Apple iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0) vs Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

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iMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0) compared with iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

	AppleiMac G4 (15-inch, USB 2.0)	AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2003	March 2019
Performance
Processor
Processor	Motorola PowerPC G4 1 GHz (iMac USB 2.0)	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 GeForce4 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	80 GB to 160 GB	256 GB to 1 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	1 GHz PowerPC G4 with 167 MHz system bus and 256 KB on-chip L2 cache; a generic maker-clock record avoids inferring a silicon revision.	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 GeForce4 MX with 32 MB dedicated DDR video memory and AGP 4x 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 PC2700 (333 MHz) DDR SDRAM standard; factory options 512 MB or 1 GB. One 184-pin DIMM and one user-accessible SO-DIMM slot.	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	80 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, configurable to 160 GB; 32x Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive. Published memory and storage factory options are retained for the 1 GHz 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. Exact maker sheet does not publish panel technology or refresh rate.	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 arm adjusts display 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 2.0 ports on the computer, up to 480 Mbps, plus two USB 1.1 ports on the keyboard; two FireWire 400 ports with 8 W shared power, Mini-VGA, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.92 modem, headphone jack, Apple speaker minijack and audio line-in. AirPort Extreme 802.11g card and internal Bluetooth are optional.	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 provides video mirroring on a VGA display or S-video/composite television through optional adapters. Output resolutions: 640 × 480 at 60 Hz, 800 × 600 at 75 Hz or 1024 × 768 at 75 Hz.	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 7 W each and internal 14 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	Maker adjustable 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	Launch Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar and iLife, with productivity software and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. The retained sheet lists the later Mac OS X 10.3 Panther bundle. Maker launch confirms immediate availability on 8 September 2003.	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable