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Apple’s 24-inch iMac is our latest pick for the best all-in-one for most people. We also added some Windows options.
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An all-in-one can be a great home PC or a hub for a home office as its all-in-one design saves you from the clutter of screens, power, and cables. Peripheral. However, all-in-ones often cost more than laptops or mini PCs with screens, so keep in mind that you’re paying more for that streamlined design. Although Apple’s 24-inch iMac is expensive, it offers the best combination of display quality, performance, and design for the price.
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Apple’s 24-inch iMac is a streamlined all-in-one computer with a sleek, flexible design without sacrificing processing power. Its M1 processor is powerful enough for any common task, including writing documents, surfing the web, streaming media, and even doing some light coding or video editing. It also has a 4.5K resolution screen that’s bright enough to use in any room, even sunny ones where other screens might look dark. The iMac comes with the best all-in-one mouse and keyboard we’ve tested to date, and seven different color options that let you match the computer to your aesthetic. All this quality comes at a price, though, as the iMac is hundreds of dollars more expensive than Windows’ all-in-one options – though you get what you pay for.
The 34-inch ultra-wide display is the main attraction of the all-in-one, but it also offers a powerful processor, fast graphics card, and expandable storage.
The 34-inch HP Envy All-in-One has a great 5K display, along with a wide selection of processors and graphics card options, and a powerful webcam. This all-in-one is best for non-standard production, encoders, or those who often get tired of media editing because of its high power (and high power costs) costs. overkill for most people. But if you need and are willing to pay for more screen space and processing power, it’s a great all-in-one with a 5K display (hard to find even as a standalone ultra-wide monitor). create). We also appreciate that the computer’s RAM and storage are always available and expandable, making repair and maintenance easier than many similar computers.
Dave Gershgorn has been reviewing and reporting on technology since 2015 in publications like Popular Science, Quartz, Medium and now Wirecutter. As a senior editor, he writes about PCs, Macs and all computer programs for The Wirecutter; he is also an exposure tracker certified by the Imaging Science Foundation. He’s been building, repairing, and freezing his computer since 2006.
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All-in-one PCs combine a PC, monitor, speakers, and webcam into one streaming device that has fewer cables and is more aesthetically pleasing than a traditional desktop. As a result, an all-in-one computer often works well as a home computer in a kitchen or other common space, an office computer at a reception desk or desk, or in areas with limited outdoor space. .
All-in-ones are also the simplest calculators available. If you don’t want to make a bunch of buying decisions on your computer, monitor, webcam, and peripherals, our top pick is a laptop that includes all of those components.
But if you don’t mind making those purchases separately, it’s more cost-effective to buy a small PC and monitor instead of an all-in-one. For example, Apple’s Mac mini M2 and our flagship 27-inch monitor will cost $900 before tax, and they’ll offer better performance than a cheap all-in-one. You can even upgrade to a 4K display and still spend a few hundred dollars less on average than when you bought an Apple iMac. Separate components are also easier to upgrade in the future because the monitor or webcam is not physically connected to the small PC as in a general-purpose computer – although the combination of separate components includes multiple wires harder to use and requires more power outlets.
Most all-in-ones are not repairable, if that’s important to you. Because computer components are securely fastened to the screen, these devices are often held together with glue and other manufacturing tricks that make them difficult to open, clean, and repair.
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A good all-in-one PC should have a good screen with good color and sharpness, and be fast enough to handle browsing, work and school activities, and have some fireworks features. . We used the following criteria after sifting through dozens of all-in-ones from Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and other PC makers:
To test each computer, we used each for two business days. This includes browsing and communicating via email, Slack and Discord, video chatting on Zoom and Google Meet, and editing documents and other files. We do performance benchmarks and encode video files to see how each computer will perform, and we play older or smaller games (like
) to understand how each would handle what could be called a home PC to play.
Apple’s 24-inch iMac is a fast, beautifully designed computer that comes in a variety of color options. It runs on the same M1 processor that Apple has included in MacBooks, Mac minis, and iPads over the past three years, so it’s quiet, windless, and has excellent processor retention. It also has a nice screen with high resolution, so text is sharp and clear while working, and is great for watching movies or TV shows. And it comes in seven colors: blue, green, pink, silver, yellow, orange and purple.
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The iMac is a bit unusual among all-in-ones. Many competitors try to build all-in-ones to compete with cheap monitors and low-cost PCs, providing you with low-resolution displays and weak processes. Apple’s all-in-one version is more expensive, but the combination of a high-quality display, quiet processor, and modern design makes it even more enjoyable to use.
The 24-inch iMac’s display has a 4.5K resolution, making objects, icons, text, images, and videos look incredibly sharp. The screen is also bright enough for use in a sunny room or around bright lights, as the display can illuminate up to 500 nits. We generally find Apple monitors to be of the highest quality, and iMac screens are no exception. It’s tall and bright, and it has great contrast. However, with a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz, this all-in-one is not meant for serious gaming.
Apple, in its iMac, also uses the M1 processor, the same chip that powers our top MacBook pick and our previous picks for the excellent Mac mini and iPad Pro. We like this processor because it’s powerful enough to handle basic computing tasks like web browsing, streaming, and light video editing without giving off a lot of heat. As a result, the computer using the M1 chip does not need a cooling fan, so it works smoothly. If you often edit media or compile code, you might be better off going with the newer Mac mini, which offers more power but lacks a built-in display. However, for most people, the iMac and its M1 processor will get the job done. (Apple has released computers and tablets powered by its new processor, the M2, but has yet to upgrade the iMac in that respect.)
Recommended iMac configurations include 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB solid-state drive for file storage. We found that Apple’s M-series chips make good use of RAM, and 8 GB should be enough for most people. However, if your current computer is using more than 150 GB to 200 GB of storage, upgrading to a 512 GB computer or investing in an external hard drive for more storage will be very expensive. valuable.
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The webcam on the 24-inch iMac is excellent. It has 1080p resolution, which is low compared to the higher quality 5-megapixel cameras of many competitors. (For reference, 1080p cameras have a resolution of just under 2 megapixels.)
In terms of connectivity, the entry-level iMac offers two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, which you can use to connect peripherals or a second display, as well as a headphone jack. For an extra $200 you can add two USB-C ports and one Ethernet port, but if you’re using a lot of cables, we recommend buying a mini PC, such as the Mac mini, as it will be cheap. more and more powerful. The 24-inch iMac also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
The iMac comes with Apple’s Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard, which are by far the best accessories to go with any all-in-one we’ve tested. Most all-in-one manufacturers have cheap and poor-quality peripherals, we recommend replacing them immediately. In contrast, the Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard are high quality, feel great to use, and will last for years. These accessories certainly contribute to the high price of the iMac, but Apple’s decision to include around $180 worth of peripherals has come a long way.