21.5–inch iMac (Early 2019)
Apple’s affordable all–in–one Mac (until you fix the compromises)
Display 4096x2304–pixel Retina display Processor 3.0GHz Intel Core i5 Memory 8GB Storage 1TB Fusion Drive Graphics AMD Radeon Pro 560X 4GB Connectivity 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports, 4x USB–A ports, SDXC card reader, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5mm headphone jack, 802.11ac Wi–Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
Proving that size isn’t everything, the Retina 4K display in Apple’s smaller iMac impresses us just as much today as when we first saw it. Its high pixel density, wide color gamut and large–enough screen are excellent for photo editing, especially for shots taken with an iPhone 8 or later, or similarly capable camera.
The 21.5–inch iMac may be the best fit for your desk. Though it still looks stylish enough, the bezel and chin are looking a bit old–hat when you consider Apple managed to reduce the amount of black around the display on all three MacBook families, where it must have been more of a challenge.
Ignore the 21.5–inch iMac that’s $1,099, as it’s unchanged and has older components. 2019’s truly new 21.5–inch iMacs really start at $1,299, which gets you a much better display.
It also gets you an 8th–gen quad–core i3 processor, 8GB of memory, a Radeon Pro 555X
graphics processor with 2GB of memory, and (here’s the unwelcome bit) a 5,400rpm, 2.5– inch hard disk. The disk’s capacity is okay (1TB), but the specific storage tech is the weakness of the entry–level 21.5–inch iMac.
You get a Fusion Drive in the $1,499 iMac — but if you skipped our 27–inch iMac review to come straight here, read the box on p44 to see why we no longer recommend this storage, whether included as standard or an upgrade.
The stinger on the $1,299 iMac is that Apple wants not just $100 to swap the 1TB hard disk for a 256GB SSD, like it does on models with a Fusion Drive. Instead it wants $200. That’s terrible value for money when a superfast PCIe– connected SSD of that size is under $100, and a SATA– connected one that could replace that iMac’s hard disk without putting a different connector on the logic board is around $50.
A memory malaise All 21.5–inch models come with 8GB of memory, which is upgradeable at checkout. Unlike the 27–inch iMac, though, you can’t just pop open a panel on the back to fit more later on.
Think hard about how much memory you will need. You can get by on 8GB for very light needs, but 16GB is safer if there’s any chance you might be more ambitious with the iMac in the future. Even if memory in this model turns out to be upgradeable by a service provider later on, it’ll mean opening up the front of the iMac. It’s simpler to pay Apple’s prices at checkout, but they aren’t cheap: $200 for 16GB or $600 for 32GB.
Our iMac’s six–core Intel Core i5 processor performed as expected. In our Geekbench test and HandBrake H.264 video test (see charts on p45), it was a whisker behind the six–core Intel Core i7 that’s the most powerful option offered on the Mac mini at present.
Discrete graphics processors in the 21.5–inch iMac — at least the Radeon Pro 560X that we tested — runs rings around the Mac mini’s integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 processor, as expected. Thunderbolt 3 allows you to add an external graphics processor (eGPU) later on if you find either kind of Mac’s built–in GPU is weak at certain tasks. But if the expense or additional space needed for
that isn’t feasible, definitely stick with the iMac if you’ll run apps or play 3D games that need stronger graphics performance.
On the $1,499 iMac, there’s a Radeon Pro Vega 20 option with 4GB of high bandwidth memory (HBM2). This adds $350 to the cost, but it wasn’t available to us for testing.
Think about the future Our concern with the 21.5–inch iMac is similar to the bigger version: its storage. For it to be a real delight to use, free of beach– ball stalls caused by a hard disk, give it an SSD.
Our concern doesn’t stop there though: thanks to the inflexibility to boost memory later, you can’t afford to make a poor choice.
Sticking with a Fusion Drive or hard disk would be a mistake for general performance — surely a reason you’re looking for a new Mac. Very light users might get by with 8GB of memory. By playing it safe, though, you’ll spend at least $1,699 on a 21.5–inch iMac.
the bottom line. The 21.5– inch iMac’s six–core Intel Core i5 is good, but too many upgrades are needed for comfort. Alan Stonebridge