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iMac (Intel-based)

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iMac (Intel-based)
iMac (2020)
DeveloperApple Inc.
TypeAll-in-one PC
Release dateJanuary 10, 2006 (2006-01-10) (original model)
August 4, 2020 (2020-08-04); 13 months ago (last model)
DiscontinuedApril 20, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-04-20) (Retina 4K 21.5-inch)
October 30, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-10-30) (21.5 inch)
March 8, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-03-08) (27-inch)
Operating systemmacOS
CPUIntel Core i5, i7, i9 (last model)
Intel Core Duo (original model)
PredecessoriMac G5
SuccessoriMac (Apple silicon)
RelatedMac Mini, Mac Pro, iMac Pro

The Intel-based iMac is a discontinued series of Macintosh desktop computers designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Inc. from 2006 to 2022. While sold, it was one of three desktop computers in the Macintosh lineup, serving as an all-in-one alternative to the Mac Mini, and sat below the performance range Mac Pro. It was sold alongside the Xeon-based iMac Pro from 2017 to 2021.

Pre-2009 iMac models featured either a white polycarbonate enclosure or an aluminum enclosure. The October 2009 iMac model featured a unibody aluminum enclosure, a version of which can still be seen on the current model. The iMacs released in October 2012 also featured a much thinner display, with the edge measuring just 5 mm.[1]

The Intel-based iMac was succeeded by the iMac with Apple silicon beginning in 2021 as part of the Mac transition to Apple silicon. On April 20, 2021, Apple discontinued the 21.5-inch Intel iMac with 4K Retina Display following the release of a 24-inch model based on the Apple M1 processor, and discontinued the remaining non-Retina models in October 2021. The 27-inch model was discontinued on March 8, 2022, following the announcement of the Mac Studio and 27-inch Apple Studio Display.[2]

History

At the Macworld Conference and Expo on January 10, 2006, Steve Jobs announced that the new iMac would be the first Macintosh to use an Intel CPU, the Core Duo. The introduction of the new iMac along with the Intel-based MacBook Pro was the start of the Mac transition to Intel processors. In the following months, the other Mac products followed, including the introduction of the Intel Core-powered Mac mini on February 28, 2006, the MacBook consumer line of laptop computers on May 16, 2006, the Mac Pro on August 7, 2006, and the Xserve in November 2006, completing the transition.

The features, price, and case design remained unchanged from the iMac G5. The processor speed, however, according to tests run by Apple using SPEC,[3] was declared to be two to three times faster than the iMac G5.

On June 22, 2020, Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote included the announcement that future Macintosh computers would transition yet again to Apple's own ARM-based system-on-chips;[4] in April 2021, Apple unveiled a redesigned iMac based on its M1 system-on-chip.[5]

1st generation: Polycarbonate iMac

Polycarbonate iMacs
17-inch Polycarbonate iMac
17", 20", and 24" iMacs from late 2006

Alongside the MacBook Pro, the iMac Core Duo represents Apple's first computer to feature Intel processors instead of PowerPC processors. It retained the style, design, and features of the preceding iMac G5.

In early February 2006, Apple confirmed reports of video display problems on the new Intel-based iMacs. When playing video on Apple's Front Row media browser, some 20-inch iMacs (those built-to-order with upgraded video cards) showed random horizontal lines, ghosting, video tearing and other problems. The problem was fixed with a software update.

In early September 2006, Apple introduced a new version of the iMac including a Core 2 Duo chip and a lower price. Apple added a new 24-inch model with IPS-display and a resolution of 1920 × 1200 (WUXGA), making it the first iMac to be able to display 1080p content in its full resolution, and a VESA Flat Display Mounting Interface. Except for the 17-inch 1.83 GHz processor model, this version also included an 802.11n draft card.[6]

Specifications of Polycarbonate iMacs from 2006

All Obsolete[7]

Model Early 2006[8] Mid 2006[9] Late 2006[10]
Component / processor model Intel Core Duo Intel Core 2 Duo
Release date January 10, 2006[11] July 5, 2006[12] September 6, 2006[13]
Marketing model no.[14][15][16] MA199xx/A MA200xx/A MA406xx/A MA710xx/A MA590xx/A MA589xx/A MA456xx/A
Model number A1173 A1174 A1195 A1208 A1207 A1200
Model identifier[16] iMac4,1 iMac4,2 iMac5,2 iMac5,1 iMac6,1
EMC no. 2104 2105 2110 2124 2114 2118 2111
Enclosure White polycarbonate
Display 17-inch 1440 × 900 20-inch 1680 × 1050 17-inch 1440 × 900 20-inch, 1680 × 1050 24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS
Widescreen 16:10, matte display
Processor 1.83 GHz (T2400 "Yonah") Intel Core Duo
2 MB L2 cache 		1.83 GHz (T5600 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo

