Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, Early 2003) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

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iMac G4 (15-inch, Early 2003) compared with iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, Early 2003)	AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Overview
Released
Released	February 2003	March 2019
Performance
Processor
Processor	Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)	Intel Core i3-8100, Intel Core i7-8700 or Intel Core i5-8500
CPU cores
CPU cores	1	4 or 6
CPU threads
CPU threads	–	4, 6 or 12
Graphics
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)	Radeon Pro 555X (2 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 560X (4 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 20 (4 GB HBM2)
Memory
Memory	256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB	8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	60 GB	256 GB to 1 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	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.	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	NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 2x support.	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	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.	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	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.	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	15″	21.5″
Resolution
Resolution	1024 × 768	4096 × 2304 (better)
Panel
Panel	–	IPS LCD
Brightness
Brightness	200 nits	500 nits (better)
Display type
Display type	TFT active-matrix LCD with millions of colours and typical 300:1 contrast; panel technology and refresh rate unpublished in the exact maker sheet.	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	Typical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated display arm adjusts height and angle.	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
Connections
Ports
Ports	3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	0.1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	–	Up to 2
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	–	802.11ac
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	4.2
Camera
Camera	–	FaceTime HD
Back ports
Back ports	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.	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	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.	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	Built-in speaker and microphone; Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each and internal 18 W amplifier.	Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphones	–	Built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Keyboard, Apple Mouse, Apple Pro Speakers and modem cable.	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	9.7 kg	5.48 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	–	528 × 175 × 450 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.	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	90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W.	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials
Materials	–	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
In the box
In the box	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.	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable