iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) vs MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Quick look
| Figure | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,7993launch price | £1,2994launch price |
| Chip | Core i53.1GHz 6-core 10th-generation Intel | Core i51.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel |
| CPU | 6-coreCPU | 4-coreCPU |
| Memory | 8GBmemory, base | 8GBmemory, base |
| Storage | 256GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Not available5No battery | Up to10 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 4 August 20206Available online; Apple gave no in-store day | 4 May 20207Available online; Apple gave no in-store day |
| Security updates | Not available8Security updates | Not available8Security updates |
- Price
- The iMac is £1,799 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Pro is £1,299 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 | 516 x 650 x 203 mm | 15.6 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm |
| Weight | 8.92 kg | 1.4 kg |
| Colours | Not available9 | Silver, Space Gray |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB-A ports, SDXC card slot (UHS-II), Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), 3.5 mm headphone jack | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 2 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | 4 | No USB-A ports.10 |
| HDMI | No HDMI port.11 | No HDMI port.12 |
| SD card slot | Yes | No SD card slot.12 |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Not available13 | No MagSafe port.10 |
| Keyboard | Magic Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch Bar and Touch ID |
| Touch ID | No Touch ID.11 | Yes |
| Touch Bar | Not available14 | Yes |
Display
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 27 in | 13.3 in |
| Resolution | 5120 x 2880 | 2560 x 1600 |
| Pixel density | Not available9 | 227 ppi |
| Display type | 5K Retina display | Retina display |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | Yes | Not available15 |
Chip and memory
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | 3.1GHz 6-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 | 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 |
| Apple silicon | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.16 | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.10 |
| CPU cores | 6 | 4 |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory | Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 |
| Chip options | 3.1GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, 3.3GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, 3.8GHz 8-core Intel Core i7, or 3.6GHz 10-core Intel Core i9 | 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5 or 1.7GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i7 |
| Memory (base) | 8GB | 8GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 128GB | 16GB |
| Memory options | 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB or 128GB | 8GB or 16GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | Yes, as Apple documents17 | No, as Apple documents18 |
| Storage (base) | 256GB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB | 2TB |
| Storage options | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB SSD | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB |
Battery and power
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | Not available5 | 58.2 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | Not available5 | 1,000 cycles19 |
| Video playback (claimed) | Not available5 | 10 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | Not available5 | 10 h |
| Included power adapter | Not available20 | 61 W |
| Fast charging | Not available5 | No fast charging.21 |
Connectivity
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Ethernet | 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45); configurable to 10Gb Ethernet | No Ethernet port.12 |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 2 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 1080p FaceTime HD camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | Stereo speakers | Stereo speakers with high dynamic range |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming | Three-mic array with directional beamforming |
Platform
| Specification | iMac1 | MacBook Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Shipped with | Not available9 | macOS Catalina22 |
| Newest macOS | macOS Tahoe 2623 | macOS Sequoia24 |
| Model identifier | iMac20,1 or iMac20,225 | MacBookPro16,324 |
| Model year | 2020 | 2020 |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — 27-inch iMac gets a major update ·
↩- ↩
Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — 27-inch iMac gets a major update ·
↩- ↩
Security updates: no end date published.
↩Not published by Apple.
↩MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020): No HDMI port. No Touch ID.
↩MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports): 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
↩Not published by Apple.
↩iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020): 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 (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports): No fast charging.
↩- ↩
Apple Support (UK) — macOS Tahoe 26 is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
iMac. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, 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 5K, 27-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — 27-inch iMac gets a major update, read 9 Oct 2026.
MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: refresh rate, 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 (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple updates 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard, double the storage, and faster performance; 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 5K, 27-inch, 2020)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.