2 MB L2 cache

2 GHz (T7200 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo

4 MB L2 cache

2.16 GHz (T7400 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo 4 MB L2 cache
Optional: 2 GHz (T2500 "Yonah") Intel Core Duo — Optional: 2.16 GHz (T7400 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo Optional: 2.33 GHz (T7600 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo
System bus 667 MHz front-side bus
Memory 667 MHz PC2-5300 DDR2 SO-DIMM SDRAM
512 MB (early 2006: 1× 512 MB; mid-2006, 2× 256 MB)
Optional: 2 GB 		512 MB (2× 256 MB) or 1 GB (2× 512 MB)
Optional: 4 GB (3 GB usable)
Video card ATI Radeon X1600 with 128 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM Intel GMA 950 with 64 MB shared memory ATI Radeon X1600 with 128 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM nVidia GeForce 7300GT with 128 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
— Optional: 256 MB — — — Optional: 256 MB Optional: 7600GT with 256 MB
Storage / Hard drive 160 GB
Optional: 250 GB 		250 GB
Optional: 500 GB 		160 GB
Optional: 250 GB 		160 GB 160 GB
Optional: 250, 500 GB 		250 GB
Optional: 500 GB
Serial ATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive Slot-loading 8× SuperDrive with 2.4× DL recording (DVD+R DL, DVD±RW, CD-RW) 24× combo drive (DVD-ROM, CD-RW) SuperDrive
Connectivity Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g
Gigabit Ethernet
Apple Remote infrared receiver
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (except late 2006 1.83 GHz) 		Internal Airport Extreme 802.11a/b/g (draft-n disabled by default)
Gigabit Ethernet
Apple Remote infrared receiver
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Camera iSight Camera (640 × 480, 0.3 MP)
Video out Mini-DVI
Peripherals 3× USB 2.0
2× FireWire 400
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in 		3× USB 2.0
2× FireWire 400
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input 		3× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 400
1× FireWire 800
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input
Minimum operating system Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
Maximum operating system Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard if 1 GB RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Mac OS X 10.7 Lion if 2 GB RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
Unofficially able to go to OS X 10.11 El Capitan by modifying the EFI[17] using third-party programs.[18]
Microsoft Windows 10 (32 bit) Microsoft Windows 10 (32 and 64 bit)

2nd generation: Aluminum iMac

24-inch Aluminum iMac

In August 2007, Apple introduced a complete redesign of the iMac, featuring an aluminum, glass and plastic enclosure. There is only one visible screw on the entire computer, located at the base of the iMac for accessing the memory slots. It has a black, plastic backplate that is not user-removable. The 17-inch model was completely removed from the lineup.

In March 2009, Apple released a minor refresh of the iMac line. Changes included a fourth USB port, replacement of two FireWire 400 ports with one FireWire 800 port, replacement of mini-DVI with Mini DisplayPort, and a slightly redesigned base which is thinner. The exterior design was almost identical to the older Intel-based iMacs. The models were one 20-inch configuration and three 24-inch configurations (instead of two at each screen size as before).[19]

Apple doubled the default RAM and hard-disk size on all models, moving the RAM to the DDR3[20] specification. This revision also introduced a new, smaller, and more compact Apple Keyboard that excluded the numeric keypad and forward delete key in favor of the fn + Delete keyboard shortcut by default.[19] Users could, however, replace this version with a more traditional, full-size model with a numeric keypad by requesting Apple to build their machine to order through its online store.

Specifications of Aluminum iMacs from 2007 through 2009

All Obsolete[7]

Model Mid 2007[21] Early 2008[22] Early 2009[23] Mid 2009 (education only)[24]
Component / processor model Intel Core 2 Duo
Release date August 7, 2007[25] April 28, 2008[26] March 3, 2009[27] April 7, 2009[28] March 4, 2010[29] May 3, 2011 [29]
Marketing model no.[14][15][16] MA876XX/A
MA877XX/A
MB199XX/A
MB200XX/A 		MA878XX/A
MB201XX/A
MB322XX/A 		MB323XX/A
MB324XX/A
MB388XX/A
MB391XX/A 		MB325XX/A
MB393XX/A
MB398XX/A 		MB417XX/A
MC019XX/A 		MB418XX/A
MB419XX/A
MB420XX/A
MC020XX/A
MC021XX/A
MC022XX/A 		MC015XX/A MC015XX/B MC015XX/C
Model number A1224 A1225 A1224 A1225 A1224 A1225 A1224
Model identifier[16] iMac7,1 iMac8,1 iMac9,1
EMC no. 2133 2134 2210 2211 2266 2267 2266 2316
Enclosure Aluminum, glass and plastic
Display 20-inch 1680 × 1050 24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS 20-inch 1680 × 1050 24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS 20-inch 1680 × 1050 24-inch 1920 × 1200 IPS 20-inch 1680 × 1050
Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:10
Processor 2 GHz (T7300 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo
4 MB L2 cache 		2.4 GHz (T7700 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo
4 MB L2 cache 		2.4 GHz (E8135 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
6 MB L2 cache 		2.8 GHz (E8235 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
6 MB L2 cache 		2.66 GHz (E8135 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
6 MB L2 cache 		2.66 GHz (E8135 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo or 2.93 GHz (E8335 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
6 MB L2 cache 		2 GHz (P7350 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
3 MB L2 cache 		2.26 GHz (P7550 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
3 MB L2 cache
Optional: 2.4 GHz (T7700 "Merom") Intel Core 2 Duo Optional: 2.8 GHz (X7900 "Merom XE") Intel Core 2 Extreme Optional: 2.66 GHz (E8335 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo Optional: 3.06 GHz (E8435 "Penryn" Intel Core 2 Duo Optional: 2.93 GHz (E8335 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo Optional:3.06 GHz (E8435 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo — Optional: 2.66 GHz (E8135 "Penryn") Intel Core 2 Duo
System bus 800 MHz front-side bus 1066 MHz front-side bus
Memory 1 GB (2× 512 MB) or 2 GB (2× 1 GB)
Optional: 6 GB (4 GB, officially) 		1 GB (2× 512 MB) or 2 GB (2× 1 GB)
Optional: 6 GB (4 GB, officially) 		2 GB (2× 1 GB) or 4 GB (2× 2 GB)
Optional: 8 GB 		1 GB (1× 1 GB)
Optional:2, 4 GB, expandable to 8 GB 		2 GB (2× 1 GB)
Optional:4 GB, expandable to 8 GB
SO-DIMM DDR2 SDRAM-667 MHz SO-DIMM DDR2 SDRAM-800 MHz SO-DIMM DDR3 SDRAM-1066 MHz
Video card ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory or Nvidia GeForce GT 120 with 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory
Optional: 2600 PRO with 256 MB — Optional:2600 PRO with 256 MB Optional: Nvidia 8800 GS with 512 MB Optional:GT 130 or ATI Radeon HD 4850, both with 512 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM —
Storage / Hard drive 250 GB
Optional: 320, 500, 750 GB, 1 TB 		320 GB
Optional: 500, 750 GB, or 1 TB 		250 GB
Optional:320, 500, 750 GB, 1 TB 		320 GB
Optional: 500, 750 GB, 1 TB 		320 GB
Optional: 640 GB or 1 TB 		640 GB
Optional: 1 TB 		160 GB
Optional: 320 GB
Serial ATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive 8× double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Connectivity Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled)
Gigabit Ethernet
Apple Remote infrared receiver
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR 		Internal AirPort Extreme (802.11n) 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled)
Gigabit Ethernet
Apple Remote infrared receiver
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 		Internal AirPort Extreme (802.11n) 802.11a/b/g/n (draft-n enabled)
Gigabit Ethernet
Camera iSight Camera (640 × 480, 0.3 MP)
Video out Mini-DVI Mini DisplayPort
Peripherals 3× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 400
1× FireWire 800
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input 		4× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 800
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input
Minimum operating system Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Maximum operating system OS X 10.11 El Capitan if 2 GB of RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.11 El Capitan OS X 10.11 El Capitan if 2 GB of RAM installed, otherwise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard OS X 10.11 El Capitan
Unofficially, if the CPU is upgraded to a Penryn-based Core 2 Duo, this machine can go to macOS Monterey by using an OS patcher. Unofficially, can go to macOS Monterey by using an OS patcher.

