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MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) vs iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5)1iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Pro M5 against iMac M4
FigureMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Price£1,9993last Apple UK store price£1,4994launch price
ChipM5chipM4chip
CPU10-coreCPU10-coreCPU
GPU10-coreGPU10-coreGPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base16GBunified memory, base
Storage1TB5storage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to24 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available6No battery
Released22 October 20257ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 15 October 2025.8 November 20248ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 28 October 2024.
Security updatesNot available9Security updatesNot available9Security updates
Price
The MacBook Pro M5 is £1,999 as Apple’s last UK store price, per Apple UK Store (archived 5 October 2026); the iMac M4 is £1,499 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The MacBook Pro M5 is a laptop; the iMac M4 is an all-in-one. The MacBook Pro M5 has a battery, whereas the iMac M4 has none.

True to scale

MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) · 312.6 × 221.2 mm footprintiMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports) · 547 × 461 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 (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Dimensions15.5 x 312.6 x 221.2 mm461 x 547 x 147 mm
Weight1.55 kg4.44 kg
ColoursSpace Black, SilverBlue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Yellow, Green, Silver
PortsThree Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jackFour Thunderbolt 4 ports, 3.5mm headphone jack, Gigabit Ethernet
Thunderbolt ports34
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 4
USB-A portsNo USB-A ports.10No USB-A ports.11
HDMIHDMI portNo HDMI port.12
SD card slotYesNo SD card slot.12
Headphone jackYesYes
MagSafeYesNot available13
KeyboardBacklit Magic Keyboard with Touch IDMagic Keyboard with Touch ID
Touch IDYesYes
Touch BarNo Touch Bar.14Not available15

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Display size14.2 in24 in
Resolution3024 x 19644480 x 2520
Pixel density254 ppi218 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display4.5K Retina display
BrightnessNot available16500 nits
Brightness (SDR, outdoor)1,000 nits17Not available18
Peak brightness (HDR)1,600 nitsNot available19
Refresh rate120 HzNot available20
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionYesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
ChipApple M5 chipApple M4 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores1010
Super cores417Not available21
Performance coresNot available224
Efficiency cores6176
GPU cores1010
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM5 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU23M4 with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU
Memory (base)16GB16GB
Memory (maximum)32GB32GB
Memory options16GB, 24GB or 32GB16GB, 24GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents24No, as Apple documents25
Memory bandwidth153 GB/s120 GB/s
Storage (base)1TB5256GB
Storage (maximum)4TB2TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decodeHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Battery capacity72.4 WhNot available6
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles26Not available6
Video playback (claimed)24 hNot available6
Wireless web (claimed)16 hNot available6
Included power adapterNo power adapter in the box.14143 W27
Fast chargingYesNot available6

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Wi-FiWi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)Wi‑Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth5.35.3
EthernetNo Ethernet port.14Gigabit Ethernet
External displays (base)22

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Camera12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View
Camera resolution12 MP12 MP
SpeakersHigh-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofersHigh-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers
MicrophonesStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming28Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate29macOS 27 Golden Gate29
Model identifierMac17,230Mac16,331
Model year20252024

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M51iMac M42
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)3,643323,24532
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)17,9503215,48732
Geekbench 7 (Metal)72,6633253,13432

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Default for MacBook Pro M5 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports) - Tech specs · Default for iMac M4 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple UK Store (archived 5 October 2026) — 14-inch MacBook Pro M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB, 1TB, £1,999.00 · third-party figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new iMac supercharged by M4 and Apple Intelligence · Apple’s figure · read 27 Oct 2026

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  5. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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  6. Doesn’t apply: no battery

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  7. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  8. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new iMac supercharged by M4 and Apple Intelligence · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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

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  10. MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports) - Tech specs. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  12. iMac (24-inch, M4, 2024, Four ports): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports) - Tech specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  14. MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs. Read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  16. Doesn’t apply: Apple’s one SDR brightness figure is the outdoor one

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  17. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  18. Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no outdoor brightness for this display

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  19. Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no separate HDR peak for this display

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  20. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports) - Tech specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new iMac supercharged by M4 and Apple Intelligence. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  21. Doesn’t apply: this chip has no super cores

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  22. Apple names this chip’s cores differently: 4 super cores, 6 efficiency cores

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  23. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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  27. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports) - Tech specs · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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  28. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  29. Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers · Apple’s figure · read 22 Sep 2026

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

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

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

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Pro M5. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils new 14‑inch MacBook Pro powered by the M5 chip; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.

iMac M4. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, maximum continuous power, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, 2024, Four ports) - Tech specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces new iMac supercharged by M4 and Apple Intelligence, 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 M5 (14-inch)? · Should I upgrade my iMac M4 (24-inch, 2024, Four ports)?

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