Upgrade from iMac 27" late 2015 to new M1 iMac?

[awintersdaybyth]

Hi, I have a late 2015 27" iMac (16Gb ram, the dreaded 1TB fusion drive) and am really considering trading it in for the new top range 24" iMac (8GB Ram) after reading the reviews. My main use case is amateur level photo and video editing, some music production using Logic, a bit of DJing, Teams calls for work, usual browsing, emailing, watching videos etc. and using Handbrake to transcode video, etc - nothing too "pro".

I actually like the new design and colours, touch id on the keyboard, improved performance and speakers and the improved webcam appeals to me too, as well was the thought that Apple will soon deem my existing iMac to be obsolete. I already have an M1 Air which I absolutely love.

The only downside I can think of is the reduction in screen size (although I sometimes find the 27" screen to be a bit too big for me). I work in HE so with the trade in for my old mac (which i bought second hand), im looking at around £1100.

Im sure performance wise it will outdo my current set up, but would I be totally crazy to bite the bullet and order?

 

[4sallypat]

If you can wait, the larger 27-30" screen iMac should come out next year.

If you can't wait, go for the 16GB flavor.

My current iMac is a 21.5" 4K so this will be a large jump up.
Plus I will be connecting a second display - either 24" Cinema or 27" Thunderbolt....

Will show it off Friday when my blue M1 iMac shows up....

 

[awintersdaybyth]

Thanks for your views, I suspect the larger iMac will be quite some way out of my budget (im expecting at least £500 more judging by the previous price difference) and for me the screen on my existing iMac is a bit too big sometimes!

Enjoy your new iMac

 

[Abazigal]

I suppose you could try hooking your MBA up to a 24” monitor to get a gauge of the display. Performance should be largely similar (since they share the same processor), so it’s either that or a Mac Mini.

My 2017 5k imac just came back from a logic board repair, and I decided to have the fusion drive replaced with a 1tb SSD as well. Hopefully, I get another 3 years out of it, but I was also in the same dilemma as you (but I ultimately decided to stick with my 27” imac for the screen). Rationale being that it was still cheaper than getting a new Mac.

Spec-wise, the imac should definitely be more powerful (and the SSD’s benefit is noticeable), but there’s something about the M1 that makes my MBA feel faster and smoother in normal everyday operations than a more powerful imac. Webpages load faster, apps load faster, everything just feels “snappier”.

If you can still get a decent resale value for your imac, and have no intention of replacing the fusion drive, I will say to bite the bullet and go with the M1 imac, through you will probably want to upgrade to 16gb ram.

The caveat is that we haven’t seen Apple’s bigger “pro” imac yet, though if you suspect it will likely be out of your budget, you may not want to bother waiting for it.

 

[glenthompson]

I currently use a MacBook Air hooked to a Thunderbolt Display. While I like the display the height is hard to see with my progressive bifocals. The 24” has the width I like but is shorter. Used the simulation someone posted to try out the new size and I found it perfect.

 

[Freeangel1]

don't get the M1 in anything. wait for the updated APPLE silicon chip.
Why?
You will be stuck to maximum 16GB ram
Possible shortened life of the non replaceable SSD because of excessive read and writes shortens the lifespan of the SSD.
only 2 USB C ports instead of 4.

 

[BenGieCruz]

Man i just hope the 30" version has user upgradeable RAM or else $$$$$$$$$

 

[4sallypat]

Man i just hope the 30" version has user upgradeable RAM or else $$$$$$$$$

Not likely due to the change from Intel to Apple Silicon with Unified Memory.

Remember, these M1 or Mx SOC are not comparable to the Intel design.
The RAM is part of the SOC and will not support a socket where you can just plug in some Intel based DDR RAM.

Afraid people have been brainwashed into thinking that more RAM means more performance with Intel chips.

I can attest to that now being misinformation - the M1 that I have had for 6 months with 8GB Unified Memory outperforms all my Intel Macs with double, triple or quadruple DDR RAM.

 

[MistrSynistr]

I did exactly this. 27" 5k 2015 iMac to Blue M1 iMac 24".

Always thought 27 was slightly too big to take in and produced slight neck strain.

Can't compare until it comes in Friday tho.

 

[Fishrrman]

Going from 27" to 24" would seem like a DOWNGRADE to me.

I'd wait for the "larger-screen" iMac that's coming out later this year.
Disregard comments above that it won't be released until next year.
I sense that it will arrive sooner than we think... almost as soon as the new m-series chips go into mass production (July).

 

[SoYoung]

I currently have a late 2015 27' iMac as well and its still running great for what I need so unless you need to do some more demanding tasks and you really find your computer to be very slow, I suggest you to wait as well. Personally, I don't want a smaller screen, at all because I know I'll regret it in the long run. Once you're used with a bigger screen, you can't go back. I use my iMac everyday for almost all the things (watching TV shows/Youtube, gaming with openEmu, web browsing, listening music, iMessage, etc) so I won't regret waiting and just grab the new 27' version that will probably be bigger so it'll worth the wait.

 

[4sallypat]

I just received the new M1 iMac and have to say the 24" 4.5K Retina display is just amazing!

I use a 24" Cinema display daily (M1 Mini) and have to say the 24" Retina display has so much more sharpness compared to the QHD panel.

I'll connect a 27" Thunderbolt display as a second display and see how it looks side by side on Monday when I get back to work...


Here's my beaut:

 

[glenthompson]

Just got my new iMac setup last night and absolutely love the screen size. Almost the width of the 27” display but shorter in height. After my wife looked at it she wants to trade her 27” iMac for one.

 

[awintersdaybyth]

I bit the bullet and picked up a new higher end blue Imac yesterday and am loving it so far. Feels lot "snappier" then my previous machine and the screen size is not a downgrade for me: I found the 27" I previously used to be slightly frustrating to use for some tasks and dont really miss the increased size, especially while watching video, which might sound odd, but my eyes can take in everything on screen with the smaller size, wheres with the 27" some viewing was outside my peripheral vision.

I know its a debated point but I also prefer the design of this as it fits into my room much better than the silver iMac it replaced. I'm also pleasantly surprised by the quality of the speakers, streaming music from spotify sounds much better than i expected and I doubt I'll ever feel the need to hook up external speakers.

I figured I'd have to make the trade in sooner or later as it would surprise me if the 2015 iMac was supported beyond the next OS or even that one. I think if Id have left it longer the trade in value would have plummeted.