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

> The new iMac M6 is quicker than ever, but its stale design and small screen make it poor value compared to a Mac mini and external display.
- Title: Apple iMac M6 review: Faster, more expensive and deeply in…
- Summary: The new iMac M6 is quicker than ever, but its stale design and small screen make it poor value compared to a Mac mini and external display.
- Keywords: apple, imac m6, product review, mac mini, computer hardware, performance, Engadget
- Source: Engadget — https://engadget.com/2307246/apple-imac-m6-review
- Author: Steve Dent
- Published: 2026-11-05T14:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: apple, imac m6, product review, mac mini, computer hardware, design, performance, technology
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Apple's iMac M6 offers faster performance but costs more and lacks design innovation, making a Mac mini with external display a better choice for most buyers.