Apple has announced a new iMac powered by the M6 chip, arriving almost two years after the M4 model from 2024. Because the M5 generation never made it to the iMac, this jump is bigger than the version number suggests, and the headline gain is faster on-device AI.
Apple iMac M6 (Credits: How-To Geek)
Apple iMac M6: Faster On-Device Intelligence, Wi-Fi 7 and a Familiar Design
The new iMac keeps the familiar 24-inch Retina display with 4.5K resolution, 500 nits peak brightness, and support for the P3 wide colour gamut. The camera and audio hardware also carry over, including a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View support, a six-speaker sound system with two force-cancelling woofers and two tweeters, Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, and a three-microphone array.
Under the hood, the M6 chip first appeared in the Mac Mini this year. The iMac comes in two configurations with up to a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, with RAM and storage topping out at 32GB and 2TB respectively. Apple has added Neural Accelerators to each GPU core to help the desktop handle AI workloads alongside demanding tasks like video editing and production.
How Much Faster Is the iMac M6 for AI?
AI is where the gap widens most over its predecessor. According to Apple’s stated numbers, on-device AI runs up to 5x faster than the M4 variant when running local models. Apple is also touting higher gaming performance with ray tracing compared to the M4, with numbers rising further against the M1-powered iMac.
Connectivity gets a proper refresh too, with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, plus an optional 2.5Gb Ethernet port for faster transfers, high-resolution streaming, and better performance for gaming and demanding workloads. The announcement follows the OLED iPad Mini release the day before, as Apple continues its updated Mac and iPad rollout.
Source: How-To Geek — read the full story there.