Apple has brought its M4 chip to the iMac, making it the first Mac to get Apple’s latest silicon chip. The update also brings new colors and a significant performance improvement for the all-in-one desktop computer, and it comes a year after it received the previous-generation M3 chip. As with the previous M1 and M3 iMacs, the M4 model is compatible with Apple Intelligence.
It comes at the beginning of a week of product releases from Apple, with the company previously teasing that it had much more to reveal in the coming days. The updates could see the entire Mac lineup receive some variant of the M4 chip (including more powerful M4 Pro, M4 Max and M4 Ultra editions) over the coming months.
Compared to the M1 chip, Apple says that the new iMac’s M4 handles photo editing and gaming 2.1 times faster, while its Neural Engine is up to 3 times faster. And in a video posted to YouTube, Apple said that the M4 iMac offers 1.3 times the performance in Microsoft Excel and is 1.1 times faster for gaming compared to the previous-generation M3 chip. The iMac also starts with 16GB of memory (and goes up to 32GB), which should also help with performance.
Apple has also added new colors to the product, and it now comes in green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver. The iMac’s accessories come color-matched to these tones. Apple has also added Thunderbolt 4 connectivity to the USB-C ports on the rear of the device, a 12MP front-facing camera that works with Center Stage, plus a nano-texture option for the display that reduces reflections and glare. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are also supported.
Elsewhere, the iMac retains the same chassis design as the previous version, as well as the same display resolution. There have been rumors that Apple is working on an iMac with a larger screen, but that was absent from Apple’s announcement.
Apple has also brought out new versions of its accessories, including the Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and Magic Mouse. These focus on adding USB-C connectivity to the peripherals (in line with EU regulations), as well as the aforementioned color-matching.
Apple is expected to update the MacBook Pro and Mac mini later this week. The MacBook Pro was heavily leaked throughout October, with various unboxing videos revealing new colors, ports, and internal specs.
The Mac mini, meanwhile, is predicted to get one of the most significant redesigns in its history, with a much smaller chassis seeing it occupy about as much space as an Apple TV box. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, the Mac mini could be “the most impressive Mac yet to use Apple’s in-house silicon because of the combination of its size and power.”
Although the updated iMac has not received the all-encompassing rework that the Mac mini is likely to get, its new chip adds a dose of much-needed power to the desktop machine, while the improved connectivity, Apple Intelligence compatibility, and extra splash of color could make it more attractive to prospective buyers. Now that Apple has kicked off its week of Mac announcements, keep your eyes peeled for more over the coming days.
Touchscreen laptops have been around for years. You can get them in all sizes and shapes. Just not from Apple. For years, the Cupertino giant has treated the idea of a touchscreen MacBook the way I treat a meeting that could have been an email: with open contempt. However, Wednesday looks like the day the company could finally change its mind.
The latest Apple invite puts the “Pro and Tell” showcase in Los Angeles at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on October 28, 2026. Instead of a regular live-streamed keynote, it is an invitation-only, hands-on event for a handful of press and creators (similar to what the company did for the MacBook Neo earlier this year).
Two residents of Chicago have filed a lawsuit in the US over claims that robots run by Coco Robotics and Serve Robotics captured their facial and hand measurements without consent, bringing renewed attention to the food delivery robots. The cases raise a troubling question: If a robot delivers food to your door, can it also be gathering sensitive information about you?
According to a report by The Associated Press, the proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in Cook County on Oct. 9 and allege violations of Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. The complaints claim that the robots’ cameras and LiDAR sensors captured information on customers’ faces and hands as they approached the machines to pick up their orders. Both have denied the allegations.
Nearly a month after announcing the GPT-6.1 Sol model, OpenAI unveiled GPT-6.1 Terra today. The latest addition to the family focuses on computer use, visual reasoning, coding, and professional work, while costing 50% less through the API than GPT-5.6 Terra.
OpenAI says Terra can handle everything from filling out browser forms and working inside spreadsheets to interpreting technical drawings and editing videos. The company says it can also complete computer-based tasks more than three times faster than GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol.