Apple Readies 24-Inch iMac With M6 Chip as New Colors Near Year-End Launch

Q: Why is Apple keeping the iMac locked to a basic M6 chip while reserving massive power upgrades for other Mac models?

Apple appears to be keeping the iMac on the base M6 because it sees the machine as a simple consumer all-in-one, not a pro workstation. The reported M6 iMac keeps the same 24-inch design, LCD display, and mainstream positioning: a built-in 4.5K screen, quiet operation, and enough power for everyday work, school, and light creative tasks. In Apple’s lineup, heavier performance is already assigned to the Mac Studio, higher-end Mac mini configurations, and premium notebooks. The chip roadmap also matters. Bloomberg reports Apple is not planning M6 Pro, M6 Max, or M6 Ultra chips at all. If those variants do not exist, the iMac cannot move up the stack in this generation. Apple instead seems to be using M6 as a short transition to a faster M7 family, where bigger AI-focused gains are expected. There is also a product-segmentation reason. A more powerful iMac could overlap with the Mac Studio or cannibalize the Mac mini plus Studio Display combination, both of which give Apple a clearer upsell path for users who need more ports, more memory, and sustained professional performance. The iMac’s thin all-in-one design is less suited to the thermal headroom and modular flexibility that high-end chips usually demand. So the likely answer is strategic, not technical alone: Apple is preserving the iMac as its easiest desktop to buy, while steering power users toward separate-display Macs that are more profitable, more flexible, and better aligned with its pro lineup.

3 articles · Updated · Digital Trends · Aug 23

Apple is preparing an updated 24-inch iMac with an M6 chip, with Bloomberg's Mark Gurman saying the models appear close to launch before year-end.
The refresh would replace the M4 version introduced in October 2024, adding new color options while keeping the overall design largely unchanged.
The current iMac lineup comes in seven colors—green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver—but the new shades were not disclosed.
A separate 24-inch iMac with an OLED display is still in development, though Gurman said that version remains several years away.