This was the end of the line for the smaller Intel iMacs altogether, and perhaps you’re thinking: doesn’t this have a T2 security chip since it’s from 2019? Rest assured, it doesn’t. There were no 2020 or 2018 4K iMacs, and this model came with Intel’s 8th gen coffee lake processors, the same generation used starting in the 2018 MacBook Pros which did actually have a T2 security chip. Like the 1080p 2017 iMac before it, this 2019 4K iMac lasted into 2021 on Apple’s website, albeit only ’till April 20th, whereas the non-retina skated by until 2 days before halloween. The appeal of the 2019 model 4K iMac is precisely about the leap up to Intel Coffee lake, combined with the lack of a heavy-handed T2 chip. The additional 2 CPU cores offered by the i5/i7 makes this less an “S” model year, as they make a dramatic leap forward in performance – yet only the i7 retains hyper threading, once again.

The base model for 2019 has the same DDR4 RAM speed as all the 4K 2017 models, but the i5/i7 models are bumped up to 2666 MHz PC4-21300. According to Intel, the base model i3-8100 chip supports up to 64 GB, while the i5-8500 and i7-8700 both support a maximum of 128 GB of DDR4. The only thing is, there are only 2 memory slots on the logic board, and as of December 2024 there are still no sticks of 64 GB sodimms available on the market. This means the maximum memory configuration possible is 64 GB for all models, the i3, i5, and the i7 too.

Some Quirks

For the i3 model in particular, the logic board doesn’t come with a PCIe blade style SSD connector if it’s not configured with a Fusion Drive. All i5 and i7 models have this PCIe connector, as they have a Fusion Drive by default. On August 4th 2020, Apple replaced the base drive model option on all models to a 256GB SSD including the i3. Again for the i3: the 512 GB option changed to $200, and the 1 TB to $400 more as a configure to order option.

What You Need to Know

• These iMacs still shipped with 8 GB of RAM in 2019 for the lowest configuration on all models. This is okay for basic tasks, but may become increasingly impractical as time goes on. For a serious speed boost, opt for at least 16 GB of RAM, and an SSD over the Fusion Drive or Hard Drive.
• Most base models shipped with a 1 TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) hard drive. Wasn’t fast in 2019, let alone today.
• The base i3-8100 3.6 chip supports 64 GB of RAM according to intel, but Apple claims it can only be configured up to 32 GB.
• The optional 3.0 i5-8500 and 3.2 i7-8700 also support 128 GB of RAM according to intel, but Apple claims it can only be configured up to 32 GB. Since there are only 2 memory slots on the logic board, unfortunately, it can only take 64 GB for time time being as there are no available 64 GB sodimms. Note: i5/i7 models take 2666 MHz PC4-21300 DDR4. The i3 model takes 2400 MHz PC4-19200s DDR4.

Details

• Announced March 19th 2019
• Apple model number: A2116 (EMC 3195)
• Model ID: iMac19,2
• Order: MRT32LL/A (3.6 GHz i3-8100)
  • • 8/4/20 and beyond: MHK23LL/A (256GB SSD default)
  • MRT42LL/A (3.0 Ghz i5-8500)
    • 8/4/20 and beyond: MHK33LL/A (256GB SSD default)
  • BTO/CTO (3.2 GHz i7-8700)
• Discontinued April 20th, 2021

Mac OS

• Requires macOS 10.14.4 (18E2034) Mojave or newer, is currently supported.

Core System

This iMac shipped with Quad-Core and Hexa-Core Coffee Lake 14nm CPUs. Only the i7 has hyper threading. All iMacs use an FCLGA1151 socket, and can be upgraded! These are part of the Intel 300 Series chipset.

Legend: L1i = L1 Instruction Cache, L1d = L1 Data cache

• Intel Core i3-8100 ($1299): 3.6 Ghz, 4 Cores, 4 Threads, No Turbo
  65W TDP, 14nm, Per-Core: 32KB L1i/32KB L1d, 256KB L2, Shared: 6 MB L3
  Comes with: MMX, SSE 4.2, AVX 2, AES, EPT, VT-x, VT-d, MPX, SGX
• Intel Core i5-8500 ($1499): 3.0 Ghz, 6 Cores, 6 Threads, 4.1 GHz Turbo
  65W TDP, 14nm, Per-Core: 32KB L1i/32KB L1d, 256KB L2, Shared: 9 MB L3
  Comes with: MMX, SSE 4.2, AVX 2, AES, EPT, VT-x, VT-d, MPX, SGX
• Intel Core i7-8700 ($1599): 3.2 Ghz, 6 Cores, 12 Threads, 4.6 GHz Turbo
  65W TDP, 14nm, Per-Core: 32KB L1i/32KB L1d, 256KB L2, Shared: 12 MB L3
  Comes with: MMX, SSE 4.2, AVX 2, AES, EPT, VT-x, VT-d, MPX, SGX, vPro

Memory

• i3-8100: 8/16/32 GB “2400T” MHz PC4-19200s SDRAM ~19.2 GB/s
• i5-8500/i7-8700: 8/16 (+$200) /32 GB (+$600) “2666” MHz PC4-21300 SDRAM ~19.2 GB/s
  • All 3 chips supports up to 64GB, according to Intel.