3rd generation: Unibody iMac

27-inch Unibody iMac

In October 2009, a 16:9 aspect ratio screen was introduced in 21.5" and 27" models, replacing the 20" and 24" 16:10 aspect ratio screens of the previous generation. The back is now a continuation of the aluminum body from the front and sides instead of a separate plastic backplate. Video card options entirely switched to AMD, save for the standard onboard Nvidia card in the base smaller model. The iMac's processor selection saw a significant increase.

The Intel i-series chips are introduced to Mac for the first time on the higher-spec 27-inch models.

Default RAM has also been increased across the iMac range. With the advent of the larger screens, Apple doubled the number of memory slots from two to four. Consequently, the maximum memory capacity was also doubled (to 16 GB),[30] and for Intel Core i-series (27-inch), quadrupled, to 32 GB.

The 27-inch models of the line became the first to offer Target Display Mode, allowing the iMac to be used as an external display for another Mac computer when connected via Mini DisplayPort, a feature that was extended to the 21.5-inch models onwards with the introduction of Thunderbolt.

The Mid 2010 iMac 27" has AMD Radeon HD5650 and HD5750 graphic cards. Both cards cannot support the low-level Metal API, preventing this model from upgrading to Mojave and Catalina. AMD had developed a firmware upgrade that would allow both graphic cards to support Metal and Mid 2010 iMac to be upgraded to latest macOS, but Apple had refused to certify them.

The Late 2011 Unibody iMac is also the last model to include an internal SuperDrive.

Specifications of Unibody iMacs from 2009 through 2011

All Obsolete[7]

Model Late 2009[31] Mid 2010[32] Mid 2011[33] Late 2011 (education only)[34]
Component / processor model Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i5, and Core i7 Intel Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 Core i5 and Core i7 Intel Core i3
Release date October 20, 2009[35] July 27, 2010[36] May 3, 2011[37] August 8, 2011
Marketing model no.[14][15][16] MB950xx/A MC413xx/A MB952xx/A MB953xx/A MC508xx/A MC509xx/A MC510xx/A MC511xx/A MC309xx/A MC812xx/A MC813xx/A MC814xx/A MC978xx/A
Model number A1311 A1312 A1311 A1312 A1311 A1312 A1311
Model identifier[16] iMac10,1 iMac11,1 iMac11,2 iMac11,3 iMac12,1 iMac12,2 iMac12,1
EMC no. 2308 2309 2374 2389 2390 2428 2429 2496
Enclosure Aluminum and glass
Display 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080 27-inch 2560 × 1440 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080 27-inch, 2560 × 1440 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080 27-inch 2560 × 1440 21.5-inch, 1920 × 1080
Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology
Processor 3.06 GHz (E7600 "Wolfdale-3M") Intel Core 2 Duo
3 MB L2 cache 		2.66 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz) (750 "Lynnfield") Intel Core i5
8 MB L3 cache 		3.06 GHz 2-core (540 "Clarkdale") Intel Core i3
4 MB L3 cache 		3.2 GHz 2-Core (550 "Clarkdale") Intel Core i3
4 MB L3 cache 		2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.33 GHz (760 "Lynnfield") Intel Core i5
8 MB L3 cache 		2.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz) (2400S "Sandy Bridge") Intel Core i5
6 MB L3 cache 		2.7 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz)
(2500S "Sandy Bridge")
Intel Core i5
6 MB L3 cache 		3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz (2400 "Sandy Bridge") Intel Core i5
6 MB L3 cache 		3.1 GHz 2-core
(2100 "Sandy Bridge")
3 MB L3 cache
Optional: 3.33 GHz (E8600 "Wolfdale") Intel Core 2 Duo

