Apple’s (AAPL) press conference is still going strong, and while the iPad mini is clearly the star of the show, the company just took the wraps off its new lineup of iMac computers. The new iMac has been completely redesigned and the new case makes the iMac the thinnest All-in-One PC in the world. The edge around the iMac display is just 5 millimeters thin, and the display is thinner than any previous iMac display. It is also optically bonded, thus removing the 2-millimeter air gap found in prior models.
27- and 21.5-inch models will be available, and the new iMac sheds the optical drive to keep the device as thin as possible. Also included is an HD FaceTime camera and dual microphones.
Intel Ivy Bridge processors are used in the iMac and the device has an optional “Fusion Drive,” which combines a flash drive and and a hard disk drive into one single enclosure. OS X Mountain Lion decides in real time which storage medium is appropriate for different types of data and stores it on the appropriate drive.
The new 21.5-inch iMac starts at just $1,299 with a 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive, and it will start shipping in November. The 27-inch model starts shipping in December starting at $1,799 with a 2.9GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive.
