Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)

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iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) compared with iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, 2017)	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	September 2003
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7360U	Motorola PowerPC G4 1 GHz (iMac USB 2.0)
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	1
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB (better)	80 GB to 160 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	1 GHz PowerPC G4 with 167 MHz system bus and 256 KB on-chip L2 cache; a generic maker-clock record avoids inferring a silicon revision.
GPU
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640; no discrete graphics option	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 4x support.
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4, configurable to 16 GB	256 MB PC2700 (333 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard; factory options 512 MB or 1 GB. One 184-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot.
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD	80 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, configurable to 160 GB; 32x Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive. Published memory and storage factory options are retained for the 1 GHz processor.
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. Exact maker sheet does not publish panel technology or refresh rate.
Display features
Display features	–	Typical viewing angles 120° horizontal and 90° vertical; articulated arm adjusts display 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 2.0 ports on the computer, up to 480 Mbps, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, headphone jack, Apple speaker minijack and audio line-in. AirPort Extreme 802.11g card and internal Bluetooth are optional.
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 on a VGA display or S-video/composite television through optional adapters. Output resolutions: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz.
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker and microphone, Apple Pro Speakers rated at 7 W each and internal 14 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 Keyboard, Apple Mouse, Apple Pro Speakers and modem cable.
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.	Maker adjustable ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
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 Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar and iLife, with productivity software and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. The retained sheet lists the later Mac OS X 10.3 Panther bundle. Maker launch confirms immediate availability on 8 September 2003.