6 MB L2 cache 		Optional:2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.46 GHz) (860) Intel Core i7 Optional:3.2 GHz 2-Core (550) Intel Core i3 or 3.6 GHz (680 "Clarkdale") Intel Core i5 Optional:3.6 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.86 GHz) (680 "Clarkdale") Intel Core i5 Optional: 2.93 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (870) Intel Core i7 — Optional: 2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) (2600S) Intel Core i7 — Optional: 3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) (2600) Intel Core i7 —
System bus Front-side bus Intel Direct Media Interface
1066 MHz
Optional: 1333 MHz with 3.33 GHz Core 2 Duo option 		2.5 GT/s
Memory 4 GB (two 2 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16 GB 		4 GB (two 2 GB, two slots empty)
Expandable to 32 GB[38] (16 GB supported by Apple) except 2-core i3 and i5 models which only support 16 GB 		2 GB (one 2 GB)
Optional: 8 GB
1066 MHz
PC3-8500 DDR3
SO-DIMM SDRAM 		1066 MHz
PC3-8500 DDR3
SO-DIMM SDRAM

(Upgradable to 1333 MHz PC3-10600 DDR3
SO-DIMM SDRAM)

1333 MHz
PC3-10600 DDR3
SO-DIMM SDRAM
Video card Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared memory ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 4850 with 512 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512 MB of GDDR3 SDRAM ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 256 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM
Optional: with 2 GB GDDR5 SDRAM
Storage / Hard drive 500 GB
Optional: 1 or 2 TB 		1 TB
Optional: 2 TB 		500 GB
Optional: 1, 2 TB 		1 TB
Optional: 2 TB 		1 TB
Optional: 2 TB and/or 256 GB SSD 		500 GB 1 TB
Optional: 2 TB and/or 256 GB SSD 		250 GB
Serial ATA 7200 rpm
Optical drive 8× double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Connectivity Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n
Gigabit Ethernet
Built-in infrared (IR) receiver for Apple Remote
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 		Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n
Gigabit Ethernet
Built-in infrared (IR) receiver for Apple Remote
Camera iSight camera (640 × 480, 0.3 MP) FaceTime HD camera 720p (1280 × 720, 0.9 MP)
Video out Single Mini DisplayPort
Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort adapters available 		Single Thunderbolt 1 (21.5-inch)

Dual Thunderbolt 1 (27-inch)

Single Mini DisplayPort
Peripherals 4× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 800
SD card slot
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input 		4× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 800
SDXC card slot
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input 		4× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 800
SDXC card slot
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input
1x Thunderbolt port (21.5 in (550 mm))
2x Thunderbolt ports (27 in (690 mm)) 		4× USB 2.0
1× FireWire 800
SDXC card slot
Headphone/digital audio output
Audio line-in/digital audio input
Minimum operating system Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
Latest release operating system macOS 10.13 High Sierra
Unofficially, able to go to macOS Monterey by using a third party OS patcher Unofficially, able to go to macOS Monterey by using a third party OS patcher (No graphics acceleration unless replacing MXM graphics card with a supported one[39])

4th generation: Slim Unibody iMac

27-inch Slim Unibody iMac

In October 2012, a new iMac model was introduced that featured a smaller body depth than the previous models, measuring 5mm at its thinnest point, and without an internal SuperDrive. This was partly achieved by using a process called Full lamination. The display and glass are laminated together, eliminating a 2mm gap between them. The 21.5-in and 27-in screens remained at their previous resolutions, 1920 × 1080 and 2560 × 1440 respectively.

As with the 2009 model, memory has been upgraded; the standard specification is now 8 GB, with the 21.5-in model supporting up to 16 GB and the 27-in model supporting up to 32 GB. It was reported that the 21.5 in iMac would have non-replaceable soldered memory similar to the MacBook Air and Retina display MacBook Pro[40] though tear-downs show that it uses removable memory but accessing the modules requires ungluing the screen and removing the motherboard.[41] The 27-in version features an access port to upgrade memory without disassembling the display.[42] Apple also upgraded the computers' processors, using Intel's Ivy Bridge microarchitecture-based Core i5 and Core i7 microprocessors.

Video cards are now Nvidia as standard. USB 3.0 ports are now included for the first time. The 2012 iMac also features the option of a Fusion Drive which combines an SSD and a conventional HDD to create more efficient and faster storage. Apple also removed the built-in optical drive starting with this iMac generation.

On March 5, 2013, Apple quietly announced an education-only version of the iMac, with less powerful specs for a cheaper price. It included a 3.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i3 processor, 4 GB of memory, a 0.5 TB (1 TB = 1000 billion bytes) hard drive and Intel HD Graphics 4000, retailing for US$1,099, $200 cheaper than the base-level consumer iMac.[43]

On September 24, 2013, the 2012 iMac model was updated with 4th-generation Intel Haswell processors and Nvidia 7xx series GPU, promising up to 1.4× improvements in performance. It also has 802.11ac Wi-Fi, which is capable of reaching speeds up to 1300 Mbit/s[44] and PCIe-based flash storage, offering up to 1.5× the performance of previous-generation (Ivy Bridge) iMacs. This applies to both the Fusion Drive and pure-SSD options. These became the last iMacs to offer Target Display Mode, as the Retina line introduced the following year are incompatible with the feature due to resolution differences.

At WWDC on June 5, 2017, a refreshed model was added with Kaby Lake processors and Bluetooth 4.2 support. Apple retailed the 21.5-inch model until October 29, 2021. It was sold in a single stock configuration priced at $1,099 with a 2.3 GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor. The machine was heavily criticized (more so towards the end of its production) for its lagging specifications, outdated design, and comparatively high price. The machine, however, was said to be popular among education shoppers.[45] It was the last Mac to have a Fusion Drive (albeit as an option), and after having them for 36 years, the last Mac to have a traditional hard drive.

