Thanks to the existence of the MacBook Neo, Apple’s slimmest laptop is no longer its cheapest. That puts it in a slightly awkward middle ground, as power users will naturally gravitate to the absurd heights of MacBook Pro models, such as the one with the M5 Max CPU, while the Neo is a compelling prospect for anyone looking for a cheap everyday laptop. By putting an M5 in the new MacBook Air, however, Apple has positioned it as a natural step up. There's almost as much processing power here as you’d get from the entry-level MacBook Pro, at a lower price, and while it can’t be specced with enormous amounts of RAM and storage, what you get is a useful and highly portable laptop that can handle plenty of photo and video tasks.

Specifications

Price

The 13-inch M5 MacBook Air starts at $1,099/£1,099/AU$1,799, an increase over the M4 model, and if you spec it up with a small processor upgrade, 32GB of RAM, and a 4TB SSD, you’ll get to $2,699/£2,699/AU$3,999. There's a 15-inch model too, which is more expensive, but for a thin and light laptop of this quality, it’s not a bad price, especially as it comes with 16GB of RAM as standard. While you can certainly find something cheaper, what you won’t get elsewhere are the Mac’s superb battery life and quality of life improvements like the Center Stage camera.

Design & Handling

The MacBook Air is noticeably thinner than both the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Neo, and as it no longer comes in a wedge shape, there's a strong family resemblance to the rest of the MacBook range. The one reviewed here is Sky Blue, a subtle metallic hue that’s not strongly coloured, but which is different enough from the standard silver colour to make it stand out. A golden Starlight is also available, as are plain old dark grey and silver, though the former is called Midnight. It’s not as colourful as the Neo, perhaps pointing toward a position as a more work-oriented device, but still very attractive.

Otherwise, it’s a very similar machine to MacBooks past and present. There are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a more satisfying arrangement than the Neo’s limited choice of USB-Cs, as well as a MagSafe charging port. You get a USB-C to MagSafe cable in the box, but no Mac comes with a charger anymore; they’re an optional extra as Apple assumes we have loads of chargers lying around at home. The aluminium chassis is still solid as a rock, its edges lining up precisely when the lid closes, and you get a fingerprint reader at the top right corner of the keyboard.

The M5 Air supports two external monitors alongside its built-in screen, which is an LED-backlit IPS, as Apple continues to resist the lure of OLEDs and touchscreens. It’s plenty bright and colourful enough for everyday use, and provides a large chunk of the P3 colour gamut if that’s important to you, though a 13-inch screen isn’t ideal for the kind of work that requires it, and something like the Apple Studio Display is likely to be used instead.

MacOS itself has come in for a bit of criticism following its ‘Liquid Glass’ redesign, but it’s absolutely solid and full of conveniences for the user, especially if you’re an iPhone user already. It’s an easy switch from Windows, too, if you’re thinking of picking up a Mac for the first time, and the look of almost every aspect of it can be customised if you find it too colourful.

Performance

There's a full-sized, 10-core M5 in this version of the MacBook Air, and while it’s passively cooled rather than using a fan like the MacBook Pro, its performance doesn’t suffer too much. In testing, its scores are lower than those of the entry-level Pro, but not as low as you might expect given the $600 price difference.

What the lack of active cooling does mean for the Air is that it’s best used in short bursts. Sustained heavy loads will push it to its thermal limits more quickly than they will the Pro, so a big video transcode or export may take longer. You can see this in effect in tests like Cinebench 2024, which uses all the CPU cores to render a scene: the MacBook Pro’s M5 spins up its fan and delivers 40% greater performance in this test. For most of the tasks the MacBook Air will be put to, this doesn’t matter. Its single-core performance is almost equal to that of the M5 Pro, and if you spring for the upgrade to the 10-core GPU, it can deliver almost Pro-like graphics performance, just 12% behind. Apple’s integrated graphics solution is still well behind Windows laptops with Nvidia chips in them; however, to mimic their power, you need something like the MacBook Pro with M5 Max, a much larger investment.

Still, the Air is a highly capable Photoshop machine, and it doesn’t do too badly in Premiere Pro either. It happily sits alongside the latest Core Ultra chips in terms of its video processing performance, though again, its lack of active cooling can raise its head here. Lightroom denoise relies heavily on the GPU, and can take longer on the Air than laptops with more graphics power, especially if you’re using the model with only eight GPU cores.

Verdict

The MacBook Air has always been a popular choice among travelling photographers, as its low price and slim profile make it an ideal second machine alongside a more powerful desktop Mac. With an M5 beating at its heart, the MacBook Air makes a compelling case for being the only computer you need to own: it’s certainly powerful enough, though you may like to add RAM and storage upgrades which will push the price up. What you get is slim, beautifully made, full of advanced features and capable of dealing with any task you might set it, though power users might want to look into the MacBook Pro instead, especially as the Air tops out at 32GB of RAM.

If you want a new desktop computer but don't like the idea of a hulking-great traditional computer tower dominating your desk, then a mini PC could be ideal. These essentially condense the tech from a desktop PC into a box around 5 inches square and under 2 inches tall. But unlike the mini PCs of yesteryear which were based around anaemic processors that meant they were only good for light web browsing, today's mini PCs pack a huge performance punch, making them suitable for serious image or video editing.

Geekom's latest IT13 is just such a device, with a high-end 14-core processor and 32GB RAM that give it the potential to outperform even some of the best desktop computers for photo editing.

The IT13 has been upgraded for 2025, now featuring Intel's Core i9-13900HK, where the old version used an i9-13900H. Subtle difference, but Geekom claims the HK variant is around 10% faster. The PC comes with 32GB of fast RAM pre-installed, though there is also the option to add an additional 32GB down the line, should you need it. That's a handy advantage over the vast majority of current laptops, which now lack any option to add extra memory. The IT13 can pull the same trick with its storage, too. You can spec the PC to come with either a 1TB or a 2TB PCIe Gen4 SSD, but there's also an additional M.2 2242 SATA SSD slot, so you can install a second SSD up to 1TB in capacity. And if that's still not enough, there's even space inside for a 2.5" SATA SSD or HDD of up to 2TB.

Another advantage of choosing the IT13 over a laptop is physical connectivity. Where you'll be lucky to find more than three USB ports and a headphone socket on a typical laptop, the IT13 sports six USB ports (2 front, four rear), along with dual HDMI sockets, plus ethernet, a headphone socket and a full-size SD card reader. Wireless connectivity includes WiFi-6E and Bluetooth 5.2.

Downsides? Being so compact means there isn't space inside for a separate graphics card, so you'll have to make do with the processor's own Iris Xe graphics engine. But if you're not an avid gamer, this shouldn't be a deal-breaker.

The IT13 ships with Windows 11 Pro already installed: just add a monitor, keyboard and mouse and you're good to go.

Geekom IT13: Specifications

Geekom IT13: Design & Handling

I've previously tested the Geekom A6 mini PC - a slightly smaller device that sits below the IT13 in Geekom's mini PC range. However, where the A6 impressed me with its seamless Apple-esque unibody metal casing, the IT13 is a little more utilitarian in its design and construction. While there are no obvious weak points or areas that feel cheap or flimsy, the IT13's exterior is more generic and a little less svelte than the A6 - it lacks the same wow factor.

Up front is the power button, a 3.5mm headphone socket, and a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports running at 10Gbps. At the rear is a third 10Gbps Type A port, a USB 2.0 port (ideal for connecting a keyboard), plus two USB4 40Gbps Type C ports. These are great if you own a fast portable SSD or use CFexpress cards, as USB4 allows both to run at their full speed (providing you have a USB4 CFexpress card reader).

Also on the rear panel is a 2.5Gbps RJ45 Ethernet port for wired networking, plus two HDMI 2.0 ports. These allow you to connect two 4K monitors, but if you want even more screen space, both USB4 Type C connections are also DisplayPort sockets, giving you the ability to connect two additional displays for a total of four monitors.

There's also a DC input at the rear, as the IT13 has a separate mains power brick. This is about the size of a pack of playing cards, but the cord that links it to the PC is long enough that you should be able to tuck the power adaptor out of sight. And you'll be able to do the same with the IT13 itself if you want, thanks to its small 117 mm x 112 mm x 49.2 mm dimensions.

Geekom also supplies a VESA mounting plate in the box, which enables you to screw the computer to the VESA bracket holes on the back of a monitor, so you can create an all-in-one computer+monitor. However, this will only be possible if your monitor's stand isn't already attached to the same mounting holes. Alternatively, the bracket could be used to mount the IT13 to the underside of your desk, hiding it out of view.

Geekom IT13: Performance

If you're somewhat familiar with Intel's CPU nomenclature, you may know that the Core i9 range sits at the top of the Intel processor hierarchy, above the entry-level i3, mid-range i5 and performance-orientated i7 tiers. However, it's not quite as simple as that, as there are actually a whopping 10 different versions of the Core i9-13900 - all with different suffixes. The 'HK' suffix denotes that the i9-13900HK processor in the Geekom IT13 is designed for use in laptops, as it's been engineered to run using less power and thereby generates less heat. That's good news in a compact device like the IT13 where space for cooling is limited, but it also means the i9-13900HK is significantly less powerful than the 'full-fat' i9-13900KS processor designed for 'proper' desktop computers. Here's a specs comparison:

Thankfully, while the IT13 may be somewhat compromised in speed by its small size, it's far from slow. To give it a real-world photo editing performance test, I installed the latest version of Photoshop and opened a huge 1.4GB, 852-megapixel stitched panorama TIFF file. After a brief pause while the image loaded, I was able to smoothly zoom in, pan around, and make simple edits to the image with no slowdowns or glitches. For a tougher test, I attempted to enlarge the height of this image by around 500 pixels using Generative Expand. I timed this procedure at 1 minute 6 seconds - a respectable time, but only 9 seconds quicker than the Geekom A6 managed with its 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 6800H processor. It's also substantially slower than the 45 seconds achieved by an 8-core Intel Core Ultra 7 258V - a newer yet still energy-efficient processor that's built for AI workflows.

And here-in lies one of the more subtle issues with the IT13. The i9-13900HK processor, though powerful in its day, was launched at the start of 2023 and is now two Intel CPU generations old, having since been succeeded by the Core Ultra Series 1 and Series 2 ranges. So despite the IT13 being 'upgraded for 2025', its heart isn't quite as modern as you might imagine.

I also tested the IT13 using several benchmarking apps:

Cinebench 2024 (CPU performance)

The Cinebench multi-core score of 648 is somewhat disappointing, considering the supposedly weaker (and substantially cheaper) Geekom A6 mini PC scored 695 in the exact same test.

Geekbench 6 (CPU performance)

The Geekbench score is good, particularly for single-core speed, but the 10400 multi-core score is only slightly better than the figure I recorded with the Geekom A6.

Geekbench 6 (graphics performance, Geekom IT13 vs. Geekom A6)

Even more concerning is the Geekbench graphics benchmark result. The IT13 managed barely more than half the score achieved by the A6, indicating that the A6's AMD graphics processor is far superior to Intel's Iris Xe chip.

Crystal Disk Mark (SSD performance)

The SSD in the IT13 is likely the same or at least very similar to that in the A6. It's capable of a blistering 4076MB/s peak read speed, and an equally impressive 3189MB/s max write rate.

During this processor-intensive benchmark testing the cooling fan in the IT13 did spin up to an easily audible level, though the sound is mostly of whooshing air rather than any annoying motor whine. And the fan clearly needs to spin fast, as the air being exhausted out the back of the case can get very hot.

SD card slot speed

The built-in SD card reader seems to be running at UHS-I speed, not UHS-II. I wasn't able to get near the rated speed of any of my UHS-II SD cards, whereas plugging them into one of the IT13's USB4 ports via a Prograde Digital UHS-II USB card reader did yield much faster results.

Geekom IT13: Verdict

The Geekom IT13 is a very capable mini PC, with excellent connectivity, a premium processor and generous amounts of RAM and storage. However, I was expecting more from the 14-core Intel Core i9 CPU. In reality, the performance results I recorded were only marginally better than those from Geekom's A6 mini PC, which is physically smaller and 'only' has an 8-core processor. And in the case of graphics processing, the IT13 turned out to be significantly slower than the A6.

What's more, the A6 costs almost 50% less than the IT13, and it's more stylish. So while there's nothing inherently wrong with IT13 when tested in isolation, it's tough to recommend when compared to the value-packed Geekom A6.

Whichever option you choose, don't forget to check out our guide to the best monitors for photo editing to find out which monitor would be best to use alongside your new mini PC.

Apple's famous developer conference – WWDC – is today and we're watching it closely because it has massive historical importance for all Apple users and, by extension, all creatives. It was at WWDC that Apple first introduced massive products such as the 15-inch MacBook Pro beloved of photographers, Vision OS, and even the iPhone 3G (notable for the App Store).

You can watch along with us here below, but before the video goes live at 10 AM Pacific time (1 PM ET / 6 PM UK time), scroll down for a bit of pre-event rumor news and discussion as to what we might actually see when the event begins and what we've heard through the grapevine.

WWDC Highlights for photographers

• New AirPods remote shutter feature expected
• New 'Liquid Glass' look for all iPhone and iPad (iOS) expected
• New iPad and Apple Watch changes?

I've been using Apple products for years – indeed the first Apple Mac I used was the Macintosh Classic which existed before some readers these days were born – and I've been working with and writing about Apple tech for years too.

In recent years, the WWDC has gone back to its roots, concentrating more on the software than the hardware, and Apple's software – not least AI – has been under a lot of scrutiny this year, so we're expecting to see a lot of attention on Apple's operating systems.

That is rumored to include changing their names to all end in 26 (the year they'll mostly serve their non-beta period out in), and a coherent "Liquid Glass" style across the systems. Whether this will be alongside AI features or to serve as a pretty distraction from Apple's failings there will be an interesting thing to watch for.

For photographers, we're expecting to see the AirPods turned into a remote release (though more bonkers rumors have suggested cameras in the AirPods). We're also expecting to see the microphones in Apple's popular headphones given extra AI powers.

Want to know what Liquid Glass is going to look like? Well if there is one fairly safe way of guessing, it's looking at Apple's own tweets (X-es?)

ANd someone who is very much not an ex of Apple is Greg Joswiak, the company's SVP Marketing, who has tweeted this animation showing an animated effect which very much chimes with the graphics we've already seen and, let's be fair, easily looks like it could be adapted into a pattern of touchable buttons and icons in an operating system (or four)!

Ding Dong, the Siri is dead?

How about this for a shock announcement? The elimination of Siri. Macrumors seems to think that the Siri brand is now permeantly damaged after a bad year for Apple Intelligence, and concludes this is the only solution.

Now, sure, that might pose retrospective problems for re-runs of sitcom The Big Bang Theory, but MacRumors suggested that the name for the voice assistant might disappear as Apple Intelligence takes over. Perhaps they have a point.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has tweeted to the effect that "No major breakthroughs in Apple's AI technology are expected. Still, with the market's limited expectations, Apple can meet them by clearly explaining how AI features will work on devices and outlining a development timeline."

