Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

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iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015) compared with Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)

	AppleiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	October 2015	November 2024
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core i5-5675R or Intel Core i7-5775R	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	4	10, 12 or 14
Graphics
Graphics	Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	–	38 TOPS
Memory
Memory	8 GB or 16 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 2 TB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	3.1 GHz quad-core Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz; configurable to 3.3 GHz quad-core Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 3.8 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	–	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	1867 MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory; 8 GB standard, configurable to 16 GB at purchase	–
Storage type
Storage type	1 TB 5400-rpm hard drive; optional 1 TB or 2 TB Fusion Drive, or 256 GB or 512 GB SSD. The 1 TB Fusion Drive combines a hard drive with 24 GB of flash; the 2 TB version has 128 GB of flash.	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	–
Display type
Display type	LED-backlit Retina 4K display with IPS technology and support for millions of colours	–
Display features
Display features	P3 colour gamut; Apple does not publish brightness or refresh rate in this model's specification sheet	–
Connections
Ports
Ports	2 × Thunderbolt 2, 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 1	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11ac	Wi-Fi 6E
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	4.0	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 2 ports with Mini DisplayPort output, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, 3.5 mm headphone and optical digital audio output; Kensington lock slot. HDMI, DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI 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 external display up to 4096 × 2304; extended desktop and video mirroring	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	Dual microphones	None built in
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Rechargeable Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2; optional Magic Trackpad 2 with Force Touch	–
Design and power
Type
Type	All-in-one	Compact
Weight
Weight	5.68 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	Apple's 3.1 GHz Core i5, 8 GB, 1 TB hard-drive test configuration: operator-position sound pressure 11 dB at idle and wireless web, 11.5 dB during hard-drive seek	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
Materials
Materials	Recyclable aluminium enclosure; arsenic-free display glass; 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)