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Apple unveils new Retina iMac, featuring 5K display
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MacNN Staff
Join Date: Jul 2012
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At its iPad event, Apple also unveiled a new 27-inch Retina 5K iMac, featuring an all-new display that offers 5K (5120x2880) resolution, 67 percent more pixels than found in a new 4K HDTV. Although previously rumored, the new iMac still managed to surprise with a lower-than-expected price tag starting at $2,499, considerably less than the cost of a typical high-end 4K HDTV. The new model, which will be sold in addition to the existing iMac models, also offers processing power up to a 4.0GHz Core i7.
The display offers a total of 14.7 million pixels, an increase of nearly six million pixels over a 4K television and 12.7 million pixels over a typical HD display. The machine uses fourth-generation Intel Core processors with options up to a 4.0GHz quad-core Haswell Core i7 chip, capable of 3.5 teraflops of processing of graphics computing power (a significant jump up from the previous model), with graphics powered by an AMD Radeon R9 M290X with 2GB of VRAM, though customizable up to 4GB.
The unit comes with a 1TB Apple Fusion Drive as standard, which combines a portion of SSD and traditional hard drive to create a hybrid SSHDD. There is an option to customize the new iMac with up to a 3TB Fusion option, or up to a 1TB pure SSD. A max-spec model with the 1TB SSD, the 4GH video card, 4GHz processor (with burst up to 4.4GHz) and the maximum 32GB of RAM would cost $4,399 before tax, putting the top iMac firmly into Mac Pro territory with regards to pricing.
Apple spent some little time during the presentation talking about how it had to invent many of the components of the display in order to achieve the combination of resolution and speed necessary to make the device feasible. There are 23 layers of technology compressed into a 1.4mm panel assembly, and a new TCON or timing controller that was specifically invented by Apple to manage the high number of pixels, which is considerably higher than any other display or computer currently available.
Apple is also responsible for a new Oxide TFT (thin film transistor) that offers more precision in sending electrical charges to each pixel. The company says that it powers four times more pixels with 30 percent less power than the previous iMac, and offers even better uniform brightness across the screen. New organic passivation reduces cross-talk between pixels, which is more important as pixel counts increase, and the display offers improved contrast through a process called photo alignment. A "compensation film" was also added for better off-axis viewing, and the display is calibrated, says Apple, using state-of-the-art spectroradiometers.
The new model also includes Thunderbolt 2 ports (two of them), 802.11ac support for up to 1.3 gigabits per second throughput, and dual microphones (along with new support for iPhone bluetooth headsets).
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Last edited by NewsPoster; Oct 16, 2014 at 03:42 PM.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Mar 2005
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seriously, a 5K iMac, but no standalone 4K monitor for pro users with a new Mac Pro?? OMG, that sucks.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
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Apple continues to disappoint their Pro line customers. Where's my 5K retina display for my $4K MacPro? Asshats!
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Grizzled Veteran
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While I'm sure a 4k (5k?) Cinema Display is coming along at some point in the future, let us not forget that the iMac can be used as a standalone Thunderbolt display for any Thunderbolt-capable Mac (mini, Pro, other iMac, etc.) and that $2,499 for a 27" 5k display is an absolute steal at this point in time.
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Unless you have a super high end DSLR/video camera, I'm not sure I get the point of 5k resolution. One of the blockers to 4K television adoption is lack of content.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2001
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I wonder if Apple has given up on the Cinema Display line. When they do produce one, everyone complains about how expensive they are and then goes and buys a Dell model anyway.
(I think maybe now we might soon see a 5K Cinema Display, but don't be surprised if its considerably more than $999 -- maybe in tandem with a Mac Pro update early next year)
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Charles Martin
MacNN Editor
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Senior User
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at this point, 5K resolution is likely a marketing ploy. Though this is certainly an attractive option for photographers and possibly video pros who are into color grading. I think this is actually an iMac that would be appealing to pro users who want the all-in-one approach of an iMac combined with some serious horsepower.
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Apple really should have had at least a 4K Cinema Display ready to go at the same time. If they can make an entire iMac for $2500, they can make a Cinema Display... and for considerably less. Those of us with sub $8K Mac Pros know damn good and well that the iMac is no substitute. We've funded this company with expensive Mac Pros... why no Cinema Display?
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Dare I point to the 5k Dell monitor that is coming out soon. I did seem strange that they did not release a 5k monitor. Limited supplies?
Oh come on people that don't understand the need, this a mac site. Graphics, photography, and video is likely 25% percent of apple's computer sales. They all need and want 4k and better. Apple clearly called out 4K 4096x2160 in the demos that video people expect not UHD resolution that the consumer electronics is trying to pass off as 4k.
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Forum Regular
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If Apple updates the Cinema Display, it will only be 4k. Only the new iMac and Mac Pros can even do the 5k resolution.
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