He notes, too, that Apple's releases in the AI space over the last year might have reduced enthusiasm, but still suggests that "Apple’s AI strategy takes center stage, with updates like UI changes and OS improvements playing a secondary role."

Developers adding AI into iPhone apps – what does that mean for photography?

One of Ming-Chi Kuo's big predictions is that Apple will be "Providing tools for third-party developers to incorporate AI into their apps"

That could mean quite a lot, but with the right OS level security it could certainly make for some useful photo editing features, rather than just the search features built into Apple's Photos app.

AirPods 2 discounted – hardware annoucement coming?

In the USA at least, there is a big discount on the AirPods 2 today on Amazon.com. Does that tell us there is any truth in the rumored extra features for photographers (and does it tell us whether they'll be available for older versions of the headphones?)

macOS 16 sorry, 26 will be called "Tahoe"

That's what I'm seeing everywhere online anyway, even though no one agrees that it's definite. It will, apparently, still support some of the Intel-powered Macs like the wheezing MacBook Pro 2019 which I'm using to write these words as well as pretty much everything after that – including all the M-series chips.

That said, one rumor on macrumors that "it is said that macOS 26 will also drop support for the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)" but even the source doesn't believe it.

Other than picking up a 'Vision OS' inspired transparent interface, there is discussion of more Apple Intelligence (I'll believe any of those features when I see them in real life and not before now, Apple!), a new gaming app, and an interesting new use of the iPhone's camera: apprently you'll be able to connect your iPhone's camera to help zoom in on things (like text), specifically using it as a magnifier.

Presidential debate? I'll bet no one says anything!

You might recall that, not terribly long ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook had the dubious honor of a personal namecheck in one of President Trump's social media posts about tariffs – a political sea change which is causing a lot of uncertainty in the tech world.

No business wants to be the target of policy changes, so being specifically mentioned must have been awkward for Tim Cook. It'd be very interesting – especially in light of the recent Musk v Trump public war of words – to look for any evidence that Apple may be at risk next. Certainly Musk's businesses seem to be more exposed than they were a few weeks back.

My bet? There is little to no chance that Apple will do anything to risk putting itself in the government's firing line.

It's started... and it was "Liquid Glass"

Told you so! A big win for all the leaks, the Liquid Glass revised operating system is 'inspired' by Vision OS. I wonder if Apple are hoping that this will send us all rushing to buy more $3500 ski goggles?

Unified Version Numbers ✅

Another prediction we can now safely tick off as Craig Federighi – now out of his F1 car and in his usual tight pants – has cleared up.

iPhone in hand, he's showing us how the "Time now fluidly adapts" (the font the clock is in gets bigger when there are fewer icons in the way in an animation).

To be fair, the AI seems to be doing more to more to make personal photos look good – making personal photos look 3D as you tilt the phone. That did look pretty impressive in Craig's hand to be fair!

Camera Time – streamlined interface

iOS 26 the camera is getting a streamlined interface, with just Camera and Video visible straight away. That's actually going to help me occasionally (and possibly annoy me on other occasions).

Car play gets the new look too...

...and widgets which it didn't have before. Developers will be able to add the same widgets.

Oh, and to make my modern electric car feel a little out of date, there is now now Car Play Ultra, which adds radio and other controls. Probably not a lot of camera use while you're driving yet though...

Photos as background in your Apple Messages. Looks a nice feature (wonder if you can share the photo with everyone in the chat, or if it's just for you?)

AI live translation...

Well, I have been excited about Apple AI features before, but apparently we're getting live translation – which could be a boon for creatives working abroad. Looked good in the demo (but then Apple's demos looked good last time. I'll believe it when I try it and not before!

Camera for intelligence...

...do you actually use Visual Intelligence? Now you might want to on your iPhone – screenshots now have a link to search so they'll search across your most used apps (probably Google, but they show Etsy) for you.

Feels like playing catch up to Google here – there is also a 'Ask' button to ask Chat GPT.

And developers will be able to use the camera for this tool. Again. We'll see.

iPhone Karaoke is coming to tvOS 26 – you can use thew iPhone as a mic. Wonder if that means we're going to get those headphone features we were wondering about in the AirPods.

Oh, back to Craig and the tight pants...

Craig confirms the name Tahoe for MacOS 26, while sounding more than a little bit sarcastic about the marketing team and their salary. Brave management technique.

As expected, Liquid Glass is here and it's super consistent with the easily personalised iPhone. OK< but what about life as a photographer? Come on....

OK, 'Continuity' - working across devices - is getting a boost. So you can see your Uber Eats delivery progress. And the Phone app from iPhone is coming to Mac. OK. So this is now a giant phone?

OK, AI extensions are coming to the Spotlight Actions tool (which I never really use, but probably should). You can add AI prompts, and use Chat GPT as well as Apple Intelligence.

You can also create your own personal multi-letter shortcuts. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, but could be handy...

Vision Pro

Vision Pro seem to be steering into Pro tools – admitting the price is pretty high – and are also bringing support for Sony VR controllers for games.

Exciting for creatives is the ability edit 360 with depth and dimension, and a partnership with Insta360 and GoPro.

The beginning of the 'spatial web' we're told (but no mention of a cheaper pair of goggles).

iPad time... Multitasking & Windows

Craig is telling us that Apple has "pushed the limits" of how powerful the device can be, but, finally, admits that Multitasking needs attention...

A 'New windowing system' – OK, so it doesn't look exactly like macOS because Apple are desperate to make sure the iPad is not the same as Mac, but there is a new "grab handle" and a proper pointer rather than a massive dot.

It does all look a lot more like macOS... it's even got a menu bar at the top of the screen.

Do I actually want an iPad now? Yes, yes, I do (and I have a horrible feeling the Pro will start to make more sense to me now). Plus the nont-at-all-cheap keyboard & trackpad accessory.

Well played, Apple!

There it is – AirPods can be used to start and stop video recording and for sound in iPad at least,

OK, listening to the list of new features – background tasks, proper file management – I'm starting to realise just how far behind the iPad was as a 'proper' computer (but I really, really want one now).

OK, that's it for the big speech...

Craig rounds off with tips for developers and how they can use tools to design icons to go with the new look, and use the new AI features in Xcode (the developer tool).

Tim Cook takes over with the rainbow behind him, letting us know that the public beta will be available next month (registered developers can get the new OS right now).

And off with a song... still played by a human at a piano for now!

WWDC Highlights

With a good few hours gone, we can see how the world is reacting to WWDC, and whether it agrees with me, or not, about what matters most (remember, not everyone is quite as excited by photography & video making as I am, but most will be quite interested in Apple!)

So, obviously Liquid Glass – a big new look – is having quite an impact, but so is the fact that the Photos app has been re-arranged. Yes, it seems the wider world does care about photos and finding them again after taking them – good!

Live translation is, predictably, exciting (if it comes to pass) but something that was less exciting for me – the new AI 'Workout Buddy' is also attracting attention (the voice was programmed based on the voice of enthusiastic personal trainers – this is the kind of thing I do not personally want in my life!)

The iPad being more like a Mac is also vey attention grabbing for the wider world.

Apple's own video introducing Liquid Glass is pretty succinct, and makes it look nice (though personally I'm more of a dark mode fan).

Apples value fell $75 billion after WWDC!

Wall Street doesn't seem terribly excited by what it saw based on the 1.7% drop in Apple's stock price – amounting to $75 billion in value!

Okay, that sounds pretty dramatic but, there is an argument that, by putting glass-like design ahead of too much AI, Apple has not put a much larger chunk of its value at risk. We've seen in recent months Google, Meta, Microsoft and others trying to out-AI OpenAI (the home of ChatGPT), while Apple are content to carry on in a very Apple way, while mentioning that ChatGPT will be accessible through Apple systems.

Some market analysts have, reportedly, called Apple's approach "timid", but these are the kind of people over-excited by raging bulls that gain in value then collapse. Several Apple-watchers have pointed out that, in practice, Apple shares often drop on major events because share dealers thrive on announcements and Apple prefer slow-and-steady and don't even announce phone sales any more, just profits.

The best photo-editing laptops are getting thinner and lighter, while simultaneously offering more speed and better battery life. But there's one way in which new laptops are measurably worse than laptops of old: physical connectivity. As laptop manufacturers strive for ever-thinner designs, they also pare down the number of USB ports, and these days you'll also be lucky to find an Ethernet port or SD card reader on the side of a modern thin and light laptop. A worst-case scenario is a device with just two high-speed USB-C ports, where one has to do double duty as the charge socket, leaving you with just a single USB connection for physical data transfer while you're charging.

Thankfully there's no shortage of docking stations that can give you back those lost ports. One convenient dock can provide multiple USB-C and USB-A ports, along with an Ethernet port for wired networking, an SD slot, headphone port and various video connections.

Read more: the best laptop docking stations

Specifications

Features

The Anker Prime TB5 Multi-Function Docking Station represents the pinnacle of what's possible from a laptop docking station, thanks to its cutting-edge Thunderbolt 5 connectivity. As a dock relies on just a single cable to connect it to your laptop, this has the potential to be a significant speed bottleneck for the multiple devices attached to the dock which have to share that one wire.

By utilising Thunderbolt 5 - currently the fastest physical connection for consumer computers - the Anker Prime dock is capable of up to 120Gbps data transfer rates. That's 3x faster than the already-rapid Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 standards. This means you can connect multiple high resolution monitors AND transfer data from high-speed external SSDs or CFexpress cards, simultaneously, and with no perceptible drop in performance.

In addition to increasing data transfer speeds, Thunderbolt 5 also allows you to connect higher-quality monitors to your laptop. Where Thunderbolt 4 limited you to two 4K monitors; with Thunderbolt 5 it's possible to use the Anker dock to connect dual 8K monitors to your laptop, each running at 60Hz (Providing you're using a Thunderbolt 5 Windows laptop. Mac OS limits you to dual 6K screens).

Not only does the Anker Prime dock add extra ports to your laptop, it can also power it, being capable of supplying up to 140W of fast charging. This means you can effectively ditch your laptop's own charger and remove clutter from your desk.

Thunderbolt 5 laptops are still relatively rare, having only hit the market in 2024. Thankfully the Anker Prime dock is also compatible with more commonly-available Thunderbolt 4 computers, which includes M1, M2 and M3 MacBooks, though naturally you'll be restricted to Thunderbolt 4's inherent speed, display and power-passthrough limitations. The Anker Prime dock will not work with Thunderbolt 3 or older Thunderbolt versions.

Build & handling

Where many docks are long, rectangular strips, the Anker Prime dock is more of a cube. You could easily be forgiven for thinking it's a mini PC, as its dimensions are similar, while the power button and front-facing ports further accentuate the mini PC look.

The dock is also surprisingly heavy - way heavier than you'd expect from a box that appears only to feature a selection of sockets and should therefore be mostly hollow. But that's not the case here, as this dock also contains its own power circuitry, which would otherwise be housed in a separate bulky A/C power brick. That means the Anker dock is a neater, one-box package, only requiring a basic power cable to link it to a wall outlet.

That extra weight also helps the dock sit securely on a desk and provides some helpful resistance when plugging in and removing devices. Build quality is first class, with the matte grey finish complementing many modern laptops. An extra touch of class is the blue status light that glows out from the recess running around the perimeter of the top panel, causing this to seemingly 'float' separately from the rest of the casing.

Ports are split between the front and rear panels. The front sports dual 10Gbps USB-C ports, with a combined 45W of Power Delivery, should you wish to plug in your phone or other device to charge. A 10Gbps USB-A port and 3.5mm audio socket round out the front-panel connectivity.

Round back you get two more USB-A connections (also 10Gbps), plus two Type-C ports, this time offering Thunderbolt 5 transfer speeds. For video connections there's an HDMI 2.1 port and a DisplayPort 2.1 socket, though these can not be used simultaneously. A 2.5Gbps Ethernet port is also present, though some may be disappointed that this doesn't run at 10Gbps. Lastly is the single Thunderbolt 5 upstream port that's used to connect the dock to your computer.

Performance

There isn't a lot to test with a docking station - the ports either work, or they don't. Thankfully I can report that the Anker dock performed almost faultlessly during my testing. As Thunderbolt 5 laptops are still relatively rare, I had no choice but to use the dock in conjunction with a Thunderbolt 4 machine: the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 15 Aura. This immediately started charging when I connected the dock's included USB-C cable to one of the laptop's two Thunderbolt 4 ports. I then connected a 31.5-inch, 4K monitor to the dock's HDMI socket and the laptop automatically recognised it and duplicated its display onto this second screen.

I also wanted to test the speed of the dock's Thunderbolt ports, to see if plugging a fast external SSD into the dock would result in any loss of transfer speed compared to connecting it directly to the laptop.

Thunderbolt speed (portable SSD)

For this test I used a PNY RP60 portable SSD. This runs at USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 speed, and should be capable of a rapid 2000MB/s maximum read speed. As you can see from the speed comparison above, the SSD was almost as fast when connected through the dock as when plugged directly into the test laptop.

Thunderbolt speed (CFexpress 4.0 card)

To go even faster than this, I got a ProGrade Digital CFexpress 4.0 Type B card, inserted it into a USB4 Type B card reader and plugged that into the dock. In this test the CFexpress card's write speed was marginally faster when connected through the dock.

SD card reader

Testing the SD card slot on the side of the dock revealed it to have no negative impact on read or write speeds compared to plugging the same SD card into the laptop via a dedicated SD card reader. However, this was only true for UHS-I SD cards. Inserting a faster UHS-II memory card into the dock resulted in read and write speed of under 100MB/s, and this was the case for several different UHS-II SD cards that I tried. Plugging these same cards into my test laptop via a ProGrade Digital PGM0.5 UHS-II card reader resulted in transfer speeds far closer to the cards' advertised maximums, proving the dock's SD card slot to be the limiting factor here, not the laptop.

The remaining USB-C and -A ports each run at 10Gbps, so the dock has no problem maxing out these relatively slow connections. My laptop was also able to seamlessly output audio through the dock's 3.5mm headphone socket.

The dock's built-in Ethernet port performed faultlessly as well, slightly exceeding the download and upload speeds that the laptop could achieve over its Wi-Fi connection. However, my internet connection is ISP-limited to 150MB/s upstream and downstream, as that's all I pay for, so this test is really testing the limits of my wallet, not the dock's Ethernet connection!

Throughout my testing the dock remained cool and almost silent during operation.

Verdict

Quite simply, laptop docking stations don't get much better than the Anker Prime TB5 Multi-Function Docking Station. It offers the fastest possible dock performance available with current technology, along with excellent build quality and seamless ease of use. Even the very fastest storage devices I could muster were able to perform just as well when connected to the dock as they did when plugged directly into my test laptop. The only minor shortcoming is the dock's SD card slot, which doesn't seem to run at UHS-II speeds.

But, predictably, if you want to be at the cutting edge of tech, it's going to cost you. At the time of writing the Anker Prime dock costs $399, making it an expensive way to add ports to your laptop. Thunderbolt 4 docks can be had for less than half that, and unless you're particularly keen on staying future-proofed, one of those would be a more sensible buy.

