Apple has announced the iMac with M6, starting at $1,499 in the US. Pre-orders open on October 28 in 35 countries and regions, and the first units reach buyers from Friday, November 6. The entry model pairs a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU with 16GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD.
The catch is that several features Apple leads with come as standard only on the $1,699 model with a 12-core CPU and GPU. That version gets four Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet and a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID in the box. It is also the only iMac offered with the nano-texture display.
iMac M6 Pricing and Availability
- 10-core CPU / 10-core GPU (16GB, 256GB): $1,499, or $1,449 with education pricing
- 12-core CPU / 12-core GPU: from $1,699, or $1,599 with education pricing
- Apple Upgrade lease (US): from $28.99 a month over 36 months, before taxes and trade-in
Apple Stores and Authorized Resellers get stock from November 6. As of October 27, Apple hadn’t confirmed an Indian price.
What the $1,499 iMac M6 Leaves Out
The base model drives one external display, and Ethernet and Touch ID are configure-to-order options rather than standard. Anyone who relies on a dock, wired networking or a second monitor should price the $1,699 model first.
Specifications
iMac M6, 10-core
- Chip: M6 with 10-core CPU (2 super, 3 performance, 5 efficiency cores) and 10-core GPU
- Memory and storage: 16GB unified memory (24GB optional), 256GB SSD (up to 1TB)
- Ports: two Thunderbolt/USB 4, 3.5mm headphone jack, 2.5Gb Ethernet optional
- External displays: one, up to 6K at 60Hz or 4K at 165Hz
- Keyboard: Magic Keyboard, Touch ID optional
- Weight: 4.42 kg
iMac M6, 12-core
- Chip: M6 with 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU
- Memory and storage: 16GB unified memory (24GB or 32GB optional), SSD up to 2TB
- Ports: four Thunderbolt 4, 2.5Gb Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack
- External displays: up to two
- Keyboard: Magic Keyboard with Touch ID
- Display option: nano-texture glass
- Weight: 4.44 kg
Shared by both
- Display: 24-inch 4.5K Retina, 4480 x 2520, 500 nits, P3 wide color, True Tone
- Wireless: Apple N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6 and Thread
- Camera: 12MP Center Stage with Desk View
- Colors: blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange, silver
- In the box: 143W power adapter
Seven Colors and macOS 27
The new iMac ships in seven colors. Apple says the stand is made from 100% recycled aluminum.
It runs macOS 27 with Apple Intelligence and Siri’s new AI features. Visual Intelligence also gets its own keyboard shortcut on the Mac.
Apple’s Performance Claims
These figures come from Apple’s own testing, and we haven’t verified them. The M4 comparisons use an M4 iMac with a 10-core CPU, 32GB of memory and 2TB of storage.
- Up to 1.5x faster than M4 in spreadsheet tasks such as Excel
- Up to 2x the graphics performance of M4
- Up to 5x faster on-device AI prompt processing than M4
- Up to 18x faster than the most popular Intel-based iMac
Apple also quotes memory bandwidth of up to 170GB/s for the M6. Its iMac specs page doesn’t confirm that figure for the base model. Shelly Goldberg, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering, pitched the launch in typically confident terms:
“iMac is the world’s best all-in-one, and today it raises the bar yet again”
Treat that as marketing until independent tests arrive. Apple’s Pro and Tell event in Los Angeles follows on October 28.
Source: Apple Newsroom, Apple iMac tech specs
