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iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) vs MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014)1MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)2

Quick look

Quick look: iMac against MacBook Pro
FigureiMac1MacBook Pro2
Price£1,9993launch price£1,5994launch price
ChipCore i53.5GHz quad-core IntelCore i72.2GHz quad-core Intel
CPU4-coreCPU4-coreCPU
Memory8GBmemory, base16GBmemory, base
Storage1TBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery life Not available5No batteryUp to8 hrsvideo playback, claimed
Released16 October 20146Available online; Apple gave no in-store day29 July 20147Released
Security updates2 February 20268Security updates ended2 February 20268Security updates ended
Price
The iMac is £1,999 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the MacBook Pro is £1,599 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 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) · 650 × 516 mm frontMacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) · 358.9 × 247.1 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 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Dimensions516 x 650 x 203 mm18 x 358.9 x 247.1 mm
Weight9.54 kg2.02 kg
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3 ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), headphone portMagSafe 2 power port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports (up to 20 Gbps), two USB 3 ports (up to 5 Gbps), HDMI port, Headphone port, SDXC card slot
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 2Thunderbolt 2
USB-A ports42
HDMINo HDMI port.9HDMI port
SD card slotYesYes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNot available10Yes
KeyboardApple Wireless KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys and 4 arrow keys (inverted T arrangement)
Touch IDNo Touch ID.9No Touch ID.11

Display

Display: Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Display size27 in15.4 in
Resolution5120 x 28802880 x 1800
Pixel densityNot available12220 ppi
Display typeRetina display with IPS technologyRetina display

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Chip3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i52.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.13Intel processor, not Apple silicon.14
CPU cores44
GraphicsAMD Radeon R9 M290X with 2GB of GDDR5 memoryIntel Iris Pro Graphics
Chip options3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i72.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz; 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz; configurable to 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
Memory (base)8GB16GB
Memory (maximum)32GB16GB
Memory options8GB, 16GB or 32GB16GB
Memory upgradeable by userYes, as Apple documents15No, as Apple documents16
Storage (base)1TB256GB
Storage (maximum)3TB1TB
Storage options1TB or 3TB Fusion Drive, or 256GB, 512GB or 1TB flash storage (SSD)256GB, 512GB or 1TB

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Battery capacityNot available595 Wh
Rated charge cyclesNot available51,000 cycles17
Video playback (claimed)Not available58 h
Wireless web (claimed)Not available58 h
Included power adapterNot available1885 W
Fast chargingNot available5No fast charging.11

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
Bluetooth4.04.0
Ethernet10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)No Ethernet port.11
External displays (base)12

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
CameraFaceTime HD camera720p FaceTime HD camera
SpeakersStereo speakersStereo speakers
MicrophonesDual microphonesDual microphones

Platform

Platform: Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) against Apple MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
SpecificationiMac1MacBook Pro2
Shipped withOS X Yosemite6OS X Mavericks19
Newest macOSmacOS Big Sur20macOS Big Sur21
Model identifieriMac15,120MacBookPro11,2 or MacBookPro11,321
Model year20142014

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) - Technical Specifications · Default for iMac · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Retina Display · 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) — Apple Introduces 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Retina Display · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  8. endoflife.date — Apple macOS · third-party figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  9. iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014): No HDMI port. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  11. MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014): No Touch ID. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  12. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  13. iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  14. MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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

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

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

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

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  19. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Retina Display · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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

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Not published by Apple

iMac. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, brightness, refresh rate, wide colour (P3), nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user, maximum continuous power. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart has no entry for this Mac, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Introduces 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display, read 9 Oct 2026.

MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, brightness, refresh rate, wide colour (P3), 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 (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) - Technical Specifications; Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple Updates MacBook Pro with Retina Display, 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, Late 2014)? · Should I upgrade my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)?

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