What are all the differences between the 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac models available at the time the iMac Pro models were introduced?

This Q&A compares the iMac Pro and the 27" iMac models available at the time the iMac Pro was introduced. All of these models have been discontinued, but this Q&A has been updated subsequently and can be quite helpful for anyone buying or selling one of these models on the used market.

As defined by EveryMac.com, the 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac models are the iMac "Core i5" 3.4 27" (5K), "Core i5" 3.5 27" (5K), "Core i5" 3.8 27" (5K), and "Core i7" 4.2 27" (5K).

The iMac Pro models are the iMac Pro "8-Core" 3.2 27" (5K), "10-Core" 3.0 27" (5K), "14-Core" 2.5 27" (5K), and "18-Core" 2.3 27" (5K). The entry-level iMac Pro "8-Core" 3.2 27" (5K) was discontinued on August 4, 2020. The remaining configurations received price cuts at the same time and were discontinued entirely on March 19, 2021.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (27" iMac 5K - Left, iMac Pro - Right)

External Differences

The 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac and iMac Pro models use a very similar case design (they're even the exact same dimensions), and have sharply tapering sides at the edge of the display, but the iMac Pro is offered in a dark "Space Gray" color.

Both models have literally identical 27" LED-backlit 16:9 widescreen IPS DCI-P3, wide color gamut, "Retina 5K" displays with a gigantic 5120x2880 resolution. However, the iMac Pro has a better 1080p "FaceTime HD" webcam (instead of 720p), better speakers and four integrated microphones rather than just two. The iMac Pro also is noticeably quieter which makes it particularly worthwhile for audio production work.

Connectivity Differences

Both the 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac andiMac Pro have four USB 3 (USB-A) ports, an awkwardly located SDCX card slot, and an analog 3.5 mm headphone jack. They also both have 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 (on August 4, 2020, Apple upgraded the iMac Pro to Bluetooth 5.0).

However, the non-Pro iMac only has two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports and Gigabit Ethernet whereas the iMac Pro has four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports and faster Nbase-T (10-gigabit) Ethernet.

Identification Differences

Just compared to one another, the 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac and iMac Pro models can be identified by Model Number, A1419 for the iMac and A1862 for the iMac Pro. However, the identifiers for the non-pro iMac models are shared by other systems and are not as useful for precise identification.

Accordingly, these systems can be more uniquely differentiated by Model Identifier in software and EMC Number externally. Just as the site has for other Macs for more than two decades, EveryMac.com has meticulously hand documented these details for your convenience:

iMac Model	Model ID	EMC No.
iMac (Mid-2017, 5K)	iMac18,3	3070
iMac Pro (Late 2017)	iMacPro1,1	3144

Additionally, EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature also can uniquely identify each of these models by their serial numbers.

Internal Differences

Internally, the 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac and iMac Pro have little in common.

The 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac models have "Kaby Lake" (7th Gen) processors; 2400 MHz DDR4 SDRAM; a variety of hard drive, SSD, or "hybrid" storage configurations; and Radeon Pro graphics. The RAM is beautifully easy to upgrade via a simple access door and a wide variety of internal storage upgrades are possible.

The iMac Pro models, by contrast have much more advanced technology, but are practically sealed shut. They have newer Xeon W processors, faster 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC SDRAM, an SSD, and faster Radeon Pro Vega graphics. It is possible to upgrade the RAM (just needlessly difficult) and although it is removable, it may or may not be possible to upgrade the SSD. The iMac Pro is essentially dependent on its four high-speed Thunderbolt 3 ports for connectivity to fast external storage.

Comparison Chart

The major differences between the 27-Inch "Mid-2017" iMac and iMac Pro are summarized below. Please refer to the specs page for the model of interest for complete details:

	27" Mid-2017	Pro Late 2017
Introduced:	June 5, 2017	December 14, 2017
Discontinued:	March 19, 2019	March 19, 2021
Processor Speed:	3.4, 3.5, 3.8, 4.2 GHz*	3.2, 3.0, 2.5, 2.3 GHz
Processor Type:	Quad Core i5/i7*	8, 10, 14, 18 Cores
Processor Family:	Kaby Lake	Xeon W
Processor Mounting:	LGA 1151	LGA 2066
DDR4 RAM:	2400 MHz	2666 MHz
Standard RAM:	8 GB	32 GB
Maximum RAM:	128 GB	512 GB
RAM Slots:	4	4
RAM Upgrade:	Easy (Door)	Difficult
Standard Storage:	Fusion	SSD
Standard Graphics:	Radeon Pro 570/575/580	Radeon Pro Vega 56
Dedicated VRAM:	4, 8 GB	8 GB
Display Size:	27-Inch	27-Inch
Display Resolution:	5120x2880	5120x2880
Thunderbolt 3:	Two	Four
Ethernet:	Gigabit	10-Gigabit
Webcam:	720p	1080p
Microphones:	Two	Four
Bluetooth:	4.2	5.0
Secure Boot:	No	Yes
Order Number (US):	MNE92LL/A MNEA2LL/A MNED2LL/A	MQ2Y2LL/A
EMC Number:	3070	3144
Model Identifier:	iMac18,3	iMacPro1,1
Orig. Price (US):	US$1799 US$1999 US$2299	US$4999 US$5799 US$6599 US$7399
Orig. Price (UK):	£1749 £1949 £2249	£4899 £5619 £6339 £7399
Orig. Price (CA):	C$2399 C$2649 C$3079	C$6299 C$7259 C$8219 C$9179
Orig. Price (AU):	A$2699 A$2999 A$3449	A$7299 A$8579 A$9859 A$11,139

* The iMac "Core i5" 3.5 27" 5K and "Core i5" 3.8 27" 5K could be custom configured with a 4.2 GHz Quad Core "Core i7" processor (I7-7700K) for an extra US$300 or US$200, respectively. EveryMac.com has documented this custom configuration as its own model, as well.

Comparison Summary

Ultimately, the "Late 2017" iMac Pro was a "one step forward, one step back" kind of system compared to the earlier "Mid-2017" 27-Inch iMac 5K line.

Compared to its non-Pro contemporary, the "Late 2017" iMac Pro has a much faster and more advanced processor and graphics processor, faster memory and storage, and enhanced connectivity (as well as quieter fans and better speakers), but it is much more difficult and limited in terms of internal upgrades, which is an unfortunate and largely unnecessary design choice for a "professional" system.

For software that is not optimized or able to fully take advance of multicore systems, the iMac Pro also can be no faster, even potentially slower, than the "Mid-2017" 27-Inch iMac 5K models and slower still compared to later non-pro iMac models.

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