Apple unveils new super-svelte 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMac models

Apple has announced a new version of the iMac with a completely revamped design that ditches the optical drive, but has an edge that's only 5mm thick.

Apple has announced a new stunningly, slim iMac in two sizes – one with a 27-inch display and one with a 21.5-inch display.

The new iMac is 80 percent thinner than the last model with a 5mm edge. Apparently this incredibly trim form factor is thanks to something called “friction stir welding.” The display comes in two sizes: The 27-inch model has a 2560 x 1440 pixel resolution, and the 21.5-inch model has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.  There’s a 178-degree viewing angle and over 300 nits of brightness (that’s really bright). It’s also fully laminated so it’s less reflective. It’s not a Retina display, but it looks good.

This svelte all-in-one is sporting a built-in FaceTime HD camera (720p), dual microphones, and left and right speakers. The specs make it a tempting proposition. The 21.5-inch model comes with a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i5 with 8GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 640M, and a 1TB HDD for $1,300. The 27-inch model has a 2.9GHz quad-core Core i5 with 8GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 660M, and a 1TB HDD for $1,800.

There’s a 128GB of flash storage and 1TB or 3TB of HDD storage in the form of an Apple Fusion Drive. You get the speed benefits of SSD and bags of space for file storage in this hybrid drive. Core apps and the OS remain on the SSD for fast launching and documents and files will go on the HDD. It can even switch your most used apps on to the SSD to maximize speed and performance.

There are also 4 USB 3.0 ports, a headphone port, SD card slot, Gigabit Ethernet port, and two Thunderbolt ports. Naturally, it comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. It is also energy efficient and Apple claims it uses 50 percent less power than its predecessor when idling.

It’s been a while since Apple updated the iMac line. The iMac is the best-selling desktop model in the US, according to Apple. There have now been seven generations of iMac. The last one came out in May 2011 so this new version will be a welcome release for many.

The smaller iMac ships in November, the larger model will start shipping in December.