There are many reasons you might need to find out what kind of Mac or MacBook you have Perhaps you are planning to sell a used Mac and you want to know what it’s worth. If you sell your Mac, you’ll also be able to tell buyers exactly what they’re getting.
Maybe you are buying a second-hand Mac and you want to test that you are going to buy an antique model that will not be able to cope with your daily tasks.
Alternatively, you might want to update your operating system and make sure that the latest version of macOS won’t crash your computer. When the next version of MacOS arrives on Macs in the fall, you may be wondering if your Mac is capable of running it – if you don’t know if you have a Mac you won’t be smart. Read: Which version of macOS can my Mac run? For advice.
In this article we will help you to find the model identifier, serial number and other information which will help you to identify which Mac model you have and how old it is.
Different types of Mac
Before we get our spy hats it has been useful to run through various Apple Mac sales – or have been sold. Apple currently makes six types of Macs. Over the years, the company has sold Macs that have been discontinued, such as the 27in iMac, iMac Pro and MacBook.
There are currently two types of Mac laptops:
- MacBook Air (13in)
- MacBook Pro (13in, 14in and 16in)
And there are four types of Mac desktops:
- Mac Mini
- iMac (24in)
- iMac Pro
- Mac Pro
Apples
There are several key differences between the Mac models that Apple sells While some Macs are targeted at full power users, such as Mac Studio and Mac Pro, other Mac segments can similarly meet the needs of professional and home users, thanks to the large differences in processor and graphics power-off offerings. For example, the division between the 13in MacBook Pro and the 16in MacBook Pro is huge. Read our Mac Buying Guide here to learn more about the different Macs Apple made.
How to tell if you have a Mac: Easy method
Here’s an easy way to identify exactly which Mac or MacBook you have:
- Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac.
- This will bring up a drop-down menu. Choose the top option: About this Mac.
- The resulting window details what kind of Mac it is, such as the iMac (27-inch, late 2013) or below the Mac Mini (M1 2020)
Foundry
If you do not have access to the Mac in question, or you cannot access the menu because the Mac does not turn on, you will not be able to access this information. However, if you follow the steps below, you will still be able to determine which Mac model it is.
How to find the serial number of a Mac
Each Mac has a serial number that defines it individually, so if you can find the serial number you will be able to identify the Mac. There are several reasons why you might need to find out the serial number of your Mac. Your serial number helps you get warranty service, it can help with a technical problem, it will alert you if the Mac is returned due to a known error, and in the unfortunate event of your Mac being stolen, it can help you recover it.
The serial number is shown on the main screen of this Mac (seen above, although we have grayed out the actual serial number there). It can also be found in the Hardware Overview in System Report (System Information / more information in older macOS versions). Just click Apple menu> About this Mac.
Assuming you have registered a Mac with your Apple ID, you will be able to find it if you visit the Apple ID site. Here you will also be able to find the serial numbers for the devices registered in your account in the Devices section.
Foundry
You will get the serial number of the Mac itself. It is usually located at the bottom, but the location of your serial number depends on the Mac model.
Here’s a list of Macs where you’ll probably find serial numbers and other information:
- iMac: Available on computer base. Be sure to turn off your iMac, disconnect the wires and then invert it, especially on a soft surface, to express numbers. If you want to see a visual presentation – visit Apple’s website.
- MacBook Air: Available on the back of laptops. The position of the numbers will be different between the post-2012 model, 2010-2011 and the original-2009; However, on all MacBook Airs, the numbers will be on the back of the laptop. If you want to see a visual presentation – visit Apple’s website.
- MacBook Pro: Found on the back of the laptop. For those really old MacBook professionals who can find numbers before 2008 in laptops. If you want to see a visual presentation – visit Apple’s website.
- Mac Pro Pre-2013 (Tower Computer): Available on the back panel of the computer near the output of the video card. If you want to see a visual presentation – visit Apple’s website.
- Mac Pro 2013 (Cylinder Computer): Available on the bottom surface of the computer. Be sure to turn it off before launching the Mac Pro. If you want to see a visual presentation – visit Apple’s website.
- Mac Pro 2019: You’ll find the serial number printed on the bottom of the Mac, next to the control signs – go to Apple’s website.
- Mac Mini: Available on the bottom of the computer. If you want to see a visual presentation – visit Apple’s website.
Another way to find out the model and serial number of your Mac is to check the original packaging or the original receipt / invoice – that is to say, if you still have it!
Once you have identified the serial number, you can enter it into the AppleCare coverage lookup page on Apple’s site to find the name of the man-readable model.
How to find your Mac model identifier
Although it is quite easy to identify the model by it Click on the Apple menu> About this Mac, Sometimes you need product names and a little more information than the year to find the right Mac model Apple also lists model identifiers that can tell you more about the Mac.
