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Looking for the best? Here’s the top choice for your all-in-one iMac

The Apple iMac has long been a popular choice for families and professionals alike who are looking for an all-in-one computer solution. Our favorite for 2019 is the 21.5-inch iMac 4K (2019), which is packed full of terrific features at a reasonable price. There are other models worth considering depending on your needs.

Black Friday is always a great time to find awesome deals on the hottest Apple iMacs on the market. Whether you’re looking for a 21.5-inch or 27-inch iMac, or 27-inch iMac Pro, the deals should be flowing throughout the day. Some of the models presented here are likely to be on sale on Black Friday. As such, we’re updating our buyer’s guides to help you make informed decisions.

Best Overall: 21.5-inch iMac 4K (2019)

Featuring an aluminum and glass enclosure with a five millimeter-thin profile, the iMac 4K ships with a matching Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2. The iMac 4K (2019) that we’re recommending comes with a 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz, 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, and 1TB Fusion Drive for storage. You can upgrade any of these for more money. Our tip: splurge on the memory, if you can, which is available up to 32GB.

The iMac 4K (2019) ships with the latest version of macOS, which includes a system-wide dark mode for the first time and new privacy controls. The current version of macOS also includes three iOS apps jumping to Mac for the first time: Home, News, and Stocks. There’s also a new desktop Stacks feature and improvements to Finder.

There’s nothing negative to note about this desktop, except knowing it’s the most expensive 21.5-inch iMac currently on the market. Additionally, if you’ve been counting on a 27-inch model, you’ll no doubt be disappointed with this one.

Pros:

  • 4K Retina
  • Fusion drive

Cons:

  • Only con would be the display size
  • Most expensive 21.5-inch model

Best Overall

21.5-inch iMac 4K (2019)

Best for most users

Your home will love this computer, which can remain a prominent fixture for many years to come.

Best Value: 21.5-inch iMac 4K (entry-level)

For $200 less, you can purchase this entry-level iMac 4K Retina model, which offers a 3.6GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB DDR4 memory, Radeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, and 1TB Serial ATA Drive. This iMac model is the one you should buy in a pinch if you can’t wait to purchase our overall winner.

Don’t start upgrading the internals, however. By doing so, you’ll start adding more costs that could make it more expensive than our recommended model.

Pros:

  • Less money
  • Still a 4K monitor

Cons:

  • i3 vs i5 processor
  • No Fusion drive

Best Value

21.5-inch iMac 4K (entry-level)

Budget choice

You’ll still get Apple’s impressive 4K Retina display on this iMac model. Inside you’ll find less expensive parts.

Runner Up: 27-inch iMac 5K (2019) (entry-level)

The entry-level 27-inch iMac 5K offers fantastic features, including a 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz, 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, Radeon Pro 570X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, and 1TB Fusion Drive storage. Like with our overall pick, if you can only upgrade one component, considering increasing the memory size.

For those looking for a 27-inch iMac 4K, this model is ideal. However, if you plan on using your computer for photography, illustrating, or video-editing, you should consider our premium model on this list.

Pros:

  • Beautiful Retina 5K 5120-by-2880 P3 display
  • Just $300 more than our overall pick

Cons:

  • Price can rise quickly with add-ons
  • 8GB of memory might not be enough
  • Difficult to move

Runner Up

27-inch iMac 5K (2019) (entry-level)

Look at that display!

Forget 4K, when you can have 5K. Great internals and a robust display in one package.

Premium: 27-inch iMac 5K (2019)

This 27-inch iMac model looks exactly like the one above. Inside, however, you’ll find significant upgrades, starting with a 3.7GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.6GHz. You also find 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, configurable up to 64GB, 2TB Fusion Drive, and Radeon Pro 580X with 8GB of GDDR5 memory.

Short of the iMac Pro (which starts at $4,999), this is the best 27-inch iMac you can buy and is the one ideally suited for the creatives among us. If you can, max out your memory; you’ll be happy you did.

Pros:

  • Plenty to love
  • Memory up to 64GB

Cons:

  • Pricey
  • Don’t buy unless you need the extra power

Premium

27-inch iMac 5K (2019)

Awesome internals

Your friends will be jealous of this impressive beast. Just make sure you really need to extras before spending the money.

Best Pure Splurge: iMac Pro

First introduced in late 2017, the iMac Pro includes an 8-, 10-, 14-, or 18-core Intel Xeon processor, 27-inch (diagonal) Retina 5K display, AMD Vega graphics, up to 256GB ECC memory, and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. In other words, this is one powerful machine! Still, with the 2019 Mac Pro set to launch soon, this model could fast become obsolete unless it gets a refresh.

Geared towards professional creatives, the iMac Pro can easily cost you five figures, depending on your configuration. Only buy this model if you need the expanded resources, like the color black, and a no-brainer, have a budget to support the purchase.

Pros:

  • Lots of customization
  • Memory up to 256GB
  • Only iMac that comes in black

Cons:

  • Extremely pricey
  • Not for most buyers
  • Hasn’t been updated in nearly two years

Best Pure Splurge

iMac Pro

The one for massive projects

Get your boss to buy you this one — or get it yourself if you’re the boss!

Bottom line

For 2019, we recommend the 21.5-inch iMac 4K (2019), which includes lots of great features for everyone in your household, and most professional buyers.

The model includes a 3.0GHz 6-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz, 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory, and 1TB Fusion Drive for storage. If you can, upgrade the memory to the maximum of 32GB and enjoy!

Tips on buying an iMac during Black Friday

To find success in buying a new iMac over the Black Friday weekend, there are a few things worth considering. First, it’s wise to look around now to see which models are available. In addition to the current models, some sites often feature the most recent models too. These are the ones that are almost certainly going to be shown the most Black Friday love. Beforehand, compare the different models and determine whether you can live with a slightly older model. At the same time, visit a showroom and decide whether or not you want a 21.5-inch or 27-inch model. Seeing is believing.

With that being said, there should be Black Friday sales on tons of great computers this year, including Apple iMacs. Both the latest and most recent models should get some attention from the discount gods. If you really want something unique, see if the top-of-the-line iMac Pro is also on sale. You can save lots of cash on this one.

Our deals team is obsessed with finding the best Black Friday discounts on all iMac models, whether it’s the 21.5-inch or 27-inch iMac, or 27-inch iMac Pro. When they find a deal, we’ll let you know at iMore.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Bryan M. Wolfe is a dad who loves technology, especially anything new from Apple. Penn State (go Nittany Lions) graduate here, also a huge fan of the New England Patriots. Thanks for reading. @bryanmwolfe

Source of the article – iMore