But if you're fortunate enough to own a 2024 MacBook Pro with Thunderbolt 5, or an equally modern Thunderbolt 5 Windows laptop, the Anker Prime TB5 Multi-Function Docking Station will get the most out of your computer, providing you intend to connect very high-speed external storage devices, or multiple high-resolution monitors that require greater connection bandwidth than Thunderbolt 4 can offer.

The ESR MagMouse is being trailed on Kickstarter as the world's first magnetically attachable mouse and, well, I've never seen one before. I can now confirm that, having already been designed and now hit its target, it's definitely something you'll be able to get.

How do I know all this? ESR has let me test an early model, and so I've followed the instructions and stuck it to my laptop's screen. I can't say that it's done Apple's carefully crafted aesthetics any favors, but on the other hand there is no evidence – as I type this – of weird coloring on the screen side of the 2019 MacBook Pro.

What's the problem that the magnetic mouse aims to solve? It's not charging, but convenience. When you rush to a meeting, or just another room in the house, you often end up relying on your trackpad because you don't have the carrying capacity for a mouse as well as a laptop (especially, say, if you need a free hand to open doors with a keycard).

Why should this matter to photographers? Well, to be honest, I think the main reason a photographer needs to think about their mouse is that a good one can help with a lot of imaging apps. The best mouse for photo editing can make life a lot easier than a trackpad.

There is also a button to cycle through half a dozen resolution options – from 800ppi to 4,800ppi – which has the effect of offering faster movement or more precise pointer control, a handy feature.

Moreover, a lot of us in the creative industries have MacBooks – and let's be honest, sticking to brand is an expensive business if you buy the Apple Wireless Mouse (not to mention its well-known design flaw – it needs to lie dead on its back to charge).

Now I'm not going to tell you for sure that ESR's solution is ideal, or that it's automatically going to be the best Mac mouse, but it has a short built-in USB-C charging cable that simply tucks underneath when you're not using it – so at least you won't lose it.

The built-in battery can store up to eighty days of charge, and a four-hour charge is absorbed in just one minute, according to ESR.

The mouse connects via Bluetooth 5.0 or 2.4GHz, and the Kickstarter campaign is running now. The Early Bird is approxmitely $26 / £20 / AU$40, with a planned retail price of $36 / £17 / AU$57, and it's fair to say that this product will almost certainly make it to market since the version I have definitely works.

The planned shipping date is in June, with mass production beginning this month.

Editor's note: As with all crowdfunding projects, there is no guarantee that the final product will match the early depictions in the campaign – or that the final product will be completed or delivered at all. DCW does not endorse this or any other crowdfunding campaign. 

You might also like…

If you're looking for great accessories, do check our guide to the best travel tripods, the best camera bags and – just because I love them – the best 360-degree cameras.

Fancy a desktop PC, but don't fancy the traditional dominating computer tower? A mini PC like the Geekom A6 could be ideal. Small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, yet powerful enough for serious image editing, and with a better port selection than a typical laptop, there's a lot to like here. Unlike some mini PCs which require you to add your own RAM and hard drive - 'barebones' machines - the A6 is a complete, ready-to-use PC with Windows 11 pre-installed. Just add a monitor, keyboard and mouse and you're good to go.

The A6 is one of Geekom's more accessibly-priced mini PCs, yet it still packs a punch. At its heart is an 8-core AMD Ryzen 6800H processor, teamed with a generous 32GB of RAM. This particular processor isn't one of AMD's newest as it dates from 2022. Consequently, it doesn't feature the same AI-processing features included with more recent AMD CPUs. Naturally for a computer so small, there's no separate graphics processor, with the central processor left to handle graphical demands. Storage is provided by a fast NVMe 1TB SSD, with space for an additional 2.5" SATA drive.

Surprisingly for such a small device, physical connectivity is excellent, eclipsing that of most modern laptops. You get four USB-A ports (two front, two rear), three of which run at USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) speed. Two additional USB-C ports are also provided, with one running at the latest and fastest USB4 standard (40 Gbps). You get not one but two HDMI sockets - handy if you want a dual monitor set-up (a maximum of four monitors can be used), plus there's an ethernet port and a 3.5mm audio socket. Another welcome inclusion is the full-size SD card slot on the side. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v5.2 take care of wireless connectivity.

Geekom A6: Specifications

Geekom A6: Design & Handling

With its sleek, seamless matte-finish body, the A6 has more than a hint of Mac mini about it. The overall feel of the machine is one of high quality; the join between the aluminium shell and the black plastic section that surrounds the rear ports is flawless, for instance. If it wasn't for the Geekom branding on the top, this could easily be mistaken for an Apple product - the fit and finish is that good. Measuring a mere 112.4 x 112.4 x 37mm, the A6 is easily small enough to tuck out of sight, yet it's not so small as to compromise port selection and cooling performance.

In order to make the A6 as small as it is, the power supply is a separate brick that's around half the volume of the PC itself. Thankfully there's enough cable linking the AC adapter to the PC that the power brick can be hidden well away. Geekom also supplies a VESA mounting plate with the A6. This can be used to attach the computer to the VESA bracket holes on the back of a monitor, so you can create an all-in-one computer+monitor. However, this will only be possible if your monitor's stand isn't already attached to the same mounting holes. Alternatively, the bracket could be used to mount the A6 to the underside of your desk, hiding it out of view.

Effective cooling is vital when shrinking a PC to such a small size. Geekom's 'IceBlast' cooling tech draws in cool air through the perforated side panels of the case, then exhausts hot air through a large vent at the rear. It doesn't take long during more intensive tasks for the fan to spin up to an audible level, but I never found the noise distracting - it's one of airflow, not a whining fan motor. I'd also rather a computer prioritzed powerful cooling over outright silence, as there's significantly less chance of the processor overheating and throttling back performance as a result.

Geekom A6: Performance

Despite the A6 being the baby of Geekom's AMD-equipped mini PC range, I found it performed pretty well in general use. 32GB of RAM is a healthy amount for image editing, meaning the A6 was easily able to work with high-resolution RAW images in Photoshop. To really put this to the test, I loaded a huge 1.4GB, 852-megapixel stitched panorama TIFF file, yet the A6 had no trouble letting me zoom and pan smoothly. To up the ante a little more, I attempted to enlarge the image vertically by around 500 pixels using Generative Expand. This took 1 minute 15 seconds. For reference, my personal tower PC equipped with a 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 5600G took 1 minute 23 seconds. However, an 8-core Intel Core Ultra 7 258V - a much newer yet still energy-efficient processor that's built for AI workflows - managed the same task in 45 seconds.

I also ran several performance benchmarks on the A6: Geekbench and Cinebench to assess processing speed, and Crystal Disk Mark for measuring SSD speed. A Cinebench score of 695 is perfectly acceptable given the age and mid-range position of the Ryzen 7 6800H CPU. Likewise, the Geekbench result is reasonable considering the A6's price point, though the single-core score is slightly disappointing relative to more modern energy-efficient CPUs. Outright SSD speed is very good; enough to not bottleneck any transfers from fast memory cards or external SSDs. I also tested the speed of the single USB4 Type-C port using a fast CFexpress 4.0 Type B card, and achieved comparable read/write speeds to other USB4 PCs I've previously used.

Geekom A6: Verdict

I'm very impressed by the Geekom A6. It copes well with most image editing workflows, helped by having an above-average amount of RAM, and there's enough storage for plenty of high-res raw images. Gaming performance is never going to be a highlight, but that's not what the A6 is designed for. I also appreciate the excellent selection of ports, and that one of the Type-C sockets is USB4, so you can max out the latest external SSDs and fastest CFexpress cards. Build quality is also first class, which you wouldn't necessarily expect at the price point.

Criticisms? The processor is a little dated and not the fastest at dealing with some AI tasks, but I feel this is an acceptable compromise to keep the cost of the A6 accessible. The Geekom A6 currently retails for $449/£500, which might seem somewhat pricey when you consider you could get a laptop for the same money, yet it would also have a screen, keyboard and trackpad. However in the world of mini PCs, the A6 is fairly priced for its specification and its premium build/styling.

If you're after an extremely compact PC that'll still cope with high-res image editing, the Geekom A6 offers excellent value with very few compromises. Don't forget to check out our guide to the best monitors for photo editing to find out which monitor would be best to use alongside the Geekom A6.

There’s a new Mac in Apple’s line-up – and it’s made for power users like videographers, photographers, developers and engineers. Unveiled on March 5, the Apple Mac Studio with M4 Max or M3 Ultra chips brings some of Apple’s most advanced technology yet, including the most unified memory to date for any personal computer, up to 32 core CPU, up to 80 core GPU and a media engine made for working with multiple large 4K ProRes files.

Announced the day after the launch of the iPad Air M4 and the same day as the new MacBook Air M4, Apple’s John Temus, a senior vice president of hardware engineering, calls the new Mac Studio “the most powerful Mac we’ve ever made.” Compared to the earlier Mac Studio with M2 Max or M2 Ultra, the 2025 release brings the M4 Max, which, like the M4 Max version of the MacBook Pro, jumps up to up to 16 cores with 12 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, and up to 546GB/s of memory bandwidth. But, those specs are similar to the M4 Max version of the MacBook Pro. The M3 Ultra chip brings more desktop power, with the M3 Ultra chip bringing up to 32-cores in the CPU and up to 80 core GPU with 819 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Apple says the new Mac Studio is designed for “video editors, colorists, developers, engineers, photographers, creative pros, and other users.” The M4 Max chip is up to 3.5 times faster than the M1 Max, while Apple says that users stepping up the most powerful Intel-based Macs can expect as much as a six times boost in performance. That translates into about 1.6x faster performance in Photoshop and 1.2x faster ProRes performance compared to the to generations ago with the M1 Max.

The Mac Studio’s media engine uses two ProRes accelerators to better handle large 4K ProRes files. The M3 Ultra uses four video encoding engines, where the M4 Max uses two. While the earlier M2 Max Mac Studio also used two ProRes engines, the latest version uses AV1 decode in the media engine as well, for both the M4 Max and M3 Ultra variants.

The 2025 Mac Studio also brings Thunderbolt 5 support, which supports data transfers up to 120 Gb/s. The M4 Max variant has four of those Thunderbolt 5 ports, while the M3 Ultra offers six. The desktop computer can support up to eight 4K or 6K displays, or up to four 8K displays at once.

The dimensions for the new Mac Studio remain identical to the M2 Max and M2 Ultra variants, but weigh in slightly heavier at 6.1 pounds / 2.74 kg for the M4 Max and 8 pounds / 3.64 kg for the M3 Ultra.

Like most of Apple’s other recent announcements, the Mac Studio supports Apple Intelligence, with on-device processing for some tasks and Private Cloud compute for larger off-device tasks.

The new Mac Studio ships with MacOS Sequoia, which includes features like iPhone mirroring and the ability to drag and drop files from the Mac Studio to an iPhone.

The Mac Studio M4 Max starts at $1,999 / £2,099 / AU$3,499 while the M3 Ultra costs twice that, beginning at $3,999 / £4,199 / AU$6,999. Storage configurations go up to 8 TB for the M4 Max version and up to 16 TB for the M3 Ultra.

You may also like

Browse the best desktop computers for photo and video editing, or the best laptops for photographers.

We're no strangers to pro photographers endorsing or co-developing photography accessories - camera bags tend to be the usual collaboration. But here's a new one, to us at least: a desktop tower PC "supervised" by Japanese photographer Kazuo Nakahara. Such a pairing may be unusual, but it does make sense. Since the advent of digital photography, if you want to edit your photos, you need one of the best desktop computers for photo editing, or alternatively one of the best photo-editing laptops. And whichever option you choose, it'll need to be powerful, such are the demands of increasingly high-resolution image files.

So it's not surprising the Japanese Tsukumo-branded PC towers built to Nakahara's specification pack a punch. Two configurations are available: the 'standard' version uses a potent 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 9700X processor, teamed with a healthy 32GB of RAM, GeForce RTX 4060 graphics for accelerated video rendering, and a fast NVMe Gen4 1TB SSD for data storage. The PC's motherboard also has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C connection, enabling significantly faster transfer speeds from CFexpress cards and the best portable SSDs. It's a solid combination of components for a photo-editing rig, so clearly Mr Nakahara knows what he's doing.

But if you want even more performance, the high-end Tsukumo configuration is quite the editing powerhouse. The centrepiece is Asus's ProArt X870E-Creator WIFI motherboard - a board aimed, as the name suggests, at creators. It gives you a pair of full-fat USB4 ports, so you can max out even the fastest CFexpress 4.0 Type B cards. Once your content is transferred to the PC's 2TB NVMe Gen4 SSD, it can be processed by the uber-powerful 12-core, 24-thread AMD Ryzen 9 9900X processor, which gets a whopping 64GB of RAM to work with. A 12GB GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card should make light work of video rendering, while also being capable of running the latest AAA games in 4K, should you so wish.

It'd be easy to dismiss a collaboration between a PC manufacturer and a professional photographer as little more than a marketing stunt, but this pair of tower PCs are actually ideally suited to photo editing. There are still relatively few desktop PCs with motherboards that support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20Gbps) or USB4 (40Gbps). The slower USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) interface is standard on pretty much all boards, but this will bottleneck most CFexpress Type B cards, as well as portable SSDs with read/write speeds in excess of 800MB/s. These two Tsukumo PCs have no such drawbacks, and that's still unusual in the desktop sector.

There is one rather large catch though: you'll need to be in Japan to get your hands on one of these machines. The standard model is priced at 249,800 Yen (approx. $1668/£1321), while the kick-ass spec costs a hefty 440,800 Yen (approx. $2943/£2332). And don't forget you'll still need to add one of the best monitors for photo editing as well!

The strangest thing happened. I was in a photography livestream when the subject of the new Mac mini M4 came up and I said I thought it was pretty cheap, starting at $599 / £599. Someone in the chat didn’t like that and insisted it was just a jumped-up Apple TV and not cheap at all.

So let’s see if we can get this straight. The Mac mini might look a little like the Apple TV on the outside, but inside it’s completely different. The Apple TV is a simplified streaming device running Apple’s tvOS. The Mac mini is a fully-fledged desktop computer running the same hardware and operating system as Apple’s other computers, but in a radical, miniaturized design.

It's got more than enough power to make it one of the best computers for photo editing and video editing. Better still, the starting price alone makes this one of the best Macintosh computers of all, especially for those trying a Mac for the first time.

The idea of the Mac mini is that you can simply swap out your existing computer for this one. The Mac mini doesn’t come with a monitor, a keyboard or a mouse, so you simply use the ones you’ve got, or buy them separately. Even if you’ve currently got a Windows keyboard and mouse, these should just work – though Apple’s own Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse are recommended, even if they are more expensive.

The Mac mini is all about choice and adaptability. If you want a laptop, get a MacBook, if you want an all-in-one, get an iMac, but these options mean your display is tied to your hardware. When I retired my 2017 21.5-inch iMac, I also had to retire its screen, one of the best I’ve ever used, just because the Mac itself needed upgrading. So a modular computing setup makes sense, especially when it’s as small, simple and affordable as this one.

Yes, you can get much cheaper Windows desktop PCs, but these typically come with older Intel processors which are still fine for everyday use, but a long way behind the latest Apple M4 silicon for speed and graphics handling.

