The M3 iMac was ALMOST PERFECT! 

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I'm still waiting for a better iMac so I can upgrade my 2017 27". Really was hoping this would be the day.

Keeping my 27” 5K iMac until they bring out a new 27” or larger screen. You still see tons of 27” iMacs out there but I never see any of the new 24"

I know the consensus among the tech RU-vidrs is that they should have upgraded the peripherals to USB C, but I am definitely the target audience that made them stay with lightening. I don't plan on upgrading my iPhone 13 anytime soon so I like still using lightening. This is a case where tech RU-vidrs don't get that most of the consumer market is a couple years behind with their devices a lot of the time.

BIGGER iMacs. Please. Thank you.

the more i think it, I think they kept all the lightning accessories cause they probably have millions sitting in boxes ready to ship that have not sold with the M1 iMac, probably the reason they didn't change any of the colors of the M3 iMacs either as they probably made so many of those enclosures they need to move probably the reason the touch bar MBP stayed in the line up for the M2 generation and only now depleted their stocks

Apple basically took all the 2021 machines and switched out the chips!

I have the M1 iMac. I don't see the point in upgrading just now as I have the M2 iPad and MacBook Air I am a bit peeved about the lighting cable not being USBC, hence why I might wait. Perhaps they will finally kill the lightning cable next year. Great video Greg.

I’d wager they kept the lightning port accessories because of a surplus of the older designed accessories, especially since they’re color matched. We’ll probably see USB-C accessories for the standard OTS silver keyboard/mouse/trackpad first, possibly alongside a redesign of those products. The Apple TV remote was likely an easy change because the bottom panel the port goes through is removed with just two tiny screws and doesn’t involve a huge redesign of the product. I imagine they want to run through their supply of color matched components with the lightning cutout before swapping over.

Apple is still shipping machines with 8 gigs of ram. Mindboggling.

I'm holding out for a 28 or 30 inch iMac. I currently use an Intel based 27 inch, and I can't give up the screen. I also have a 16" MacBook Pro M2 I bought last spring, so I'm not hurting for computing power when I need it. Really bummed they didn't announce a larger iMac. I suppose that's when they'll finally ditch the lightning connector. BTW, nice review!

I bought a device that increases the height of a Magic Mouse and adds a wifi charging coil to the base. It connects to the mouse through the Lightning port which also helps to locate the mouse in the frame of the "embiggener." It charges the mouse and disconnects the Bluetooth by placing in on any Qi or MagSafe-compatible charging surface. The mouse is more comfortable to hold because it's further away from the desk.

As an iMac user for the past 10 years i will never down grade from my beloved 27 inch to an ugly 24 inch no matter what the specs are.

I'm a big fan of the entry-level iMac. Sure, it has fewer features, but it is perfect for business reception, kitchen, guest room, etc. type settings, and they don't force you to pay for things you don't need (ports, ethernet, TID). I don't see it as "less"; rather, I see it as "just what you need" for those circumstances I mentioned at the lowest price. Good job, Apple, for recognizing the use case.

It's pretty clear that Apple intends to stick with the Studio Mac and Display as a replacement to the 27" iMac. The 24" iMac (spec-wise) is clearly intended for casual users, though it can comfortably handle standard photo and video workflows.

it’s gotta be a move to clear out existing inventory of lightning accessories. As someone that’s refused to buy anything lightning for the last couple years, I’m fully committed to having usb-c everything and it’s been sooo nice just using the same cable for everything I own. So glad I can finally include my iPhone in that

The base 2 port model also probably lacks the cooling fan that directly cools the SOC. that was the case with the M1 and probably the case here. The base model is passively cooled like the MacBook Air.

I think the view that they are trying to offload the old units by just putting in the new chips, is correct. How many of those do you think they have to offload before we get a newer design, but with the M3 chip?

Thanks for sharing. I’m disappointed with no upgrade to the accessories. Blessings on your day!

If only they would come out with a mouse that had a usb-c connection on the side. That would be such an improvement. I use a Kensington bluetooth trackball with mine, rechargeable batteries. I still have my 27" iMac from 2019 and I don't care how much more powerful the M3 is, the 24" screen isn't big enough. If they want me to buy a new iMac they need to sell one with a 27" or larger screen.

Loved your review! You had me full on going crazy with your about the cable port haha

...only selling 24 inch iMacs is already confusing enough!

