The best iMacs are popular among photographers, videographers, and other creatives, because they have lovely screens, and do an amazing job of running resource-hungry editing software like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Premiere Pro. But which is the best iMac for you?
Well, the official answer is pretty simple. The 24-inch iMac M3 (2023) is the only iMac sold on Apple's site today.
Lucky, it's a very nice iMac indeed. Running Apple's latest M3 processor, it's hugely fast, and unlike the preceding M1 iMac which couldn't be specced with more than 16GB of RAM, the new M3 variantcan reach a healthier 24GB - ideal for intensive image or video editing.
The latest iMac can also be had with a handy 2TB of storage, housed within an unbelievably svelte case design that's available in seven eye-catching color options. Also eye-catching is the stunning 24-inch, 4480 x 2520 (4.5K resolution) display with its high 500-nit brightness and True Tone color accuracy. A screen this good really goes a long way to justifying the current iMac's price.
The M3 iMac is the only iMac sold new by Apple, but you can still track down its predecessor, the M1 iMac, quite easily. Alternatively, don't rule out the Apple Mac Studio M2. Sure, you'll need to add a monitor, but that set-up also makes for a powerful desktop computer.
Read on to discover the best iMac for photo and video editing today. Or, if you need a bit more background first, jump to our section on what to look for.
Ben Andrews
Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.
Apple’s most underestimated Mac starts off cheap, but that gives you scope to invest in up to 32GB of RAM and 8TB of storage. Read more below…
Best iMacs for photo editing in 2024
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The latest 2023 iMac is almost identical on the outside to the old 2021 M1 iMac, but under the skin hides Apple's new, more powerful M3 system-on-chip processing hardware. This unified 8-core processor and 8/10-core graphics chip is a healthy step in in performance over the old M1 design, while also offering up to 24GB of RAM (a key concern with the preceding M1 iMac was it was limited to only 16GB RAM).
As before, you get a stunning 4.5K retina display, Thunderbolt 3 and USB4 connectivity, a built-in 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and can choose from storage capacities between 256GB and 2TB.
The only two potential drawbacks here are that 24-inch screen size, which can feel a little restrictive during long editing stints in Photoshop or Premiere with lots of toolbars and panels open. Secondly, and this may be old news, but it's still important to remember: the iMac cannot be upgraded in any way. The amount of RAM and storage you spec at the time of purchase is what you're stuck with for the lifetime of the machine, so plan ahead when you're configuring.
Still widely available through retailers, the 24-inch iMac is the best iMac around for the casual user. It’s cheaper than the current M3 iMac, but its M1 chip is still fast and efficient, and most other specs are similar or identical to the M3 iMac.
This iMac has a 23.5-inch Retina screen boasting a huge 4.5K (4480 x 2520) resolution and an eye-popping 500-nit brightness. Factor in the DCI-P3 color space coverage, plus Apple's excellent True Tone technology, and this display is a great choice for photographers who want a top-notch viewing experience.
The main drawback of this model is that it can only be specced with a maximum of 16GB of RAM. While this is fine for everyday editing tasks, it can soon be devoured when you're editing high-resolution, multi-layer image files or 4K video, especially if you've got several web browser tabs open at the same time. In that case, you’re better off with an M3 iMac packing 24GB of RAM, or even looking further back in time to the 2020 iMac, which is much more expandable.
Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 570X - AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48
RAM: 8-128GB
Storage: 256GB-8TB SSD
Dimensions (HxWxD): 51.6 x 65.0 x 20.3cm
Reasons to buy
+
Beautiful screen
+
Fast processor
+
Good connectivity
Reasons to avoid
-
Takes up space
Yes, Apple doesn't officially sell it anymore. But plenty of retailers still have them in stock. And so if you want an iMac primarily for pro-grade photo editing or other creative work, the 27-inch, 2020 model remains your best bet.
For a start, it has a big, beautiful 27-inch Retina screen, with a 5K resolution that will allow you to see every tiny detail in your images – not to mention one billion colors and 500 nits of brightness.
Its 10th-generation Intel Comet Lake processors aren't as fast as the latest M1 chip, but they're pretty speedy nonetheless. And along with fast solid-state drives and powerful AMD Radeon Pro graphics cards under the hood, you'll get quick and responsive performance, no matter how many RAW images you have open on your screen.
