The eighth-generation iMac was announced at the company’s late-October media event, where Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller called it, “the most beautiful iMac we have ever made.” Right on track, the 21.5-inch iMac is now available on the company’s online store and is also available across a slew of third party retail stores this afternoon. The 27-inch model will ship starting in 2-3 weeks in the US and Canada while overseas (Australia/EUare 15-19 days) you are looking at up to 20 days, making a Christmas deliveries tight.
Apple makes the 21.5-inch iMac available in two versions. The 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 model (Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz) is available for $1,299, featuring 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 memory, 1 TB (5400-rpm) hard drive, and a NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics processor with 512MB of GDDR5 memory. The 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 model (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) is available for $1,499, featuring similar specs, except a 1TB (5400-rpm) hard drive that can be configured into a Fusion Drive. All models feature a 5mm edge, edge-to-edge glass, LED-backlit display with IPS technology, a FaceTime HD camera, dual mics, four USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt ports, OS X Mountain Lion, Bluetooth 4.0, and more.