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MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) vs iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)1iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Pro against iMac
FigureMacBook Pro1iMac2
Price£2,3493launch price£1,7494launch price
ChipCore i72.6GHz 6-core IntelCore i53.0GHz 6-core Intel
CPU6-coreCPU6-coreCPU
Memory16GBmemory, base8GBmemory, base
Storage256GBstorage, base1TBstorage, 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 £2,349 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the iMac is £1,749 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 (15-inch, 2019) · 349.3 × 240.7 mm footprintiMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) · 650 × 516 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 (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Dimensions15.5 x 349.3 x 240.7 mm516 x 650 x 203 mm
Weight1.83 kg9.42 kg
ColoursSilver, Space GrayNot available9
PortsFour Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB 3 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 (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Display size15.4 in27 in
Resolution2880 x 18005120 x 2880
Pixel density220 ppiNot available9
Display typeRetina displayRetina 5K display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Wide colour (P3)YesYes

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Chip2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i73.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5
Apple siliconIntel processor, not Apple silicon.10Intel processor, not Apple silicon.15
CPU cores66
GraphicsRadeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memoryRadeon Pro 570X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory
Chip options2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 2.3GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 or 2.4GHz 8-core Intel Core i93.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, 3.1GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, 3.7GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.6GHz 8-core Intel Core i9
Memory (base)16GB8GB
Memory (maximum)32GB64GB
Memory options16GB or 32GB8GB, 16GB, 32GB or 64GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents16Yes, as Apple documents17
Storage (base)256GB1TB
Storage (maximum)4TB3TB
Storage options256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB1TB, 2TB or 3TB Fusion Drive, or 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB SSD

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Battery capacity83.6 WhNot available5
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles18Not available5
Video playback (claimed)10 hNot available5
Wireless web (claimed)10 hNot available5
Included power adapter87 WNot available19
Fast chargingNo fast charging.20Not available5

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-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)42

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Camera720p FaceTime HD cameraFaceTime HD camera
SpeakersStereo speakers with high dynamic rangeStereo speakers
MicrophonesThree microphonesMicrophone

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Shipped withmacOS Mojave21macOS Mojave22
Newest macOSmacOS Sequoia23macOS Sequoia24
Model identifierMacBookPro15,1, MacBookPro15,323iMac19,124
Model year20192019

Benchmarks

Benchmarks: Apple MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) against Apple iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)
SpecificationMacBook Pro1iMac2
Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)1,248251,28925
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)4,978254,78025

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-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 5K, 27-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 (15-inch, 2019): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  12. iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019): No HDMI port. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-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 5K, 27-inch, 2019): Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 5K, 27-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. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019): No fast charging. Checked: Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  21. 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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  22. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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

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

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  25. 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 (15-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces first 8-core MacBook Pro, the fastest Mac notebook ever; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, 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 5K, 27-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 (15-inch, 2019)? · Should I upgrade my iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)?

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