Apple (AAPL) announced on Tuesday that its completely redesigned 21.5-inch iMac will available at Apple Stores and “select Apple Authorized Resellers” beginning November 30th, while the larger redesigned 27-inch iMac will be ready to ship some time in December. The new iMacs are the company’s first all-in-one computers to completely ditch the optical drive in order to achieve its 5mm thick edges, sport 75% reduction in screen reflection and 60% faster graphics performance. It’s not all about weight loss, though. The new iMacs have Apple’s new “Fusion Drive” – a hybrid SSD and HDD that work in tandem to significantly boost read and write speeds. The 21.5-inch iMac starts at $1,299 with a 2.7GHz Intel Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics, 8GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive. The 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799 for a 2.9GHz Intel Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTA 660M graphics, 8GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive as well. Apple’s press release follows below.
iMac Available on November 30
CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple® today announced the all-new iMac® will be available on Friday, November 30. Featuring a stunning design, brilliant display with reduced reflection, faster processors and an innovative new storage option called Fusion Drive, the new iMac is the most advanced desktop Apple has ever made. The 21.5-inch iMac will be available through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. The 27-inch iMac will be available for order through the Apple Online Store and will begin shipping in December.
Redesigned from the inside out, the new iMac packs high performance technology into an aluminum and glass enclosure that measures just 5 mm thin at its edge and features a reengineered display that reduces reflection by 75 percent. The new iMac includes 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, a 1TB hard drive, third generation quad-core Intel Core i5 processors that can be upgraded to Core i7, and the latest NVIDIA GeForce graphics processors that deliver up to 60 percent faster performance. Fusion Drive is an innovative new storage option that gives customers the performance of flash and the capacity of a hard drive by combining 128GB of flash with a standard hard drive to create a single storage volume that intelligently manages files to optimize read and write performance.
The 21.5-inch iMac is available with a 2.7 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.2 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US); and with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M for a suggested retail price of $1,499 (US). The 27-inch iMac is available with a 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US); and with a 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.6 GHz and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US).
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
