MacCentral reviews and benchmarks the new Intel iMacs released at Macworld Expo.
MacCentral's tested both Universal applications as well as PowerPC applications on the new 2.0GHz Intel iMac and compared them to the 2.1GHz iMac G5.
Of the Universal Applications tested, they focused on iMovie, iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD, iSquint, BBEdit and Zip Archiving. In these native applications, the Intel iMac was up to 1.82x as fast. Average increase however was closer to 1.2-1.3x, with one test coming in slightly slower (.91x) than the G5 iMac.
Meanwhile, PowerPC applications were tested using Rosetta emulation. They tested iTunes (PowerPC), Photoshop CS2 and Word. The tests showed the Intel iMac to be running .34-.48x as fast as the iMac G5. The performance penalty is expected due to the Rosetta emulation layer allowing PowerPC instructions to be run on the Intel processor.
Sunday August 23, 2026 11:36 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is readying new iMac models with an upgraded chip and new color options, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the new version is likely to be an updated 24-inch model with an M6 chip, replacing the existing M4 model that arrived in October 2024.
New colors are also said to be on the menu, though Gurman does not say what they...
Tuesday September 15, 2026 12:53 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today added the 2019 4K iMac to its list of vintage products, which means repairs can only be done if Apple has the parts available.
Products are added to the vintage list five years after they were last distributed for sale, and they're moved to the obsolete list at the seven-year mark. Vintage products can be repaired at Apple Stores and by Apple Authorized Service Providers if the...
Tuesday August 25, 2026 5:31 pm PDT by Juli Clover
BenQ today announced the launch of the iScreenBar, which it says is the first monitor light bar built for the iMac.
The iScreenBar is meant to look like an extension of the iMac, offering desk lighting that does not clash with the iMac's design or block the camera or microphone. It's made from aluminum and lights an area of 33.5 by 19.7 inches at 500 lux. A glass touch panel is available for ...