The new M4 Mac mini is impressive on paper, but even more impressive in the flesh. It’s tiny. I’ve got cameras bigger than this. It’s a lot smaller than the old Mac mini, despite having a newer processor and now starting with 16GB RAM even in the base model. You get no fewer than 5 USB ports, including three Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports on the rear, plus an HDMI port for wide monitor compatibility. There’s even wired Ethernet.

As usual with Apple’s computers now, there’s a choice of processor. The cheapest options use a regular M4 processor, but if you need even more speed and more than 32GB RAM, there’s an M4 Pro version. Will you need that? If all you want is an effective, affordable do-it-all desktop computer, probably not.

Apple says the new Mac mini M4 is “1/20 the size but 6x faster than the top-selling PC desktop in its price range”. These are Apple’s own tests, conducted using a base-spec Mac mini with 16GB RAM compared with Intel Core i7–based PC systems with Intel UHD Graph­ics 770, 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD.

Apple Mac mini M4 Pro: Specifications

The model Apple supplied for review was equipped with the faster M4 Pro chip, 64GB RAM and a 4TB SSD. This pushes the cost up considerably, and keep in mind that our benchmarking figures are based on this faster processor.

The table below indicates the different Mac mini configurations and specifications available. One thing we must always repeat is that because of the way Apple’s on-chip design works, you have to choose your specs at the time of purchase. You can’t add more RAM or a bigger internal drive later.

Apple Mac mini M4 Pro: Price

The regular Mac mini M4 starts at just $599 / £599, which seems pretty cheap given the raw speed of the M4 processor, the high-quality build, and the extensive connectivity options. The base model only comes with a 256GB SSD but you do get 16GB RAM as standard, so the need to upgrade the specs is not as urgent as it was with the miserly 8GB offered on previous base models.

If you think the maximum 32GB RAM won’t be enough, then you’ll need to step up to the M4 Pro chip, and things will start to get expensive. Our test machine’s M4 Pro processor, 64GB RAM and 4TB SSD pushes the price up to a stiff $3,199 / £3,199, so as with all Apple computers you have to make some pretty sober decisions about the hardware you actually need.

A fully kitted-out Mac mini would make a powerful desktop workstation, but then it starts to cross over with the bigger and more powerful Mac Studio. It’s more likely that most users will be looking for an inexpensive and efficient little desktop computer for home office/domestic use, digital photography, and perhaps mid-level video editing, and for this, the regular Mac mini M4 looks by far the best value.

Apple Mac mini M4 Pro: Design and operation

The Mac mini has always been beautifully simple – a round-cornered aluminum box that you simply plug into your existing gear. But the new M4 version takes it to a whole new level. It’s smaller than ever before, only 12.7cm wide and deep, but with all the ports you’re likely to need and now comes with 16GB RAM as standard even in the base model. It can also drive up to 3 displays.

The MacBook range and the iMac tend to get more attention, but in many ways, the Mac mini is the best Mac of all. You do need to bring your own keyboard, mouse, and monitor, but this means it’s a truly modular computer – if one part of your system needs upgrading, you don’t have to swap out the whole lot.

In a weird way, it’s so small it’s portable. You could plug it in at work and then bring it home in your bag. It’s remarkably clutter-free, too. Even the power cable is impressive – it’s just a single, flexible braided cable that plugs into a wall socket at one end and the Mac mini at the other and with no ugly power brick in the middle.

Apple is proud of the fact that this is its first carbon-neutral Mac. The smaller design also incorporates a new ‘thermal architecture’ where air flows through the ‘foot’ underneath the body. Oddly, this is also where you find the power button – we guess that must have made sense to someone.

One thing you don’t get is a card slot, so you will have to buy a plug-in card reader to transfer photos. These are cheap enough to buy, however, and as camera makers gradually shift towards CFexpress cards, SD slots will become less useful anyway.

Apple Mac Mini M4 Pro: Performance

Apple boasts that the Mac mini uses the world’s fastest CPU core. This latest generation has hardware accelerated ray tracing ideal for games and 3D rendering – Apple quotes titles like Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Myst.

Our benchmarking figures below are for the M4 Pro model supplied by Apple, so they will be better than those from the regular M4 processor, which we will test when we get a sample. We’ve included the new MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Pro and iMac M4 for comparison (we don’t have CineBench data for the iMac).

The Mac mini M4 Pro is very close in performance to the MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Pro, as we would expect. There is a difference in the GeekBench Multi-Core CPU results, but we’ll put that down to a difference in the number of GPU cores in the two machines. Otherwise, it’s very close. The regular iMac M4 lags somewhat in GPU and OpenCL performance but is still fast in absolute terms, and we would expect similar results from the base-level Mac mini M4.

Benchmarking data only tells you about the processor performance, of course. Other tasks, such as importing photos from an external drive, or accessing online servers, will have their own bottlenecks.

In other news, the Mac mini’s internal speakers are surprisingly good. You’ll still need a decent set of external speakers, or a monitor with its own speakers for best quality, but if you don’t have either, then the Mac mini’s built in audio is actually OK.

Apple Mac Mini M4 Pro: Verdict

The Mac mini M4 is the cheapest Mac you can buy and, in many ways, the best. It’s perfect for desktop users who like to keep their systems modular so that they can upgrade their monitors, keyboards, mice etc as required, and not have these devices locked into the computer in the same way as a MacBook or iMac.

It’s also the perfect ‘first’ Mac for anyone ready to try a Mac for the first time. You can simply unplug your old devices, swap your Windows desktop box for the Mac mini and start it up. We can’t guarantee the Mac mini will work with every mouse and keyboard on the planet, but it’s what it’s designed to do.

Just because this is a tiny computer, it doesn’t mean it’s short on power. You have all the processor, RAM and SSD options of the MacBook Pro (though not the top-end M4 Max processor). The base model has 16GB RAM, which is fine for most domestic use, but you can bump this up to 32GB if you want and opt for a bigger SSD than the standard 256GB. That’s probably as far as we would go, though you can (at a cost) spec the Mac mini up to the point where it becomes a powerful desktop workstation.

For us, though, the charm of the Mac mini lies in its tiny case, it’s surprisingly affordable starting price, and the sheer elegance and quality of its construction. If you’ve been thinking about trying a Mac, then this is the one to start with. Or, if you have an older Intel Mac mini that needs an upgrade, the Mac mini M4 will deliver a massive speed boost in a box half the size. The concept is brilliant, but the reality is even better.

Alternatives

While the headlines will focus on the latest and greatest at the cutting edge of the graphics card market, the real battle is most likely won more in the midrange, where the balance of technological advances and cost wage war. With this in mind, AMD has produced the W7700, an impressively specified GPU that comes in under the $1000 mark. While that isn’t cheap by any means, it is significantly cheaper than the big guns. But is it worth the outlay?

AMD RX W7700: Specifications

AMD RX W7700: Design & Handling

While some high-end graphics cards have the look and feel you’d expect from such an investment, lower-end cards can appear somewhat cheaply made and lacking in design aesthetics. For some, this is less of an issue but for others, it has a part to play in whether that particular component makes it into their shortlist, especially those with glass-paneled cases, LED lighting, and fans who see their PC as a part tool and part design statement. 

The W7700 sits in the midground when it comes to financial outlay but definitely outperforms much of the competition in this regard. It’s a solid-feeling card, that feels reassuringly weighty in the hand and it looks good too, with a full casing in a lovely gunmetal grey and a single large fan for cooling duties. 

It’s a full-length/height GPU that is a dual-slot card with a standard eight-pin power connector, which should make it suitable for pretty much every tower case, although be sure to check available power, as it does need a maximum of 190 watts.

Installing the card is a doddle and fits snuggly, with none of the looseness that can be found on cheaper models.

Apart from the previously mentioned power connector, there are only four other ports, each being a DisplayPort 2.1. While these are great and cater to the latest developments in color and refresh rate I think many users would still have preferred to see at least a single HDMI port, for easy integration into an existing setup, where HDMI is more commonly found. That said, adapters are available, even if that adds an extra component/failure point.

Overall however the physical design looks good, feels excellent, and is what you’d expect from a quality GPU.

AMD RX W7700: Performance

The Radeon Pro W7700 is neither among the cheaper cards available nor the very highest cost but it performs much more like a high-end card in many respects. It may not have the very latest iterations of certain technologies but tends to have the previous version. For example, the W7700 features a second generation of RDNA, not the latest but still a good 50% faster for raytracing when compared to the first gen.

In real-world testing, unless you require intensive 3D rendering then you will likely not see much difference. Certainly, for tasks like image and video editing and daily computing, the benefits of paying more for the cutting edge in these areas are minimal.

Where the W7700’s hardware does make a difference is in on-board RAM, where you will find 16GC GDDR6 which definitely helps keep things smooth and agile, with large files being held in memory, reducing any bottlenecks. This is especially important as camera sensors and therefore file sizes while editing and manipulating are getting larger. 

32 teraflops sounds like a vast number and it is but what does that really mean? Well, this is pure processing power and means that this GPU has a lot to offer for any task, from the simple to the demanding.

I’m always hesitant to quote benchmarks, especially for PCs where so much is reliant on components from other manufacturers but it’s worth noting a couple. The Radeon Pro W7700 scores 18,580 on the G3D test, which places it not far behind some of Nvidia’s big hitters, like the 40xx series cards. Ranking in the top ten behind cards costing significantly more shows how AMD has worked to offer excellent performance over cost balance. 

If you are interested in a card for video work, image editing, or gaming then frame rates are important, so it’s good to see that this Radeon Pro card scores well in direct X, nearing 224 frames per second using DirectX 11, dropping to 110 frames per second for Direct X 10. These are very respectable scores.

But, as I mentioned, benchmarking doesn’t tell the whole story. But in daily testing, where actual experience using a card in a workstation counts, the W7700 fares very well. Moving windows, scrolling web pages, and navigating zoomed-in multi-layered Photoshop files all happen smoothly, with no lag. Painting masks, removing blemishes, and similar image editing tasks all demonstrate what this card is capable of. For power users, 3D scenes with dynamics, and caching simulations for fluids and smoke all do well. Compared to a higher-end card, there are some differences in render time, with frames being a little slower to calculate but it’s a minimal difference, only worth the extra investment for those working in visual effects, or who really can’t wait a few seconds per frame.

It’s worth noting that the investment doesn’t just come in the form of an initial outlay. There’s space in the case to consider as well as the power consumption, which can increase rather a lot with the highest of high-end cards.

The W7700 really does sit in that Goldilocks zone, where you get many of the benefits without a huge outlay, and is definitely one for the shortlist.

AMD RX W7700: Verdict

The AMD Radeon Pro W7700 may lag behind the cutting edge of graphics card technologies but it’s a worthy contender for anybody with need of an excellent performer, who understands the benefits of not jumping right to the very latest GPU. It’s not the cheapest but also not the most expensive and that’s the overall story of this card. It sits somewhere in the upper middle ground. It’s a solid option that doesn’t cost the earth, won’t need any special power considerations, and will last for some time with lots of modern features, support for 4 monitors, and overall excellent performance.

Alternatives

If you really want the very latest technical advances and have the money for a bigger investment, then look at Nvidia’s RTX 4090, which is the fastest GPU on the market at the time of writing. If you don’t want to make quite such an investment then the 3090 is still a fantastic GPU.

The king is dead – long live the king! Apple has swapped out its ‘old’ M1 powered iMac range for a new model with its latest M3 processor. Even amidst all of Apple’s typical processor hyperbole, it’s clear that this new chip marks another step forward in consumer computing.

We’ve already seen this M3 processor in action in the MacBook Pro 14 (M3, 2023) and it certainly doesn’t lack power. But is it a good fit for Apple’s all-in-one desktop computer and what kind of value does it offer to home users, creatives, and professionals?

There are actually two iMac variants, both configurable with more RAM, more storage and more accessories as required. The base model comes with the same glorious screen and physical design and a highly compelling $1,299 / £1,399 price tag but only two ports, both Thunderbolt / USB 4. The upper (premium) model adds two USB Type-C ports, is ‘configurable’ with Gigabit Ethernet (there’s no separate port) and has ten GPU cores, not eight. This version starts at $1,499 / £1,599.

That’s pretty keen pricing for machines with this kind of power and a screen this good, but this is with a baseline spec of just 8GB integrated on-chip RAM and a measly 256GB SSD. You’ll almost certainly want to boost one or both, that’s when the prices really climb.

Our test machine was the upper-tier model with the maximum 24GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. It also came with an Apple Magic TrackPad and an extended keyboard with numeric keypad, and came in at $2,458 / £2,558. Ouch. The iMac M3 can still be great value even with boosted specs, but you’ll want to choose your add-ons wisely.

iMac M3: Design and Handling

The iMac is all about design. Most computer setups are too messy to be allowed into the best rooms in the house, but the iMac would fit in anywhere. The base model comes in a choice of four colors while the upper tier version comes in seven, so you can’t complain it won’t fit with your decor. What’s more, the color you choose is carried through to the keyboard, the underside of the mouse and even the power cable.

Apple’s integrated chip design means the iMac case is thinner even than most regular monitors, at just 11.5mm. It’s also under 5kg in weight, though it still feels a bit of a lump to move around. It does have a very small, neat desktop footprint though, and thanks to the wireless keyboard and mouse, the whole setup is virtually cable-free – you’ll still need the power cable.

Even connecting this power cable will bring a smile to your face. There’s no more struggling with stiff push-in power plugs because this is a small, neat co-axial connector that’s also magnetic – you only have to get it close to the socket on the back of the iMac and it’s sucked into place.

Even the unboxing is an experience. Apple’s packaging is a masterpiece of minimalism and elegance, and you might even find yourself neatly packing away the screen and keyboard protection sheets as precious objects in their own right. Which is weird.

There’s no height adjustment on the screen, but I’ve never found that an issue on this or other iMacs. The tilt movement is all I need for a comfortable viewing angle and the action has just the right amount of stiffness with no wobble or ‘slop’. There are no creaky plastics here.

The keyboard is terrific, with a light-medium touch and a short travel. Some people might prefer bigger, clattery Windows-style keyboards, of course, but I write about 50,000 words a month on Mac keyboards and I don’t think I could use anything else. Only one complaint – there are no ‘dimples’ on the home keys for touch typists.

The review Mac came with an extended numeric keypad keyboard, a slightly more expensive option. It takes up a good deal more desk space and unless you spend your working life entering data in spreadsheets, I wouldn’t bother, especially for home use.

I’m told Apple’s Magic Mouse is not popular with everyone. I love it. It has no clickety scroll wheels or creaky plastic buttons. Instead, the whole top surface is touch/gesture sensitive and also works as one large mouse button – and you can assign a ‘right-click’ action to the front right side too.

If you like sirens, neon, and cooling fans, this is not the computer for you. It’s elegant, understated and minimal. Sometimes too minimal.

