Apple iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)

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iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015) compared with iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)

	AppleiMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)	AppleiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2015	May 2015
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5250U or Intel Core i5-5575R	Intel Core i5-4590
CPU cores
CPU cores	2 or 4	4
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4
Graphics
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 6000 or Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	AMD Radeon R9 M290 (2 GB GDDR5)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB	256 GB to 3 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	Fixed 3.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5-4590 with Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz; exact chip identified in Macworld and The Register's tests. Apple's configure-to-order section is headed 3.5 GHz and repeats options from the higher model; those processor options are excluded from this entry.
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	AMD Radeon R9 M290 with 2 GB GDDR5; the higher model's M290X and optional M295X are outside this configuration
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)	1600 MHz DDR3; 8 GB (two 4 GB modules), configurable to 16 GB or 32 GB; four user-accessible SO-DIMM slots
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 7200-rpm hard drive, configurable to 3 TB hard drive, 1 TB or 3 TB Fusion Drive, or 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB flash storage (SSD)
Display
Screen size
Screen size	21.5″	27″
Resolution
Resolution	1920 × 1080	5120 × 2880 (better)
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.	27-inch Retina 5K display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 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 2 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 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 native resolution alongside one external display up to 3840 × 2160; 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 (better)	9.54 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. 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 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 with Retina 5K display, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Magic Mouse and power lead; OS X Yosemite