Apple’s iMac M6 pitch is clear – it’s really time to ditch that ancient Intel Mac

OPINION: One of the traditional tech reporting tropes that gets my back up is the perennial “should you upgrade?” article that compares one generation of phone, laptop, tablet, smartwatch, whatever, to the last.

It’s not a very well thought-out question. Nine times out of ten the answer is “duh, of course not.” For items like desktop computers, these generation-to-generation changes are often incremental. Even then, the upgrades are presented in terms that don’t resonate with every day consumers. 2x faster this, 5x faster that; as if we have a frame of reference in our minds for exactly how fast graphics are processed, for example.

No, it’s more about the company saying “if yours breaks, this is the one you should buy next” rather than explaining why you should ditch the one you bought less than two years ago. If you have a perfectly functional iMac M4 that was released in November 2024, then there’s no way on Earth anyone without a vast disposable income should consider dropping a couple of grand on the otherwise identical iMac M6 model.

Desktops stay in one place. They don’t get moved constantly. They aren’t dropped and aren’t subjected to the elements. If you spill water, it’s only a $100 keyboard you need to replace. Generally, they just last longer than a laptop or a tablet.

People will buy a new iMac when the old one starts showing its age, if there’s a major breakthrough that they can’t access on their current model, or the design changes significantly enough to make it a vanity purchase.

This is why I was actually enthused to hear Apple primarily compare their new iMac M6 to the most powerful iMac running Intel-based processors rather than it’s other Apple Silicon-based Macs.

“For Intel-based upgraders, the leap is even greater, with up to 18x faster performance than the most popular Intel-based iMac,” Apple said in its announcement. Eighteen times. That’s a speed increase most people can get behind. Apple’s pitch is a “come on now, guys, it’s time. You know it and we know it.”

Obsolete

It’s also no coincidence that Apple just added the very last Intel-based iMac to its vintage products list, effectively making it obsolete. It’s now seven years since that model went on sale. Typically it means Apple will no longer repair them too. You’re on your own.

The most recent version of macOS 27 (Golden Gate) is the first of the Apple Silicon era not to support Intel Macs too. There’s no Apple Intelligence on Intel Macs, meaning Apple can’t reach customers with its most marketable new features. App developers can drop support for universal Mac apps if they want and, from next year, apps built for Intel Macs will be completely removed from the App Store

Sure, these computers will continue to work until they don’t, but in the meantime Apple is still providing security patches for Intel-based Macs and would rather not. At WWDC, the company said there’d be three more years of providing relevant patches. So it’s in Apple’s best interests to get people off these Macs completely by then. They won’t want to deal with reports of active security exploits in the wild, screwing over people using ten-year-old Mac computers.

So it’s not surprising that Apple isn’t targeting people who bought the M4 that much, or even people who own the excellent M1 model. The company just wants people on Apple Silicon period. It’s time.