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MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) vs iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)1iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Air against iMac
FigureMacBook Air1iMac2
Price£9993launch price£1,2494launch price
ChipCore i31.1GHz dual-core IntelCore i33.6GHz quad-core Intel
CPU2-coreCPU4-coreCPU
Memory8GBmemory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to12 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available5No battery
Released18 March 20206Available online; Apple gave no in-store day19 March 20197Available online; Apple gave no in-store day
Security updatesNot available8Security updatesNot available8Security updates
Price
The MacBook Air is £999 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the iMac is £1,249 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The MacBook Air is a laptop; the iMac is an all-in-one. The MacBook Air has a battery, whereas the iMac has none.

True to scale

MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) · 304.1 × 212.4 mm footprintiMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) · 528 × 450 mm front

A laptop and an all-in-one are different shapes, so they stand side by side rather than superposed: the footprint of one and the front face 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 MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Dimensions4.1–16.1 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm450 x 528 x 175 mm
Weight1.29 kg5.48 kg
ColoursGold, Space Gray, SilverNot available9
PortsTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB-A ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports22
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 3Thunderbolt 3
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.104
HDMINo HDMI port.11No HDMI port.12
SD card slotNo SD card slot.11Yes
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeNo MagSafe port.11Not available13
KeyboardBacklit Magic KeyboardMagic Keyboard
Touch IDYesNo Touch ID.12

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Display size13.3 in21.5 in
Resolution2560 x 16004096 x 2304
Pixel density227 ppiNot available9
Display typeRetina displayRetina 4K display
BrightnessNot available14500 nits
Wide colour (P3)Not available14Yes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Chip1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i33.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.10Intel processor, not Apple silicon.15
CPU cores24
GraphicsIntel Iris Plus GraphicsRadeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
Chip options1.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i3; 1.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i5; 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i73.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)8GB8GB
Memory (maximum)16GB32GB
Memory options8GB or 16GB8GB, 16GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents16No, as Apple documents17
Storage (base)256GB256GB
Storage (maximum)2TB1TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB256GB SSD or 1TB Fusion Drive

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Battery capacity49.9 WhNot available5
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles18Not available5
Video playback (claimed)12 hNot available5
Wireless web (claimed)11 hNot available5
Included power adapter30 WNot available19
Fast chargingNo fast charging.11Not available5

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth5.04.2
EthernetNo Ethernet port.1110/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)
External displays (base)22

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Camera720p FaceTime HD cameraFaceTime HD camera
SpeakersStereo speakersStereo speakers
MicrophonesThree-mic array with directional beamformingMicrophone

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Shipped withmacOS Catalina20macOS Mojave21
Newest macOSmacOS Sequoia22macOS Sequoia23
Model identifierMacBookAir9,122iMac19,223
Model year20202019

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Air1iMac2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)972241,16924
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)1,647243,33624

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Air · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. 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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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost · 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) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999 · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 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 Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020): No USB-A ports. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No MagSafe port. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  14. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — Install memory in an iMac · 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. Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999 · Apple’s figure · 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. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 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. Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) · third-party figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Air. 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 Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just £999, read 9 Oct 2026.

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.

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 MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020)? · Should I upgrade my iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)?

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