Apple has updated the new 27-inch iMac with powerful features for faster performance and enhanced user experience. A teardown video by Other World Computing shows the internal changes in the 2020 refresh of the 27-inch iMac. There are quite a few specification changes made to the 2020 model of the device, however, the physical design is the same as its predecessor.
The new 2020 iMac is equipped with faster Intel processors, twice the memory, next-generation AMD graphics, Retina 5K display, and more. Users will also be able to upgrade the new iMac to macOS Big Sur for free when it releases for the public in fall this year.
Teardown of the new 27-inch iMac
The 6 minutes video reveals that the disassembly of the new iMac is quite similar to the previous model. But there is an extra cable in the new model which the user must detach, as the camera is now a part of the screen unit.
Arguably the most significant change made to the 2020 Mac is the removal of the mechanical hard drive: all the models now come with SSDs as a standard. There is not any user-upgradability for storage, as there are SATA connectors on the board. The only part of the 2020 iMac that can be updated by users is the RAM which can be accessed through a small door on the back of the device.
Some new solder joints were found on the board that didn’t seem to have any use in the system but are used to hold additional SSDs in the 4TB and 8TB configurations. In the lower (256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB) configurations, the expansion board is not present.
Another internal change is an additional microphone attached to the bottom of the case, with the other microphone in the identical position as previous models.
Apart from these few changes, it seems that the internals are quite similar to previous models, apart from the upgraded speakers. With the same power supply, cooling, headphone jack, and CPU, the internals do not appear to be very different from previous models, visually. Though the removal of a mechanical hard drive left a lot of free space in the device, Apple did not add the additional cooling that can be found in the iMac Pro probably to keep the retail cost low.
Users can order the new 27-inch iMac on Apple.com for $1,799 and, it is also available in selected Apple Stores.