Video

• Base: AMD Radeon Pro 555X, 4 GB GDDR5, Polaris, 768 Cores, 14nm
  • 3 Billion Transistors, 123mm die size, BGA-769, PCIe v3 x8, 94.08 GB/s
  • 907 MHz GPU clock, 1470 MHz Memory clock (5.9 Gb/s effective), 75W TDP
  • OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 2.1, Vulkan 1.3, 12 Compute units, 16KB L1 Per CU, 1 MB L2. About the same as a desktop GTX 285, or Radeon HD 6850.
• 3.0 i5/3.2 i7 only: AMD Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB GDDR5, Polaris, 1024 Cores, 14nm
  • 3 Billion Transistors, 123mm die size, BGA-769, PCIe v3 x8, 94.08 GB/s, DX 12
  • 1004 MHz GPU clock, 1470 MHz Memory clock (5.9 Gb/s effective), 75W TDP
  • OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 2.1, Vulkan 1.3, 12 Compute units, 16KB L1 Per CU, 1 MB L2. About the same as a desktop GTX 750 TI, or Radeon HD 6870.
• 3.0 i5/3.2 i7 only: AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, (+$350) 4GB HBM2, 1280 Cores, 14 nm, Vega
  • 3 Billion Transistors, 123mm die size, BGA-769, PCIe v3 x16, 189.4 GB/s
  • 815 MHz CPU clock, 1283 MHz Boost Clock, 740 MHz Memory Clock (1480 Mb/s effective) 100W TDP
  • OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 2.1, Vulkan 1.3, 20 Compute units, 16KB L1 Per CU, 1 MB L2. About the same as a desktop GTX 950. a small pinch better than a desktop Radeon RX 560.
• 21.5″ IPS TFT LED-backlit LCD Retina display, 4096 x 2304 @218.5 PPI
  • Support for 1 Billion Colors, 500 Nits Brightness, and P3 Wide Color Gamut
• “Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 Billion colors and”
  • 1x 5120×2880/60Hz 1 Billion colors, 2x 3840 x 2160@60Hz 1 Billion colors, 2x 4096 x 2304 with millions of colors

Drives

• i3: 1 TB 5400 RPM 2.5″ SATA 3.0 (6Gb/s) Rotational Hard Disk Drive
  • Configurable to a 1 TB Fusion Drive (with 32 GB SSD portion) (+$100)
  • or a 256 GB (+$200) / 512 GB (+$400) / 1 TB (+$800) PCIe-based SSD
  • The price of 1 TB upgrade was amended to $600 on 7/9/2019.
  • On Aug 4th 2020, new prices: 512GB (+$200), 1 TB ($400)
• i5/i7: 1 TB Fusion Drive (with 32 GB SSD portion)
  • Configurable to a 1 TB Fusion Drive (with 32 GB SSD portion)
  • or a 256 GB (+$100) / 512 GB (+$300) / 1 TB (+$700) PCIe-based SSD
  • The price of 1 TB upgrade was amended to $500 on 7/9/2019.
  • On Aug 4th 2020, new prices: 512GB (+$200), 1 TB ($400)

Expansion/Misc

• Facetime HD Camera
• 2x USB-C Style Thunderbolt 3 ports with USB 3.1
• 4x USB-A style USB 3.0 ports
• Bluetooth 4.2
• 802.11ac (a/b/g/n) Wifi
• Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 connector
• SDXC SD-Card slot reader
• 3.5mm Headphone Jack
• Stereo Speakers
• A single Microphone
• Kensington lock slot
• 185W Power Supply, seems to be shared across models

Included Peripherals

• iMac 4K
• Magic Mouse 2
  • Configurable with Magic Trackpad 2
• Magic Keyboard 2
  • Configurable to Magic Keyboard 2 with Numeric Keypad
• Power Cord
• Documentation, Apple Stickers

Physical

• Size:H/W/D 17.7 x 20.8 x 6.9 in/45 x 52.8 x 17.5 cm
• Weight: 12.1 lb./5.48 kg