Apple iMac 24″ (M1) vs Apple iMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel)

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iMac 24″ (M1) compared with iMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel)

	AppleiMac 24″ (M1)	AppleiMac G4 (17-inch, Flat Panel)
Overview
Released
Released	May 2021	August 2002
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 GeForce4 MX (32 MB)
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB (better)	256 MB or 1 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	80 GB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores	800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus. Generic maker-clock record retains the single-core identity cross-checked with the exact EveryMac source; a silicon revision is not inferred.
GPU
GPU	7-core GPU in the two-port model; 8-core GPU in the four-port model	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory; the retained maker sheet lists AGP 2x support.
Memory type
Memory type	–	256 MB SDRAM standard, expandable to 1 GB; one 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Configurations conservatively list the published base and maximum.
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	80 GB Ultra ATA hard drive and SuperDrive DVD-R/CD-RW. The retained sheet lists DVD-R writing at 2x, DVD reading at 6x, CD-R writing at 8x and CD-RW writing at 4x.
Display
Screen size
Screen size	24″	17″
Resolution
Resolution	4480 × 2520 (better)	1440 × 900
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	Widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast; panel technology and refresh rate are not established by 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 arm adjusts the display's 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.90 modem, headphone jack and Apple speaker minijack. Original AirPort 802.11b card is optional, rather than standard.
External displays
External displays	One external display up to 6K 60 Hz, alongside the built-in display at full resolution	Mini-VGA provides video mirroring through an optional VGA adapter: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz. S-video and composite output are not listed for this original revision.
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 Pro Keyboard, Apple Pro Mouse and Apple Pro Speakers; modem cable, Apple Hardware Test CD and documentation.
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	All-in-one
Weight
Weight	4.46 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	–	The retained combined maker sheet publishes metric size and weight only for the 15-inch model; those figures are not borrowed for the 17-inch model.
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; retained combined specification gives 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 and Mac OS 9 with Apple's creative and productivity software. The 17 July announcement expected shipping early the following month; Apple's 13 August release confirmed immediate availability, so the release month is August. Jaguar software availability and the launch configuration are not assumed to be identical.