Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Apple store is now stocking refurbished 2017 27-inch iMacs

27-inch iMacs
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Apple has now begun selling refurbished 2017 27-inch iMacs on its web store, marking the first time fans have been able to get their hands on one of these all-in-one systems from an official channel without buying new. Although all of them pack Intel Core i5 CPUs, there are options for memory and graphics chip, at prices that offer decent savings over new models.

Although Apple hardware regularly lands at the top of our lists for reliability, like any electronics range, there are occasional problems. When those crop up, Apple often refurbishes them and packages them back up for resale and that’s where you can really save some money if you want to buy Apple without the high price tag.

There are a lot of different refurbished models available through Apple’s online store, but this is the first time that the 2017 iMacs have been put up for sale there. Priced between $1,530 and $1,950 depending on your selection of hardware, there is plenty of choice across the range, but all of them come with significant savings over buying new. As MacRumors reports, with the right choice you could save yourself upwards of $300.

If you have a particular model in mind though, you’ll want to get in there soon, as stock will fluctuate once people begin buying them up. At the time of writing, there are only a handful available, though you do have your pick of a few different configurations. The lowest cost version comes with the standard 27-inch, 5K retina display, powered by a Core i5 CPU at 3.4GHz, 8GB of DDR4 memory and a Radeon Pro 570 graphics chip. Storage-wise it offers 1TB of hard drive space with some flash cache storage.

If you have deeper pockets, you could opt for the 3.8GHz model. It still uses a Core i5 chip, but has a higher clock speed and a more powerful Radeon Pro 580 with 8GB of video memory. It also comes with an expanded 2TB of storage space.

There are a few intermediary models with different clock speeds, some offering 16GB of system RAM, too. Be wary when looking to buy any of them, however. The new iMac models are listed alongside much older variants from 2015 and even 2014. As good as those were, their internal hardware will offer much less bang for your buck.

Editors' Recommendations

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
A new iMac Pro could still launch. Here’s what I want from it
An Apple iMac Pro in a dark room flanked by two monitors, one on either side of it.

A week ago, a shocking report emerged: Apple apparently had no plans for a larger iMac, potentially meaning the iMac Pro was dead and buried. However, opposition voices soon emerged, and the consensus now seems to be that Apple has only ruled out the 27-inch iMac, not the idea of a larger all-in-one entirely.

In fact, just yesterday, Bloomberg Mark Gurman reiterated his previous claims that a larger iMac is still in the works. That’s an exciting rumor because I’ve felt for years that the iMac isn’t quite living up to its potential. If a larger, more powerful version really is still in development, it could be a seriously impressive device. Here’s everything I want to see from it.
More raw power

Read more
Apple just dashed our iMac hopes and dreams
The back of a silver iMac in an office.

Apple has confirmed it has no plans to release a 27-inch iMac in the immediate future. The news comes on the same day that reviews for Apple's 24-inch iMac M3 and MacBook Pro M3 went live, with the company urging pro users who had been waiting for a 27-inch iMac update to go with a Mac Studio or Mac Pro instead.

An Apple representative confirmed that a 27-inch iMac with Apple silicon won't be arriving soon to The Verge. Apple last updated the 27-inch iMac in 2020, just a few months before Apple silicon was released to the world. It never saw Apple Silicon, instead being stuck on older Intel chips. Apple discontinued the product in 2021, eventually delisting it the next year.

Read more
Shopping at Apple this holiday season? You should know this
A man checks his phone in an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal.

If you splash out on an Apple product during the upcoming holiday season -- whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Mac, smartwatch, earbuds, or some other item -- then it’s important to know the terms and conditions in the event that you want to return it.

For most of the year, Apple offers a refund if you return an unwanted item within two weeks of buying it. But during the hectic holiday season when we might be away or busy with friends and family, it usually extends the period to make the returns process more convenient.

Read more