Why can’t they bring back the 27” screen back

They probably left Lighting so they can get rid of a lot of back-stock. They probably have an iMac refresh ready but will only release it once they get rid of more of their old stock

After 10 years (2013) I bought a new one today; the second model he showed in green. This is my third one. Always have been happy with them and each time better!

Not only the cable issue, what engineer thought it was a good idea to have the charge port on the bottom of the mouse?

I really love my M1 Blue iMac with the white bezels. I think the colour selections are beautiful and unique and pay respect to Mac designs of the past. I also love the 24 inch monitor but if they did a 27 inch one I would like that one too. I am a bit shocked too that there was no move to the USB C ports. The M1 performs fast enough and is a great machine but it does not have that "ray tracing" feature that the new M3 iMac has and I think there was another feature dealing with graphics that the M3 has the M1 does not.

Thank you for your video! I have been patiently waiting for the 30 inch do you think that that will come? If I build my own Mac mini, please suggest a camera and a monitor that you would recommend to put that system together. Are there any monitors with built-in cameras, thanks again for all of your information.

Still satisfied with my 2010 27" iMac which I upgraded to 24GB memory. It was ahead of it's time.

I was more disappointed by the upside down charging of the mouse still there. Maybe next year they will offer M3 Pro and Max options on a 27" iMac? One could hope.

Hey Greg! The usual question again: since I plan on keeping my new M3 iMac for a long time, where should I put extra cash: Ram or storage ? The minimum, I guess is 16gb of Ram and 512 Gb ssd… but I usually keep my iMacs (it will be my 5th!) between 7-8 years. Previously, I would have upgraded the machine along the way (when it slowed down) ❤but it’s not an option anymore. 24 gb of ram or 1Tb of storage ? I can’t afford both.

I plan on getting one but wondering if you’re able to connect an external monitor to it? If so, what would be needed?

I just ordered a 2023 M3 base IMac for my 81 year old mother. She’ll only use it for basic household computing tasks so it should be a dream machine for her.

Well Greg, I am the owner of the last iteration of the 2019 Intel 21.5” iMac with the 6core cpu. So, yes I am planning on upgrading this desktop, because this is my wife’s main computer at home, and my M2 MBA smokes it! I am planning on getting the top tier M3 iMac with 16gb ram, and 1T SSD and in her favorite color, purple. We typically keep our computers about 5 years before upgrading them, so this should satisfy that criteria.

I'm still on my Mac Mini Intel i7 32GB Ram, will i get as good or better performance for 4k video editing on an M3 iMac 16gb Ram?

Looking forward to my delivery this coming week, I'm sure I'll love it!

Thanks for the great video. I was wondering if you can let me know what the dimensions from the top of the iMac are to the desk you have it on.

Are *Apple* accessories the only things with lightening ports? What about external hard disks etc?

I am still using an iMac from 2011 (21.5"). I have been wanting to upgrade for about a year now but just can't decide if I want to stay with an iMac or go to the Mac Mini and a studio display. If I buy now I have to decide between an iMac 24 M3 or the Mac Mini M2 and with a 27" display. Of course there is about a $1000 diff. with some upgrades and accessories. Either one is going to be a huge upgrade from my current setup. Oh and the only stuff I do other than surf the net and a lot of RU-vid is some video editing for my RU-vid channel. Can I get some advice???

Is it really an inconvenience to use a cable that’s supplied with the iMac? I just don’t see this as an issue. What is really surprising me about this release is the lack of centre stage for the camera

I would have liked a silver option with a black bezel, usually Apple design trends grow on me after a few years, but I still don’t like the white bezel.

there’s basically no reason that they couldn’t have put the M3 Pro in the 24 inch iMac also, can they please give us a 27 or 32 inch iMac?

Re: lightening cables , actually not weird at all, those batteries are so small they don’t require fast charging to that degree, other than charging what necessary benefit does any cable have data wise?

I’m planning to get one before year ends, which m3 iMacs to buy by watching Netflix RU-vid videos browsing and checking emails.

please explain Ethernet LAN cable port option thus do we need to purchase $1499 model to get a port for ethernet?

They have to clean accessories stock first, they produce many accessories with lighting port 👀

Apparently they still have a lot of inventory of lightning accessories that they need to unload before going all in on USB-C.

