New iMac gets a jolt of color in Apple’s first redesign since 2012

This story is part of Apple event, our full coverage of the latest news from Apple headquarters.

Apple on Tuesday Spring loaded event unveiled its latest line of iMacs, a rare refresh of what was once one of the company’s flagship products.

The all-in-one devices are a major redesign of the current models, with slimmer bezels around the screen and a flat back. The new model has a 24-inch screen, up from 21 inches, and an improved camera, microphone, and speakers. The updated iMacs start at $ 1,299 (£ 1,249, AU $ 1,899) for four colors, including blue and red, and $ 1,499 (£ 1,449, AU $ 2,199) for a wider range of colors, including yellow, orange, and purple, and more functions. Preorders will begin on April 30th and the devices will be available in the second half of May.

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A new 1080p camera is tuned for video calls, a key feature as millions of people around the world are forced to work from home amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Apple said the camera has a larger sensor that makes it perform better in low light. The iMac’s keyboard also comes with Touch ID, the company’s fingerprint security sensor.

The computers are the latest devices in Apple’s product line to use the M1 chip, Apple’s own processor built in-house. Apple debuted the chips with its Mac laptops last year, a milestone for the company looking to develop the brains of its products as well as their industrial and software design.

Apple introduced the new devices during its annual spring event, kept virtual, of which the company also has new versions iPad Pro and Apple TV streaming box.

The new iMacs are the first major product redesign since 2012. The new color accents hark back to the original candy-colored iMacs first unveiled by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1998. The product earned Apple cult status and paved the way for way for a historical product run that would include the iPod and iPhone.

The iMacs will test the limits of Apple’s own chips. With the M1, Apple became the only major PC maker to do so no longer has to rely on it third-party companies such as Intel, AMD or Nvidia to create microprocessors to power their devices. But the M1 is new and unproven, and switching microprocessors is a big undertaking. (Although Apple has made the switch to its own chips for its new entry-level 24-inch iMac, it still uses Intel’s processors for its high-end 27-inch iMac, which didn’t get an update Tuesday.)

Most people may not care about a change to some part of their Mac computers. But Apple’s moves could mean big changes, both for its Macs and for the tech industry. To create the M1, Apple used at least $ 1 billion to buy more than half a dozen companies and spent more than a decade on research and development. Now, says Apple, its chips are more powerful and energy efficient than the Intel chips it relied on previously. That can translate into smaller and leaner designs, longer battery life and new technologies.

By building its own chips, Apple can better manage the features it releases and better manage the timeline for the introduction of new devices. And it can provide much longer battery life than machines powered by Intel chips. When it comes to its own processors in Macs, Apple started with its lower-end computers. The first M1 Macs to hit the market last year included the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

CNET’s Ian Sherr and Shara Tibken contributed to this report.

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