Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)

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iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) compared with iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, 2017)	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	January 2002
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7360U	Motorola PowerPC G4 700 MHz (iMac Flat Panel) or Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB (better)	40 GB to 60 GB
CPU
CPU	2.3 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz; Geekbench identifies the exact processor as Core i5-7360U	700 or 800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; an uncertain silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640; no discrete graphics option	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 2x support.
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4, configurable to 16 GB	SDRAM, expandable to 1 GB, with one 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Launch CD-RW base: 128 MB; Combo and SuperDrive bases: 256 MB. Configurations conservatively show those published bases and the maker's maximum.
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD	Launch combinations: 700 MHz with CD-RW and 40 GB hard drive; 700 MHz with Combo drive and 40 GB; 800 MHz with SuperDrive and 60 GB. Optical options on the 700 MHz model account for its different base memory. Drives use Ultra ATA. Combo reads DVDs and writes CDs; SuperDrive writes DVDs and CDs.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	15″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080 (better)	1024 × 768
Brightness
Brightness	–	200 nits
Display type
Display type	21.5-inch LED-backlit display; 1920 × 1080 with support for millions of colours. Apple does not identify the panel technology, native refresh rate or brightness in its specification sheet; Retina model display figures do not apply.	TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast. Panel technology and refresh rate are not established by the exact maker sheet.
Display features
Display features	–	Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated arm adjusts the display's height and angle.
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s (better)	0.1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	–
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	–
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB-A ports, two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5 mm headphone jack and Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt 3 supports DisplayPort, up to 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt and up to 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 Gen 2; Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require adapters.	Three USB 1.1 ports on the computer, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, headphone jack and Apple speaker minijack. Original AirPort 802.11b card is optional; wireless networking is not standard.
External displays
External displays	Built-in display at native resolution alongside one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with one billion colours, two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours	Mini-VGA provides video mirroring through an optional VGA adapter: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. The original model does not list S-video or composite output.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker and microphone; selected configurations include Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each with an internal 18 W amplifier.
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Lightning to USB cable and polishing cloth; configurable with Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad or Magic Trackpad	Apple Pro Keyboard and Apple Pro Mouse; Apple Pro Speakers are included with the Combo and SuperDrive launch configurations.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	5.44 kg (better)	9.7 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was available.	Adjustable maker ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. The reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so no single fixed-position dimension is selected.
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W.
Noise
Noise	Apple reports operator-position sound pressure of 11 dB at idle and during wireless web, and 12 dB during hard-drive seek, tested on the Core i5 with 8 GB memory and 1 TB hard drive	–
Materials
Materials	Aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free display glass; mercury-, BFR- and beryllium-free with regional exceptions for PVC-free power leads	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, Lightning to USB cable, polishing cloth and power lead. Apple's current support page describes the later macOS Big Sur release.	Launch software: Mac OS X 10.1.2 and Mac OS 9.2.2, with iTunes, iMovie and iPhoto; iDVD requires SuperDrive. The 800 MHz SuperDrive configuration was stated to ship in late January 2002, the 700 MHz Combo in February and CD-RW in March. The release month records the first configuration, not the 7 January announcement.