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MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) vs iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)

MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021)1iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)2

Quick look

Quick look: MacBook Pro M1 Pro against iMac M1
FigureMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Price£2,3993launch price£1,2494launch price
ChipM1 ProchipM1chip
CPU10-coreCPU8-coreCPU
GPU16-coreGPU7-coreGPU
Memory16GBunified memory, base8GBunified memory, base
Storage512GBstorage, base256GBstorage, base
Battery lifeUp to21 hrsvideo playback, claimed Not available5No battery
Released26 October 20213ReleasedIn select Apple Stores; orderable online from 18 October 2021.May 20216Release date, month onlyOrderable online from 30 April 2021.
Security updatesNot available7Security updatesNot available7Security updates
Price
The MacBook Pro M1 Pro is £2,399 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK); the iMac M1 is £1,249 at launch, per Apple Newsroom (UK).
Kind of Mac
The MacBook Pro M1 Pro is a laptop; the iMac M1 is an all-in-one. The MacBook Pro M1 Pro has a battery, whereas the iMac M1 has none.

True to scale

MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) · 355.7 × 248.1 mm footprintiMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) · 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 (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Dimensions16.8 x 355.7 x 248.1 mm461 x 547 x 147 mm
Weight2.1 kg4.46 kg
ColoursSilver, Space GrayBlue, Green, Pink, Silver8
PortsThree Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 port, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, 3.5 mm headphone jackTwo Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports, 3.5mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports932
Thunderbolt versionThunderbolt 4Thunderbolt 3
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
Touch IDYesNo Touch ID.11
Touch BarNo Touch Bar.14Not available15

Display

Display: Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Display size16.2 in24 in
Resolution3456 x 22344480 x 2520
Pixel density254 ppi218 ppi
Display typeLiquid Retina XDR display4.5K Retina display
Brightness500 nits500 nits
Peak brightness (HDR)1,600 nitsNot available16
Refresh rate120 HzNot available17
Wide colour (P3)YesYes
Nano-texture optionNo nano-texture display option.14No nano-texture display option.12

Chip and memory

Chip and memory: Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
ChipApple M1 Pro chipApple M1 chip
Apple siliconYesYes
CPU cores108
Performance cores84
Efficiency cores24
GPU cores167
Neural Engine cores1616
Chip optionsM1 Pro with 10-core CPU and 16-core GPU18M1 with 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU or 8-core GPU
Memory (base)16GB8GB
Memory (maximum)32GB1816GB
Memory options16GB or 32GB188GB or 16GB
Memory upgradeable by userNo, as Apple documents19No, as Apple documents20
Memory bandwidth200 GB/sNot available17
Storage (base)512GB256GB
Storage (maximum)8TB182TB
Storage options512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB18256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineNot available17

Battery and power

Battery and power: Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Battery capacity100 WhNot available5
Rated charge cycles1,000 cycles21Not available5
Video playback (claimed)21 hNot available5
Wireless web (claimed)14 hNot available5
Included power adapter140 W143 W
Fast chargingYesNot available5

Connectivity

Connectivity: Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Wi-Fi802.11ax Wi-Fi 6802.11ax Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth5.05.0
EthernetNo Ethernet port.14Gigabit Ethernet configurable22
External displays (base)21

Camera and audio

Camera and audio: Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Camera1080p FaceTime HD camera1080p FaceTime HD camera
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 beamformingStudio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming

Platform

Platform: Apple MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021) against Apple iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021)
SpecificationMacBook Pro M1 Pro1iMac M12
Shipped withmacOS Monterey23Not available17
Newest macOSmacOS 27 Golden Gate24macOS 27 Golden Gate24
Model identifierMacBookPro18,1, MacBookPro18,225iMac21,226
Model year20212021

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications · Default for MacBook Pro M1 Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications · Default for iMac M1 · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  4. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display · 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) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display · Apple’s figure · read 3 Oct 2026

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

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  8. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  9. Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Pro M1 Pro: Thunderbolt 4. iMac M1: Thunderbolt 3.

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  10. MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021): No USB-A ports. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  11. iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021): No USB-A ports. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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  12. iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - 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. MacBook Pro (16-inch, M1 Pro, 2021): No Touch Bar. No nano-texture display option. No Ethernet port. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications. 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 lists no separate HDR peak for this display

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  17. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  18. Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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

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

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

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  22. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  23. Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple unveils game-changing MacBook Pro · Apple’s figure · read 9 Oct 2026

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

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  25. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model · Apple’s figure · read 11 Oct 2026

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  26. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 10 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

MacBook Pro M1 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user. Geekbench 7: the Mac chart's only 16-inch (2021) M1 Pro entry lists 10 GPU cores, not the 16 this Mac has, so no figures are shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021) - Technical Specifications, read 9 Oct 2026.

iMac M1. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, maximum continuous power. Geekbench 7 Metal: the Mac chart row for this Mac does not state its GPU core count, so no Metal score is shown (chart read 10 Oct 2026). Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac features all-new design in vibrant colours, M1 chip, and 4.5K Retina display, 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 M1 Pro (16-inch, 2021)? · Should I upgrade my iMac M1 (24-inch, 2021)?

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