Specifications of Slim Unibody iMacs from 2012 to 2017

Obsolete[7] Vintage Discontinued
Model Late 2012[46][47] Early 2013 (education only) Late 2013[48][49] Mid 2014[50] Late 2015[51] Mid 2017
Component / processor model Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7
Release date November 30, 2012[52] December 2012 [53][54] March 5, 2013 September 24, 2013[55] June 18, 2014[56] October 13, 2015[57] June 5, 2017
Marketing model no.[14][15][16] MD093XX/A MD094XX/A MD095XX/A MD096XX/A MD699XX/A ME086XX/A ME087XX/A ME088XX/A ME089XX/A MF883XX/A, MG022XX/A MK142XX/A MK442XX/A MMQA2LL/A
Model number A1418 A1419 A1418 A1419 A1418
Model identifier[16] iMac13,1 iMac13,2 iMac13,1 iMac14,1 iMac14,3[58] iMac14,2 iMac14,4 iMac16,1 iMac18,1
EMC no. 2544 2546 2545[59] 2638 2742[60] 2639 2805[61] 2889 3068
Enclosure Aluminum and glass
Display 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080 27-inch 2560 × 1440 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080 27-inch 2560 × 1440 21.5-inch 1920 × 1080
Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology
Processor 2.7 GHz 4-core
(Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz)
(3330S "Ivy Bridge") [62] Intel Core i5 		2.9 GHz 4-core
(Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (3470S "Ivy Bridge") Intel Core i5 		3.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz)
(3470 "Ivy Bridge") Intel Core i5 		3.3 GHz (3225 "Ivy Bridge") Intel Core i3 2.7 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz)
(4570R "Haswell") Intel Core i5 		2.9 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (4570S "Haswell")Intel Core i5 3.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (4570 "Haswell") Intel Core i5 3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz (4670 "Haswell")Intel Core i5 1.4 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz (4260U "Haswell") Intel Core i5 1.6 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz (5250U "Broadwell") Intel Core i5 2.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz)
(5575R "Broadwell") Intel Core i5 		2.3 GHz 2-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz)
(7360U "Kaby Lake") Intel Core i5
6 MB L3 cache 3 MB L3 cache 4 MB L3 cache 6 MB L3 cache 3 MB shared L3 cache 4 MB shared L3 cache 4 MB shared L3 cache and 64 MB L4 cache
— Optional: 3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (3770S "Ivy Bridge") Intel Core i7
8 MB L3 cache) 		— Optional: 3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (3770 "Ivy Bridge") Intel Core i7
8 MB L3 cache) 		— — Optional: 3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (4770S "Haswell") Intel Core i7
8 MB L3 cache) 		— Optional: 3.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (4771 "Haswell") Intel Core i7
8 MB L3 cache) 		— — — —
System bus Intel Direct Media Interface
5 GT/s
Memory 8 GB (2× 4 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot)
Optional: 16 GB 		8 GB (2× 4 GB, 2× empty slot)
Optional: 16 and 32 GB 		4 GB (two 2 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot)
Expandable to 16 GB with third-party modules. 		8 GB (two 4 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot)
Optional: 16 GB 		8 GB (2× 4 GB, 2× empty slot)
Optional: 16 or 32 GB 		8 GB (soldered on-board) 8 GB (soldered on-board)
Optional: 16 GB 		8 GB (two 4 GB, non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot)
Optional: 16 GB, expandable to 32 GB with third-party modules.
1600 MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM 1600 MHz PC3-12800 LPDDR3 SDRAM (soldered on-board) 1867 MHz PC3-14900 LPDDR3 SDRAM (soldered on-board) 2133 MHz DDR4
Video card Nvidia GeForce GT 640M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce GT 650M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce GTX 660M with 512 MB of GDDR5 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce GTX 675MX with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM Intel HD Graphics 4000 Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 Nvidia GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce GT 755M with 1 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM Nvidia GeForce GTX 775M with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM Intel HD Graphics 5000 Intel HD Graphics 6000 Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640
— — — Optional: Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM — — — — Optional: Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M with 4 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM — — — —
Storage / Hard drive 1 TB
Optional:1 TB Fusion, 128, 256, 512 GB SSD
Fusion Drive initially only for high-end model, later added low-end model support[63][64] 		1 TB
Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512, 768 GB SSD 		500 GB 1 TB
Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 256 or 512 GB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1 or 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD 		500 GB
Optional:1 TB HDD, 1 TB Fusion, or 256 GB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 1 TB Fusion or 256 GB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 1 or 2 TB Fusion, or 256 GB SSD 		256 GB SSD
Optional:1 TB Fusion (1 TB HDD discontinued since Q3 2020)
Serial ATA 5400 rpm and Mini-SATA III (6 Gbit/s) for SSD Serial ATA 7200 rpm and Mini-SATA III (6 Gbit/s) for SSD Serial ATA 5400 rpm Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCIe 2.0 ×2 5.0 GT/s (8 Gbit/s) for SSD Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCIe 2.0 ×2 5.0 GT/s (8 Gbit/s) for SSD Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCI-e for SSD
Connectivity Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 4.0 		Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 4.0 		Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 4.2
Camera FaceTime HD camera 720p (1280 × 720, 0.9 MP)
Video out Dual Thunderbolt 1; up to two 2560x1440 displays Dual Thunderbolt 2; up to two 3840x2160 (4K) displays Dual Thunderbolt 2; up to two 4096x2304 (4K UHD) displays Dual Thunderbolt 3; up to two 4096x2304 (4K UHD) displays or one 5120x2880 (5K) dual-cable display
Peripherals 4× USB 3.0
SDXC card slot
Headphone/digital audio output
Kensington Lock Slot
2× Thunderbolt ports
Mini DisplayPort output, VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort adapters (for input) available 		2x Thunderbolt 2
Mini DisplayPort output, VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort adapters (for input) available 		2x Thunderbolt 3
DisplayPort output, VGA, DVI, HDMI, and Thunderbolt 2 adapters available
Minimum operating system OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion OS X 10.9 Mavericks OS X 10.11 El Capitan macOS 10.12 Sierra
Latest release operating system macOS 10.15 Catalina macOS 11 Big Sur macOS 12 Monterey
Unofficially, can run macOS Monterey using an OS patcher

Retina revision

27-inch Retina iMac

A Retina Display "5K" model with a resolution of 5120 × 2880 was introduced alongside the previous year's models during a keynote on October 16, 2014. This 27-inch model was given faster Haswell processors and its two Thunderbolt ports were updated to Thunderbolt 2. Secondary storage was also upgraded to a 1 TB[65] Fusion drive as standard and video options changed over to AMD Radeon R9 M290X and M295X.

