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| Image: Apple website |
UPDATE 2026
I wrote about the iMac back in October 2014.
That post was about Apple announcing what they called the "world's highest resolution display" — a 5K Retina screen on the 27-inch iMac, at 5120 x 2880 pixels. I was genuinely impressed. I was also running MavTech at the time, which later became Mavs Corner, and tech news was very much part of what I wrote about.
That 2014 iMac started at $2,499. It had an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and an AMD Radeon graphics card. It was a powerful machine for its time.
Reading it now is like finding an old photo. The prices, the specs, the language — all of it a snapshot of a different era in computing.
So let's update this properly. Because in 2026, the iMac is a completely different machine — and it's now available in the Philippines at a price that, while still significant, is more accessible than the 2014 version ever was for Filipino buyers.
How much is the iMac in the Philippines in 2026? The iMac M4 starts at ₱84,990 in the Philippines for the 24-inch model with an M4 chip. Available through the Apple Philippines website, iStore, Abenson, and other authorized resellers.
What Changed Between 2014 and 2026
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| Image: Apple website |
In 2014, Apple was still using Intel processors. The iMac was thick at the edges, had a spinning hard drive option, used conventional RAM that could be upgraded, and ran on macOS Yosemite. The 5K display was genuinely groundbreaking at the time.
In 2026, almost none of that is the same.
The chip is now Apple's own silicon. The M4 — Apple's in-house processor — replaced Intel across the entire Mac lineup starting with M1 in 2020. The shift changed everything: performance went up, power consumption went down, and the fan barely spins anymore even under heavy use.
The "world's highest resolution display" claim from 2014 is also no longer accurate for the iMac specifically — the current 24-inch model uses a 4.5K display rather than 5K, and the discontinued 27-inch model carried the 5K screen. But the quality of Apple's Retina displays has improved significantly beyond just pixel count — brightness, color accuracy, True Tone, and nano-texture glass options weren't part of the 2014 picture at all.
The Current iMac M4 — What You're Getting
The current iMac features a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and True Tone technology. Under the hood is the M4 chip with up to a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, and support for up to 32GB of unified memory.
The M4 delivers up to 1.7x faster CPU performance and a 3x faster Neural Engine compared to the M1. For context — the M1 was already significantly faster than the Intel processor in the 2014 iMac I wrote about. So the generational leap from 2014 to 2026 is enormous.
What's new in the M4 iMac:
The M4 iMac now starts with 16GB of unified memory as the base — a meaningful upgrade that makes the machine more capable out of the box for multitasking and modern workflows.
It includes a 12MP Center Stage camera — the webcam automatically keeps you centered during video calls — along with Touch ID, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and Thunderbolt 4 ports that can support up to two 6K external displays.
Apple Intelligence is now built in — an improved Siri, deep app integrations, and advanced writing tools powered by the Neural Engine. This is the AI layer that Apple has been building across its entire product line, and the M4 chip is powerful enough to run it locally on the device.
And the design — it comes in seven colors: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver, each paired with a color-matched Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse. In 2014 the iMac came in silver. Just silver.
Philippine Pricing in 2026
The 24-inch iMac M4 comes in two base configurations at iStore Philippines. The entry model — 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage — is currently on sale at ₱84,990 (regular price ₱98,990). The step-up model with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU starts from ₱96,990. The nano-texture glass option is priced at ₱109,990.
For Filipino buyers, this means the iMac is now within range of what many professionals — designers, content creators, video editors, architects — would consider a serious work investment. It's not impulse purchase territory. But it's also not the imported luxury item that the 2014 model felt like for most Filipinos at $2,499 plus import costs.
For those watching international prices — Japan currently offers the lowest price at around ₱80,792 after potential tax refunds. Vietnam and South Korea also offer lower prices than the Philippine retail price, which is worth knowing if you're traveling or have contacts abroad.
Authorized resellers like iStore and Abenson also offer installment plans. A base iMac at ₱84,990 over 24 months works out to roughly ₱3,541 per month — comparable to a mid-tier Android smartphone plan.
Is the iMac Worth It for Filipinos in 2026?
Honestly — it depends on what you do.
For graphic designers, video editors, content creators, architects, and developers — the iMac M4 is one of the most capable all-in-one machines available at this price point. The display quality alone is worth serious consideration for anyone doing color-critical work. The performance of Apple Silicon is genuine — not marketing.
For general office use — email, documents, spreadsheets, video calls — the iMac is overkill. A Mac mini with M4 starts lower and does the same everyday tasks just as well, just without the built-in display.
For students — worth evaluating against a MacBook Air M3 or M4, which offers similar performance in a portable form and starts lower.
The iMac is specifically worth it when you want the best all-in-one desktop experience, you need the large display, and you work in one place. Those three conditions together make it the right choice. Otherwise, there are better-value Apple options.
What It Feels Like to Look Back
I work in a government office. I use the tools available to me — Windows machines, free online tools, whatever gets the job done. The iMac I wrote about in 2014 was not something I was going to buy then, and the M4 iMac today is also not something I'm buying tomorrow. 😄
But I've always appreciated well-made technology. And looking at what the iMac has become — from the 5K Retina announcement in 2014 that genuinely excited me to write about, to an M4-powered AI-capable machine in seven colors available at iStore Philippines — it's a satisfying arc to trace.
The 2014 post had typos, machine-translated sentences, and called energy "vitality." This one is better. Both are honest. That's what this blog has always been — a record of someone paying attention to technology, from Surigao City, as it changes around him.
Mavs' Final Diagnosis
The iMac M4 is genuinely impressive hardware. If you're a creative professional in the Philippines who works at a desk and needs the best display and performance in an all-in-one form — it earns its price. If you're evaluating it for general use, compare it against the Mac mini first.
And if you're a Filipino blogger who wrote about the iMac in 2014 and is updating that post in 2026 — sometimes the best update is just acknowledging how much has changed, and writing it honestly. 🙏
Have you used an iMac — any generation — in the Philippines? Was it worth it for your workflow? Drop it in the comments.
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