Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) compared with iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2015	June 2014
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5250U or Intel Core i5-5575R	Intel Core i5-4260U
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	2
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6000 or Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	Intel HD Graphics 5000
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	8 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	256 GB to 1 TB
CPU
CPU	1.6 GHz dual-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz or 2.8 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.3 GHz; Geekbench identifies the processors as Core i5-5250U and Core i5-5575R, respectively	1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz and 3 MB shared L3 cache; Ars Technica identifies the exact processor as Core i5-4260U
GPU
GPU	Intel HD Graphics 6000 in the 1.6 GHz model and Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 in the 2.8 GHz model; no discrete graphics option	Integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000
Memory type
Memory type	8 GB of 1867 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory, configurable to 16 GB; soldered memory cannot be upgraded after purchase (Expert Reviews and Alphr)	8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory; no memory configuration or upgrade option
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive on both models; the 1.6 GHz model can have a 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD, and the 2.8 GHz model can have a 1 TB or 2 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB SSD. Apple specifies 24 GB of flash for the 1 TB Fusion Drive and 128 GB for the 2 TB Fusion Drive.	500 GB 5400-rpm hard drive; configurable to a 1 TB hard drive, 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256 GB PCIe-based flash storage
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	21.5″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	1920 × 1080
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Display type
Display type	21.5-inch LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 1920 × 1080 with support for millions of colours. This is the non-Retina model.	LED-backlit display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours
Display features
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
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 1
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	4.0
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB 3 ports, two Thunderbolt 2 ports with Mini DisplayPort output, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, headphone and optical digital audio output; Kensington lock slot. HDMI, DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI need separately sold adapters.	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.
External displays
External displays	Built-in display at native resolution alongside one external display up to 3840 × 2160 on the 1.6 GHz model or 4096 × 2304 on the 2.8 GHz model; extended desktop and video mirroring	Built-in display at native resolution alongside one external display up to 2560 × 1600; extended desktop and video mirroring
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Dual microphones
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Lightning to USB cable; optional Magic Trackpad 2	Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse; optional Magic Trackpad
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	5.68 kg	5.68 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	528 × 175 × 450 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, but its listed height in inches conflicts with the metric value and is omitted.	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Noise
Noise	Apple reports operator-position sound pressure of 11.5 dB at idle and during wireless web, and 12 dB during hard-drive seek, tested on the 1.6 GHz Core i5 with 8 GB memory and 1 TB hard drive	Apple's operator-position sound pressure is 11 dB at idle, during hard-drive seek and during its wireless-web test
Materials
Materials	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free LED backlight; speaker enclosures contain 35 percent post-consumer recycled plastic	Recyclable aluminium and glass enclosure; arsenic-free display glass and mercury-free LED backlight
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, Lightning to USB cable and power lead; OS X El Capitan at launch. The support sheet's macOS Sierra wording reflects a later software update.	iMac, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse and power lead; OS X Mavericks and the listed iLife apps were included