When Apple first launched the iMac more than two decades ago, Steve Jobs envisioned an Apple computer for the everyman. He wanted it to feature a playful, but practical unibody design – but no floppy disk or CD tray. Now, 20 years later, the iMac 2017 is closer to Steve Jobs’ original vision than ever before.





And, while we wouldn’t call the 2017 iMac cheap, it’s still one of the most value-oriented products in Apple’s stable, second only to the new Mac Mini . The iMac 2017 is closer than ever to Steve Jobs’s vision, as it does away with the unnecessary CD and mechanical hard drives.





Then, there’s the wireless keyboard and mouse, which effortlessly sync with the iMac. It’s the ideal of the all-in-one PC, which in and of itself makes the iMac 2017 one of the best PCs on the market, and worth your attention.

The iMac 2017 didn’t reinvent the wheel, but this works in its favor. It takes 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors and adapts them effortlessly into the iMac form factor. The pure simplicity of the design speaks volumes, both about Apple and Intel’s formulaic upgrade structure. It just works – while keeping a respectable price tag.

Price and availability

For a mere $1,099 (£1,049, AU$1,599), you can buy an iMac that includes both a Magic Mouse 2 and Magic Keyboard in the box. That’s a $178 (£178, AU$248) value for the accessories alone.





Of course, for that price you’re getting a 21.5-inch Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) display model with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 graphics chip integrated into the 7th-generation, dual-core 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 processor, but it’s a commendable value all the same.





As you can see from the spec sheet, the iMac we were sent for review is a step up from the entry-level model in every regard, save for the hard drive, and for just another 200 bucks at $1,299 (£1,249, AU$1,899).





From there, you can configure the iMac with just about every component better than the last. Need discrete graphics to live out your creative aspirations? You can get a 21-inch iMac with up to AMD Radeon Pro 560 graphics. Or, if 32GB of RAM suits your fancy, you can demand that Apple install that too.





Design





The iMac looks and feels pretty much the same as it has for the last few years. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as this brushed aluminum all-in-one is a pleasure to behold. However, after a few persisting design choices – not to mention its overall design in the face of new rivals – give us a bit of pause.





That iMac silhouette is still iconic, though – there’s a reason that it’s become a staple of offices, home and otherwise, in TV and films for years. The iMac’s simple yet elegant appearance manages to be both striking and avoids getting in the way while working.





However, the iMac is competing with Microsoft’s Surface Studio lineup, so we can’t ignore just how much thinner and more impressive the iMac could be if Apple just leveraged what it’s learned from developing Mac Mini computers toward crafting an iMac base that holds all the computer's guts and ports.





Further to the point, Apple’s pursuit of absolute thinness despite cramming all of the iMac’s innards behind the display has only led to suffering audio. A total of two stereo speakers rest within both sides of the iMac’s bottom-most edge and, while they deliver impressive volume, as a result the narrow chambers deliver highs and mids no better than your average Ultrabook can.





Finally, that Magic Mouse 2 simply needs a revamp. It tracks and clicks amazingly, which is wholly unsurprising for the company that inspired everyone else to up their input game years ago. However, the fact that you can’t charge this mouse while using it, because of where the Lightning charging port is located, is simply bananas.





Performance

Since Apple’s macOS isn’t compatible with the majority of normal benchmarks that we run at TechRadar, it’s difficult to compare the iMac against the Windows 10-based all-in-one PCs we’ve reviewed in a comprehensive way.





That said, it’s clear in the tests that this iMac benefits quite a bit from its 7th-generation ( Kaby Lake ) Intel Core i5 processor over the Surface Studio’s quickly-aging, 6th-generation chip. For example, the Apple iMac shows stronger single-core performance over the Surface Studio as well as moderately higher multi-core performance in Geekbench. Still, the Surface Studio does have a stronger GPU with more memory, which shows in the numbers – the Microsoft all-in-one scores 20fps faster in Cinebench than the iMac, despite the older chip.



