I have a senior friend who is considering buying her first iMac. She’s interested in the larger screen size and compact size of the iMac. She also wants to move away from using her Windows computer. I’m looking for recommendations on which iMac would be best for her needs and any additional components she should consider purchasing. Her primary use will be for email, web browsing, playing games, and occasional basic spreadsheets. Most of her focus will be on managing her emails. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Purchasing a new IMAC for a senior. . .looking for suggestions on what to buy
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Cougurr
Well-Known Member
My decision to purchase the iMac M1 when first released a few years ago now, as the 24" monitor was difficult since I was down sizing from a 27" iMac intel type. I have no regrets but did elect to get 16 GB ram and the 2 TB Hard Drive for lots of storage. This would still stand as my size to buy today. But today its the M4 and would run circles around my M1. The 8 core entry unit comes today with 16GB onboard memory so you don't have to pay extra for it like I did. The storage size unfortunately is limited in this model to 1TB which while not enough for me would be more than adequate for a new user for Mac. It is and additional $500 to change this up from the standard 256 GB size of SSD. You would have to pay extra to go to the 10 oore (not needed for most of us) just to then pay and extra $1000 to get the 1TB SSD. This is not feasible unless your heavily into video or photo editing with very large library size and movie sizes.. Good luck with this friends purchase.
By the way if economics are a concern with this purchase consider going to the Refurbished iMac's on the Apple site and step down from the M4 to the M1 or M3 level. Good savings and these machines are directly from apple and are literally the same warranty and identical packaging to a new one when you receive it. My M1 was purchased this way saving me considerable money at the time......... Colin
By the way if economics are a concern with this purchase consider going to the Refurbished iMac's on the Apple site and step down from the M4 to the M1 or M3 level. Good savings and these machines are directly from apple and are literally the same warranty and identical packaging to a new one when you receive it. My M1 was purchased this way saving me considerable money at the time......... Colin
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Save up to 15% on a refurbished iMac. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.
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chas_m
Well-Known Member
What Cougurr said. For a first-time Mac buyer, I'd still say the iMac is the best all-around value, especially the current M4 model.
OTOH, if you are replacing an old Mac and so you already have a bluetooth keyboard* and mouse** and monitor, then I'd recommend the M4 Mac mini base model (with a small upgrade on the storage). That thing is CHEAP and FAST.
*if your old keyboard is a Windows keyboard, it'll work with a little adjustment, but ... buy a Mac-compatible keyboard if you can. Way better.
**You don't have to get an Apple bluetooth mouse, but any Bluetooth mouse or wired mouse will work fine. Don't buy the wireless mouse with the little USB-A dongle ... your new Mac won't have any USB-A ports.
OTOH, if you are replacing an old Mac and so you already have a bluetooth keyboard* and mouse** and monitor, then I'd recommend the M4 Mac mini base model (with a small upgrade on the storage). That thing is CHEAP and FAST.
*if your old keyboard is a Windows keyboard, it'll work with a little adjustment, but ... buy a Mac-compatible keyboard if you can. Way better.
**You don't have to get an Apple bluetooth mouse, but any Bluetooth mouse or wired mouse will work fine. Don't buy the wireless mouse with the little USB-A dongle ... your new Mac won't have any USB-A ports.