Apple iMac 24″ (M4) vs Apple Macintosh LC

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iMac 24″ (M4) compared with Macintosh LC

	AppleiMac 24″ (M4)	AppleMacintosh LC
Overview
Released
Released	November 2024	October 1990
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M4	68020 16 MHz (Macintosh LC)
CPU cores
CPU cores	8 or 10	1
Graphics
Graphics	8-core GPU or 10-core GPU	–
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	38 TOPS	–
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB or 32 GB (better)	2 MB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB (better)	40 MB
CPU
CPU	8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores (two-port model), or 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores (four-port models)	16 MHz Motorola 68020 with a 16-bit data path and 0.25 KB L1 cache; no standard paged memory-management unit or floating-point coprocessor
GPU
GPU	Hardware-accelerated ray tracing	Integrated video has 256 KB VRAM, supporting 8-bit colour at 512 × 384 or 4-bit at 640 × 480; 512 KB VRAM upgrade permits 16-bit colour at 512 × 384 or 8-bit at 640 × 480
Memory type
Memory type	–	2 MB soldered to the logic board plus two 30-pin SIMM slots, populated as a matched pair; 100 ns memory and 2–10 MB total supported by Apple; 512 KB ROM
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	120GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	40 MB internal SCSI hard drive and 1.44 MB floppy in the standard configuration reported by Low End Mac; a dual-floppy education version was also offered
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	One LC processor-direct slot; optional 68881 floating-point card occupies it
Media engine
Media engine	Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode	–
Display
Screen size
Screen size	24″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	4480 × 2520	–
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	60 Hz	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Display type
Display type	4.5K Retina display; actual diagonal 23.5 inches	–
Pixel density
Pixel density	218 ppi	–
Display features
Display features	1 billion colours; wide colour (P3); True Tone; nano-texture glass option on four-port models	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 4, headphone jack	Headphone jack
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	–
Camera
Camera	12MP Center Stage	–
Back ports
Back ports	2 × Thunderbolt / USB 4 (two-port model) or 4 × Thunderbolt 4 (four-port models), each with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s), USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s) and DisplayPort; Gigabit Ethernet on the power adapter, standard on four-port models and optional on the two-port model	Apple Desktop Bus, DB-15 video, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports, microphone input and sound output; no built-in Ethernet or external floppy port
External displays
External displays	Two-port model: one at up to 6K 60Hz; four-port models: two at up to 6K 60Hz, or one at up to 8K 60Hz	Built-in video supports 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 Apple displays; colour depth depends on fitted VRAM
Camera
Camera	12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View; 1080p HD video recording; 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	Internal speaker with mono audio input and output
Microphones
Microphones	Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming	–
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Magic Keyboard (two-port model) or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID (four-port models), and Magic Mouse; Magic Trackpad or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad available instead	–
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Compact
Weight
Weight	4.42 kg	4 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	547 × 147 × 461 mm	310 × 389 × 74 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Apple's 2.9 × 12.2 × 15.3 inch and 8.8 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supply
Power supply	143W external power adapter; power lead (2 m)	Maximum 50 W; 90–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery
Materials
Materials	100% recycled aluminium in the stand; more than 15% recycled content overall	–
Colours
Colours	Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Silver	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard (with Touch ID on four-port models), Magic Mouse, 143W power adapter, power lead (2 m), USB-C Charge Cable, polishing cloth (nano-texture glass only)	Original System Software 6.0.7. Apple lists 15 October 1990 as introduction; Low End Mac also dates release to October 1990