M3 Imac Vs M1 Imac Should You Upgrade

M3 vs M1 iMac: Design

Starting from its exterior, the new M3 iMac 24-inch is unchanged from the M1 iMac, released in 2021. While it was expected that we might get to see a new iMac with a larger display, the new M3 iMac still features a 24-inch 4.5K display in an ultra-thin housing available in seven colorways. Along with this, you still get the same 1080p FaceTime camera, along with a six-speaker sound system that supports Spatial Audio and studio-quality mics, which, to be honest, have been pretty great and don’t need upgrades.

M3 vs M1 iMac – Chipset

The chipset is the singular aspect where Apple’s newly refreshed 24-inch iMac has received a significant spec bump over the 2021 M1 model. Apple’s new M3 chip is built on TSMC’s 3nm architecture and features 25 billion transistors. It has a new 8-core CPU, with four performance and four efficiency cores, that deliver up to 35 percent faster performance than M1. Besides a faster CPU, the M3 also features a new 10-core GPU that is based on a newer architecture that enables Dynamic Caching, which allows the Mac to allocate more memory to the GPU depending on the tasks being performed. This, along with support for hardware-accelerated ray tracing, makes the M3 almost 65 percent faster than M1 in graphic-intensive tasks.

M3 vs M1 iMac – Pricing

Given that the new M3 iMac is mostly similar to the M1 iMac, Apple has still kept the pricing of the base model at $1299 and the maxed-out model at $1699. Furthermore, Apple has now discontinued the M1 iMac. So, if you’re planning to get one now, you’ll have to get it from a third-party retailer. If you want a more detailed breakdown of the pricing for the 24-inch M3 iMac, you may refer to the detailed table given below or visit apple.com.

Should you upgrade to the 24-inch M3 iMac?

Now for the final question – Should you really upgrade the 24-inch M3 iMac? No. In my opinion, you should refrain from upgrading to the M3 iMac as you don’t get anything more than a new chip in a boring old design with those pesky white bezels around a 24-inch 4.5K display and limited rear I/O ports. Don’t get me wrong, Apple’s new M3 chip is more than capable in terms of performance. But just like M1, you can’t expect it to perform tasks geared towards Apple’s high-end Pro and Max series of chips. Even if you upgrade, you’ll still only be able to do what you did with the M1 iMac but a little faster. In short, if you already own a 24-inch M1 iMac, there’s no point in upgrading to the new M3 model. However, if you’re looking to get your first Mac in an All-in-one format, the 24-inch M3 iMac should be your first preference. Also read:

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