In May 2015, a separate, affordable, budget counterpart of the 5K 27-inch iMac was announced with lower specifications. That same day the Late 2013 iMac lineup was completely discontinued. Later that year, a 21.5-inch "4K" model with a resolution of 4096 × 2304 was released on October 13, 2015 with older Broadwell processors, as the 27-inch counterparts were upgraded that day directly to Skylake ones. The new rechargeable and wireless peripherals were also introduced that day. In 2017 both 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs were refreshed with Kaby Lake processors, Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, and Bluetooth 4.2. The iMacs were refreshed again in 2019 with Coffee Lake processors, upgraded graphics, and faster memory.

On August 4, 2020, Apple refreshed the 27-inch 5K iMac with Comet Lake processors, AMD RDNA architecture GPUs, the T2 security chip, a 1080p FaceTime camera, Bluetooth 5, improved speakers and microphones, and solid state drives (SSD) standard. 10 Gigabit Ethernet and nano-etched glass, similar to the Pro Display XDR, are available as upgrade options. All models include non-replaceable, soldered SSDs, while models upgraded to 4TB and 8TB include an expansion bay for a second SSD.[66] The 2019 21.5-inch versions remained available but received a minor configuration change with SSDs standard, with higher-capacity Fusion Drives as a build-to-order option, while hard disk drives are no longer available.[67] After including them for 35 years starting with the Macintosh XL in 1985, the 2020 refresh marks the end of hard disk drives in standard configuration Macs, as the 21.5-inch iMac was the only Mac still using them.[68] In March 2021, Apple silently removed the 512 GB and 1 TB SSD configurations for the 21.5-inch iMac.[69] The 21.5 inch iMac with 4K Retina Display was discontinued on April 20, 2021, after the announcement of the first Apple silicon-based iMac. The 27-inch model was discontinued on March 8, 2022, after the announcement of the Mac Studio and 27-inch Apple Studio Display.

Specifications of iMacs with Retina Display from 2014 to 2022

Vintage Discontinued
Model Late 2014[70] Mid 2015 Late 2015[71][72] Mid 2017 Early 2019 Early 2019 Mid 2020
Component / processor model Core i5 and Core i7 Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 Core i5 and Core i9 Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9
Release date October 16, 2014[73] May 19, 2015 October 13, 2015[57] June 4, 2017 March 19, 2019 August 4, 2020
Part number[16] MF886XX/A MF885XX/A MK452XX/A MK462XX/A MK472XX/A MK482XX/A MNDY2xx/A MNE02xx/A MNE92xx/A MNEA2xx/A MNED2xx/A MRT32xx/A MRT42xx/A MRQY2xx/A MRR02xx/A MRR12xx/A MXWT2xx/A MXWU2xx/A MXWV2xx/A
Model number A1419 A1418 A1419 A1418[74] A1419 A2116[75] A2115[76] A2115
Model identifier[16] iMac15,1 iMac16,2 iMac17,1 iMac18,2 iMac18,3 iMac19,2[77] iMac19,1[77] iMac20,1, iMac20,2[78]
EMC no. 2806 2833 2834 3069[74] 3070[79] 3195[75] 3194[76] 3442
Display 27-inch 5120 × 2880 21.5-inch 4096 × 2304 27-inch 5120 × 2880 21.5-inch 4096 × 2304 27-inch 5120 × 2880 21.5-inch 4096 × 2304 27-inch 5120 × 2880
Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology with P3 color gamut Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting and IPS technology with P3 color gamut
500 nits brightness 		Glossy glass-covered widescreen 16:9, LED backlighting, and IPS technology with P3 color gamut. 500 nits brightness, support for True Tone technology. Configurable with nano-texture glass ($500)
Processor 3.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz (4690 "Haswell") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.3 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz) (4590 "Haswell") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.1 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz (5675R "Broadwell") Intel Core i5
4 MB shared L3 cache and 128 MB L4 cache 		3.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz) (6500 "Skylake") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.3 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz) (6600 "Skylake") Intel Core i5 6 MB shared L3 cache 3.0 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz) (7400 "Kaby Lake") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) (7500 "Kaby Lake") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.5 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz) (7600 "Kaby Lake") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.8 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz) (7600K "Kaby Lake") Intel Core i5
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.6 GHz 4-core (8100 "Coffee Lake") Intel Core i3
6 MB shared L3 cache 		3.0 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz) (8500 "Coffee Lake") Intel Core i5
9 MB shared L3 cache 		3.1 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.3 GHz) (8600 "Coffee Lake") Intel Core i5
9 MB shared L3 cache 		3.7 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz) (9600K "Coffee Lake") Intel Core i5
9 MB shared L3 cache 		3.1 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz) (10500 "Comet Lake") Intel Core i5
12 MB shared L3 cache 		3.3 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.8 GHz) (10600 "Comet Lake") Intel Core i5
12 MB shared L3 cache 		3.8 GHz 8-core (Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz) (10700K "Comet Lake") Intel Core i7
16 MB shared L3 cache
Optional: 4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.4 GHz) Haswell Intel Core i7
8 MB shared L3 cache (i7-4790K) 		— Optional: 3.3 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz) Broadwell Intel Core i7
6 MB shared L3 cache and 128 MB L4 cache (i7-5775R) 		— Optional: 4 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz) Skylake Intel Core i7
8 MB shared L3 cache (i7-6700K) 		Optional: 3.6 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz) Kaby Lake Intel Core i7
8 MB shared L3 cache (i7 7700) 		— Optional: 4.2 GHz 4-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz) Kaby Lake Intel Core i7
8 MB shared L3 cache (i7 7700K) 		Optional: 3.2 GHz 6-core (Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz) Coffee Lake Intel Core i7 12 MB Cache (i7 8700) — Optional: 3.6 GHz 8-core (Turbo Boost up to 5 GHz) Coffee Lake Intel Core i9-9900K w/ 16 MB Cache — Optional: 3.6 GHz 10-core (Turbo Boost up to 5 GHz) Comet Lake Intel Core i9-10910 w/20 MB Cache
System bus Intel Direct Media Interface 2.0 Intel Direct Media Interface 3.0
Memory 8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16 or 32 GB 		8 GB (soldered on-board)
Optional: 16 GB 		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional:16, 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third party modules.[80] 		8 GB (two 4 GB), non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot
Optional: 16 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third-party modules. [citation needed] 		8 GB (two 4 GB), non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot
Optional:16 or 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third-party modules. [citation needed] 		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16 or 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third party modules.[81] 		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16, 32, 64 GB 		8 GB (two 4 GB), non-user-accessible AASP Installable Slot
Optional: 16 or 32 GB, expandable to 64 GB with third party modules. [citation needed] 		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16 or 32 GB, expandable to 128 GB with third-party modules. 		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16, 32, 64 GB, expandable to 128 GB with third party modules.[82] 		8 GB (two 4 GB, two slots empty)
Optional: 16, 32, 64 GB, expandable to 128 GB
1600 MHz PC3-12800 DDR3 SO-DIMM SDRAM 1867 MHz PC3-14900 LPDDR3 SDRAM (soldered onboard) 1867 MHz PC3-14900 DDR3L SO-DIMM SDRAM 2400 MHz PC4-19200 DDR4 SO-DIMM SDRAM 2666 MHz PC4-21300 DDR4 SO-DIMM SDRAM
Graphics AMD Radeon R9 M290X with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM
30-bit Deep Color
Optional: AMD Radeon R9 M295X with 4 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM[83] 		AMD Radeon R9 M290 with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM
30-bit Deep Color 		Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 AMD Radeon R9 M380 with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM
30-bit Deep Color 		AMD Radeon R9 M390 with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM
30-bit Deep Color 		AMD Radeon R9 M395 with 2 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM
30-bit Deep Color
Optional: AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4 GB of GDDR5 SDRAM 		Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 560 with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 570 with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 575 with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 580 with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 555X with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 560X with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory

