Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

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iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) compared with Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

	AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	June 2017	November 2024
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-7400, Intel Core i7-7700 or Intel Core i5-7500	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	10, 12 or 14
CPU threads
CPU threads	4 or 8	–
Graphics
Graphics	Radeon Pro 555 (2 GB VRAM) or Radeon Pro 560 (4 GB VRAM)	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 1 TB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	3.0 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.5 GHz, or 3.4 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.8 GHz; both configurable to 3.6 GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.2 GHz	M4: 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores; M4 Pro: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
GPU
GPU	Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB VRAM in the 3.0 GHz base; Radeon Pro 560 with 4 GB VRAM in the 3.4 GHz base	M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	16-core Neural Engine
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	2400 MHz DDR4; 8 GB standard, configurable to 16 GB in the lower base or 16/32 GB in the upper base. Two SO-DIMM slots require removal of the glued display and logic board to access (iFixit).	–
Storage type
Storage type	Lower base: 1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive, 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB SSD. Upper base: 1 TB Fusion Drive or 256/512 GB/1 TB SSD.	SSD
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	21.5″	None built in
Resolution
Resolution	4096 × 2304	–
Panel
Panel	IPS LCD	–
Brightness
Brightness	500 nits	–
Display type
Display type	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	Wide colour (P3); supports one billion colours	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 3, 4 × USB-A, SD card slot, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 2	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.2	5.3
Front ports
Front ports	–	2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones
Camera
Camera	FaceTime HD	–
Back ports
Back ports	Four USB 3 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.	M4: 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; M4 Pro: 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 4 and DisplayPort; HDMI with multichannel audio output; Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), configurable to 10Gb Ethernet
External displays
External displays	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	M4: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or two (one at up to 5K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz); M4 Pro: up to three at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI, or two (one at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz)
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers; supports Apple iPhone headset with microphone	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	Built-in microphone	None built in
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	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	Compact
Weight
Weight	5.66 kg	0.67 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	528 × 175 × 450 mm	127 × 127 × 50 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	Dimensions include the stand; weight varies by configuration. A built-in VESA mount version was also available.	–
Power supply
Power supply	100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz, single phase	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	–	M4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum
Noise
Noise	–	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
Materials
Materials	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free glass and mercury-free LED backlight	–
In the box
In the box	iMac, Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse 2, power lead and Lightning to USB cable	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)