An all-in-one computer like the Apple iMac solves many problems by the nature of its design. For starters, you don’t need much room with them, because everything is tucked neatly inside the proprietary display, instead of tower. In other words, it’s all inside a slimline monitor chassis with a compact overall footprint. The iMac is also a fine choice for anybody looking to get into the MacOS software ecosystem, and for those who already own a MacBook and want a desktop to pair with it. Whatever your needs may be, our roundup of the month’s best iMac deals has you covered, offering up some of the best Apple deals around.
Apple 21.5-inch iMac (2018) Renewed — $375, was $399
Even cheaper than any of the MacBook deals going on, this Apple 21.5-inch iMac (2018) might be a few years old but it offers plenty of juice for the price. That’s the beauty behind many iMacs — they last a long time thanks to offering reliable hardware and the benefits of MacOS, which tends to mean they stay fast for awhile. In the case of the 2018 21.5-inch iMac, you get a 2.7GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 processor paired up with 16GB of memory which is a great set of specs for ensuring you can get plenty of work done.
It has a gorgeous-looking 21.5-inch full-HD screen that still looks truly high-end. It also uses integrated graphics, from Intel Iris Pro 5200, which is enough to help you out when editing videos or completing graphic design projects. 1TB of storage space means there’s plenty of room to keep your files and software, too.
The whole thing is built into a beautiful and thin 5mm chassis that will look great in any our home office and won’t take up much room. Perfectly suited for someone keen to dip into the iMac world without spending a fortune, the 2018 Apple 21.5-inch iMac is a true bargain at this price.
Apple iMac 21.5-inch (mid 2017) Renewed — $500, was $530
The 2017 Apple iMac 21.5-inch keeps things simple and straightforward. If you know you want an iMac and you don’t need to consider an expensive upgrade, this iMac is a great starting point. It has all the key features you need: There’s the eye-catching 21.5-inch screen with a resolution of 3840 by 2160 with the familiar level of quality you get with Apple displays. It also has power in the form of a 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor and 16GB of memory. Thanks to MacOS running so efficiently, it will continue to fly with strong performance here.
In addition, the Apple iMac 21.5-inch also has 256GB of SSD storage. While that may seem a little low if you plan on saving a lot of files to your system, it does mean that you get incredibly fast performance times. Loading files or apps will be much faster than relying on a traditional hard drive. Besides that, this iMac also has two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports so that you can connect devices to it easily, including an external hard drive if you need more space.
Effectively, the 21.5-inch iMac keeps to the core essentials that you would expect from an iMac. While there’s no dedicated graphics card here, it does include a mouse and keyboard so you’re ready to go out of the box. If you’re keen to embrace the Mac way of doing things without relying on a MacBook, the 2017 Apple iMac is a fairly affordable way of doing exactly that. It’s perfectly suited as a work computer for you or your kids while they study from home. It also looks far more stylish than many other options in this price range.
Apple 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display (2020) — $1340, was $1,999
If you need more screen real estate, the Apple 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display (2020) offers that while looking great, too. Its killer feature is its 27-inch Retina 5K display which offers a remarkable resolution of 5,120 x 2,880. It’s ideal if you need plenty of room for organizing presentations, juggling multiple windows, conducting design work, or simply streaming your favorite shows in Ultra HD. It’s thin, too, so it will look great at home without taking up too much space.
Such productivity is further enhanced by everything else the 2020 27-inch 5K iMac has to offer. It uses a six-core 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor up to an i9 if you upgrade, and pairs it up with 8GB of memory. In addition, you get up to 8TB of SSD storage so you have all the benefits of faster bandwidth for your key files with additional room courtesy of the standard hard drive. As well as that, the Apple 27-inch 5K iMac has a dedicated graphics card in the form of the Radeon Pro 500X series graphics. You also get two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports at your disposal for connecting devices to your home desktop setup.
The 2020 27-inch 5K iMac might not be the newest system out there but it’s well made to ensure it will perform well. Having the operating system installed on the SSD means that it loads up fast with apps easily accessed. With plenty of storage space elsewhere, it’s well designed for heavy-duty work, while performance is still pretty great. And, of course, there’s that beautiful screen just crying out for you to complete graphic design work on it.
iMac deals FAQ
Knowing when to find the best iMac deals is tricky (as is often the case with pretty much all Apple deals), which is why we’re on hand to answer that question as well as look at how much you should spend. Here’s what you need to know.
When are the best iMac deals?
The best iMac deals tend to fall during the same sales events each year. One of the biggest sales events is Prime Day. It occurs around mid-July to celebrate Amazon’s birthday. While it was once exclusively an Amazon thing, it now extends to many other retailers who are increasingly getting in on the action and launching their own competing sales. It’s a good time to check out iMac deals as tech deals are often highly sought after.
Alternatively, there’s always Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Occurring right after Thanksgiving, these sales don’t happen until late in the year but they also tend to offer big deals on technology and popular gadgets like iMacs. Other sales periods like Memorial Day and Labor Day can also be worth checking out but, ultimately, the biggest times are Prime Day and Black Friday.
How much should you spend on an iMac?
If you’re happy to buy an older and refurbished iMac, it’s possible to score one for less than $700. That will suit many people who don’t need the latest technology but do want a more permanent MacOS setup compared to a MacBook.
If you want the latest iMac technology, you’ll need to spend over $1,000, and more likely around $1,300-$1,500. Doing so will future-proof you for a while to come as well as get you faster performance and a superior display, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessary for everyone to spend so much. Consider your budget and priorities and work from there.
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