Hardware (5183)

Apple launches new range of iMacs

20- and 24-inch "glossy" aluminium and glass models

7 August 2007 18:21 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Apple has revealed a new range of Apple iMacs today at a press event in California.

At Apple's "Town Hall" venue in Cupertino, Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, confirmed what was widely expected - a new range of the company's consumer desktop offering.

As rumoured over the last month on the Internet, the new designs heavily feature aluminium and glass, Jobs stated:

"Two elements we've used in a lot of pro products: aluminum and glass. Phenomenal materials. Take aluminum, we use this in our pro products. Professionals love it. Glass, very elegant."

Jobs stated that another reason for using these materials is an environmental one - they can be better recycled.

The new models will be available in two sizes - 20 and 24 inches. They will feature Firewire connectivty, USB, and iSight camera and a microphone.

The new keyboard - which Jobs seemed to confirm was the one leaked recently on the Internet - will be available as a wireless option.

The keyboard is just 0.33-inch thick, and builds on the MacBook Pro keyboard and has dedicated keys for screen dimmer and brighter, as well as media controls such as volume and eject for optical drive.

Inside, users will be able to get up to a 2.4GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, with up to 4GB of memory. There will be an ATI Radeon HD graphics card and up to 1TB of hard drive storage. The news models will feature 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0.

Jobs revealed the pricing and as usual with Apple products the updated models have taken over the price bands for the previous incarnations. There are two 20-inch models, one for £1199 and one for $1499 and the 24-inch model will be $1999.

The now-old line up of iMacs ranged from 17- to 24-inch models with prices of $999, $1199, $1499 and $1999.

UK pricing for the new models is £799 and £949 for the 20-inchers, and £1149 and £1459 for the 24-inchers.