Apple has quietly given the M4 iMac some hidden upgrades –here are the ones you may have missed

4 days ago 3

Two people in an office working on an Apple iMac M4

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple has made a handful of interesting changes to the M4 iMac
That includes upgrades to the iMac’s external display support
The device’s USB-C accessories have also spread to other Macs

After many months of speculation, Apple unveiled a new iMac yesterday, complete with the M4 chip. It became the first Apple computer to come loaded with this piece of silicon, but there were a few other interesting tidbits that you might have missed from the announcement.

For one thing, the M4 iMac is now the first Mac that can support an external display running an 8K resolution at a refresh rate of 120Hz. That’s a fantastic selling point for anyone who wants to work on an incredibly detailed monitor running at a buttery-smooth frame rate.

It’s easy to miss this detail – Apple didn’t mention it in the iMac’s press release, and it’s only really apparent from visiting the computer’s specs page. Interestingly, it doesn’t show up on Apple’s US website – there, the specs page says the iMac supports one 8K display at a 60Hz refresh rate.

But try it on other regional websites (such as Apple’s pages for Canada or the UK) and you’ll see 8K at 120Hz mentioned. It’s unclear if this is a typo on Apple’s part or if there really are regional differences in the new iMac’s external display support. We've asked Apple to confirm and will update this story when we hear back.

We’re hoping that you will actually be able to get 8K resolutions running at 120Hz on the new computer, as that would be a significant upgrade for Mac fans.

More display bonuses

Children watching a cartoon on an Apple iMac M4

Speaking of displays, the M4 iMac can support up to two external displays, providing you pick a model with a 10-core M4 chip. That’s a notable step up, as there aren’t many Macs that actually work with two external monitors.

The M3 MacBook Air and M3 MacBook Pro can support two external displays, but only when the laptop’s lid is closed. The 10-core iMac, though, has no restrictions to worry about. And when those connected monitors can each run at up to 6K resolution and 60Hz refresh rate, as Apple’s specs page indicates, that’s an awful lot of additional screen space you’ll be able to work with.

And there’s another lesser-known detail surrounding the M4 iMac that you might have missed. While it’s been well documented that the iMac’s accessories – the Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad – now come with USB-C connectivity instead of Lightning, the same is also true of these peripherals when you order them with the Mac Pro.

You can see this for yourself when you go to order a Mac Pro – in the ‘What’s in the Box’ section at the bottom of the buy page, Apple says that the computer comes with a USB-C charging cable for its Magic peripherals.

All in all, the iMac has undergone a substantial update this month. Not only does it now come with Apple’s latest M4 chip, but Apple has outfitted it with new colors, Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, a nano-texture glass option, and more.

With further announcements from Apple coming this week, including upgrades for the MacBook Pro and Mac mini, there’s more to watch out for in the next few days.

Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

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