Apple iMac review (mid 2011)

Publish date: 2024-05-23

Hard to believe it's only been 10 months since the last iMac update, but Apple's venerable desktop needed a quick bump to stay current with Intel's Sandy Bridge processors and the Thunderbolt interconnect. So here we are, looking at the $1,999 27-inch 3.1GHz Core i5 iMac, which is the fastest stock configuration. (There's a 3.4GHz Core i7 available build-to-order, but we wanted what you could buy in a store today.) In addition to the new processor and Thunderbolt, Apple also bumped the graphics card to an ATI Radeon HD 6970M, which the company claims offers three times the performance of the outgoing model, added a 720p FaceTime HD webcam, and tucked an ambient light sensor into the case for automatic brightness adjustments. So has the best all-in-one PC gotten even better, or is Apple just keeping pace? Read on to find out.

9Verge Score

Apple iMac (27-inch, mid 2011)

The Good

The Bad

How we rate and review products

The iMac remains the single best all-in-one computer available

Every year I review the iMac, and every year my conclusion is the same: the iMac remains the single best all-in-one computer available. The 27-inch model is virtually the only machine of its class on the market, and it's hard to argue with its $1,699 entry price given that a similar IPS display alone costs nearly $1,000. There's far more competition for the 21.5-inch model, but nothing that blows it away: the $1,049 HP TouchSmart 610xt and $1,099 Lenovo A700 offer 23-inch touchscreens with the same 1920 x 1080 resolution as the iMac, but both feature only a 2.66GHz dual-core mobile Core i5 and slower Radeon at that price, while the $1,099 Sony VAIO L has a 24-inch 1920 x 1080 touchscreen display but struggles along with a 2.3GHz dual-core mobile Core i5 and Intel integrated graphics. I'd call that matchup in Apple's favor, especially given the near-useless state of Windows 7 touch overlays.That's not to say that the iMac is perfect: it's still frustrating that Apple ships such beautiful displays but doesn't offer a Blu-ray drive, which is the best way for the average consumer to watch high-quality 1080p content. (And iTunes movies are still 720p!) The potential for tragedy remains high as long as the SD and DVD slots share such intimate quarters. And we're pretty sure Apple's displays get glossier every year. But these are the same faults the iMac has had for years now, while the positives have gotten substantially better. It's a winning formula that's thus far eluded Apple's competitors -- and we imagine the company will eventually decide to change the equation entirely.

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