Even the upper-tier version has only four connection ports – two USB 4/Thunderbolt and two USB C. There’s no SD card slot, no HDMI for external monitors and no USB Type A ports for older peripherals. If you do use any of these things and, like me, need to plug in external drives too, you’re going to run out of ports pretty much straight away. The iMac itself may be a masterpiece of minimalism, but you’ll need a drawer full of dongles, hubs and adaptors to go with it.

iMac M3: Performance

Apple reckons the M3 iMac is twice as fast as the M1 model it replaces. It also has dynamic GPU memory caching which should reduce unnecessary GPU memory use, and has hardware-accelerated raytracing and mesh rendering. Apple suggests that it is an ideal multi-user ‘home’ computer that’s now even better for games. The iMac’s appeal is surely broader than that, though, both for home workers (via its excellent 1080p HD camera), hot-desking office workers and creatives (thanks to its power and its terrific display).

We carried out our regular benchmarking tests and you’ll see that the iMac M3’s results are almost identical to those of the M3 MacBook Pro 14-inch, as you would expect. In use, it rips through Lightroom and Photoshop processes so quickly that you’ll probably wish you’d upgraded sooner. In our tests Lightroom started in just 2-3 seconds for example, and Photoshop in 3-4 seconds. Native MacOS software like Photos or Mail, for example, starts so quickly it’s practically instantaneous. 

The 4.5K Retina display is really the iMac’s stand-out feature. Its resolution means you never the dots and even the tiniest type is razor sharp. The P3 color gamut is roughly equivalent to Adobe RGB (with a slight shift in the extreme green region) and with 500 nits of brightness it’s going to be usable even in the brightest workspaces.

It’s worth mentioning the sound system, too. The iMac M3 has no fewer than six speakers, with two pairs of woofers, each matched with a tweeter, and with Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio thrown in too. The sound is rich, deep and nuanced, and streets ahead of the average computer monitor. 

iMac M3: Verdict

There are cheaper ways to get a desktop computer than this, but while it might look as if all the money has been spent on the iMac M3’s design and styling, it does actually deliver a lot of power for the money too. This is not just a fast, modern and powerful computer with a beautiful screen, it’s smart enough to keep in any room in the house, and ideal for a multitude of uses – and users.

But it has some drawbacks. One is the paucity of ports. That’s probably going to be a nuisance. Another is the speed at which the cost escalates if you upgrade the specs. I would recommend 16GB RAM not 8GB, especially if you want to use heavy-duty photo or video editing tools, and if other users are going to stay logged in. The 256GB baseline storage would be better upgraded to 512GB, but I wouldn’t go further than that, as it’s cheaper to plug in fast external SSDs if you need more storage.

What makes choosing the specs for an iMac harder is that you need to plan not only for the hardware you need now, but for the next five years, because the integrated chip architecture means that once your iMac is built to your specs, not even Apple can upgrade it later.

Lastly, when the computing hardware in your iMac finally becomes obsolete, so will that beautiful 4.5K Retina screen, because it’s an inseparable part of the package. That might not bother you now, but when my previous iMac outlived its usefulness, the redundancy of its 4K display, still excellent even by current standards, seemed a terrible waste.

We have to mention these things. The iMac M3 is a powerful, practical and versatile desktop computer, it’s a joy to own and use and even just to look at. It’s just not quite perfect.

Apple announced the iMac M3 on October 30 2023, and it is one of the first machines to gain a new M3 chip (alongside the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops). 

The iMac has been one of best desktop computers for photo editing for some while, not least because it comes with an excellent built-in screen. The new M3 processor supports up to 24MB of memory (up from 16MB) and boasts GPU improvements over the existing iMac M1, but just how much better is this all-new iMac? 

Apple says that the new M3 processor is up to twice as fast as the M1, but in practice productivity apps like the Safari web browser or Microsoft Excel will run at a less striking 30% faster – meaning that, as a mere speed improvement, it probably isn't worth rushing out to buy the new machine. It's a nice bump, because Apple didn't bother putting the M2 chip in the iMac line, but for most users I doubt it'll be cause to shop.

For some specific cases, though, the new version of the Apple Silicon has hardware acceleration – specifically gaming, where the GPU section of the chip now boasts ray-tracing for much better frame rates. Apple also estimates that Photoshop should handle a 100MP file at about double the speed of the M1 generation iMac.

If you're looking for physical change, you won't find it either. The hardware looks identical, though the stand is now 100% recycled aluminum. The built-in 4.5K screen retains the same 500 excellent nits and 4.5K resolution, good for the 24-inch size but we'd still love to see a 27-inch offering. (I myself still have a 27-inch iMac from the Intel era with a 5K screen, and I live in hope!)

Less visibly the Wi-Fi gets a bump from 6 to 6E, a system that creates a 'fast lane' using 6GHz frequencies to provide more channels (and so, in theory, support more devices without interference). If you have or plan to upgrade your router, this is a nice benefit. Gigabit ethernet is, as before, an option that needs to be specified at purchase, and connects via the power brick rather than the machine itself.

So, in short, should you buy the iMac M3? Well, since there is no significant change in pricing, if you were considering the iMac M1 there is no reason not to switch up and enjoy the advantage. We ranked it as one of the best computers for photo editing, and it is very likely that the newer version to be the same.

Better yet, the pleasures of all-in-one computers have a little more flexibility since if you are feeling spendy you can spec up and get a little more memory. The only disappointment for fans of tidy work areas is that you still can't opt to get as much screen size as the last Intel-era iMacs (which were sold in two sizes, 21.5 and 27-inch). That is a shame, but the 24-inch screen does have nearly as many pixels as the old 27-inch so it's still great to work with.

The new iMac will ship from November 07, and Apple has them up for pre-order, with prices starting at $1,299 / £1,399 (Australian pricing TBC). In the meantime, if you're not too power-hungry and don't put too much pressure on your Wi-Fi, now might be a good time to start looking at discounted M1 models!

For those less excited by tidy desktops, look at the best MacBooks for photo editing and plan to add one of the best monitors for photo editing or the best monitors for video editing. 

Apple introduced its Mac Studio last year as a more affordable and compact version of its shockingly expensive Mac Pro desktop tower. The 2022 Mac Studio M1 introduced the M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips, designed to put powerful hardware in the hands of freelancers and professionals working in creative industries. This year is an evolution of last year's models, with the M1 chips being replaced with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra, promising even greater computing abilities. 

The Mac Studio I have been given by Apple for this review has a 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD, this model retails at the time of writing at $2999, however, the 2023 Mac Studio range starts at the much more reasonable price of $1999, with some very good specs at that starting price. The Max Studio, while not exactly pocket change, isn’t a completely unreasonable price, especially if you already have a screen you love. Until you start upping every spec that is, as always, Apple’s parts upgrade prices are pretty ludicrous.

Mac Studio M2: Specifications

M2 Max: 12-core CPU, 30-core or 38-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, 400GB/s memory bandwidth, 32GB, 64GB, or 96GB of unified memory
M2 Ultra: 24-core CPU, 60-core or 76-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine, 800GB/s memory bandwidth, 64GB, 128GB, or 192GB of unified memory
Ports: Four Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports with support for DisplayPort (up to 40Gb/s), two USB-C ports (up to 10Gb/s), two USB-A ports (up to 5Gb/s), Enhanced HDMI port, 10GB Ethernet port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.3
Dimensions: 9.5 x 19.7 x 19.7 cm
Weight: 2.7kg (M2 Max) / 3.5kg (M2 Pro)

Mac Studio M2: Key Features

The headline feature in the new Mac Studio is the latest generation of Apple silicon, with the powerful M2 Max, and the M2 Ultra – both significant upgrades over the previous M1 chips in the last generation. 

With its 12-core processor, the M2 Max is capable of reaching speeds up to 20% faster than the first generation of Mac Studio with M1 Max. Configurable with either a 30 or 38-core GPU delivers up to 13.6 teraflops of graphics performance and is also up to 30 percent faster than M1 Max chip. Rounding it off is up 96GB of unified memory which can deliver a whopping 400GB per second of bandwidth.

The M2 Ultra is the most powerful chip ever put in a Mac. A 24-core CPU, and up to 76-core GPU push the Studio to groundbreaking new speeds in a computer this size, and 192GB of unified memory with 800GB/s bandwidth completes the picture.

The Mac Studio also offers lots of connectivity options for peripherals and external memory. On the front, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a UHS-II XCSD card slot, while on the rear of the Studio, there is an additional four Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 10Gb Ethernet connection, two USB-A ports, HDMI port. The Studio also has the latest in wireless connections with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Despite all the impressive new chips and abundant connections, the Mac Studio has a super compact design and easily fits under the Apple Studio monitor to take up minimal space on a desk. Then airflow comes through the base of the Studio to keep it cool, even when the new chips are pushed to their limits.

Mac Studio M2: Build & Handling

The build will be very familiar to anyone who has used the Mac Studio before as it is identical to the previous version. The whole computer is a small unassuming silver box that is similar in design to two Mac Minis stacked on top of each other and is also in the same design family as the Apple TV. The Mac Studio is very compact, measuring only 3.5 liters in volume, and almost concerningly light for carrying from place to place. The fact that a chip as powerful as the M2 Ultra can be found inside something this small and light is amazing. Gone are the days of huge PC towers with fans to rival a jet engine, the fans on the Mac Studio are very quiet, on the rare occasion they came on, I barely even noticed them, even when pushing the system.

The design and quality are very obviously Apple; except for the XL Apple logo that adorns the top the design is classically minimal, the entire chassis is a silver-colored cut aluminum box with a couple of unmarked ports on the front. Turn it around and there is a raft of other ports and the fan exhaust grill. The Studio has so many ports, I don’t even have enough peripherals to plug into every single one at once, unless you have a serious amount of external equipment you should be fine with the ports on offer here without resorting to dongles.

The Studio has a speaker built into the base, which is just about passable for notification noises, but trying to use it as a speaker for music or videos is a mostly pointless endeavor with its weedy sound being bested by practically any other external speaker. I am still not sure what the intention of adding a speaker to the Studio is, but it works fine if you never intend to actually enjoy the sound from your Mac.

Mac Studio M2: Performance

I use an Intel i7 MacBook Pro as my daily driver, which I never felt was particularly "slow" until using the Mac Studio. Sure the M2 Max in the Studio ripped through all my export and editing tests with so much ease (more on that in a sec), but it is all the little things, all the quality of life improvements that I noticed and appreciated the most. Just opening apps like Lightroom Classic and Photoshop was so fast it has ruined using my current laptop, it now feels like an agonizing wait every time I want to open these programs, I have seen that the grass is greener, and it is hard to go back.

But onto the tests that actually pushed the silicon and the Mac Studio really impresses. I often accuse Apple under my breath of exaggerating its too-good-to-be-true statistics in its launch events, but in this case, anecdotally they feel true. 

When editing on Photoshop and Lightroom it just is so much smoother to use. Whereas on my older Intel system, it hangs while it processes tasks, there was almost none of that on the Studio. I loaded about 100 40-megapixel RAWs from my Fujifilm X-T5 into Lightroom and was amazed at how fast I could flick through all the images, usually, this causes my Intel MacBook Pro to just grind to a halt, or turn the fans up to maximum while my computer has a meltdown. When editing in Final Cut Pro, importing, adding tracks, clipping, and cropping, it all just felt so smooth and fast, with my final video exported in a dramatically faster fashion than I am currently used to. 

If performance would be so impressive if I was coming from a computer already utilizing Apple Silicon I can’t really say, but for anyone still using Apple’s Intel models this is a huge step up.

My experiences aside, numbers speak for themselves, and below is a comparison of some benchmarks between the Apple Mac Studio and other systems in Apple’s lineup to give a more quantifiable picture of how it stacks up. Although not the perfect comparison, it is clear that the new processor in the Mac Studio is a head and shoulders above the Intel scores in the MacBook Pro, the gap closed a lot more when it comes to some of the latest variations on Apple Silicon, but the Studio still manages to get a toe ahead, and shows Apple is still making progress even if pace is slowing.

Although you can build a much more powerful Windows PC for less money, there is nothing quite like the Mac Studio in the world of Windows desktops. So for those Windows users looking for a powerful machine a fraction of the size of those big Windows towers, this is something to seriously consider. Sure Apple doesn’t exactly have the best reputation for gaming, and I won’t claim to be the best reviewer out there to test the gaming capabilities, however, the few games I tried (mostly Civ VI, Total War and the Witcher 3 via steam) ran incredibly well at high graphics settings with good frame rates on the Apple Studio monitor provided.

Mac Studio M2: Verdict

After using the Mac Studio for several days, I must say that it has left a lasting impression on me to the point where I am considering buying one of my own. Paired with Apple's Studio monitor, this computer has been an absolute delight to work on. For anyone who relies heavily on resource-intensive programs such as video and photo editing software, the Mac Studio's power is truly a revelation, especially if you are coming from Intel-based systems. Moreover, its ample number of ports and convenient front-facing SD card slot make it an ideal choice for content creators who frequently deal with external media. The Mac Studio also boasts a pretty design that seamlessly blends into any workspace, its sleek and compact form exudes a sense of minimalistic cool. 

While it's important to note that upgraded versions of Mac Studio do come with a considerable price tag, the base model surprisingly falls within a more affordable range, making it accessible to freelancers and studios alike. Although those without a decent monitor will have to factor in the additional cost, however, the ability to upgrade the hardware as needed can prove advantageous in the long run.

You might also like...

There isn’t a huge amount that compares directly to the Mac Studio, with the two most obvious recommendations being the previous generation of Mac Studio (2021) that comes with the M1 Max chip, offering slightly less performance than the latest model, but can be picked up for a reduced price. Alternatively, you can pick up the Mac Mini (2022) with an M2 Pro chip, which is still impressively powerful, although not quite as awesome as the M2 Max, but the Mac Mini is much cheaper and considerably smaller to boot.

In the world of Windows, there are numerous towers you can buy from the big manufacturers or you can buy a case and create a custom build, however, these tend to be quite a lot larger than the 3.5-liter volume of the Mac Studio, and draw considerably more power. If you are looking for a powerful pre-built PC that is also on the compact side, the HP Z2 Mini G9 Workstation with its i9 & NVIDIA RTX A2000 might be one to consider.

Read more: find more of the best desktop computer for photo editing in our guides.

It's not always easy finding the best deal on a Apple product, but if you buy at the right time, or from the right retailer you can often find a saving on Apple's range of premium computers.

That's our aim in this guide – to help you find the best Apple Mac Mini with the notorious M2 chip from Apple.

We know that Mac Mini's are the cheapest of the Apple range, but they can still cost a pretty penny if you want to upgrade to bigger RAM or storage, and while they may never be as cheap, when compared to their PC equivalents, that extra investment gets you a device that regularly sits atop our list of best desktop computers for photo editing available today. 

The Mac Mini offers excellent value for money in the long run over other desktops that you may need to replace every couple of years, and comes with the added bonus that they can be easily transported in the best backpack for photographers.

See our full Mac Mini M2 Pro (2023) review

Best Mac Mini deals: Mac Mini M2 (2023)

The faster M2 Pro version offers up to a 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, along with up to a 19-core GPU. The M2 Pro has 200GB/s of memory bandwidth , double that of the M2, and supports up to 32GB of memory. 

