem, but loses on raw performance and upgrade potential.

Gamers and creative pros should look elsewhere. That 8th percentile GPU score is a hard stop for anyone wanting to play modern titles or use GPU-accelerated apps like DaVinci Resolve or Blender seriously. Also, if you're a digital packrat who likes to keep a large local media library, the 15th percentile storage will feel claustrophobic on day one. This machine isn't built for those workloads.

We can recommend the iMac M4, but only if you know exactly what you're getting. If your workflow is based in Safari, Messages, Mail, Lightroom for casual edits, and Zoom calls, and you value a clean, quiet, and incredibly reliable desk setup above all else, this is a brilliant machine. The display and webcam alone justify it for many. But if you need to game, edit 4K video regularly, or hoard large files locally, the low GPU and storage percentiles are deal-breakers. This is a specialist, not a generalist.