The 2020 iMac offers good connectivity too, including two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB-A slots, an SDXC memory card slot, and a headphone jack.
Finally, you can buy it with up to 128GB RAM, unlike the other iMacs on our list. Yes, processor performance is important for video – but for photo and video editing it's good to get as much RAM as you can, as pro-level tools will eat it up pretty quickly. So we think this iMac is still worth considering.
Connectivity: 4x USB 4/Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI, headphone socket, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth (Front: 2x USB-C, SDXC slot)
Dimensions (WxDxH): 197 x 197 x 95mm
Reasons to buy
+
Small and compact profile
+
New M2 chips are ridiculously fast
+
A lot of power in the most affordable base model
+
Ports galore
Reasons to avoid
-
Speccing out the Studio gets very expensive fast
-
Speaker still lousy
-
No parts upgradability
An alternative desktop Mac, the Mac Studio is probably the most computer you can buy in the smallest footprint. Its compact proportions give no indication of the monstrous levels of processing power inside.
The sample Mac Studio we tested, which was running an M2 Max chip, was a beast. It chomped through photo editing in Photoshop and Lightroom and Photoshop and gobbled up multi-track video editing in Final Cut Pro. Even its responsiveness in little moments like opening files made the Studio a pleasure to use.
The Mac Studio starts off at a perfectly affordable level for a freelancer or a small studio, with the base model offering 32GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and all the connection ports you could reasonably want. Once you start upgrading as you place your order, however, it can get expensive fast – and you can’t upgrade the Mac Studio later, so you need to make sure the build you buy will last you for the lifetime of the machine. And, just to state the obvious for the sake of completion, you need a separate display too, although that means you can go as large as you like: even the base Mac Studio can handle four 6K displays and a 4K fifth screen without breaking sweat.
Connectivity: 2x USB 4/Thunderbolt/DP, HDMI, headphone socket, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth
Dimensions (WxDxH): 197 x 197 x 36mm
Reasons to buy
+
Blisteringly fast performance
+
Excellent value
+
Extra Thunderbolt ports
Reasons to avoid
-
Only configurable to 32GB
-
Same design
The Mac Mini may not be an iMac, but it's still a great desktop computer in its own right. It’s also the cheapest Mac Apple makes – although you do need to buy or own a monitor as well, so factor that cost into your budget.
The Mac Mini uses Apple's own M2 processor, but the standard version rather than the Mac Studio’s Max and Ultra options. But despite the low price, it’s a powerful chip, and you can order up to 32GB of RAM and a mighty 8TB of storage at purchase, so there’s a lot of potential here for a compact and affordable machine that’s a bit of a powerhouse on the quiet.
What should you look for when searching for the best iMac for photo and video editing? The key is to look at the specifications and suss out what you're going to need. While any modern iMac is going to be capable of editing photos with ease, some are more suited to heavy workloads or ultra-high resolution than others.
Screen size: For most photographers and video editors the 27 -inch is the way to go. The extra room gives you luxurious space for both your image and the various editing palettes around it.
RAM: For iMacs, 8GB is now the baseline spec, and while this is just about adequate for light image editing, open a bunch of tabs open in your web browser while adding several layers to a high-res PSD file and watch what happens to the performance. Given that RAM is not user-upgradable in a regular (non-Pro) iMac, we'd strongly recommend speccing 16GB or more at the point of purchase, to maximize the useful lifespan of your new machine or, better still, 32GB.
Graphics card: This is important for video editing. The entry-level 21.5-inch iMac is best avoided, even if you can find it still on sale, as it doesn't have a dedicated graphics card. All other iMacs get proper Radeon Pro graphics, though the 27-inch iMacs use newer, faster models (that extra space gained from a having bigger screen makes room for more powerful internals). And the 2021 iMac gets the formidable shared graphics processing power of the M1 chip.
Storage space: Storage is also an important consideration because, unlike Windows laptops, you cannot open up and replace the hard drive of a regular iMac. 256GB is the default capacity for the 21.5-inch models and the entry-level 27-inch. This really isn't enough to give you sufficient storage space for the lifetime of your usage: upgrading to at least 512GB is a must. If that's not financially feasible at the point of purchase, you can always invest in an external hard drive, which is a more affordable way to give you more space to keep your photos. Look for external hard drives that include SSDs (Solid State Drives) and use the Thunderbolt 3 port, as this gives you the fastest possible transfer speeds.
Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.