# Apple iMac 118 Hacker News commenters recommended Apple iMac and 80 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 8 years (22 owners). **Verdict:** An attractive all-in-one Mac that sets up easily, lasts for years and has an excellent display, though critics say a laptop plus monitor is better value. ## Why people recommend it - Reliable, zero-hassle setup (7 comments): "Pretty unbreakable ux wise, reliably sleeps with little power draw and wakes up quickly without them questioning if it's broken." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50260853)) "Their target user will pay 1700 and have an incredible machine that does literally everything they want" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50264247)) "zero config, bonjour discovery, download apps from the app store, for me it looks like a total winner" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49844914)) - Attractive design and colors (5 comments): "This is the good kind of design - making something appear beautiful without compromising the core function." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50244773)) "The colours are a nice touch though I wish they’d bring back a little more whimsy into the designs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50260941)) "And sometimes having something that looks nice and clean and colorful brings you joy." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50264211)) - Lasts many years (4 comments): "my 2009 iMac 27" is still alive, occassionally requiring that cable's usage; a more-powerful 15" MBP can then use it as its main display" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50274299)) "Put an SSD and appropriate OS in these old machines and you'll be shocked at how fast they are." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50274432)) "given how long they used their old iMac for (about 6-7 years), I wouldn't hesitate to say yes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50270140)) - Excellent built-in display (4 comments): "you couldn't really get a 5K screen of that quality for any reasonable cost. It made it actually useful." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50262120)) "had a nice IPS panel display and was better to watch things on than most flat panel TVs from that era" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49882797)) "it's by far the best quality matte finish I've ever seen and I would buy it again" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45781140)) ## What people warn about - Laptop plus monitor better value (2 comments): "Apple's laptops have gotten so good there's practically no reason to buy a computer from them that you can't take on the go." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50260840)) "outside of that, I’d rather have a laptop and a nice monitor - way better bang for your buck imo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50267319)) - Older models lose software support (2 comments): "The hardware works impeccably, but software developers refuse to lift a finger to make their software run on them anymore." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50265980)) "the software is stuck on some version of macOS from years ago and so more and more applications are refusing to install." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48335935)) - Screen stuck at 24 inches (2 comments): "once the old 27" iMacs were discontinued there was no simple inexpensive way of having displays larger than 24"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50268544)) "Still 24 inch screen in 2026. You can get a 27 inch panel for far less than a stick of ram these days." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50259748)) - Can't be used as monitor (2 comments): "Without target display mode (use the Mac as a monitor), I'm ditching a perfectly good monitor." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49434637)) "They'd probably achieve more just by putting HDMI, DisplayPort and Target Display Mode into their monitors and iMacs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47793088)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Apple iMac 5K](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-imac-5k.md): 6 recommend - [iMac Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/imac-pro.md): 5 recommend ## Where to get it - [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Apple+iMac&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link) - [Official site](https://www.apple.com/imac/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Apple iMac", https://hackerapproved.com/p/imac/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).