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Should I upgrade my iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017)?

9 years old · Not on the current macOS; endoflife.date lists Ventura security support as ended 15 September 2025

Quick look

Price
£1,2492launch price
Chip
Core i53.0GHz quad-core Intel
CPU
4-coreCPU
GPU
Not available3GPU
Memory
8GBmemory, base
Storage
1TBstorage, base
Display
21.5-inchdisplay
Released
7 June 20172ReleasedIn Apple Stores; orderable online from 5 June 2017.
Security updates
15 September 20254Security updates ended

Each figure is from the source marked1 unless it carries its own number.

Software support

Security updates
Not available5
macOS
macOS Ventura, not the current macOSThe iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) is not on the current macOS (macOS 27 Golden Gate); the newest it runs is macOS Ventura. endoflife.date lists security support for Ventura as ended on 15 September 2025.

No newer Mac with a store price we hold

We hold no Apple UK store price for any Mac in the iMac 21.5-inch line, so this page names no newer Mac to set the iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) against. That is a gap in what we hold, not a statement about what Apple sells.

Specifications

Body

Dimensions
450 x 528 x 175 mm
Weight
5.66 kg
Ports
Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, four USB 3 ports, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), 3.5 mm headphone jack
Thunderbolt ports
2
Thunderbolt version
Thunderbolt 3
USB-A ports
4
HDMI
No HDMI port.6
SD card slot
Yes
Headphone jack
Yes
Keyboard
Magic Keyboard
Touch ID
No Touch ID.6

Display

Display size
21.5 in
Resolution
4096 x 2304
Display type
Retina 4K display
Brightness
500 nits
Wide colour (P3)
Yes

Chip and memory

Chip
3.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
Apple silicon
Intel processor, not Apple silicon.7
CPU cores
4
Graphics
Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB of VRAM
Chip options
3.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, 3.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, or 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Memory (base)
8GB
Memory (maximum)
32GB
Memory options
8GB, 16GB or 32GB
Memory upgradeable by user
No, as Apple documents8
Storage (base)
1TB
Storage (maximum)
1TB
Storage options
1TB hard drive, 1TB Fusion Drive, or 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD

Connectivity

Wi-Fi
802.11ac Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
4.2
Ethernet
10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45)
External displays (base)
2

Camera and audio

Camera
FaceTime HD camera
Speakers
Stereo speakers
Microphones
Microphone

Platform

Newest macOS
macOS Ventura9
Model identifier
iMac18,29
Part numbers
MNDY2xx/A, MNE02xx/A10
Model year
2017

Benchmarks

Geekbench 7 (CPU, single-core)
1,07211
Geekbench 7 (CPU, multi-core)
2,89211

An iMac has no battery, so battery rows do not apply.

Software support

Feature updates until
Not available12
endoflife.date lists security support for Ventura as ended
15 September 20254
Basis
endoflife.date’s listed end of security support for Ventura13

Trade-in and used prices

No used or trade-in figures for the iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017): we have not matched it to a CeX listing we can confirm is this exact Mac, and we would rather show nothing than a near miss.

More

Sources

  1. Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications · Default for iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  2. Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays · Apple’s figure · read 15 Sep 2026

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  3. Not published by Apple. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  4. endoflife.date — Apple macOS · third-party figure · read 2 Oct 2026

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  5. Apple publishes no end date of its own; the date in the macOS row is endoflife.date’s record, not Apple’s. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 2 Oct 2026

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  6. No HDMI port. No Touch ID. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications. Read 9 Oct 2026

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  7. Intel processor, not Apple silicon. Checked: Apple Support (UK) — iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications. Read 15 Sep 2026

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

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

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  10. Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model · Apple’s figure · read 18 Oct 2026

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

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  12. Feature updates: end date not published by Apple. Checked: endoflife.date. Read 2 Oct 2026

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  13. This is endoflife.date’s cycle end for Ventura, not necessarily the day of Apple’s last patch. The newest macOS Apple lists this Mac for is macOS Ventura. endoflife.date records security updates for Ventura as ended on 15 September 2025. Source: endoflife.date. Read 2 Oct 2026

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Not published by Apple

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017). Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: colours, pixel density, refresh rate, nano-texture option, GPU cores, storage upgradeable by user, maximum continuous power, the macOS it shipped with. 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, 2017) - Technical Specifications; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your iMac model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — iMac receives major update featuring more powerful graphics, faster processors, Thunderbolt 3 and brighter displays, read 9 Oct 2026.

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