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MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) vs iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)1iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Pro against iMac
FigureMacBook Pro1iMac2
Price£1,7493launch price£1,2494launch price
ChipCore i52.4GHz quad-core IntelCore i33.6GHz quad-core Intel
CPU4-coreCPU4-coreCPU
Memory8GBmemory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to10 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available5No battery
Released21 May 20196Available 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 Pro is £1,749 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the iMac is £1,249 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The MacBook Pro is a laptop; the iMac is an all-in-one. The MacBook Pro has a battery, whereas the iMac has none.

True to scale

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) · 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 Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Dimensions14.9 x 304.1 x 212.4 mm450 x 528 x 175 mm
Weight1.37 kg5.48 kg
ColoursSilver, Space GrayNot available9
PortsFour 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 ports42
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.10Not available13
KeyboardFull-size backlit keyboard with Touch Bar and Touch IDMagic Keyboard
Touch IDYesNo Touch ID.12
Touch BarYesNot available14

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Display size13.3 in21.5 in
Resolution2560 x 16004096 x 2304
Pixel density227 ppiNot available9
Display typeRetina displayRetina 4K display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Wide colour (P3)YesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Chip2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i53.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.10Intel processor, not Apple silicon.15
CPU cores44
GraphicsIntel Iris Plus Graphics 655Radeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory
Chip options2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 or 2.8GHz 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 Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Battery capacity58 WhNot available5
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles18Not available5
Video playback (claimed)10 hNot available5
Wireless web (claimed)10 hNot available5
Included power adapter61 WNot available19
Fast chargingNo fast charging.11Not available5

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
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 Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Camera720p FaceTime HD cameraFaceTime HD camera
SpeakersStereo speakers with high dynamic rangeStereo speakers
MicrophonesThree microphonesMicrophone

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Shipped withmacOS Mojave20macOS Mojave21
Newest macOSmacOS Sequoia22macOS Sequoia23
Model identifierMacBookPro15,222iMac19,223
Model year20192019

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) against Apple iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)1,158241,16924
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)3,769243,33624

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Pro · 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) — Apple introduces first 8-core MacBook Pro, the fastest Mac notebook ever · 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) — Apple introduces first 8-core MacBook Pro, the fastest Mac notebook ever · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 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 Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No fast charging. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - 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. 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) — 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) — Apple introduces first 8-core MacBook Pro, the fastest Mac notebook ever · 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 Pro 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 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 (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces first 8-core MacBook Pro, the fastest Mac notebook ever, 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 Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)? · 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.