Apple M1 iMac VS iMac 21.5": Which is faster and how does their performance compare?

Apple's M1 iMacs have already started arriving with their owners. Shortly before their official launch, the first Geekbench benchmarks were published by reviewers who have begun testing them.

The early results point to a powerful processor, with the Apple M1 iMac rivalling the benchmark scores of the Apple M1 MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini. It scores 1724 in single-core performance and 7453 in multi-core performance. The benchmarks are for the iMac 21,1, which is the base model and comes with an 8-core CPU, 7-core GPU, and two Thunderbolt ports.

We can see that the Apple M1 iMac 24’’ clearly outperforms the 2019 21.5-inch iMac with an Intel processor. This makes it a very good choice for anyone considering upgrading their equipment. It is worth noting that the previous-generation 21.5-inch iMac scored 1109 in single-core performance and 6014 in multi-core performance. By comparison, the Apple M1 iMac is 56% faster in single-core performance and 24% faster in multi-core performance.

Compared with the iMac 27’’, the M1 iMac leads in single-core performance but falls behind in multi-core performance, trailing the 10th-generation Comet Lake Intel processor, which scores 9002. However, it beats the base 27-inch iMac with a 6-core Intel processor. So, for now, we cannot consider the Apple M1 iMac a replacement for the high-end 27-inch iMac, though Apple may well launch its successor soon.