When Apple’s all-new iMacs made their debut in late November, a super speedy Fusion Drive was only available as a build-to-order option with the 27-inch models. But that’s no longer the case. Over the weekend, Apple made the 1TB Fusion Drive an upgrade option for the entry-level 21.5-inch iMac, too.
Upgrading to the Fusion Drive when purchasing a new iMac is $250, raising the price of the base model 21.5-inch iMac from $1,299 to $1.549. It’s not cheap, then, but for the vast majority of users the speed improvements will be well worth it. If you’ve ever used a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with a solid-state drive, you’ll know what I mean.
The Fusion Drive isn’t exclusively a solid-state drive, of course; it combines an SSD with a traditional hard disk drive to give you the best of both worlds — speed and ample storage. Apple explains:
Fusion Drive combines 128GB of super fast flash storage with a traditional hard drive. It automatically and dynamically moves frequently used files to flash for quicker access. With Fusion Drive in your iMac, booting is up to 1.7 times faster, and copying files and importing photos are up to 3.5 times faster.* Over time, as the system learns how you work, Fusion Drive makes your Mac experience even better. All while letting you store your digital life on a traditional, roomy hard drive.
As things stand, 21.5-inch iMacs are shipping in 7-10 business days to those in the United States, while the 27-inch models take 3-4 weeks.
Source: Apple
