Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

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iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) compared with Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, 2017)	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	November 2024
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7360U	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	10, 12 or 14
CPU threads
CPU threads	4	–
Graphics
Graphics	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
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	M4: 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores; M4 Pro: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640; no discrete graphics option	M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 2133 MHz DDR4, configurable to 16 GB	–
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, configurable to 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD	SSD
Media engine
Media engine	–	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	–
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.	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	5.3
Front ports
Front ports	–	2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
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.	M4: 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; M4 Pro: 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 4 and DisplayPort; HDMI with multichannel audio output; Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), configurable to 10Gb Ethernet
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	M4: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or two (one at up to 5K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz); M4 Pro: up to three at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI, or two (one at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz)
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	None built in
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	–
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Compact
Weight
Weight	5.44 kg	0.67 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	127 × 127 × 50 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.	–
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	–	M4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum
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	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
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.	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)