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Should I upgrade my iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)?

5 years old · Runs macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

Quick look

Price
£1,2492launch price
Chip
M1chip
CPU
8-coreCPU
GPU
7-coreGPU
Memory
8GBunified memory, base
Storage
256GBstorage, base
Display
24-inchdisplay
Released
May 20213Release date, month onlyOrderable online from 30 April 2021.
Security updates
Not available4Security updates

Each figure is from the source marked1 unless it carries its own number.

Software support

Security updates
Not available4
macOS
macOS 27 Golden Gate, the current macOS

No newer Mac with a store price we hold

We hold no Apple UK store price for any Mac in the iMac 24-inch line, so this page names no newer Mac to set the iMac M1 (24-inch, 2021) against. That is a gap in what we hold, not a statement about what Apple sells.

Specifications

Body

Dimensions
461 x 547 x 147 mm
Weight
4.46 kg
Colours
Blue, Green, Pink, Silver5
Ports
Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports
2
Thunderbolt version
Thunderbolt 3
USB-A ports
No USB-A ports.6
HDMI
No HDMI port.7
SD card slot
No SD card slot.7
Headphone jack
Yes
Keyboard
Magic Keyboard
Touch ID
No Touch ID.6

Display

Display size
24 in
Resolution
4480 x 2520
Pixel density
218 ppi
Display type
4.5K Retina display
Brightness
500 nits
Wide colour (P3)
Yes
Nano-texture option
No nano-texture display option.7

Chip and memory

Chip
Apple M1 chip
Apple silicon
Yes
CPU cores
8
Performance cores
4
Efficiency cores
4
GPU cores
7
Neural Engine cores
16
Chip options
M1 with 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory (base)
8GB
Memory (maximum)
16GB
Memory options
8GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by user
No, as Apple documents8
Storage (base)
256GB
Storage (maximum)
2TB
Storage options
256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB

Battery and power

Included power adapter
143 W

Connectivity

Wi-Fi
802.11ax Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth
5.0
Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet configurable9
External displays (base)
1

Camera and audio

Camera
1080p FaceTime HD camera
Speakers
High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers
Microphones
Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

Platform

Newest macOS
macOS 27 Golden Gate10
Model identifier
iMac21,211
Part numbers
MGTF3xx/a, MJV83xx/a, MJV93xx/a, MJVA3xx/a12
Model year
2021

Benchmarks

Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)
2,16813
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)
8,36513

An iMac has no battery, so battery rows do not apply.

Software support

Feature updates until
Not available4
Security updates until
Not available4
Basis
our inference from history14

Trade-in and used prices

CeX pays, grade A
£275 cash / £393 voucher15Base configuration
CeX sells, grade A
£625–£65015Base configuration, cheapest of 4 listings linked, out of stock online and in store when read

More

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications · Default for iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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  4. Apple publishes no date for the end of updates, and this site does not guess one. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  5. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  6. No USB-A ports. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  7. No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  8. Apple Support (UK) — Install memory in an iMac · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  9. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  10. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  11. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 10 Oct 2026

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  12. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  13. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  14. Apple’s macOS 27 Golden Gate compatibility list names this Mac. endoflife.date says Apple usually provides security updates for the latest three macOS releases, but that this isn’t consistently applied; Apple publishes no end date. Source: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  15. CeX — Trade-in, Grade A, cash · third-party figure · read 3 Nov 2026

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Not published by Apple

iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021). Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, memory bandwidth, storage upgradeable by user, media engine, maximum continuous power, the macOS it shipped with. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart row for this Mac does not state its GPU core count, so no Metal score is shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display, read 9 Oct 2026.

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