Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple iMac Pro (2017)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) compared with iMac Pro (2017)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)	AppleiMac Pro (2017)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2015	December 2017
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5250U or Intel Core i5-5575R	Intel Xeon W-2140B, Intel Xeon W-2150B, Intel Xeon W-2170B or Intel Xeon W-2191B
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	8, 10, 14 or 18
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6000 or Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	Radeon Pro Vega 56 (8 GB HBM2), Radeon Pro Vega 64 (16 GB HBM2) or Radeon Pro Vega 64X (16 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB or 256 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB	1 TB to 4 TB (better)
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	Xeon W at 3.2 GHz with 8 cores (Turbo Boost 4.2 GHz), 3.0 GHz with 10 cores (4.5 GHz), 2.5 GHz with 14 cores (4.3 GHz) or 2.3 GHz with 18 cores (4.3 GHz). Exact W-B CPU identities follow Geekbench. The 8/10-core versions launched first; Macworld reports later January 2018 availability for 14/18-core options. Apple changed the standard configuration to 10 cores in August 2020.
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	Radeon Pro Vega 56 with 8 GB HBM2, optionally Vega 64 or Vega 64X with 16 GB HBM2. Vega 64X is a later option included in Apple’s current specification sheet, absent from the launch reviews.
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)	Quad-channel 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC; 32 GB standard, configurable to 64/128/256 GB. The current maker sheet includes the later 256 GB option; launch reviews cover up to 128 GB. No user-accessible memory door.
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.	1 TB SSD, configurable to 2 or 4 TB
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	5120 × 2880 (better)
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	–	500 nits
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 Retina 5K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac. Native refresh rate omitted because Apple does not publish it in the specification sheet.
Display features
Display features	–	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	4 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	10 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 4 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	5.0
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	1080p 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-A ports; four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort 1.2, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; UHS-II SDXC, Nbase-T Ethernet supporting 1/2.5/5/10Gb and 3.5 mm headphone jack. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require 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	Two 5120 × 2880 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, four 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or four 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours, alongside the built-in display
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Four microphones; supports Hey Siri
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Lightning to USB cable; optional Magic Trackpad 2	Space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Mouse 2; optional space grey Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	5.68 kg (better)	9.7 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	650 × 203 × 516 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. Optional VESA mount adapter kit.
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	–
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 enclosure; arsenic-free 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 Pro, space grey Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad, space grey Magic Mouse 2, Lightning to USB cable and power lead