iFixit Teardown of New 21.5-Inch 4K iMac Reveals DCI-P3 Display, Empty Solder Pads

Earlier today, iFixit conducted a teardown the new Magic Keyboard, Magic Trackpad 2 and Magic Mouse 2. They've now followed that up with a teardown of the brand new 21.5-inch 4K iMac, and while the majority of the insides are the same as last year's model, there are some notable differences.

new4kimacteardownFirst, the teardown found that the new iMac's 4K display is manufactured by LG. The new display is DCI-P3, which features a wider color gamut than the more standard sRGB. The new iMac is one of the few devices that allows consumers to experience the new display technology.

Apple has also removed the empty PCIe SSD slot that was featured in the late 2013 iMac, which means that do-it-yourself upgraders won't be able to upgrade their machine easily. In 2012, Apple featured empty solder pads where the SSD slot would go, but in 2013 added an empty SSD slot. iFixit notes that users who want to add a Fusion Drive will either have to configure it at purchase or solder it on themselves.

Overall, iFixit gave the new 21.5-inch iMac a repairability score of 1 out of 10, which means that the new desktop computer is extremely difficult to repair. Like other iMacs, the soldered-on CPU, logic board and fused-together glass and Retina Display contribute to how difficult the new desktop is to repair.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Next Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday December 23, 2025 8:36 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another nine months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models. The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID Front camera in...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...

Top Rated Comments

trifid Avatar
133 months ago
ifixit have to fork out the $$ for their deconstruction machines as they are not getting any more (I think) thanks to their breaking of an Apple NDA a few weeks ago. Serves them right. Apple should come down on NDA breakers and make them wish they were never born. I would have taken ifixit to court if I was Apple. ifixit got off lightly with only their dev account banned.
What ifixit did was stupid and I was surprised to see them being so unprofessional and irresponsible. However, I wouldn't want to wish them bad, nor to have a multi-billion company like Apple squash them out of the earth. I've been enjoying iFixit's work for many years, it's invaluable for anyone trying to upgrade/fix their own stuff, and I don't think there are many other great sites.
Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)
newdeal Avatar
133 months ago
the iMac has been an abomination ever since they dropped the superdrive and made it appear to be thinner without really being thinner.

No idea why they make the cpu faster year after year when for most people putting in an SSD and using a crap cpu would be a better experience
Score: 58 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pezkiln Avatar
133 months ago
Isn't this the same iFixit that lied and broke their NDA in order to get advertising clicks, and then tried to blame their lazily-ignored and non-updated app on Apple's software and accused iOS of having bugs which broke it? Sorry, but I am forced to give them a respectability score of 1 out of 10, which means whatever trust I had in their opinion is extremely difficult to repair.
Yeah, I doubt anyone cares whether you trust them or not.
Score: 47 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NY Guitarist Avatar
133 months ago
Love the iMac, hate that Apple is continuing down the road of making their products un-upgradable.

Apple products are essentially just disposable now.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trifid Avatar
133 months ago
"Apple has also removed the empty PCIe SSD slot that was featured in the late 2013 iMac, which means that do-it-yourself upgraders won't be able to upgrade their machine easily." "...iFixit notes that users who want to add a Fusion Drive will either have to configure it at purchase or solder it on themselves."

Solder a hard drive? Are you fricking kidding me? Just when we thought the 5400rpm fiasco couldn't get any worse, wow just wow.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikhsub1 Avatar
133 months ago
LOL @ everyone bashing ifixit - they do the apple community a service. You act like they peed in your corn flakes.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)