Apple Online Store Offering Refurbished Current-Generation 21" iMac, Shipping in 1-3 Days

Apple has added refurbished models of the current-generation 21.5" iMac to its Online Store in the past several days, offering a faster-shipping alternative to customers looking to get a desktop Mac.

New iMac models on the Apple Online Store list a lead time of several weeks to get delivered, while the refurbished models claim to ship in 1-3 days, with $200 and $230 discounts on the low- and high-end 21" models respectively.

imac
Apple Retail Stores list mid-March as the earliest time to pick up new 21" iMacs ordered online, but Amazon.com claims to have both 21" models in stock [$1,299 and $1,494] and eligible for Amazon Prime shipping.

Ship times on the 21.5" iMac rose to 2-3 weeks back in January, and have not improved since then. Tim Cook mentioned on Apple's earnings call in January that the company would increase iMac supply this quarter, but may not get to supply/demand balance.

27" iMac models have yet to appear on the refurbished store, with the company reporting a 3-4 week lead time online and late March for in-store pickup. Amazon has the base 27" model in stock for $1,799.

Popular Stories

Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Johny Srouji

Apple's Chipmaking Chief Johny Srouji Responds to Report About Him Potentially Leaving

Monday December 8, 2025 9:23 am PST by
Apple's chipmaking chief Johny Srouji has reportedly indicated that he plans to continue working for the company for the foreseeable future. "I love my team, and I love my job at Apple, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," said Srouji, in a memo obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Here is Srouji's full memo, as shared by Bloomberg:I know you've been reading all kind of rumors and...
google pixel 10

Switching Between iPhone and Android Will Get Easier With New Apple and Google Collaboration

Monday December 8, 2025 11:10 am PST by
Apple and Google are teaming up to make it easier for users to switch between iPhone and Android smartphones, according to 9to5Google. There is a new Android Canary build available today that simplifies data transfer between two smartphones, and Apple is going to implement the functionality in an upcoming iOS 26 beta. Apple already has a Move to iOS app for transferring data from an Android...
Apple Fitness Plus expansion hero

Apple Fitness+ Coming to 28 New Regions With Digital Voice Dubbing

Monday December 8, 2025 6:19 am PST by
Apple today announced that Fitness+ is expanding to 28 new markets on December 15 in the service's largest international rollout since launch, accompanied by new language dubbing and a K-Pop music genre. Apple Fitness+ will become available in Chile, Hong Kong, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, and additional regions on December 15, with Japan scheduled to follow early next year....
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...

Top Rated Comments

NutsNGum Avatar
167 months ago
i.e. All returns from users that bought them and realised 5400rpm drives are, nowadays, total crap.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Samurai Avatar
167 months ago
i.e. All returns from users that bought them and realised 5400rpm drives are, nowadays, total crap.

Wrong.

Returns from users who thought the thinness would make an impact on their lives. :D
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HenryDJP Avatar
167 months ago
i.e. All returns from users that bought them and realised 5400rpm drives are, nowadays, total crap.

I just love ridiculous posts like this. Gotta love MR for thinking they are Apple's only customers. :rolleyes:. Did it ever occur to anyone here that the majority of Apple's customers, maybe, just maybe, are normal everyday people that aren't geeks, they don't give a rats butt about a 5400rpm drive or the GPU, or the SSD vs. the Fusion drive or the fact that screen is molded together? PUULLEESE! Get over yourselves. Maybe these people decided to upgrade to the 27". Oh yeah, that's a thought? :p. I'll bet more people that don't frequent here telling of all their returns/exchanges are getting work done on their iMacs. ;)
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
danr_97070 Avatar
167 months ago
No welded Macs for me...

Weld this!

Since they started welding things shut, I won't be buying another iMac.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jav6454 Avatar
167 months ago
Adopters are not impressed I see.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NutsNGum Avatar
167 months ago
Obviously the jump from 5400rpm to SSD is huge but is the jump from 5400 to 7200 that big? I've always used a 5400rpm drive but maybe I've been missing out.

Depends on the drive, but for Apple not to be offering Fusion Drive from the get-go is a complete d*bag move whatever way you look at it.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)