Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) compared with Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2012	November 2024
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-3330S, Intel Core i5-3470S or Intel Core i7-3770S	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	10, 12 or 14
CPU threads
CPU threads	4 or 8	–
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M (512 MB GDDR5) or NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M (512 MB GDDR5)	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	1 TB	256 GB to 8 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.	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	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	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	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″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	–
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours	–
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	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt, 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 1	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11n	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	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 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	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 external display up to 2560 × 1600; extended desktop and video mirroring	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	Dual microphones	None built in
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse; Magic Trackpad available as a configuration option	–
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Compact
Weight
Weight	5.68 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	–
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	–	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
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	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)