However, with this added boost comes a higher price tag as the Mac Mini M2 Pro starts from $1,299/£1,399.

Best Mac Mini deals: Mac Mini M2 Pro (2023)

The good news is that Mac Mini deals are fairly regular. The biggest reductions are often saved for the biggest sales events of the year, but you can usually find a discount or two every so often that takes a decent amount off the high starting price. After all, every little helps!

Apple's latest M2 processor is now offers more power, and for those who want even more there is also a 12-core M2 Pro chipped version too! The good news is that the starting price has not increased from the M1 versions - with the Mac Mini M2 going on sale from $599 / £649.

The M2 Mac Mini offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports, whilst the Pro version provides four. Both models feature two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port with a 10GB option, and an upgraded headphone jack to support high-impedance headphones. They feature the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard for up to 2x faster throughput than before, as well as Bluetooth 5.3.

However, if you're a student looking at these new Mac Mini's thinking they will be perfect to have hooked up in your dorm room, or to partner with your iPad, then why not check out the Apple Student discount that could cool the sting a little bit - it wont get you a huge deal off, but every little help!

Read more:

Best monitor for Mac Mini
Best keyboard for Mac
Best Mac mouse
Best iMac for video and photo-editing
Best Macbooks for photo editing

The Apple Mac Mini has been a favorite budget by in our best desktop computers for photo editing for a while now - but the latest 2023 versions promise even more. The svelte miniature computer will now get Apple's latest M2 processor to offer more power – and for those who want even more there will be a 12-core M2 Pro chipped version too! And the good news is that the starting price has not increased from the current M1 versions - with the Mac Mini M2 going on sale from next week from $599 / £649.

"The new M2 Pro chip delivers pro-level performance to Mac mini for the first time," says Apple, "enabling users to run high-performance workflows that were previously unimaginable in such a compact design. As well as faster performance the latest versions will offer support for up to two displays on the M2 model, and up to three displays on the M2 Pro model.

See also Apple reveals the fastest, most powerful MacBooks ever

Compared to the Mac Mini M1, the new M2 version is said to offer 50 percent faster filter and function performance in Adobe Photoshop CC, and 2.4x faster ProRes transcoding when using Apple's own Final Cut Pro video editor. Mac mini M2 features an 8-core CPU with four high-performance and four high-efficiency cores, along with a 10-core GPU.

The faster M2 Pro version offers up to a 12-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores, along with up to a 19-core GPU. The M2 Pro has 200GB/s of memory bandwidth — double that of the M2 — and supports up to 32GB of memory.

Apple says the M2 Pro Mac Mini boosts a ProRes transcode in Final Cut Pro by up to 4.2x, when compared to the M1 Mac Mini; graphics performance in Affinity Photo 2 is enhanced 2.5-fold.

See our full Mac Mini M2 Pro (2023) review

The M2 Mac Mini offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports, whilst the Pro version provides four. Both models feature two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Gigabit Ethernet port with a 10GB option, and an upgraded headphone jack to support high-impedance headphones. They feature the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard for up to 2x faster throughput than before, as well as Bluetooth 5.3.

Mac mini with M2 starts at $599/£649 – or from $499/£539 if eligible for Apple Student Discount. 

Mac mini with M2 Pro starts will sell from $1,299/£1,399 - or from $1,199 /£1,289 for those in education.

Both models go on sale from August 24 in the US and the UK - Australians will have to wait a further week until 2 February.

The MobileStudio Pro is a multi-tasker’s dream. The pen computer lets you take your work on the go, and has the processing power to enable you to run multiple 2D, 3D and video-editing software at the same time. Available in 13in and 16in options, it’s the perfect choice for professional artists, photographers, and designers – but with prices starting at $2,599.95, you had better make sure it’s the workstation for you.

Inside the box, you’ll receive a power pack and cable, a quick start guide, a cleaning cloth, and one of its biggest selling points – the top-of-its-class Pro Pen 2, with case, nibs, and color rings. 

The Pro Pen 2 really makes the drawing experience feel natural on the MobileStudio Pro, as there is virtually no lag and no parallax. The matte screen of the tablet adds to the authentic drawing experience as well as boasting an Ultra HD display from a powerful 4GB GDDR5 graphics card.

Specifications

Display size: 15.6in (39.6cm) display 

Resolution: Ultra HD (3,840px x 2,160px)

Processor: Intel® CoreTM i7  

Memory: 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM

As a tablet computer, it’s incredibly lightweight with a sturdy, sleek design and a silicone grip. The forward-facing 5MP camera sits on the opposite side and the Intel® RealDenseTM 3D capture camera sits on the rear, making it a perfect tool to find assets and inspiration wherever you are. 

On the front, you’ll find the multi-touch ExpressKeys, which are fully customizable and application-specific, although the set-up interface could be more intuitive. Once set up though, it means you don’t need to also have a wireless keyboard with you to work effectively. However, the onboard buttons aren’t really a substitute for a keyboard’s worth of shortcuts, especially in Photoshop.

Wacom has plenty of accessories on offer as extras, but one of the biggest bugbears of the MobileStudio Pro is that it does not come with a case or a stand. Another drawback might be that, apart from one audio input, the device only uses USB-C. There are three of these ports on the side and these are also used for charging. The Wacom link is sold separately but does enable you to convert to your preferred cable and also link with a Mac if desired.

Verdict

On the whole, the Wacom MobileStudio Pro is a very impressive device with only minor surmountable drawbacks. The price is high and on a busy day the battery might scrape 2.5 hours, but if you are someone who enjoys working on the go without switching between several devices and requires the reliability, multi-functionality and processing speed of a quality computer, then this could definitely be for you.

Read also our guide to the best drawing tablets for photo editing, and our rundown of the best Wacom tablets

The best desktop computer for photo editing are a step up from even the best photo-editing laptops in terms of power and performance. Plus, if you don't mind opening them up and tinkering with them, they can be upgraded down the line with more powerful components, which makes them far more future-proof than a typical laptop.

Picking the best desktop computer will also give you the ability to add the best monitor; with typical sizes ranging from around 21 inches to well over 30 inches. That means, if you've got the desk space, you can work from home far more comfortably than if you were squinting at a laptop screen. Adding a full-size keyboard and comfy mouse further ups the ergonomic benefits over a laptop keyboard and trackpad.

To help you find the right model, our experts have drawn on their vast experience of reviewing and testing computers to compile this list of the absolute best. Alternatively, if portability is the most important thing for you, check out our guide to the best tablets for photo editing.

The Quick List

The best desktop computer for photo editing

Best overall

The Mac mini M4 (2024) is Apple's most impressive desktop computer to date, shrinking the already compact design while maintaining excellent performance and value. The base model offers plenty of power for photo editing, and handles everything from web browsing to video editing with ease too. The near-silent operation and tiny footprint make it perfect for quiet working.

The addition of front USB-C ports adds convenience, though note that theyrun at slower speeds than the rear Thunderbolt ports. Also, while the M4 chip brings notable performance improvements, especially for AI tasks, the integrated GPU still means this isn't the ideal computer for gaming. However, at this price point and size, the Mac mini M4 stands unmatched by any Windows or Linux alternative, making it our top pick overall.

Read our full Apple Mac mini M4 Pro review

• Back to the top ⇪

Best all-in-one

If you want an all-in-one computer (one which comes with a keyboard and monitor), the latest model of Apple's iMac is our top pick. The M4 chip delivers excellent performance for both everyday tasks and photo editing, while the new 16GB RAM baseline addresses a common criticism of previous models. What's more, the stunning 4.5K Retina display, available with an optional nano-texture finish, provides an excellent viewing experience, though some may wish for a higher refresh rate than 60Hz.

It's very attractive to look at too: the redesigned colorful aesthetic introduced with the M1 model remains, but with refreshed, more vibrant colour options that better match Apple's broader product line. And thile single 24-inch size screen may limit its appeal for some users, the thin profile and small footprint make it an ideal choice for most home and office environments. Finally the improved 12MP webcam with Center Stage is a welcome upgrade for video calls, though the continued awkward placement of the Magic Mouse charging port remains a minor annoyance.

Read our full Apple iMac M4 (2024) review

• Back to the top ⇪

Best micro computer

Fancy a desktop PC, but don't fancy the traditional dominating computer tower? A mini PC like the Geekom A6 could be ideal. Small enough to fit in a jacket pocket, yet powerful enough for serious image editing, and with a better port selection than a typical laptop, there's a lot to like here.

At its heart is an 8-core AMD Ryzen 6800H processor, teamed with a generous 32GB of RAM. Storage is provided by a fast NVMe 1TB SSD, with space for an additional 2.5" SATA drive. Physical connectivity is excellent, with plenty of ports, and build quality is first class.

During my testing I found the A6 performed well in general use. 32GB of RAM is a healthy amount for image editing, making the A6 easily able to handle high-resolution RAW images in Photoshop. Really heavy workloads will expose the limitations of this small form factor, but otherwise this downsizing comes with very few compromises.

Read our full Geekom A6 review

Best Mac for power

The latest Mac Studio with Apple's M4 Max chip is probably the most computer you can buy in the smallest footprint. The small and compact size is completely deceptive of the power that is hidden inside. The model we tested absolutely flew through photo editing in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop and easily handled video editing with multiple tracks, and effects on Apple Final Cut Pro. Even the quality of life improvements like opening files and programs faster made the Studio just more enjoyable to use.

The Mac Studio starts off at quite affordable for a freelancer or small studio, with the base model being powerful enough for most users' needs, however when upping the specs on the Mac Studio, things can get very expensive very quickly. For this reason we'd stick to the M4 Max chip, as upgrading to the M3 Ultra costs a fortune, with the extra speed being unnecessary for most use cases.

Read our full Apple Mac Studio M2 (2023) review

• Back to the top ⇪

Budget Mac

This Mac Mini may no longer be the latest model, but it's still a great desktop computer, and appreciably cheaper than the current version. You'll still need to add your own monitor, but the computer itself is tiny at 197 x 197 x 36mm, so should fit on any desk.

This 2023 Mini M2 differs from previous models by using Apple's own processor designed for computers. It's a similar construction to an iPhone/iPad processor but beefed up for desktop computing. And boy, did Apple do a good job.

The ultra-efficient M2 processor can outperform many high-end Intel Core-series processors, while up to 32GB RAM is enough for serious image editing: just avoid the base 8GB model, as it's not really enough memory to ensure you're future-proofed.

Read our full Apple Mac Mini M2 review

• Back to the top ⇪

Best All-in-One PC

Lenovo's IdeaCentre AIO (all-in-one) PCs prove you don't have to buy an Apple iMac if you want a stylish and powerful all-in-one desktop computer for photo editing. While it doesn't come with the most cutting-edge components, it still offers more than enough power for running Adobe Photoshop and other photo editing applications.

It's a particularly good PC for photo editing thanks to its screen (several sizes are available - our size/price preference is the 27in version), which though only 1080p resolution, uses IPS display tech for consistent contrast accuracy and viewing angles. Best of all though, it's way more affordable than Apple's pricey iMac machines.

• Back to the top ⇪

How to choose the best desktop computer

• Back to the top ⇪

How we test the best desktop computers

During our computer testing we assess overall performance using industry standard benchmarking software, as well as running our own real-world tests using software like Adobe Photoshop. When testing an all-in-one desktop computer that includes a monitor, we'll also focus on screen quality and color space coverage. Where possible, a monitor calibrator will also be used to measure display performance and see how suitable it is for color-critical image editing. We'll then weigh these results against the computer's current retail price to determine whether it offers good value for money.

• Back to the top ⇪

If you're looking for the best Mac Studio deals, you've come to the right place. Since its release the Mac Studio has been spoken about non-stop in the world of computing, for how it can advance photo and video editing alike.

A breakthrough in personal computing, Mac Studio is powered by the M1 Max chip and the new M1 Ultra – the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer. It delivers an unprecedented level of performance, an extensive array of connectivity, and completely new capabilities in an unbelievably compact design that sits within arm’s reach on the desk. 

With Mac Studio users can do things that are not possible on any other desktop computer, such as rendering massive 3D environments and playing back 18 streams of 8K ProRes video. 

With the pandemic and resulting electronic chip shortages causing havoc in the global camera industry, retailers are struggling to stock enough of some of the most popular models. But don't despair! We've scoured the web to find retailers near you who have the best Mac Studio deals for pre-order or in stock right now.

Revolutionary desktop design enabled by Apple Silicon

With the power and efficiency of Apple silicon, Mac Studio completely reimagines what a high-performance desktop looks like. Every element inside Mac Studio was designed to optimize the performance of the M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips, producing an unprecedented amount of power and capability in a form factor that can live right on a desk. 

Built from a single aluminum extrusion with a square footprint of just 7.7 inches and a height of only 3.7 inches, Mac Studio takes up very little space and fits perfectly under most displays. 

It also features an innovative thermal design that enables an extraordinary amount of performance. The unique system of double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the enclosure guide air through the internal components and help cool the high-performance chips. And because of the efficiency of Apple silicon, Mac Studio remains incredibly quiet, even under the heaviest workloads.

Game-changing performance with M1 Max and M1 Ultra

Powered by either M1 Max or M1 Ultra, Mac Studio delivers extraordinary CPU and GPU performance, more unified memory than any other Mac, and new capabilities that no other desktop can achieve. With M1 Max, users can take their creative workflows to new levels – and for those requiring even more computing power, M1 Ultra is the next giant leap for Apple silicon, delivering breath-taking performance to Mac Studio. 

M1 Ultra builds on M1 Max and features the all-new UltraFusion architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips, creating a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities, and consisting of 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip.

Read more: 

Apple live event
iPhone SE (2022)
Apple Studio Display

Apple today introduced Mac Studio and Studio Display, an entirely new Mac desktop and display designed to give users everything they need to build the studio of their dreams.

A breakthrough in personal computing, Mac Studio is powered by M1 Max and the new M1 Ultra, the world’s most powerful chip for a personal computer. It is the first computer to deliver an unprecedented level of performance, an extensive array of connectivity, and completely new capabilities in an unbelievably compact design that sits within arm’s reach on the desk. 

With Mac Studio, users can do things that are not possible on any other desktop computer, such as rendering massive 3D environments and playing back 18 streams of 8K ProRes video. 

Studio Display, the perfect complement to Mac Studio, also pairs beautifully with any Mac. It features an expansive 27-inch 5K Retina display, a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Centre Stage, and a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system with spatial audio. Together, Mac Studio and Studio Display transform any workspace into a creative powerhouse. They join Apple’s strongest, most powerful Mac lineup ever, and are available to order today, arriving to customers beginning Friday, March 18.

Mac Studio:

Pre-order at Apple US: $1,999 / $3,999

Pre-order at Apple UK: £1,999 / £3,999

Pre-order at Apple AU: A$3,099 / A$6,099

Studio Display:

Pre-order at Apple US: $1,599 / $1,899

Pre-order at Apple UK: £1,499 / £1,749

Pre-order at Apple AU: A$2,499 / A$2,999

Revolutionary desktop design enabled by Apple Silicon

With the power and efficiency of Apple silicon, Mac Studio completely reimagines what a high-performance desktop looks like. Every element inside Mac Studio was designed to optimise the performance of M1 Max and M1 Ultra, producing an unprecedented amount of power and capability in a form factor that can live right on a desk. 

