Apple iMac M6 review: Faster, more expensive and deeply in need of a refresh

Apple's iMac M6 arrives unchanged

Apple released the iMac M6 with a faster processor and improved wireless connectivity, but the design has not changed since the two thousand twenty-one iMac M one.

Price rises to one thousand four hundred ninety-nine dollars

The iMac M6 starts at one thousand four hundred ninety-nine dollars, up two hundred dollars from the previous model. The sweet spot configuration costs one thousand eight hundred ninety-nine dollars.

M6 chip brings significant speed gains

The M6 processor adds two extra cores to both base and high-end models. Apple claims up to fifty percent faster performance for productivity apps like Microsoft Excel compared to the M4.

Memory bandwidth and wireless upgraded

Memory bandwidth increases to one hundred seventy gigabytes per second, up from one hundred twenty gigabytes per second.

Display and design remain unchanged

The iMac still has a twenty-four-inch four point five K display with five hundred nits brightness. The stand offers tilt but no height adjustment, and comes in seven color options as before.

Benchmark tests show strong performance

The iMac M6 scored four thousand five hundred fifty-two points on Geekbench six single-core CPU tests, around twenty percent higher than the previous model. GPU scores more than doubled to eighty-eight thousand two hundred seventy-six.

Real-world performance hampered by RAM

The iMac M6 offers only sixteen gigabytes, twenty-four gigabytes or thirty-two gigabytes of RAM, tied with the MacBook Air for the least of any Mac product. This limits performance for creative work and AI tasks.

Gaming performance falls short

With Cyberpunk two thousand seventy-seven, the iMac achieved only fifty frames per second at one thousand eighty p with default graphics settings.Other games like Resident Evil Biohazard and Baldur's Gate three had similar performance issues.

Twenty-four-inch screen now too small

The reviewer previously called the twenty-four-inch display ample for most work, but no longer agrees. With twenty-seven and thirty-two-inch monitors now the norm, Apple needs to offer at least a twenty-seven-inch screen on future models.

Mac mini offers better value proposition

A Mac mini with the same M6 chip and twenty-four gigabytes of RAM costs one thousand ninety-nine dollars.That leaves eight hundred dollars to buy a bigger display like LG's twenty-seven-inch five K Ultragear Mini-LED model.

iMac remains best all-in-one option

The iMac outperforms Windows models like the Lenovo Yoga AIO twenty-seven for similar price, particularly for productivity and content creation. However, most buyers would be better served by a Mac mini with external display.

“Most buyers would be better off with a Mac mini and a bigger external display.”