Yep. Orange $1499.00 model. But I agree with you. Should have been USB-C. BTW, getting rid of my 8 year old intel.

If i have a 2015 imac intel quad core, which imac should i upgrade to the m1 or the m3?

Does the base m3 imac have 2 fans? Or just one like the base m1 imac model? 😢

I don't know if I need to go with the new Imac. Or go with the Mac Mini and the Studio Display.

If Apple had surprised us with an i.Mac Pro or a 24" with the option of the Pro M3 then I might have looked at getting on, even at 24", but for now my M1 iMac will have to do.

So do I get an M3 Mac Book and hook it up to a 27+ inch monitor??

I’m new to I Mac and got the m3 this year for my wife. I haven’t been able to find anywhere online that says the refresh rate on this thing. I know that it says it supports a usb external device only at 60hz but yeah I’m confused.

I’ve been holding off upgrading 2015 i5 27” iMac for another 27” iMac. I’m about to finally give up and look at a 24” iMac M3 or M2 Mini. 😢

I just want an iMac with their M2 Pro or Max chip - I could even be okay with a screen smaller than 27 inches...I have been holding onto my Intel based 27 inch iMac and was wanting to upgrade when the first M1 chip came out but I just can't "upgrade" to the base chip - I really want the M3 Pro chip in my iMac...I do not want a laptop and do not want to have to buy a monitor - I LOVE the iMac and am incredibly frustrated that there is not a beefier iMac anymore...am going to try to keep my Intel 27 inch iMac alive for another cycle it looks like...

Hopefully work better than my late 2013 21.5 inch that’s running like a snail now

My Mac is ten years old. You better believe I’m getting it! However, torn on whether to get upgraded RAM on base model or the mid range model As can’t afford both 😢

I plan on buying the new iMac, my old 2015 iMac needs to go into retirement. I am a simple iMac user, I don't understand all the teccy stuff, I use it essentially for photos. The thing that has disappointed me about the new iMac is the absence of the card reader. I will now have to connect something to the iMac for the sd card. So this beautiful, elegant, sleek design is now going to be spoilt by 'bits and pieces' being attached. I think I am alone with this view because it never gets mentioned when people review the iMac. It's not the end of the world, just a nuisance.

hi! can you use the imac as a monitor with a macbook pro? thanks!!

Looking 👀 for future test results. That will be fun and interesting 🧐

I will wait until an M4/M5 iMac. My base M1 MBA is still a perfect day to day computer.

I wonder if they just have a ton of spare lightning port devices?

Do you think they will release the Mac Mini with the M3 chip soon?

Still don’t understand why the mouse isn’t just converted to wireless charging? It could sit on a charging pad whenever you walk away .. and not doing the iMac .. got an M2 MacMini

That old Lightning port stock has to be used somewhere…

Let me play devils advocate here for a minute, the convenience of having lightning or USB-C for your Mac accessories is that you can plug your iPhone in using the same cable. The target audience, for the 24” iMac is not tech enthusiast, they’ve made it very clear that they are targeting casual computer users in the home and Office where having a computer that looks nice is more critical than having a super powerful machine. The people that are not huge Teck enthusiast are the same people that don’t normally upgrade their phone every year, more like every 2 to 3 years with their phone plans. So if you’re targeting that group of people, then the majority of them probably are not switching to the USB-C iPhone for another year or three, so continuing to sell a computer that matches the phone they’re more than likely going to have for another year makes sense. not to mention the financial incentive to use lightning which they make a 30% commission on. I would wager that in about a year or so. They will probably update the accessories that you can buy in the store and update accessories that come in the box to USB-C as iPhones with lightning begin to phase out of the US market.

Doesn’t the base model iMac have an M3 chip, not an M2 chip? Please clarify.

Almost perfect except not getting a 27" iMac included ... Very upsetting as I'm still using my 27" 5K Retina display iMac from 2017 and still works fine.

Just purchased one about 10 minutes ago, but have to wait until the end of November to get it

I just ordered the M3 iMac to replace my 2017 iMac. I don't use my computer for video editing, etc. so I think this will be perfect for my use. Hopefully it will last another 7 or 8 years!

I 100% agree with the lightning port. But, does it really matter all that much for something that will realistically only be used to charge up the keyboard? i mean... at least it's not lightning to lightning and all the ports on the new Imac are all Type C. So i really don't see the problem here, any USB C accessory you might have to plug into your new imac will plug in just fine.