Built from a single aluminium extrusion with a square footprint of just 7.7 inches and a height of only 3.7 inches, Mac Studio takes up very little space and fits perfectly under most displays. Mac Studio also features an innovative thermal design that enables an extraordinary amount of performance. The unique system of double-sided blowers, precisely placed airflow channels, and over 4,000 perforations on the back and bottom of the enclosure guide air through the internal components and help cool the high-performance chips. And because of the efficiency of Apple silicon, Mac Studio remains incredibly quiet, even under the heaviest workloads.

Game-changing performance with M1 Max and M1 Ultra

Powered by either M1 Max or M1 Ultra, Mac Studio delivers extraordinary CPU and GPU performance, more unified memory than any other Mac, and new capabilities that no other desktop can achieve. With M1 Max, users can take their creative workflows to new levels, and for those requiring even more computing power, M1 Ultra is the next giant leap for Apple silicon, delivering breath-taking performance to Mac Studio. M1 Ultra builds on M1 Max and features the all-new UltraFusion architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips, creating a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities, and consisting of 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip.

Studio Display

Studio Display brings a stunning all-screen design with narrow borders and a refined, all-aluminum enclosure that houses an advanced set of features in a slim profile. Its built-in stand allows the user to tilt the display up to 30 degrees. To meet the needs of a variety of workspaces, Studio Display also offers a tilt- and height-adjustable stand option with a counterbalancing arm that makes the display feel weightless as it is adjusted. A VESA mount adapter option is also available, and supports landscape or portrait orientation for even more flexibility.

Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K Retina screen with over 14.7 million pixels with 600 nits of brightness, P3 wide color, and support for over one billion colors, images come to life with spectacular detail. True Tone technology automatically adjusts the display’s color temperature as the environment changes for a more natural viewing experience. An industry-leading anti-reflective coating enables incredibly low reflectivity for better comfort and readability. And for workspaces with bright light sources, including sunlight, Studio Display offers an innovative nano-texture glass option. Nano-texture glass, first introduced on Pro Display XDR, scatters light to further minimize glare while delivering outstanding image quality.

Sensational camera and audio system

Featuring the A13 Bionic chip, Studio Display delivers amazing experiences with its highly advanced camera and audio system. The ultimate video conferencing display, it includes a 12MP Ultra Wide camera with Centre Stage, a feature that automatically keeps users centred in the frame as they move around for even more engaging video calls. 

Studio Display also includes a studio-quality, three-microphone array with an especially low noise floor for crystal-clear calls and voice recordings. It also features a high-fidelity six-speaker sound system, the best ever created for Mac, delivering an unbelievable listening experience. Four force-cancelling woofers minimise distortion and produce bold, articulate bass, and two high-performance tweeters create accurate mids and crisp highs. The speakers also support spatial audio for music and video with Dolby Atmos, creating a truly cinematic viewing experience. Altogether, Studio Display has the best combination of camera and audio ever in a desktop display.

Seamless connectivity

Studio Display has three USB-C ports that deliver speeds up to 10Gb/s to connect high-speed peripherals, storage, and networking right into the display. A Thunderbolt port enables users to connect Studio Display and any connected peripherals to their Mac with a single cable. The same cable also delivers 96W of power to a Mac notebook, allowing Studio Display to even fast-charge a 14-inch MacBook Pro. And up to three Studio Displays can be connected to MacBook Pro, creating a powerful edit bay or animation workspace.

Mac Studio:

Pre-order at Apple US: $1,999 / $3,999

Pre-order at Apple UK: £1,999 / £3,999

Pre-order at Apple AU: A$3,099 / A$6,099

Studio Display:

Pre-order at Apple US: $1,599 / $1,899

Pre-order at Apple UK: £1,499 / £1,749

Pre-order at Apple AU: A$2,499 / A$2,999

Apple has announced a brand new chip to rival its current models and its competitors, the M1 Ultra, this is the next giant leap for Apple silicon and the Mac. 

Featuring UltraFusion, Apple’s innovative packaging architecture that interconnects the die of two M1 Max chips to create a system on a chip (SoC) with unprecedented levels of performance and capabilities. The M1 Ultra delivers breath-taking computing power to the new Mac Studio while maintaining industry-leading performance per watt. 

The new SoC consists of 114 billion transistors, the most ever in a personal computer chip. M1 Ultra can be configured with up to 128GB of high-bandwidth, low-latency unified memory that can be accessed by the 20-core CPU, 64-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine, providing astonishing performance for developers compiling code, artists working in huge 3D environments that were previously impossible to render, and video professionals who can transcode video to ProRes up to 5.6x faster than with a 28-core Mac Pro with Afterburner.

Groundbreaking UltraFusion architecture

The foundation for M1 Ultra is the extremely powerful and power-efficient M1 Max. To build M1 Ultra, the die of two M1 Max ships are connected using UltraFusion, Apple’s custom-built packaging architecture. The most common way to scale performance is to connect two chips through a motherboard, which typically brings significant trade-offs, including increased latency, reduced bandwidth, and increased power consumption.

 However, Apple’s innovative UltraFusion technology uses a silicon interposer that connects the chips across more than 10,000 signals, providing a massive 2.5TB/s of low latency, inter-processor bandwidth- that's more than 4x the bandwidth of the leading multi-chip interconnect technology on  the market today...

This enables the M1 Ultra chip to behave and be recognised by software as one single chip, so developers don’t need to rewrite code to take advantage of its performance. There’s never been anything like it.

Unprecedented Performance and Power Efficiency

M1 Ultra features an extraordinarily powerful 20-core CPU with 16 high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. It delivers 90 percent higher multi-threaded performance than the fastest available 16-core PC desktop chip in the same power envelope. Additionally, M1 Ultra reaches the PC chip’s peak performance using 100 fewer watts. That astounding efficiency means less energy is consumed and fans run quietly, even as apps like Logic Pro rip through demanding workflows, such as processing massive amounts of virtual instruments, audio plug-ins, and effects.

For the most graphics-intensive needs, like 3D rendering and complex image processing, M1 Ultra has a 64-core GPU, 8x the size of M1 delivering faster performance than even the highest-end PC GPU available while using 200 fewer watts of power - its quite frankly an incredible bit of engineering.

Our own benchmark testing of the MacBook Air M1, MacBook Pro M1 and iMac M1 confirmed Apple’s claims about the performance of its new integrated M1 processor. These new M1 Macs are just dazzlingly fast, thanks to the new Apple silicon and its system-on-a-chip integrated architecture.

But there’s always been a niggling doubt. The M1 architecture has a 16GB RAM limit. Is that enough? Apple claims its new processor offers much more efficient memory usage and optimization – but anyone still struggling along with a pre-M1 Mac running 16GB of RAM may need some convincing.

There's one thing that computer users learn quickly: if you don't buy something twice as good as you need today, you'll be sorry tomorrow.

So even if the new M1 Macs don’t suffer the same system slow-down with heavy memory use and virtual memory management as older Intel Macs, that 16GB maximum doesn't sound a lot. For example, this is being written on a 2017 iMac with 16GB RAM, and once Google Chrome is running with half a dozen tabs, plus Messages, Pages, Notes, Dropbox and the Creative Cloud background app, that’s 9GB RAM used already. On top of that, we routinely see Lightroom's RAM usage go up to 5-8GB after a not especially heavy editing session, and it's the same with Capture One.

It’s not just video editors, 3D renderers and code compilers that get greedy with hardware resources these days. Even ‘ordinary’ photo editing applications like Photoshop, Lightroom and Capture One can scoop ups armfuls of RAM as they go along, typically taking what they need without telling you and being in no great rush to give it back afterwards. 

We’re told the M1 integrated architecture makes virtual memory management much more efficient – the GPU memory is pooled with the main system memory, so neither needs to reserve space for data sent to one or the other and back again. Even so, 16GB doesn’t seem to offer a lot of headroom.

Now with 32GB RAM... or 64GB

So Apple’s announcement of the 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 and 16-inch Macbook Pro 2021 and M1 Max models is the point where – we think – Apple's new M1 architecture starts to get serious.

The original M1 MacBook, Mac Mini and iMac look like blindingly fast all-rounders for home, office and light creative use, but that 16GB RAM limit was always a worry, even if the outright processor speed wasn’t.

The M1 Pro chip, however, can take up to 32GB of RAM, which is more like it, and is available in both the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook sizes. The M1 Pro Max chip goes right up to 64GB and is an option for the 16-inch MacBook only. That’s for real power users – but after you’ve seen Final Cut Pro editing and previewing 8K footage live with no frame drops, you’ll know that ‘power users’ is exactly the term.

It's not just about the RAM

Don't imagine for one minute that these are simply M1 Macs with extra RAM slots. The M1 Pro is a far larger, more sophisticated and powerful chip than the original M1, and the M1 Max is bigger and more powerful again. Apple would have been better off calling them the M1, M2 and M3, just to make the differences clear.

So while the original M1 Macs were brilliant, we think it’s the M1 Pro and M1 Max that really change the game for serious creatives. It's all about confidence. However good the original M1 Macs might be, and however easily they can handle today's photo-editing and video-editing processes, the relatively low price and the RAM limit just don't offer that confidence.

But the power, performance and greater future-proofing of the M1 Pro and M1 Max models change all that. It's gone from, "oh, I don't know" to "let me at it, where do I sign?"!

Editing high resolution photos needs plenty of computing power, but working with 4K or even 8K video takes things to a whole different level. Scrubbing through such high-res video in software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Davinci Resolve taxes your computers processor and eats up computer memory (RAM), and once you come to export your edited footage, you could be waiting an age for the final render if you don't get the right computer processor (CPU). But with high-end video editing rigs costing seriously big money, you need to spend your cash wisely to get maximum bang per buck.

We enlisted the advice of bespoke PC builders' Chillblast to see which components in a computer matter most to ensure smooth video editing and rapid footage exports. In order of importance:

1. Processor

It's a close call between a computer's processor (CPU) and memory (RAM) as to what matters most when video editing, but the CPU is the heart of your computer, and it needs to be super-strong for serious video editing.

Back in the day, the sheer speed (measured in megahertz or gigahertz) of a CPU was all that mattered, but now that comes second to the number of CPU cores. Modern video processing software is multi-threaded, meaning it can 'see' the separate cores inside a single CPU chip as multiple 'mini' processors. The more cores, the more the video editing software can scale up its processing speed.

Two CPU companies monopolise the market: Intel and AMD. As it stands, AMD produces the fastest and best value high-end processors, and should be your first choice when speccing a video editing machine.

Our recommendation for a price/performance sweet spot would be the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X. Packing 12 cores running at 4.8GHz, it will breeze through 4K edits with ease. If you want even more speed, go for a Ryzen Threadripper Pro processor. These are available with 16, 32 or even 64 cores, though the latter commands big money and isn't recommended unless you'll be doing commercial editing work. 

2. RAM

RAM (random access memory) is your computers primary workspace when your editing footage. Think of it like a physical desk. When you run out of space/RAM, the computer can overflow onto a designated area of your hard drive called the Page File, but swapping the footage you're working on between RAM and hard drive takes time and can cause annoying lag when editing video.

Speccing your video editing computer with plenty of RAM avoids this. If you're working with 1080p Full HD footage, you could get away with 32GB of RAM as a minimum to ensure smooth editing, but 4K edits demand 64GB RAM.

That might seem excessive, but with many of the latest and best laptops for video editing not being user-upgradable, you need to adequately spec your new machine at the point of purchase to ensure it will provide years of useful service.

3. Storage

It's no secret that high definition video devours gigabytes of storage space, so a sizeable hard drive is a must. We say 'hard drive', but what you really want is an SSD (solid state drive). These store your footage on computer chips rather than the mechanically spinning 'platters' inside an old hard disk drive, and are therefore much, much faster.

SSD prices used to be prohibitively expensive, but you can now pick up a 2TB SSD for less than $/£200, though capacities larger than this really ramp up in price. One option if you need additional storage is to reserve your SSD as your primary drive for the footage you're currently editing, and frequently used files, and storage older videos and lesser used files on a slower, but cheaper hard disk drive. This is easy in a desktop computer were there's space for two or more storage drives, but even with the best laptops for video editing, you may need to supplement a laptop's storage with one of the best external hard drives.

Alternatively, if you're upgrading your existing PC, have a look at our best internal SSDs guide for the best options at the best prices.

4. Graphics card

Graphics cards aren't just for gamers and Bitcoin mining. Video editing software can also harness the huge processing power of a graphics card to turbocharge video rendering speed.

That said, the graphics card still plays second fiddle to your computer's CPU, and you don't need to spend top dollar for a premium graphics card to get that rendering speed boost. Even a mid-range graphics card will speed up export times almost as much as a high-end card. Good news, as with the best graphics cards for video editing now commanding ever-increasing price tags due to supply shortages, even our preferred mid-range card, the nVidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, will cost a pretty penny.

The exception here is Davinci Resolve, which can run noticeably faster when using a high-end graphics card, so if that's your editing software of choice, consider speccing a card like the GeForce RTX 3080, and hold your breath before you see the jump in price!

5. Monitor

Ok, so your monitor isn't strictly a core component of your computer, but it should be considered a core element of a video editing workflow. After all, it is the only interface between you and your footage, so if you're to ensure your work looks at its best, you need a decent screen on which to preview it.

It should go without saying that if you shoot 4K footage, a 4K monitor is a must, but it's not just outright resolution that matters here. A monitor that can display a high percentage of the video color space you work in - Rec.709 or DCI-P3, for example - means you can more accurately judge color when editing. Furthermore, a monitor with a wide contrast ratio and HDR certification will help you balance contrast more accurately.

Check out our dedicated guide to the best monitors for video editing to see which monitors are the best buys right now. But as a general rule, a 4K screen of 27 inches or larger, based on IPS LCD technology should ensure top-notch image quality with plenty of space for preview panes and scrubbing timelines. An even larger screen, with a high color space coverage, is a bonus.

Read more:

• The best laptops for video editing
• The best desktop computers
• The best portable SSDs
• The best desktop external hard drives
• The best portable hard drives
• The best cloud storage for photos 
• The best video editing monitors
• The best budget laptops for photographers
• The best memory card readers
• The best SSDs

For the last few years a new iMac has meant little more than a few tweaks here and there, fine-tuning what has long been a supremely accomplished all-in-one computer. As such, it’s easy to recommend an iMac as one of the best desktop computers for image or video editing, but the competition doesn’t stand still, so Apple can’t afford to rest on its laurels.

Thankfully, it hasn’t. The new 24 inch (23.5 inches, if you’re being pedantic) replaces the outgoing 21.5 inch model, providing a small but useful increase in screen size, and a corresponding boost in screen resolution. But it’s behind the monitor where the new iMac makesa generational leap forward the size of which is arguably unrivalled in the history of the iMac. Yes, like the MacBook Pro, Macbook Air and Mac Mini, the iMac is the latest Mac product to be equipped with Apple’s new M1 System on a chip – a radical departure from previous Intel-based computing power. Add the 7 chassis color options and you’ve got a new Mac that’s as distinctive on the outside as it is innovative within.

