iMac 27" (Late 2009)

Announced October 20, 2009, the Late 2009 iMac refresh introduced something genuinely new to the lineup: a massive 27-inch display option alongside the existing 21.5-inch model, giving Apple's all-in-one desktop by far the largest screen it had ever offered and, at the time, one of the largest and highest-resolution displays available on any mainstream consumer computer, at 2560x1440 resolution, a specification that wouldn't feel dated for years. This generation also marked the iMac's move to Intel's brand-new Nehalem-based Core i5 and Core i7 processors, making it the first quad-core iMac ever sold and a striking leap in multi-threaded performance for video editing, photo work, and increasingly common multitasking-heavy workflows, compared to the previous Core 2 Duo iMacs. The chassis itself received a refined, slightly re-profiled unibody aluminum enclosure with a black bezel surrounding the display rather than the earlier aluminum-bordered screen, a design choice that made the massive 27-inch panel feel more like a floating window and less like a slab, and one that would define the iMac's core look for years afterward. Reviewers were extremely impressed by the sheer scale and quality of the 27-inch display, widely calling it a legitimate alternative to buying a separate high-end external monitor, while some early buyers reported a 'yellow tint' display manufacturing issue on a subset of 27-inch panels that Apple eventually addressed through a repair and replacement program, a genuine quirk that dented an otherwise glowing reception. Target buyers ranged from creative professionals who wanted a single machine that doubled as a genuinely excellent external display for other computers via the new Mini DisplayPort target-display-mode feature, to families and power users simply wanting the biggest, best all-in-one Apple had ever made. Its combination of a huge, gorgeous display and genuine quad-core performance made this the iMac generation that convinced many prosumers the iMac had graduated from 'nice family computer' into a legitimate professional creative workstation for editing photos and video, a reputation the 27-inch iMac would carry and build upon for years, right through its Retina 5K successors. It stands today as one of the most fondly remembered iMac generations, a genuine turning point where scale and power finally arrived together in Apple's all-in-one.