As much as we use the lightning cord RARELY it is so just not an issue.

Issues with connectors have never entered my mind.

i still have m1 macbook pro 14" and M1 imac 24" and i won't change before either of them have a better screen to offer, mini-led on imac or studio display and oled on macbook pros

I wished the new iMac had the M3 Pro SoC, though. Now THAT would have been the perfect desktop PC.

Who can help me to understand what kinds of RAMs are on iMac M1 and M3? DDR4 or DDR5?

Did they upgrade the camera ?

Lightning accessories is a non-issue. Everyone already has one if not many usbc to lightning cables to charge them. If anything, it gives added life to those old cables. Plus, the iMac doesn't travel in your laptop bag, so this doesn't contribute to dongle life.

Glad they finally upgraded the basic colorful 24-inch iMac (However, they should have put an M2 processor in them last year). Of course my co-worker just bought one off of Apple's web site only three (3)-months ago. When it comes to "lighting" verses "USB-C" ports to charge the Track Pad, Keyboard, and Mouse being old school, I could care less. I just turned on my "space gray" Track Pad and mouse that each charge using a lighting port and after sitting un-used for over a month they each still have over a 90 percent charge (smile...smile).

I use a base M1 Mac Mini and was really hoping for more with the M3 Imac the big question is should I upgrade to this M3 Imac over my base m1 mac mini or not ?

So basically Apple had too much inventory, so they reached out to the marketing department and they suggested just switch out the motherboard and rename it. Got it

Hi, I am still determining. I have an m1 iMac. Is it worth it to upgrade? I don't edit videos or play games...

M2 Mac mini with LG QHD screen > M3 Imac for budget consumers.

The simple answer is supply. They'll phase lightning out in 3 years. It's basic inventory management.

Greg.....I thought your complaint was going to be that they didn't upgrade the display size. I'm still chugging along with my 24" M1 16GB model.

After seeing the iMac M3 I am still willing to buy the best 27-inch intel iMac. Better and bigger screen and the performance is quite enough for photo edition. I don't need a 30 seconds action to take 15 since I use Photoshop batches and the old iMac will cost me USD 1299 for the best configuration instead of USD 1604 (plus freight) for a 256Gb SSD and 8Gb ram.

I’m not interested at all in a 24 inch iMac. I’m hoping there will be a 27 inch M3 iMac coming out very soon because I can’t go down to 24 inches after using a 27 inch for the last three years. One more picky item is, they really need to get rid of the white bezel.

I'm a Mac mini M2 Pro person. The iMac is for households who want a computer appliance. No thinking about Monitors, Keyboards or mice.

No M3 Pro option, no screen enhancements, no supersize option. No thank you.

My guess is apple’s 2023 accessories with lightning still onboard are all about using up the old stock , it would probably be a fair bet next year these will all be the newer usb standard.

I agree it weird Apple is still using lightning however maybe its because Apple knows lightning is good enough since most people are most likely using it plugged in most the time despite the fact they are supposed to be wireless

If they only offered a 27"+ iMac!

It is disappointing that the entry level M3 iMacs have a single slow 256 Gb flash module and only have 8 Gb of RAM. The cost of giving these iMacs the 512 Gb SSDs and the 16 Gb of RAM that is universal in PCs in this price range is $400 which is unreasonable given the fact that the component cost of this upgrade is only around $100. Also most outlets only sell base models of Macs and iPhones and so it will not be possible to go into any high street store and come away with a properly configured M1/M2/M3 Mac with a 512 Gb SSD and 16 Gb of RAM.

no upgrade for me, my 2019 is still going strong. wont give up my 27" screen. maybe when they upgrade the keyboard, mouse and trackpad to usb-c & the mouse can be used while charging instead of laying upside down.

I don’t see that M2 iMac you were talking about.

I'm hoping it's a supply dump to get rid of the iMac with lightning. I hope it's not the worst-case scenario and dump the iMac altogether to go all in for the Studio display.

Will it be another 2 years before Apple updates the iMac with lightning ports? Given that the iMac was last to be updated, Apple should have given it more attention.

Went to Apple website after the event to finally place my order for two trackpads for office and work to pair them with my Mx 3s and mechanical keys just to find out lighting …well 300 saved…

Gotta sell through the back parts inventory mate. Touchbar M series MacBook Pro as reference.