Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013) | AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | September 2013 | November 2024 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4570R, Intel Core i5-4570S or Intel Core i7-4770S | Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro |
| CPU cores | 4 | 10, 12 or 14 |
| CPU threads | 4 or 8 | – |
| Graphics | Intel Iris Pro Graphics 5200 or NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (1 GB GDDR5) | 10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU |
| AI engine (NPU) | – | 38 TOPS |
| Memory | 8 GB or 16 GB | 16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better) |
| Storage | 256 GB to 1 TB | 256 GB to 8 TB (better) |
| CPU | 2.7 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.2 GHz, or 2.9 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz; the upper configuration supports a 3.1 GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 3.9 GHz | 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 | Integrated Intel Iris Pro graphics on the 2.7 GHz configuration; NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB GDDR5 on the 2.9 GHz and optional Core i7 configurations | M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| AI engine | – | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory bandwidth | – | M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s |
| Memory type | 1600 MHz DDR3; 8 GB (two 4 GB modules), configurable to 16 GB (two 8 GB modules) at purchase; memory is not user-accessible | – |
| Storage type | 1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive; optional 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB or 512 GB flash storage on either base processor. Apple's launch notice confirms PCIe flash storage. | SSD |
| 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 | 21.5″ | None built in |
| Resolution | 1920 × 1080 | – |
| Panel | IPS LCD | – |
| Display type | LED-backlit display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours | – |
| Display features | Fully laminated glass and anti-reflective coating; Target Display Mode via a separately sold Thunderbolt cable. Apple does not publish brightness or refresh rate in the model's specification sheet. | – |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × Thunderbolt, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 1 | Up to 3 (better) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 | 5.3 |
| 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 | FaceTime HD | – |
| Back ports | Four USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt ports with Mini DisplayPort output, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone and optical digital audio output; Kensington lock slot. 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 | 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 | Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone | Built-in speaker |
| Microphones | Dual microphones | None built in |
| Keyboard and mouse | Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse; optional Magic Trackpad | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | All-in-one | Compact |
| Weight | 5.68 kg | 0.67 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 528 × 175 × 450 mm | 127 × 127 × 50 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was also available. | – |
| Power supply | 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power |
| Power use | – | M4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum |
| Noise | Apple's operator-position sound pressure: 12 dB at idle and during hard-drive access | 5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position) |
| Colours | – | Silver |
| Materials | Recyclable aluminium and glass enclosure; arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free LED backlight | – |
| 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) |
More comparisons
- Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)
- Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Framework Desktop (AMD Ryzen AI Max 300 Series)
- Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013) vs Apple iMac 24″ (M4)
- Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
- Apple iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

