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M1 iMac Mid-range vs 2020 iMac for SAME PRICE! 24 vs 27

8:55 video

The mid-tier 24-inch M1 iMac starts at $1,499, and bumping the storage to 512 GB (+$200) makes $1,699. The mid-tier 2020 27-inch iMac with the same 512 GB can be bought refurbished directly from Apple for the same $1,699. Refurbished from Apple is essentially a new computer: full warranty, defective parts replaced and a new-looking case. The 24-inch isn’t a direct replacement for the 27-inch, but at the same price it’s an interesting comparison.

Design

From the front they’re similar: a big display, bezels and a chin. The 24-inch has a more modern look, with a slightly smaller chin and slimmer white bezels, a uniform thinness, and is smaller and lighter. The 27-inch follows the last nine years of iMac design, with a tapered edge and a more bulbous back, and only comes in silver; the 24-inch comes in blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange and purple. In person the colors look pretty good and the backs pop, but silver goes with anything. Each comes with a keyboard and mouse or trackpad, but the 24-inch comes color matched, and the mid-tier comes with the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID.

Ports

  • 27-inch: Ethernet, two Thunderbolt ports, four USB-A ports, an SD card reader and headphone out.
  • 24-inch mid-tier: two Thunderbolt ports, two USB-C ports, a headphone jack and Ethernet on the color-matched power adapter.

Specs and CPU

  • 24-inch: an 8-core M1 (four performance and four efficiency cores), an 8-core GPU and 8 GB of unified memory.
  • 27-inch mid-tier: a 6-core, 12-thread i5, 8 GB of RAM and a Radeon Pro 5300 with 4 GB of dedicated memory.

The CPUs trade jabs. In Geekbench the 24-inch wins: single-core 1747 and multi-core 7717, versus 1215 and 6291 for the 27-inch i5. The 27-inch wins Cinebench multi-core: 9077 vs. 7792. In the Cinebench tests, both fans spun up; the new iMacs’ fans have a different sound, almost like TV static or an over-amplified speaker.

Graphics

The Radeon Pro 5300 wins: Metal 37,137 vs. 21,788. In a heavy video export (better-quality settings to make it hurt), the 24-inch took 15:24 and the 27-inch 13:56. In Unigine Heaven (extreme, with 2x anti-aliasing), the 27-inch got 73 fps and the 24-inch 34 fps. In Minecraft (fancy graphics, V-Sync off, unlimited frame rate), the 24-inch got about 80 fps, and the 27-inch about double.

Displays

Both are Retina at 218 ppi, sharp, with icons and buttons the same size, but you fit more on the 27-inch. Both reach 500 nits, have True Tone and P3 wide color. Only the 27-inch has HDR output.

Camera, mics and speakers

The 24-inch has a new 1080p camera, image processing and mic array. Side by side, its camera is brighter, which most people will prefer, though I’d be happy with either. For speakers, I got mixed results at first with the 24-inch (sometimes as loud as the 27-inch, sometimes quieter), but in a test with both at full volume, the 27-inch has more volume and much more bass; both sound clear to me.

Upgrades

  • Add Thunderbolt or USB-C docks and hubs to the 24-inch to regain USB-A and SD card readers.
  • The 27-inch’s RAM is expandable up to 128 GB with third-party memory (I got a 64 GB kit from OWC).
  • Add external storage to either; see my video on Thunderbolt storage, since the fastest isn’t the same for Intel and M1.

Verdict

At $1,699 they compete very well. The 27-inch does a much better job on graphics-intensive tasks; the 24-inch goes head-to-head on most CPU tasks and even beats the 27-inch in some. The 27-inch i5 has more compatibility with legacy and specialized apps (Adobe, 3D rendering), but the M1 keeps up with Rosetta, and more apps are updated for M1 each day. The 24-inch has the Touch ID keyboard, while the 27-inch has more built-in ports.

Either works extremely well for me, with no storage or RAM upgrades needed. For me it comes down to size: I prefer the 27-inch display, which feels less cramped and lets me do things a bit faster with more on the screen. Are you in the market for a new iMac and having trouble choosing between 24 and 27 inches?

In this video

  • 0:00 intro refurb 2020 and 2021 iMac
  • 0:58 design
  • 1:54 accessories and ports
  • 2:28 specs and cpu performance
  • 3:24 fans
  • 3:48 graphics performance
  • 4:21 displays
  • 4:59 camera, mics and speakers
  • 6:39 upgrades
  • 7:20 so…..?

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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