Follow these instructions to find the model number of your Mac:
- Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac.
- This will bring up a drop-down menu. Choose the top option: About this Mac.
- Click System Report (or on Macs running older operating systems, click More Information).
- In the hardware overview you will see the model identifier.
Note that the model identifier can be shared across multiple Macs, so you will need more information to confidently identify the Mac in question.
How to find your Mac model number
Apple also assigns a model number to its Macs. This number could be used for a single version of Macs, depending on the CPU and other factors, or spread a dozen or more individual versions of the model line. EveryMac offers insights on this – it’s impossible to know Apple’s choices here. Model numbers (sometimes called “family numbers”) look like A2179. They are printed on your Mac.
How to find out the marketing part number
Apple also assigns a part number to its devices that can define the country for which it has created a specific configuration or combination of hardware features, such as the difference between Space Gray and Gold MacBook Air. This number is printed on a Mac and the packaging that comes with it It looks like the MGND3LL / A (a 13-inch M1-based 2020 MacBook Air in gold).
If you think that the Mac you are buying secondhand is basically like checking whether it was bought elsewhere.
How to find out how old your Mac is
Finding out how old your Mac is is an important step towards uncovering the details of the components used inside Apple.
To find out when the Mac in question was launched (not necessarily at the time of purchase) you can find out what generation the processor is inside as well as other information that can help you determine if it is worse than another Mac.
To know the age of a Mac, follow these steps:
- Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac.
- This will bring up a drop-down menu. Choose the top option: About this Mac.
- The resulting window will show you the information you need, such as the iMac (27-inch, late 2013).
That was the date when that particular generation of Macs was launched. It could be that the Mac was made and purchased sometime after that date, so it may not be physically old.
For example, you can buy a new Mac Mini from Apple right now (a 3.0GHz Intel-powered model), but that model hasn’t been updated since 2018.
Once you know the launch date of the model, you can find information about the processor and other components inside it, as we explain here: How to check your Mac space: Find out the processor and RAM information.
How to visually identify your Mac
Apple doesn’t often make big design changes, so some Macs are easy to identify by the look alone and you’ll probably be confident that you’re looking at a Mac Mini or an iMac, for example. However, it’s not clear if the 27in iMac you’re looking at is a decade old or just a few years old because Apple hasn’t updated the design in a long time.
Mac laptops can be a little more difficult to distinguish from each other. An easy way to test what kind of Mac laptop you have is to open the lid of your Mac laptop – you’ll probably see the name of the model printed in black on the bottom of the screen. Until you have a MacBook Pro between 2012 and 2016 – Apple has removed the name from Bezel for several years, but the name has returned to later models.
The screen
If your Mac has a screen, measuring the screen diagonally can help you identify which model it is. However, you should note that Apple rounds up or rounds down the screen measurements when naming its MacBooks.
Depending on the age of your Mac, you may have the following screen sizes:
- 13.3-inch – 13-inch MacBook Pro or MacBook Air
- 14.2-inch – 2021 to 14-inch MacBook Pro
- 16-inch – 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019 or earlier
- 16.2-inch – 2021 to 16-inch MacBook Pro
- 21.5-inch – 21.5in iMac (off)
- 23.5-inch – 24in iMac from 2021
- 27-inch – 27in iMac or iMac Pro (off)
Another way to tell the difference is the quality of the screen – older MacBook Air from before 2018, and some older models of the MacBook Pro do not have a Retina display. Retina displays contain more pixels for a higher image.
Color
The pre-2018 MacBook Air was only available in Silver, while the new design of the MacBook Air (which is thinner) comes in Gold, Space Gray and Silver.
The MacBook Pro has always had a metallic case since its introduction in 2006 (when it replaced the PowerBook G4 series). Originally the MacBook Pro had a silver aluminum finish, but since 2016 it has come in Space Gray or Silver.
The 24in iMac comes in a variety of colors, including blue, green, pink, silver, orange, yellow and purple. The discontinued 21.5 and 27in iMac models were made of aluminum and have been around since 2007. If your iMac is white (or any other shade of plastic), it is much older On the other hand, if your iMac Space Gray is an iMac Pro.
When Apple introduced the Mac Mini in 2005 it was white and silver, the design did not change significantly until 2010 when it got an aluminum case and again in 2011 when it lost its optical drive. In 2018 the Mac Mini became a pro with a space gray case. Then when the M1 Mac Mini 2020 arrives it comes back in an aluminum case.
If you have a Mac Pro that is black and looks a lot like a trash can, then you have the 2013 Mac Pro. If it’s an aluminum box with a cheese-greater on the front, it’s one of the models Apple introduced between 2006 and 2012, with an Intel processor. , Then you got the new Mac Pro. If it’s a plastic case, you have a pre-Intel Mac Pro.