If you are an existing MacBook user or have never used an Apple computer before then the obvious question that you may ask– why spend money on a desktop computer when you can have the flexibility of a laptop with similar or better hardware? But if you ask someone who is into serious content creation then the answer would be that the MacBook Air is just an entry level Apple computer.

On the other hand, for buyers with deep pockets, they will be mostly inclined to the MacBook Pro with the choice of M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max chipsets. But what about the new iMac M3? Well, Apple has positioned it uniquely and caters to the need of having an all-in-one computer for office needs and home workstations.

The new Apple iMac with M3 chip, 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, 6-speaker audio and better thermal performance can be a no-brainer for professional use cases. There isn’t really much of a competition for this readymade all-in-one computer from Apple.

Apple M1, M2, M3- What choices do you have?

In India, Apple is officially selling the entire M series chip computers spread across Macbook Air, Pro and iMac. You can buy the MacBook Air with either M1 or M2 chipset in 13-inch or 15-inch display sizes. For the MacBook Pro, there are two sizes available- 14-inch and 16-inch. You can buy the MacBook Pro with M3, M3 Pro or M3 Max chipsets. Coming to the iMac all-in-one, there’s only one size– 24-inch– with M3 chipset.

Going beyond the specs sheet, what’s important are the faster USB ports, improved performance due to better heat management, large and high quality 4.5K display, superior audio and ample customisation options depending on the workload. For serious video editing or graphics work, these aspects can be worth considering while compromising with the mobility of a laptop or the fact that the iMac would need a separate UPS power backup support.

The Family Machine

For businesses and office environments, there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to all-in-one computers, considering the performance requirements, aesthetics and reliable software support. But what about homes? Does the iMac still make sense? Well, if you begin to consider that working on your couch or from the bed isn’t actually what work from home should supposedly be, then the iMac makes sense.

For starters, if you have to share your laptop with family members including kids and there isn’t any well-defined workspace in your home then the iMac may help in bringing some work discipline. Of course, you won’t spend upwards of Rs 1.30 lakh for just that. What you would actually be spending is for a dedicated workstation for the family that can render workloads faster and no one would have any complaint regarding performance.

With a family computer, you will not have to worry about your kid’s artwork popping up during an important meeting on your work laptop or the fact that you will not have to wait any online classes to get over so that you can get back your laptop and leave for work with it. Simply speaking, if you don’t want your personal MacBook to become a shared family device then you can easily understand its need. But that’s on a lighter note.

Where the iMac M3 would easily make a difference is when you want to watch high quality content. The 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 4480×2520 resolution at 218 ppi and 500 nits brightness is indeed the best computer monitor you will be looking at. Not to forget, there’s a high-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers supporting wide stereo sound. The audio quality is at another level when compared to any MacBooks or other computers.

The iMac M3 can become the entertainment hub for your family with great content consumption experience. And let’s not miss gaming. The new iMac is made for gaming too. With Apple silicon and increasing developer support, gaming is no longer something of an afterthought. If you still want to believe that gaming is restricted to just Windows then try out some of the best iMac games out there– Disco Elysium, Sims 4, Diablo III, Shadow of the Tomb Raider or Baldur’s Gate 3. Of course, there’s support for Steam but note that 32-bit games will not work natively.

As a family computer, the iMac can become the entertainment hub along with gaming and a reliable device for all computing needs. Let’s talk about another aspect of that huge 24-inch display– video calls. With a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, video calls are delightful on the new iMac. You don’t need to connect headphones or speakers. The studio quality in-built mic along with the speaker system delivers the best experience and the software makes sure that every voice is heard and the person who is speaking is kept in focus in group interactions.

The iMac M3 looks stunning with the thin and minimalistic design along with lively colour options like Blue, Green, Pink, Silver, Yellow, Orange and Purple. You can actually think of getting an iMac that goes well with the interiors of the room. The new iMac will blend in with the aesthetic of the house and won’t stand out as an awkward looking desktop computer in the middle of the room.

Talking about serious work, the iMac M3 has got you covered. No denying that Apple has restricted the entry-level model with just two ports, limited colour options and the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is reserved for higher models. The M3 chip comes with an 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The base model has an 8-core GPU with hardware-accelerated ray tracing and 100GB/s memory bandwidth. The media engine supports Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW making it a fun device to edit high quality content or while working around with spreadsheets.

The iMac M3 has definitely carved a niche for itself. While it may not be a primary choice while keeping portability in mind, the fact that the device has come a long way to still make sense in modern homes.