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iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) vs MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)1MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)2

Quick look

Quick look: iMac against MacBook Pro
FigureiMac1MacBook Pro2
Price£1,2493launch price£2,3494launch price
ChipCore i33.6GHz quad-core IntelCore i72.2GHz 6-core Intel
CPU4-coreCPU6-coreCPU
Memory8GBmemory, base16GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery life Not available5No batteryUp to10 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released19 March 20196Available online; Apple gave no in-store day12 July 20187Available online; Apple gave no in-store day
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
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

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) · 528 × 450 mm frontMacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) · 349.3 × 240.7 mm footprint

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

Body: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Dimensions450 x 528 x 175 mm15.5 x 349.3 x 240.7 mm
Weight5.48 kg1.83 kg
ColoursNot available9Silver, Space Gray
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB-A ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), 3.5 mm headphone jackFour Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports24
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A ports4No USB-A ports.10
HDMINo HDMI port.11No HDMI port.12
SD card slotYesNo SD card slot.12
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available13No MagSafe port.10
KeyboardMagic KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboard with Touch Bar and Touch ID
Touch IDNo Touch ID.11Yes
Touch BarNot available14Yes

Display

Display: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Display size21.5 in15.4 in
Resolution4096 x 23042880 x 1800
Pixel densityNot available9220 ppi
Display typeRetina 4K displayRetina display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Wide colour (P3)YesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Chip3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i32.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.15Intel processor, not Apple silicon.10
CPU cores46
GraphicsRadeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 memoryRadeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
Chip options3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i72.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 or 2.9GHz 6-core Intel Core i9
Memory (base)8GB16GB
Memory (maximum)32GB32GB
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 32GB16GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents16No, as Apple documents17
Storage (base)256GB256GB
Storage (maximum)1TB4TB
Storage options256GB SSD or 1TB Fusion Drive256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Battery capacityNot available583.6 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available51,000 cycles18
Video playback (claimed)Not available510 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available510 h
Included power adapterNot available1987 W
Fast chargingNot available5No fast charging.20

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth4.25.0
Ethernet10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)No Ethernet port.12
External displays (base)24

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
CameraFaceTime HD camera720p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersStereo speakersStereo speakers with high dynamic range
MicrophonesMicrophoneThree microphones

Platform

Platform: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Shipped withmacOS Mojave21Not available22
Newest macOSmacOS Sequoia23macOS Sequoia24
Model identifieriMac19,223MacBookPro15,124
Model year20192018

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) against Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)1,169251,22625
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)3,336254,81925

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications · Default for iMac · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple updates MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  5. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  6. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple updates MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  8. Security updates: no end date published. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 22 Sep 2026

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  9. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  10. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019): No HDMI port. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  12. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  13. Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port

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  14. Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro

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  15. iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  16. Apple Support (UK) — Install memory in an iMac · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops · Apple’s figure · read 15 Oct 2026

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  19. Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box

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  20. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018): No fast charging. Checked: Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  21. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  22. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple updates MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  23. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  24. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  25. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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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, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost, 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, 2018) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple updates MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros; 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, 2019)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)?

The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.