Best Buy Selling New Entry-Level iMac for $830 With EDU Discount - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Best Buy Selling New Entry-Level iMac for $830 With EDU Discount

Best Buy is now offering the new entry-level iMac for $979.99, a $120 discount off its standard price of $1099. Combined with the recent educational discount that takes an additional $150 off the price of Apple iMacs and MacBooks, the new iMac model can be purchased by qualifying customers for just $829.99.

best_buy_imac_829
While the $980 sale price is available to all customers until June 28, the extra $150 discount is part of Best Buy's current College Student Deals that run until July 12. You need a valid .edu email address and must sign up at Best Buy's website to be eligible for the extra student discount on all iMac and MacBook models.

The new entry-level 21.5-inch iMac includes a 1.4GHz dual-core Intel i5 processor, a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of memory, and an Intel HD 5000 Graphics chip. The new iMac ships with the same ultra-low voltage Intel processor used in the current MacBook Air and scores similarly on benchmarks.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner of Best Buy.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

m3 imac

Apple Reportedly Planning to Launch iMac With OLED Display

Monday March 30, 2026 4:59 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch an iMac featuring an OLED panel with higher brightness, according to ZDNet Korea. Apple has apparently requested that Samsung Display, LG Display, and other suppliers produce 24-inch OLED panel samples suitable for a future iMac model using their mass-production facilities. This would be the biggest ever OLED display offered on an Apple device. Specifically,...
Apple iMac M4 hero feature

Apple's Next Big iMac Upgrade Revealed

Tuesday April 14, 2026 8:48 am PDT by
Apple's next major iMac upgrade will be an OLED panel, according to ZDNet Korea, though it won't arrive until 2029 or 2030. Apple has apparently asked Samsung Display, LG Display, and other suppliers to produce 24-inch OLED panel samples on their mass-production lines, targeting 600 nits of brightness and around 218 pixels-per-inch (PPI). The current iMac's 24-inch LCD offers 500 nits at the ...
macOS 27 on MacBook Pro

macOS 27 Will Mark the End of an Era

Saturday April 18, 2026 6:45 am PDT by
During its Platforms State of the Union segment at WWDC 2025, Apple revealed that macOS 26 Tahoe is the final major macOS version for Intel-based Macs. The upcoming macOS 27 release will be compatible with Apple silicon Macs only, meaning that you will need a Mac with an M-series chip or a MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro chip in order to install the software update. macOS 27 should be available...

Top Rated Comments

peglegjack Avatar
154 months ago
$830 makes far more sense for those specs.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
osofast240sx Avatar
154 months ago
I completely agree. Macworld did a benchmark on the entry level machine. No way that thing should retail anywhere near $1100. Get it with a Fusion drive, there may be value at $1100. Otherwise this would be a poor value proposition at $1100. At $7-800, it makes more sense.

Macworld benchmark:
http://www.macworld.com/article/2366147/lab-tested-new-21-inch-1-4ghz-core-i5-imac-benchmarks.html
I don't see how benchmarks even apply to entry-level product like this when the target consumer is not even going to care or would even notice the difference. This product would most likely be faster than what they had and without the viruses.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dj64Mk7 Avatar
154 months ago
Doesn't this model use the same processor as the MacBook Air? That would make the MBA a better deal, right?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
154 months ago
Doesn't this model use the same processor as the MacBook Air? That would make the MBA a better deal, right?

Potentially, but this comes with more storage space (albeit at the cost of a sluggish HDD), a little more RAM than the base MBA and a 21.5" display -- the latter of which the MBA definitely doesn't have :D

Still overpriced for what it is, though.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mattsasa Avatar
154 months ago
Tempted to buy one of these from best buy for $830.

Then sell it for $1000+ on eBay
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
154 months ago
MSRP is now the "standard price." And you heard it here first.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)