iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) vs MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
Quick look
| Figure | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,2493launch price | £2,3494launch price |
| Chip | Core i53.0GHz quad-core Intel | Core i72.6GHz quad-core Intel |
| CPU | 4-coreCPU | 4-coreCPU |
| Memory | 8GBmemory, base | 16GBmemory, base |
| Storage | 1TBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Not available5No battery | Up to10 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 7 June 20173ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2017. | 27 October 20166Announced, no on-sale date given |
| Security updates | 15 September 20257Security updates ended | 16 September 20247Security updates ended |
- Price
- The iMac is £1,249 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Pro is £2,349 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
- Kind of Mac
- The iMac is an all-in-one; the MacBook Pro is a laptop. The MacBook Pro has a battery, whereas the iMac has none.
True to scale
An all-in-one and a laptop are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the front face of one and the footprint of the other, from Apple’s published dimensions, at one scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
Each figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number, which links to where that figure was read.
Body
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 450 x 528 x 175 mm | 15.5 x 349.3 x 240.7 mm |
| Weight | 5.66 kg | 1.83 kg |
| Colours | Not available8 | Silver, Space Gray |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB 3 ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), 3.5 mm headphone jack | Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 2 | 4 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | 4 | No USB-A ports.9 |
| HDMI | No HDMI port.10 | No HDMI port.11 |
| SD card slot | Yes | No SD card slot.11 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Not available12 | No MagSafe port.9 |
| Keyboard | Magic Keyboard | Full-size backlit keyboard with Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor |
| Touch ID | No Touch ID.10 | Yes |
| Touch Bar | Not available13 | Yes |
Display
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 21.5 in | 15.4 in |
| Resolution | 4096 x 2304 | 2880 x 1800 |
| Pixel density | Not available8 | 220 ppi |
| Display type | Retina 4K display | Retina display |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | 3.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 | 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 |
| Apple silicon | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.14 | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.9 |
| CPU cores | 4 | 4 |
| Graphics | Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB of VRAM | Radeon Pro 450 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching; Intel HD Graphics 530 |
| Chip options | 3.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, or 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 | 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz; 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz; configurable to 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz |
| Memory (base) | 8GB | 16GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 32GB | 16GB |
| Memory options | 8GB, 16GB or 32GB | 16GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents15 | No, as Apple documents16 |
| Storage (base) | 1TB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 1TB | 2TB |
| Storage options | 1TB hard drive, 1TB Fusion Drive, or 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB |
Battery and power
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | Not available5 | 76 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | Not available5 | 1,000 cycles17 |
| Video playback (claimed) | Not available5 | 10 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | Not available5 | 10 h |
| Included power adapter | Not available18 | 87 W |
| Fast charging | Not available5 | No fast charging.19 |
Connectivity
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Ethernet | 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) | No Ethernet port.11 |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 4 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | FaceTime HD camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers with high dynamic range |
| Microphones | Microphone | Three microphones |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) - Technical Specifications ·
↩- ↩
Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Unveils Groundbreaking New MacBook Pro ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Unveils Groundbreaking New MacBook Pro ·
↩endoflife.date — Apple macOS ·
↩Not published by Apple.
↩MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017): No HDMI port. No Touch ID.
↩MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017): Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Install memory in an iMac ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box
↩MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016): No fast charging.
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
iMac. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user, maximum continuous power. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays, read 9 Oct 2026.
MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart has no Metal score for this Mac (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Unveils Groundbreaking New MacBook Pro; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.
If you own one of them
Whether to move is a different question from which is better. Each Mac has a page on it: what its successor changes (the newest Mac in its line where Apple sells one, otherwise the Mac this site treats as its replacement, which can be in another line), what it fetches and whether it still gets updates. Should I upgrade my iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.