It's a toss-up, but worth considering both options if you're shopping for a new computer now. But you gain portability, since you can take your MacBook Air everywhere you go. You'll also miss out on the good built-in speakers, added ports and webcam. The catch is that a quality 4K display with the colors, brightness and accuracy of the iMac is going to set you back several hundred dollars or more. Then, you can add a big screen at your desk, like this $400 one from LG, or something more expensive like this from Dell, and just plug the Air in when you want a big, bright display. It will make a great home school computer for your kids, or an office desktop.īut I also think you should consider buying a MacBook Air, my current favorite computer on the market given its power, battery life and price. The new iMac is a fantastic desktop computer and worth buying if you need a desktop computer for you or the family. It doesn't bug me at all, but I think people who are used to big screens without much of a border might find it a turn-off. Lastly, it has a big chin under the screen. But you won't get three big screens over HDMI or Thunderbolt.
#Best mac for your money pro
I found I was able to get up to three screens by using an iPad Pro with the Side Car app, however. So if you're like me and normally use three separate displays, you're going to be limited.
#Best mac for your money mac
But the M1 chip only supports one additional monitor, the same as with the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini.
My guess is most people are going to use the iMac with just the built-in screen, since it's pretty big. Normally this works fine, but if you have a shorter desk or sit up higher on your chair, you might want to know you can't really adjust it to match your height unless you prop it up on some books. You can adjust the vertical angle by tilting it back or forward, but you can't raise or lower the display or turn it left to right. I also wish the display supported more angles. I know it's old technology, but there are still tons of chargers and accessories that use that type without an adapter, including the Apple Watch. It's kind of a bummer it doesn't have an older regular USB 2.0 port. (I'd like to see macOS on an iPad Pro, too.) I can dream.
#Best mac for your money tv
Imagine just walking up and tapping Netflix and tapping a TV show. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'd love to see an option in macOS that lets you flip to the iPadOS for when you want to use it like a touchscreen, and then switch back to regular macOS when you don't. But many are designed to be used with touch. A lot of the ones you might want, like Netflix and YouTube TV (or any of Google's apps for that matter) aren't there. Also, the iMac's M1 chip lets you run iPhone and iPad apps if they're supported by the developer. If you're flipping through recipes, for example, you might want to touch the screen instead of using a mouse. But I think a touchscreen would work well here. Apple has said Macs serve one purpose and iPads serve another. The thing that stands out to me most here is the lack of a touchscreen. But there are still a few things I think could be improved. It's a feature Apple introduced in the new iPad Pros this year, so maybe that will make its way over in future models.Īll of this comes together to form a really capable desktop computer for the price.
But I'd love to see Apple add some of the smart tracking so that the camera could follow me around the room - if I'm pacing while talking to my editor over FaceTime. It did a good job keeping my image clear and bright, even if the room was a little dark. Apple's M1 chip offers better quality even compared with the 27-inch iMac it launched last summer, which uses the same camera hardware. Each family member just registers their fingerprints and then they can tap it to log in to their account when they jump on the computer.įinally, the camera quality is noticeably better. It's really convenient for making purchases (like you would on Apple's laptops), for logging in in a split second, or for sharing a computer. You should do that while buying the iMac. The new Magic Keyboard, which matches the color of the computer you buy (as does the mouse) can be configured with a Touch ID fingerprint sensor for $50 more.