Apple has announced a new 24-inch iMac powered by its M6 chip. The company revealed it on October 27, 2026, with pre-orders opening October 28 and availability starting Friday, November 6.
What is new inside
The M6 is the main change. According to Apple, it offers up to a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, two more cores of each than before, with a Neural Accelerator in every GPU core and a dual 16-core Neural Engine. Memory bandwidth reaches up to 170GB/s.
Apple’s own comparisons, all described as “up to” figures:
- Up to 5x faster on-device AI than the M4 iMac
- Up to 2x faster graphics than M4 for photo editing
- Up to 18x faster than the most popular Intel-based iMac
- SSD read and write speeds up to 2x faster than the previous generation
Shelly Goldberg, Apple’s vice president of Hardware Engineering, said “iMac is the world’s best all-in-one, and today it raises the bar yet again.”
Display, ports and colours
The design carries over. The screen is a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 500 nits of brightness, a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View and a six-speaker sound system. A nano-texture display option is offered on the 12-core models.
Wireless is upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. The 12-core models add 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, which Apple says is up to 2.5x faster than the previous generation, and up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports. They support up to two 6K external displays.
The iMac comes in blue, green, pink, yellow, purple, orange and silver, each with a colour-matched keyboard and a mouse or trackpad that charge over USB-C. A Magic Keyboard with Touch ID is standard on 12-core models. The machine ships with macOS 27.
Prices and dates in Canada and the US
In Canada, iPhone in Canada reported pricing before tax of $2,099 CAD for the 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU model and $2,299 CAD for the 12-core model. Education pricing is $2,029 CAD and $2,159 CAD. Apple’s Canadian iMac page lists the October 28 pre-order start and the November 6 date but sends shoppers to its store for pricing, so confirm the final figure there.
In the US, Apple lists $1,499 for the 10-core model. Apple says pre-orders open in 35 countries and regions, including the US, at 10:10 a.m. PT on October 28.
What it means for you
If you are choosing between the two, the 12-core model is the one that adds the faster Ethernet, all four Thunderbolt 4 ports, the nano-texture option and Touch ID on the keyboard. The 10-core model costs less but gives up those extras.
Apple’s release does not list memory and storage configurations for the new models, so check those on the order page before paying. Performance numbers are the company’s own test results, so wait for independent reviews if you are upgrading from a recent Mac. If you are buying in Canada, remember the figures above exclude tax.