Optional: Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4 GB of HBM2 memory

Radeon Pro 570X with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 575X with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory Radeon Pro 580X with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory

Optional: Radeon Pro Vega 48 with 8 GB of HBM2 memory

Radeon Pro 5300 with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory

Optional: Radeon Pro 5700 with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory or Radeon Pro 5700 XT with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory

Storage / Hard drive 1 TB Fusion
Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1 or 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 1 or 2 TB Fusion, 256 or 512 GB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 3 TB HDD, 1, 2, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB SSD 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 2 or 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD 		2 TB Fusion
Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 256 or 512 GB SSD 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 256, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 2 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB or 1 TB SSD 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 2, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD 		2 TB Fusion
Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1, or 2 TB SSD 		1 TB
Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD
After Aug 4, 2020: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD
After Mar 20, 2021: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD
After Aug 4, 2020: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD
After Mar 20, 2021: 256 GB SSD Optional: 1 TB Fusion 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 2 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD 		1 TB Fusion
Optional: 2, 3 TB Fusion, 256, 512 GB, 1 TB SSD 		2 TB Fusion
Optional: 3 TB Fusion, 512 GB, 1, 2 TB SSD 		256 GB SSD
 512 GB SSD
Optional: 1, 2 TB SSD 		512 GB SSD
Optional: 1, 2, 4, 8 TB SSD
Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD Serial ATA 5400 rpm and PCI-e for SSD Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD Serial ATA 5400 rpm Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD Serial ATA 7200 rpm and PCI-e for SSD soldered on board
Security Chip None Apple T2
Connectivity Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 4.0 		Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 4.2 		Internal AirPort Extreme 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 5.0
Optional: 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Camera 720p FaceTime HD camera 1080p FaceTime HD camera
Video out Up to two 4096x2304 (4K UHD) displays or 1 5120x2880 (5K) dual-cable display[84] Up to two 4096x2304 (4K UHD) displays or one 5120x2880 (5K) display[85] Up to two 4096x2304 (4K UHD) displays with support for millions of colors or one 6016x3384 (6K) display with support for 1 billion colors[86] In addition: Up to two 6016x3384 (6K) displays with support for billions of colors w/ Radeon Pro 5700 or Radeon Pro 5700 XT
Peripherals 4× USB 3.0
SDXC card slot
Headphone/digital audio output
2× Thunderbolt 2 ports
Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort adapters available
Kensington Lock Slot 		4× USB 3.0
SDXC card slot
Headphone audio output
2× Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C 3.1 gen 2) ports
Kensington Lock Slot 		4× USB 3.0
SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Headphone audio output
2× Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C 3.1 gen 2) ports
Kensington Lock Slot
Minimum operating system OS X 10.10 Yosemite OS X 10.11 El Capitan macOS 10.12 Sierra macOS 10.14 Mojave macOS 10.15 Catalina
Latest release operating system macOS 11 Big Sur macOS 12 Monterey
Unofficially, can run macOS Monterey through an OS patcher

