Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) compared with iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)	AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2015	March 2019
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5250U or Intel Core i5-5575R	Intel Core i3-8100, Intel Core i7-8700 or Intel Core i5-8500
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	4 or 6
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4, 6 or 12
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6000 or Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	Radeon Pro 555X (2 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 560X (4 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 20 (4 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB (better)
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	3.6 GHz quad-core Core i3 without Turbo Boost, or 3.0 GHz six-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 4.1 GHz; both configurable to 3.2 GHz six-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.6 GHz
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 555X with 2 GB GDDR5 in the lower base; Radeon Pro 560X with 4 GB GDDR5 in the upper base, configurable to Radeon Pro Vega 20 with 4 GB HBM2
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 standard, configurable to 16/32 GB; lower base uses 2400 MHz DDR4 and upper base 2666 MHz DDR4. Memory is not readily user-accessible.
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.	The current Apple sheet lists 256 GB SSD or 1 TB Fusion Drive for both bases, and these are the configurations shown. Apple made SSD storage standard in August 2020. Launch reviews describe a 1 TB hard drive in the lower base and 1 TB Fusion Drive in the upper base, with larger SSD options (Macworld and TechRadar); these historical options are not flattened into the current matrix.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	21.5″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	4096 × 2304 (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 4K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac; Apple does not publish native refresh rate in this model’s 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	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 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 2 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	4.2
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-A ports; two Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt up to 40 Gb/s and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet and 3.5 mm headphone jack; Kensington lock slot. Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI and VGA require 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 full native resolution alongside one 5120 × 2880 display at 60 Hz with one billion colours, two 3840 × 2160 displays at 60 Hz with one billion colours, or two 4096 × 2304 displays at 60 Hz with millions of colours
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	Dual microphones	Built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2 and Lightning to USB cable; optional Magic Trackpad 2	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	5.68 kg	5.48 kg (better)
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; current Apple sheet lists 5.48 kg and warns that weight varies by configuration. Launch reviews tested heavier hard-drive/Fusion configurations. 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	–
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, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable