Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Early 2013) vs Apple iMac 24″ (M3)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Early 2013) compared with iMac 24″ (M3)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Early 2013)	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	March 2013	November 2023
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i3 3.3 GHz (iMac Early 2013)	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	8
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	4 GB	8 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	500 GB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	3.3 GHz dual-core Core i3 confirmed by the US maker education price list and contemporary Apple-store coverage. A conflicting New York state price-list row says 3.1 GHz; the corroborated US maker row is used. Exact secondary EveryMac identifies i3-3225, but the chip record retains the maker clock name.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 4000, sharing system memory; maker price list confirms the graphics model.	8-core GPU (two-port model) or 10-core GPU (four-port models); hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	100GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	4 GB in two 2 GB modules confirmed by the maker price list; 1600 MHz DDR3 and internal-only memory access according to EveryMac. Secondary reports of higher memory options are not expanded into an unverified factory matrix.	–
Storage type
Storage type	500 GB hard drive confirmed by the maker price list; EveryMac specifies 5400 rpm Serial ATA. No built-in optical drive. Unspecified alternative storage capacities are omitted.	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″	24″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	4480 × 2520 (better)
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	–	60 Hz
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 nits
Display type
Display type	EveryMac specifies an IPS LED-backlit display with laminated cover glass and antireflective coating. No retained exact maker technical sheet was found; panel technology comes from this named exact-model secondary source. Brightness and refresh rate are unpublished.	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	218 ppi
Display features
Display features	–	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × USB-A, 2 × Thunderbolt, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack	2 × USB4, headphone jack
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 1
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n (EveryMac)	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0 (EveryMac)	5.3
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD camera (EveryMac)	1080p FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	According to EveryMac: four USB 3 ports, two first-generation Thunderbolt ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet and headphone/optical digital output with iPhone headset microphone support.	Two-port model: 2 × Thunderbolt / USB 4 with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s), Gigabit Ethernet optional; four-port models add 2 × USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s) and Gigabit Ethernet as standard; 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
External displays
External displays	–	One at up to 6K 60Hz
Camera
Camera	–	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in stereo speakers and dual microphones, according to EveryMac.	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	–	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Wired Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and traditional Apple Mouse, according to EveryMac.	Magic Keyboard (two-port model) or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (four-port models), and Magic Mouse; Magic Trackpad or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad available instead
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	–	4.43 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	547 × 147 × 461 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	–	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)
Colours
Colours	–	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple
In the box
In the box	Education-only model confirmed by Apple documentation. Maker price list confirms the stock 3.3 GHz/4 GB/500 GB configuration; other detailed figures come from the named exact-model EveryMac source. March 2013 month precision follows contemporary Apple-store coverage and maker pricing; initial orders quoted 5–7 business days, not confirmed delivery on 5 March.	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable