Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) vs Apple iMac 24″ (M3)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) compared with iMac 24″ (M3)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)	AppleiMac 24″ (M3)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2012	November 2023
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-3330S, Intel Core i5-3470S or Intel Core i7-3770S	Apple M3
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	8
CPU threads
CPU threads	4 or 8	–
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M (512 MB GDDR5) or NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (512 MB GDDR5)	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	8 GB or 24 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	1 TB	256 GB to 2 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	2.7 GHz quad-core Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz), or 2.9 GHz quad-core Core i5 (up to 3.6 GHz); the 2.9 GHz model can be configured with a 3.1 GHz quad-core Core i7 (up to 3.9 GHz). iFixit's teardown identifies the base processor as i5-3330S; Geekbench reports i5-3335S on other units, an unresolved component suffix difference.	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M on the 2.7 GHz configuration, or GT 650M on the 2.9 GHz and optional Core i7 configurations; each has 512 MB GDDR5	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	1600 MHz DDR3; 8 GB (two 4 GB modules), configurable to 16 GB (two 8 GB modules) at purchase. Memory access requires dismantling the computer.	–
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive; the upper 2.9 GHz configuration and its Core i7 option support a 1 TB Fusion Drive. This matrix follows Apple's published specification sheet; Ars Technica later reported Fusion Drive becoming available on the 2.7 GHz model.	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	LED-backlit display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches
Pixel density
Pixel density	–	218 ppi
Display features
Display features	Fully laminated glass with anti-reflective coating; Apple does not publish brightness or refresh rate in the model's specification sheet	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB4, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	–
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 1
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.3
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	1080p FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt ports with Mini DisplayPort output, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone and optical digital audio output; DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI need separately sold adapters	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	Built-in display at native resolution alongside one external display up to 2560 × 1600; extended desktop and video mirroring	One at up to 6K 60Hz
Camera
Camera	–	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse; Magic Trackpad available as a configuration option	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	5.68 kg	4.43 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	547 × 147 × 461 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	–
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)
Colours
Colours	–	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver; four-port models also Yellow, Orange, Purple
Materials
Materials	Recyclable aluminium and glass enclosure; arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free LED backlight	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse and power lead; OS X Mountain Lion and iLife were included at launch	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C to Lightning Cable