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Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, Flat Panel)AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Overview
ReleasedJanuary 2002March 2019
Performance
ProcessorMotorola PowerPC G4 700 MHz (iMac Flat Panel) or Motorola PowerPC G4 800 MHz (iMac Flat Panel)Intel Core i3-8100, Intel Core i7-8700 or Intel Core i5-8500
CPU cores14 or 6
CPU threads–4, 6 or 12
GraphicsNVIDIA GeForce2 MX (32 MB)Radeon Pro 555X (2 GB GDDR5), Radeon Pro 560X (4 GB GDDR5) or Radeon Pro Vega 20 (4 GB HBM2)
Memory128 MB, 256 MB or 1 GB8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB
Storage40 GB to 60 GB256 GB to 1 TB
CPU700 or 800 MHz PowerPC G4 with 256 KB on-chip L2 cache and 100 MHz system bus. Generic maker-clock chip records retain the single-core identity cross-checked with exact EveryMac sources; an uncertain silicon revision 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
GPUNVIDIA 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 typeSDRAM, expandable to 1 GB, with one 168-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot. Launch CD-RW base: 128 MB; Combo and SuperDrive bases: 256 MB. Configurations conservatively show those published bases and the maker's maximum.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 typeLaunch combinations: 700 MHz with CD-RW and 40 GB hard drive; 700 MHz with Combo drive and 40 GB; 800 MHz with SuperDrive and 60 GB. Optical options on the 700 MHz model account for its different base memory. Drives use Ultra ATA. Combo reads DVDs and writes CDs; SuperDrive writes DVDs and CDs.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 size15″21.5″
Resolution1024 × 7684096 × 2304
Panel–IPS LCD
Brightness200 nits500 nits
Display typeTFT 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.LED-backlit Retina 4K display; IPS panel confirmed by EveryMac; Apple does not publish native refresh rate in this model’s specification sheet
Display featuresTypical viewing angles: 120° horizontal and 90° vertical. Articulated arm adjusts the display's height and angle.Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours
Connections
Ports3 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet0.1 Gb/s1 Gb/s
External displays–Up to 2
Wi-Fi–802.11ac
Bluetooth–4.2
Camera–FaceTime HD
Back portsThree 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; wireless networking is not standard.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 displaysMini-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. The original model does not list S-video or composite output.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
SpeakersBuilt-in speaker and microphone; selected configurations include Apple Pro Speakers rated at 9 W each with an internal 18 W amplifier.Stereo speakers
Microphones–Built-in microphone
Keyboard and mouseApple Pro Keyboard and Apple Pro Mouse; Apple Pro Speakers are included with the Combo and SuperDrive launch configurations.Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad and Magic Trackpad 2
Design and power
TypeAll-in-oneAll-in-one
Weight9.7 kg5.48 kg
Width × depth × height–528 × 175 × 450 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detailAdjustable maker ranges: height 329–509 mm, width 384–415 mm and depth 270–415 mm; base diameter 270 mm. The reference weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process, so no single fixed-position dimension is selected.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 supply90–264 V AC, 47–63 Hz, single phase; maximum continuous power 130 W.100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase
Materials–Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight
In the boxLaunch software: Mac OS X 10.1.2 and Mac OS 9.2.2, with iTunes, iMovie and iPhoto; iDVD requires SuperDrive. The 800 MHz SuperDrive configuration was stated to ship in late January 2002, the 700 MHz Combo in February and CD-RW in March. The release month records the first configuration, not the 7 January announcement.iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable

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