Apple iMac 24″ (M1) vs Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, Early 2003)

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iMac 24″ (M1) compared with iMac G4 (15-inch, Early 2003)

	AppleiMac 24″ (M1)	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, Early 2003)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2021	February 2003
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M1	Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)
CPU cores
CPU cores	8	1
Graphics
Graphics	7-core GPU or 8-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	60 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	800 MHz PowerPC G4, 100 MHz system bus and 256 KB on-chip L2 cache. Single-core maker-clock record is reused only for the same published clock and G4 family; uncertain silicon identity is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	7-core GPU in the two-port model; 8-core GPU in the four-port model	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 2x support.
Memory type
Memory type	–	256 MB SDRAM standard; factory options 512 MB or 1 GB. One 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Apple supports up to 1 GB.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD; two-port model configurable to 512 GB or 1 TB, four-port model to 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB	60 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/66 hard drive and 32x Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW. Combo reads DVDs at 8x, writes CD-R at 32x and CD-RW at 10x. No unsupported storage option is paired with this processor.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	24″	15″
Resolution
Resolution	4480 × 2520 (better)	1024 × 768
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits (better)	200 nits
Display type
Display type	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches; IPS panel and 60 Hz refresh rate confirmed by Notebookcheck	TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast; panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the exact maker sheet.
Pixel density
Pixel density	218 ppi	–
Display features
Display features	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone; anti-reflective coating	Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated display arm adjusts height and angle.
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × USB4, headphone jack	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	–	0.1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.0	–
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD	–
Back ports
Back ports	Two-port model: two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports with DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4 up to 40 Gb/s, and USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gb/s; optional Gigabit Ethernet. Four-port model adds two USB 3 ports up to 10 Gb/s and includes Gigabit Ethernet. Both have a 3.5 mm headphone jack.	Three USB 1.1 ports on the computer, plus two on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, headphone jack and Apple speaker minijack. The 15-inch model has no audio line-in. Optional AirPort 802.11b card; Bluetooth requires a separate USB adapter, unlike the 17-inch internal option.
External displays
External displays	One external display up to 6K 60 Hz, alongside the built-in display at full resolution	Mini-VGA video mirroring through an optional adapter: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. S-video and composite output are absent on the 15-inch model.
Camera
Camera	1080p FaceTime HD camera; advanced image signal processor with computational video	–
Speakers
Speakers	High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers; wide stereo sound; spatial audio with Dolby Atmos	Built-in speaker and microphone; Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each and internal 18 W amplifier.
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming; Hey Siri	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard; keyboard has Touch ID on the four-port model and optionally on the two-port model; Magic Trackpad and Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad available instead	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, Apple Pro Speakers and modem cable.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	4.46 kg (better)	9.7 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	547 × 147 × 461 mm	–
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Adjustable maker ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. Reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process.
Power supply
Power supply	143 W external power adapter with magnetic connection; Gigabit Ethernet built into the adapter where fitted	90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W.
Noise
Noise	7 dBA sound pressure at idle and during Apple's wireless web test (operator position)	–
Materials
Materials	Recyclable, low-carbon aluminium enclosure	–
Colours
Colours	Two-port model: Blue, Green, Pink, Silver. Four-port model also comes in Yellow, Orange and Purple.	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse, 143 W power adapter, 2 m power lead, USB-C to Lightning cable	Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar and iLife, with AppleWorks and other bundled applications. Classic environment supports older applications; the exact EveryMac model source confirms it cannot boot Mac OS 9, unlike the original 2002 revision. Maker launch confirms immediate availability on 4 February 2003.