21.5-inch 4K iMac’s RAM And CPU Are Upgradeable

Several years ago with older iMac iterations, Apple would sort of allow users to upgrade the RAM on their computers themselves thanks to a small removable panel on the back that gave them access to the computer’s RAM. This meant that users would be able to buy RAM upgrades at cheaper price points than what Apple was offering.

That changed with the newer iMacs, but it seems that Apple could have a change of heart. At WWDC 2017, Apple unveiled upgraded 21.5-inch 4K iMac models, which on the surface wasn’t too exciting. However thanks to the folks at iFixit, they have discovered in their teardown of the computer that this particular iMac is the most upgradeable iMac in recent times.

According to iFixit, they note that while accessing the innards of the computer isn’t particularly easy, but not impossible. “Again, this isn’t the most accessible thing in the world—it’s flipped onto the backside of the logic board, trapped behind a lot of other components, and buried under a glued-down pane of glass—but for the first time in years it’s possible to replace or upgrade the CPU without a reflow station, and that’s a big win.”

It still isn’t quite the same as older iMacs where upgrading the RAM was pretty much a plug-and-play situation, but it should make it easier for repair stores, so if you wanted an iMac that could be upgraded, perhaps the 2017 21.5-inch 4K iMac could be for you.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Computers
Tags: iMac