Specifications

Processor: Apple M1 8-core
Graphics: 7- or 8-core GPU
Neural Engine: 16-core
RAM: 8GB (configurable to 16GB)
Storage: 256GB/512GB SSD (configurable to 2TB)
Connectivity: 2x USB 4/Thunderbolt/DP, 3.5mm headphone socket, WiFi, Bluetooth. Optional: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet
Dimensions: 547 x 461 x 147mm
Weight: 4.46-4.48kg

Key features

Undoubtedly the most significant new feature of the 24 inch iMac is its M1 System on a Chip (SoC), designed in-house by Apple as a replacement for Intel processing hardware. A SoC differs from conventional Intel Core-series processors by integrating the central processor, RAM, graphics processor, neural engine, Thunderbolt/USB 4 and various other components onto a single chip. The advantage with this design is each component can communicate much more quickly with each other, reducing latency and also increasing power efficiency, as this unified architecture brings better performance and power-management optimization. This SoC ethos is nothing new - Apple's A-series chips for iPhones and iPads have been designed in a similar way for years, but Apple has only just applied the concept to the iMac. The M1 iMac joins the Mac Mini M1, MacBook Air 13-inch M1 and the MacBook Pro 13-inch M1 in being powered by the M1 SoC.

Two variants of the 24-inch M1 iMac are available at launch. Both share the same 8-core CPU incorporating 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, however where the ‘premium’ model gets the full-fat M1 chip with an 8-core GPU, the entry-level version has a slightly cut down M1 chip with a 7-core GPU. Both models come with 8GB memory as standard, though this can be configured to 16GB, and we suggest you do just that to keep your iMac future-proofed as much as possible.

The base storage capacity is a 256GB SSD, though it’s possible to spec this up to 512GB or 1TB on the entry-level iMac. The premium version adds a 2TB option, albeit at a predictably high price premium.

There’s no difference between the two iMacs when it comes to screen specs – they’re both equally impressive. The 23.5-inch display boasts a 4.5K (4480x2520) screen res with DCI-P3 color space coverage and a 500-nit maximum brightness. The panel also conceals a six-speaker audio system supporting Dolby Atmos spatial sound.

As we’ve come to expect from recent iMacs, connectivity is pared down to the essentials. In the case of the entry-level 24-inch iMac, Apple has pared the connectivity down even more, to just two Type-C ports on the back and a 3.5-inch headphone jack on the side. The two Type-C ports are Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 compatible, and they have support for DisplayPort, giving you the ability to connect an external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz.

The upper-tier iMac adds an extra pair of Type-C ports, though these operate at USB 3.2 Gen 2 speed only. You’ll need adapter dongles for Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA support. The entry-level iMac can be configured with a Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port, which interestingly is housed in the external power brick rather than on the computer itself. The upper-level iMac gets an RJ45 network port as standard.

Build and handling

Not only is Apple’s M1 chip touted as being fast, it’s also designed to be super-efficient and space-saving. This last bit has meant Apple’s product design team has managed to make the new 24-inch iMac the slimmest iMac ever, with the display panel being a mere 11.5mm thick. Most remarkably, Apple has managed this while also housing all the computing hardware behind the screen. We’ve seen thin all-in-one computers before, like the Microsoft Surface Studio, but the Surface Studio ‘cheats’ by having its computing hardware housed in its stand. The stand for the 24-inch iMac is just (and only) that – a stand. The only hardware element in the iMac not hidden in the display panel is the power supply, which is a separate power brick connected by a convenient magnetic plug that connects to the rear of the display.

As you’d expect from an Apple product, build quality is absolutely first class. The solid machined metal stand is beautifully luxurious, as is the precision tilt hinge between the stand and display. The machined aluminium chassis of the display is equally premium, with no discernible flex or weak points. OF course, while this seamless construction undoubtedly makes this a beautiful object, it also makes it practically impossible to disassemble for repair or upgrade. However, the latter is a moot point now, as with so many of the components now being integral to the M1 SoC, upgradability is now out of the question, and the SSD storage is also highly likely to be soldered to the iMac’s motherboard. If you’re after extra storage expansion, check out our guides to the best external hard drives and the best portable SSDs.

The new iMac comes in seven color options to really liven up your desk/office: the entry-level model can be had in blue, green, pink or silver, while the upper-tier model adds yellow, orange and purple colorways.

Performance

The first thing that strikes you when you fire up the new 24-inch iMac is the beautiful 4.5K Retina screen. Viewed from around 8 inches or further away, you can’t see individual pixels, resulting in a phenomenally crisp viewing experience. Colors are stunningly vibrant without appearing over-saturated, and brightness is simply stunning. We’d expect nothing less from Apple, which has been at the forefront of screen quality for many years, but this level of sublime image quality never ceases to amaze.

Perhaps inevitably, audio quality doesn’t quite produce the same wow-factor. The 6 speaker audio set-up is housed entirely in the 11.5mm-thick display chassis, so there isn’t much room for sizable speaker drivers. As such, sound quality is perfectly acceptable, but you can forget about tight, deep bass – it’s just not there. However, vocals are well reproduced, making the sound ideal for clear video conferencing and casual music/video playback. And with the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio output, adding a separate speaker is easy.

We’ve heard a lot about the sensational processing power of the M1 chip, and we’re happy to report that this isn’t just marketing hyperbole. The unified CPU/memory architecture of the M1 SoC makes the 24-inch iMac incredibly snappy and responsive. General web browsing and every-day computing is completely slick, as is browsing through images. Even when you fire up Photoshop and work with some high-res Raw files, the M1 iMac doesn’t break a sweat. Indeed, you really need to up the ante to find the iMac’s limits. We achieved this by loading an 885MB, 95512 x 5629 (538 megapixel) stitched panorama. This took 17 seconds to load into Photoshop, however once displayed, panning around the image was instantaneous, with no lag or additional loading time to render new portions of the image on screen. Filters like HDR Toning, Gaussian Blur or Unsharp Mask did take a few seconds each to apply – not the instant ‘click and it’s done’ speed which Apple’s M1 marketing might imply – but even so, the M1 iMac is still impressively quick, even when tasked with a challenging image editing scenario.

Even in this situation, the iMac’s fans didn’t spin up to audible levels. In fact, it was only when running the Cinebench benchmarking software on loop that we managed to get the internal cooling fan to be heard, and even then it wasn’t irritating.

Our test iMac was equipped with the optional 16GB RAM, which is the maximum that the M1 SoC can be specced with. While this might seem limiting next to the existing 27-inch iMac which is available with up to 128GB RAM, Apple claims that this is enough to edit five streams of 4K video in Final Cut Pro, or  a single stream of 8K footage – impressive stuff, and usage scenarios which would traditionally require considerably more RAM to achieve smoothly. Apple’s answer is that the unified memory architecture of the M1 SoC design means memory block duplication between the CPU and GPU is reduced, leading to an overall more efficient use of memory. The upshot is 16GB of M1 memory can’t really be directly compared to 16GB of conventional RAM in an Intel-based iMac, and while it could appear limiting at first glance, you will have to push an M1 iMac very hard to exceed its RAM limit.

Verdict

Given the ground-breaking performance and efficiency gains of Apple’s M1 SoC in the MacBook and Mac Mini, it was always going to be a dead cert that any iMac powered by this hardware was going to be a stellar performer. The fact that Apple has also used the size and efficiency benefits of the M1 chip to enhance the exterior aesthetic of the 24-inch iMac adds even more appeal. Sure, few if any people need an 11.5mm computer that’ll never be moved from a desk, but it sure as heck looks impressive, as do the multiple color options that hark back to the original CRT-based iMac G3 of 1998.

While users who need seriously potent performance for hardcore image or video editing are still best advised to go for the Intel-based 27-inch iMac and its extra RAM capacity, the new 24-inch iMac packs enough power to satisfy the vast majority of image or video editing requirements, and at a very fair price when you consider the stunning screen that you’re getting as part of the product.

Our only gripe with the iMac M1 and its SoC architecture is it completely locks out any possibility of component upgrading and will make repair very difficult or likely impossible. Granted, Apple has been anti user-modification of most of its products since the very first Macintosh of 1984. However, now we’re more aware of e-waste and its environmental impact, to have an entire desktop computer and monitor which will likely have to be binned should any component fail or require upgrading isn’t everyone’s idea of progress.

Read more:

• The best iMac for photo editing
• Best desktop computer for photo editing
• Best portable SSDs
• Best monitors for photo editing
• Best portable monitors

One way or another, the 27-inch iMac is going to get a reaction. Some people like to build a PC out of bits, some like the value of a modular tower PC and don’t see why they need to pay more for a Mac (no-one who uses a Mac asks that question, by the way). What you think of this iMac, or any iMac will almost certainly come down to your attitude to money and your attitude to design. If money is everything and design can go to hell, then you should probably stop reading now.

iMacs are all-in-one desktop computers for people who want a neat computing solution. It looks like all you get is a screen and a keyboard and a mouse; in fact, the computer itself is built into the back of the screen under a gently bowl-shaped curve that you hardly notice.

This does mean that it’s hard (read impossible) to upgrade your hardware later. When you buy an iMac, you need to get the specs absolutely right for your current and future needs. Once it’s built, that’s it.

On the other hand, the speed of the Thunderbolt 3 interface (this iMac has. Two) means that you can connect VERY fast SDD and RAID storage, for example, so there’s less need to prise open the case and add more drives later. Which you can’t do, by the way. You can also plug in up to two 6K external monitors.

Specifications

Processor: 3.1GHz 6-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
Storage: 256GB SSD
RAM: 8GB
Display: Retina 5K 5120x2880 P3 display with True Tone
Graphics: Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory
Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 3/USB-C, 4x USB-A, 1x Ethernet, 1x SDXC card, 1x headphone socket
Included accessories: Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse

*All specs can be upgraded during purchase

Key features

One of the key features of the 27-inch iMac is the Retina 5K display – ‘Retina’, because the resolution is so high that you just don’t see the dots. This does have advantages for photo-editing. It means you are seeing the resolution of your photos, not the resolution of your screen and it does, in a curious way, cut down on pixel-peeping.

There is an option to upgrade to Nano-textured glass with a matt finish etched into the glass at a ’nanometer’ level rather than simply applied as a matt layer. The idea is that the screen should be unaffected by glare in any environment, and it really does work – but it adds a huge $500/£500 to the price.

This is just one iMac spec you can customize and upgrade on your way to the checkout. The 27-inch iMac comes in three off-the-shelf configurations, starting at $1,799/£1,799, each of which can be configured with a faster processor, more RAM, a bigger SSD (all iMac models now come with SSDs), a better graphics card or faster Ethernet.

The price can quickly skyrocket, so it pays to be sensible about what you need and what you can afford. Even the base level 27-inch iMac comes with that beautiful 27-inch 5K screen and enough power for most photo-editing needs, but if you intend working on multi-layer Photoshop composites you might want to get more RAM, or a better graphics card for 4K video editing, or a faster processor for 3D rendering… and so on.

If you keep on going, you can eventually spec up a 27-inch iMac to the level of the iMac Pro, which starts at $4,999/£4,999. This sounds like crazy money for a desktop computer, but we are now into professional workstation territory. There is some overlap between a maximum spec 27-inch iMac and a base level iMac Pro, but if you need a 10-core processor (or more), up to 256GB RAM or a graphics card with 64GB RAM, you should be looking at the iMac Pro, or the Mac Pro instead.

The average photographer/videographer won’t need this. This kind of power is the preserve of coders, 3D designers and sound engineers. For digital photography and regular video editing, a standard 27-inch iMac will work fine – though you might want to consider upping the base level 8GB RAM to 16GB and going for a bigger internal SSD than the baseline 256GB.

Design and usability

Desktop computers are typical not pretty, but the iMac is practically a piece of modern sculpture. The brushed aluminium body has nothing on the front but the screen and an Apple logo, while round the back you’ll find two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) arts and four USB-A ports. There’s also an SDXC memory card slot and a headphone jack.

The stand is built on to the back, and there’s no height adjustment but there is a smooth and simple tilt movement which is a perfectly effective substitute. There is no separate power block. Instead the mains lead plugs straight into the back of the iMac, via a hole in the stand, so that you don’t even see the power cable, or indeed any other cable.

The Apple ‘Magic Keyboard’ is wireless and very slim, but also has a very nice short, light and positive key travel. The ‘Magic Mouse’ that comes included has been known to divide opinion, but it’s a masterpiece of minimal design, with no moving external parts and, instead, a seamless top surface which is gesture and click-sensitive, for both left and right-clicking and up/down, left/right scrolling/swiping.

The design finesse extends to the Mac OS and the included applications. Existing Mac users will already know that Macs don’t come with any bloatware, but do come with a whole suite of apps for everything from everyday productivity (Calendar, Mail, Notes, Reminders) to creative tools (Photos, iMovie) to office software (Pages, Numbers, Keynote).

Performance

The standout feature of the 27-inch iMac is the screen. The 5K resolution is remarkable, but so is the utterly even illumination, 1 billion colors and 500 nits of brightness.

Straight out of the box, the colors, contrast and brightness look spectacular. If you produce high-quality prints or work in print publishing, you might still want to calibrate the display, but if you’re working towards on-screen media sharing, that would probably take you in the wrong direction.

The swap to SSDs for internal storage and steady processor evolution makes this iMac faster than ever. Lightroom, Capture One and DxO PhotoLab all loaded and ran faster than on the older 21.5-inch iMac we ran alongside, though what you’re getting here is a performance improvement not a step-change. The speed depends on the software as well as the hardware, and whether it can make proper use of multi-core processors and GPU acceleration, for example.

We’ll bet that you can get similar performance from a cheaper Windows based system – though if you go for equivalent specs on a Windows machine, the costs can escalate just as quickly. What you won’t get is the iMac’s design finesse, streamlined OS and simple but effective apps.

This could make a difference for the millions who now work at home. The iMac is a machine which will suit any minimalist office workspace, and it has a built-in 1080 FaceTime HD camera and 3-mic array for high-quality video conferencing. You can use a headset if you want, but why would you?

Verdict

Expensive? Perhaps, but there is a lot of hardware packed into the 27-inch iMac, and while the optional upgrades look expensive compared to what you might pay for similar Windows components, you should remember you are getting them fitted too. Above all, part of what you’re paying for is design, both in terms of the physical device, its screen, its presence on your desk, and its everyday operation.

When you buy a computer today, you’re buying a device you are going to be living with, looking at and using for a very long time. It’s likely, in the new realities of home working, to be your sole companion for hours at a time. It will be a constant presence in your house and your interface with the outside world. This is what the iMac was made for, and it does it brilliantly – and the new 27-inch iMac and its to-die-for display just take it to another level.

The costs of up-speccing the three standard models could quickly get out of control, however. For photographers, we'd recommend any of the three, but with 16GB or 32GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD at the least and ideally 1TB.

Read more:

• Best MacBook for photographers
• Best photo-editing laptop
• Best desktop computer
• Best external hard drives
• Best NAS drives