Supported operating systems

Supported macOS releases
OS release
Polycarbonate (5th generation) Aluminum (6th generation) Unibody (7th generation) Slim Unibody (8th generation) Retina (9th generation)
Early 2006 Mid 2006 Late 2006 Mid 2007 Early 2008 Early 2009 Late 2009 Mid 2010 Mid 2011 Late 2012 Late 2013 Mid 2014 Late 2014 Mid 2015 Late 2015[a] Mid 2017[a] Early 2019 Mid 2020
10.0 Cheetah No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
10.1 Puma No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
10.2 Jaguar No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
10.3 Panther No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
10.4 Tiger 10.4.4 10.4.7 10.4.10 No No No No No No No No No No No No No No
10.5 Leopard Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.5.2 10.5.6 No No No No No No No No No No No No
10.6 Snow Leopard With 1 GB RAM Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.6.3 10.6.6 No No No No No No No No No
10.7 Lion patch, requires processor upgrade With 2 GB RAM Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No
10.8 Mountain Lion patch, requires processor upgrade patch With 2 GB RAM Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.8.1 10.8.4 No No No No No No No
10.9 Mavericks patch, requires processor upgrade patch, requires processor upgrade, no graphics acceleration patch With 2 GB RAM Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.9.3 No No No No No No
10.10 Yosemite patch, requires processor upgrade, no graphics acceleration patch, no graphics acceleration With 2 GB RAM Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.10.3 No No No No
10.11 El Capitan patch, requires processor upgrade, no graphics acceleration patch, no graphics acceleration With 2 GB RAM Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No
10.12 Sierra No No No patch, requires processor upgrade patch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.12.5 No No
10.13 High Sierra No No No patch, requires processor upgrade patch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
10.14 Mojave No No No patch, requires processor upgrade patch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.14.3 No
10.15 Catalina No No No patch, requires processor upgrade patch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.15.6
11.0 Big Sur No No No patch, requires processor upgrade, no bluetooth patch Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
12.0 Monterey No No No patch, requires processor upgrade, no bluetooth, wifi, or graphics acceleration patch, no bluetooth, wifi, or graphics acceleration patch Yes Yes Yes Yes
Supported Windows versions
OS release 1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation 4th generation 5th generation
Early 2006 Mid 2006 to early 2009 Late 2009 Mid 2010 Mid 2011 Late 2012 to mid 2015 Late 2015 Mid 2017 to mid 2020
Windows XP
32-bit[Note 1][87][88] 		Yes Yes Yes Partial[Note 1] No No No No No No
Windows Vista
32-bit[Note 2][87][88] 		Yes Yes Yes Partial[Note 2] No No No No No No
Windows Vista
64-bit[Note 2][87] 		Yes Yes Yes Partial[Note 2] No No No No No No
Windows 7
32-bit[Note 3][87][89] 		No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No
Windows 7
64-bit[Note 4][87][90] 		No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Windows 8
[Note 5][Note 6][87] 		No No No No Partial, Patch[Note 7] Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Windows 8.1
[Note 8][Note 6][91][90] 		No No No No Partial, Patch[Note 7] Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Windows 10
[Note 9][Note 6][92][90] 		No No No No Patch Patch Yes Yes Yes Yes

Notes

  1. ^ a b Includes 21.5" non-Retina models released in the same date (Late 2015 and Mid 2017)
  1. ^ a b Windows XP can only be installed on Macs built up until late 2009 with Boot Camp 3 or earlier, excluding the late 2009 high-end 27-inch model. This includes Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier and copies of Mac OS X 10.7 that have not been updated to Boot Camp 4.
  2. ^ a b c d Windows Vista can only be installed on Macs built up until late 2009 with Boot Camp 3 or earlier, excluding the late 2009 high-end 27-inch model. This includes Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier and copies of Mac OS X 10.7 that have not been updated to Boot Camp 4.
  3. ^ The 32-bit version of Windows 7 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 3.1 to 6.0. This includes OS X 10.11 and earlier.
  4. ^ The 64-bit version of Windows 7 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 3.1 or later, running macOS High Sierra or earlier. Later versions of macOS no longer support Windows 7.
  5. ^ Windows 8 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 5.0 to 6.0. This includes OS X 10.11 and earlier.
  6. ^ a b c Only 64-bit versions of Windows are supported for Windows 8 and later.
  7. ^ a b Only the 27-inch model of the Mid-2010 iMac supports Windows 8 and 8.1. The 21.5-inch model is not supported.
  8. ^ Windows 8.1 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 5.1 or later, running macOS High Sierra or earlier. Later versions of macOS no longer support Windows 8.1.
  9. ^ Windows 10 can only be installed on Macs with Boot Camp 6.0 or later. It is the only supported version of Windows on macOS Mojave and later.

References

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  6. ^ AirPort Extreme performance page see footnote 2
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  10. ^ "iMac (Late 2006) – Technical Specifications". Apple Inc. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
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  17. ^ "Installer El Capitan sur les Mac non supportés". slice42.com.
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  19. ^ a b Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts Apple.com; June 25, 2010
  20. ^ https://support.apple.com/kb/SP16?viewlocale=en_CA&locale=en_CA
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  28. ^ "iMac 20-Inch "Core 2 Duo" 2.0 (Mid-2009) Specs (Mid-2009 (Edu), MC015LL/A, iMac9,1, A1224, 2266): EveryMac.com". EveryMac.com.
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  30. ^ 1 GB = 10243 B
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  33. ^ "iMac (21.5 and 27-inch, Mid 2011) – Technical Specifications". Apple Inc. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  34. ^ "iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2011) – Technical Specifications". Apple Inc. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  35. ^ "Apple Unveils New iMac With 21.5 and 27-inch Displays". Apple. October 20, 2009.
  36. ^ "Apple Updates iMac Line". Apple. July 27, 2010.
  37. ^ "Apple Announces New iMac With Next Generation Quad-Core Processors, Graphics & Thunderbolt I/O Technology". Apple. May 3, 2011.
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External links

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