MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) vs iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,3993launch price | £1,2494launch price |
| Chip | Core i72.6GHz 6-core Intel | Core i33.6GHz quad-core Intel |
| CPU | 6-coreCPU | 4-coreCPU |
| Memory | 16GBmemory, base | 8GBmemory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 256GBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to11 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Not available5No battery |
| Released | 13 November 20196Available online; Apple gave no in-store day | 19 March 20197Available online; Apple gave no in-store day |
| Security updates | Not available8Security updates | Not available8Security updates |
- Price
- The MacBook Pro is £2,399 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
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
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 16.2 x 357.9 x 245.9 mm | 450 x 528 x 175 mm |
| Weight | 2 kg | 5.48 kg |
| Colours | Silver, Space Gray | Not available9 |
| Ports | Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack | Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB-A ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), 3.5 mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports | 4 | 2 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 3 | Thunderbolt 3 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.10 | 4 |
| HDMI | No HDMI port.11 | No HDMI port.12 |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.11 | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | No MagSafe port.10 | Not available13 |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch Bar and Touch ID | Magic Keyboard |
| Touch ID | Yes | No Touch ID.12 |
| Touch Bar | Yes | Not available14 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 16 in | 21.5 in |
| Resolution | 3072 x 1920 | 4096 x 2304 |
| Pixel density | 226 ppi | Not available9 |
| Display type | Retina display | Retina 4K display |
| Brightness | 500 nits | 500 nits |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | Not available9 |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 | 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3 |
| Apple silicon | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.10 | Intel processor, not Apple silicon.15 |
| CPU cores | 6 | 4 |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6 memory | Radeon Pro 555X with 2GB of GDDR5 memory |
| Chip options | 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7, 2.3GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 or 2.4GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 | 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3, 3.0GHz 6-core Intel Core i5, or 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 |
| Memory (base) | 16GB | 8GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 64GB | 32GB |
| Memory options | 16GB, 32GB or 64GB | 8GB, 16GB or 32GB |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents16 | No, as Apple documents17 |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 256GB |
| Storage (maximum) | 8TB | 1TB |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB | 256GB SSD or 1TB Fusion Drive |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 100 Wh | Not available5 |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles18 | Not available5 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 11 h | Not available5 |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 11 h | Not available5 |
| Included power adapter | 96 W | Not available19 |
| Fast charging | No fast charging.11 | Not available5 |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi | 802.11ac Wi-Fi |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 | 4.2 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.11 | 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) |
| External displays (base) | 4 | 2 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Pro1 | iMac2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera | FaceTime HD camera |
| Speakers | High-fidelity six-speaker system with force-cancelling woofers | Stereo speakers |
| Microphones | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming | Microphone |
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost ·
↩Doesn’t apply: no battery
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Not published by Apple.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019): No USB-A ports. No MagSafe port. Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No fast charging. No Ethernet port.
↩iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019): No HDMI port. No Touch ID.
↩Doesn’t apply: MagSafe is a notebook charging port
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019): Intel processor, not Apple silicon.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Install memory in an iMac ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Doesn’t apply: internal power supply, no power adapter in the box
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac gets a 2x performance boost ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS Tahoe 26 is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: 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 (16-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces 16-inch MacBook Pro, the world’s best pro notebook; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.
iMac. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: 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 (16-inch, 2019)? · Should I upgrade my iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)?
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either Mac would also weigh. Any two Macs in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.