Evidence of Upcoming Retina iMacs Showing Up in OS X Yosemite Beta

[FrozenDarkness]

Holy Crap! That's high for a single screen! Lets hope they stuff some SERIOUS GPU grunt in them...

Be interesting to see what these are like. But considering Apple has gone dual GPU as standard on the new Pro then I think they'll stick some serious horsepower in them?

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hahahaha.... APPLE makes the best displays? No, Samsung or LG do. Don't get me wrong though Macs have awesome screens, always have so long as they don't get that yellow tint.

this hurts my brain because samsung or LG supply Apple screens

 

[racer1441]

Hopefully there's a matte screen option, though I'm not holding my breath.

I don't understand that. I don't like the Air because of the matte screen. It guess it's a personal preference, but I really hate matte screens.

 

[Digital Skunk]

New thunderbolt displays!

This..... this right here folks

 

[xmichaelp]

I'm pretty much waiting for a retina iMac before pulling the trigger. I don't want a machien five years from now with a 10 year old non-retina resolution. I already made the mistake of buying a cMBP when I really wish I got the MBA form factor in hindsight.

 

[Digital Skunk]

I don't understand that. I don't like the Air because of the matte screen. It guess it's a personal preference, but I really hate matte screens.

The air still has a glossy screen. It just doesn't have a glass plate in front of it like the other MacBooks do. Or so I thought.

 

[xmichaelp]

I think the GTX880M will suffice for general use and even some 4K video rendering and photoshop. Everyone talks about 4K gaming but thats still far off and we won't see anything close to a mobile equivalent to a titan black for the next 3-4 years, simply down res to 1440 or 1080. I mean the 15" retina MBP has a GT750M and runs quite well for standard use so I don't see major caveats. Be positive, lets be surprised, we're not obliged to buy them anyways

I don't get why people are so caught up in retina gaming. Just run it at non-retina, it will look just as good as if it were native. Retina shines in text/UI, not games.

 

[Lancer]

Thank god I didn't wait for retina when I got my 2012 iMac just after it's launch, I'd still be sitting in front G5. Good to see by the time I need to update again I'll probably be able to get a retina in the next few years.

 

[MythicFrost]

I mean what is the point of double or quadrupling the pixels only to show content the exact same size as on a lower resolution display?
I mean I just bought a laptop with something like 3200 x 1400 resolution, but then Windows UI is scaled at 200% so all the content is the same relative size as if it was a 1600 x 700 display. This is the same process used by iOS devices that went "Retina", same sized icons, just smoother rounded corners.

It has been maybe 15 years since I last looked at a screen and lamented how aliased some lines looked on it.

Yes I know that there is content like video and photos that will look beautiful @ 5000+ pixels, and I am sure there are apps that can use every pixel you can throw at it, but 99% of the time most users are going to simply be looking at a highly scaled up UI that is identical in physical dimensions to icons and buttons from the previous "low" res generation of screens, they just paid an *ssload more money for that privilege.

Also, I question putting this on an iMac because iMac's are not notorious for offering high-end GPU options and if you hope to play any future game on this screen, at native resolution, then you are going to need like a 4-way SLI GPU configuration option from Apple.com. Unless you can add an external GPU through Thunderbolt which also daisy chains back to the internal iMac display, then I think most people are going to be frustrated trying to make full use of their iMac with an impressive waste of pixel count.

Apple, just focus on making iMac affordable and/or come out with a headless Mac that doesn't cost as much as a used car and let people decide how many pixels they need to waste on a display of their choice.

It's all about the crispness of the UI. I've been waiting for this for ages. Photos, videos, and most importantly for me, games, will look fantastic. (Though, you probably won't run anything more than the lowest end games at 6400x3600 or any similar resolution, haha.)

 

[flottenheimer]

Great news.
Personally I'm looking forward to a slim 24" or 27" retina Cinema Display.

 

[joe-h2o]

An iMac display doesn't have to go through a port, it is an all-in-one, everything is done internally.

It does mean that dream of a 5120x2880 cinema display might be a bit further away.

And what do you think that internal connection between the LCD panel and the logic board is? Just because it's internal doesn't mean you can simply ignore specifications for your video bus.


(It's DisplayPort)

 

[The Doctor11]

Won't happen. For example, Retina MacBook Pros did not simply take over the existing MacBook Pro pricing. They were marked up hundreds.

I know

 

[827538]

Better late than never, I was figured the Retina iMac's would have been released shortly after the first rMBP. Looking forward to them!

 

[gugy]

Retina Thunderbolt display please.

Matte screen please!!!!!

 

[SchneiderMan]

The resolution posted above is higher than 4k

yep it's 6K. On a 27 or a 28-inch iMac that would be awesome. The current resolution on the 27-inch iMac is just 2.5K.

 

[Tough Guy]

Apple needs to make SSDs standard in the imac before we start worrying about "retina" displays.

These things run 5400 drives! It's 2014, for the love of Zeus.

 

[xmichaelp]

An iMac display doesn't have to go through a port, it is an all-in-one, everything is done internally.

It does mean that dream of a 5120x2880 cinema display might be a bit further away.

Only until TB3. Apple could get it early too, who knows.

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Apple needs to make SSDs standard in the imac before we start worrying about "retina" displays.

These things run 5400 drives! It's 2014, for the love of Zeus.

This. SSD standard on iMacs are an absolute must. Fusion drive preferably.

 

[apolloa]

I don't get why people are so caught up in retina gaming. Just run it at non-retina, it will look just as good as if it were native. Retina shines in text/UI, not games.

I doubt they will be able to game at those resolutions? Even the dual D700's get severely pushed with 4K games, they do it but not a mega high FPS. The the res the more GPU power needed. I would still take a Retina MacBook Pro over any 4K laptop anyday still.

 

[bushman4]

Time for Retina and perhaps a cosmetic makeover to round out Yosemite

Bring it on

 

[dagamer34]

DP 1.2 only does 4K @ 60Hz, nothing higher. You'd have to wait for DP 1.3 for a display that does higher than 4K, and nothing implements that, not even the new Mac Pro. So external displays are out, you'd only be limited to iMacs. There's a bit of precedence for this, as the 27" 1440p iMac screen came out in 2009, but the 20" Apple Cinema Display is from 2010. Still, even then it would be limited to DP 1.3 devices, which not even Thunderbolt 3 supports, so that's still a no go.

For now, it's 4K or bust.

 

[xmichaelp]

THE BIG QUESTION:
Will they keep a non-Retina TB-Display (with USB 3.0) on sale (and lower the price)?

I mean, they have to because many current Macs coulnd't run a retina TB display, don't they?

1440p TBD at 799 and 2880p at 1599? Sounds good to me.

 

[thedeske]

Yo-Sa-Mighty Not be tellin' the truth here guys. A Mac Pro with a 4k, whatever k display inside an iMac?

Really?

 

[xmichaelp]

would the nMP be able to drive such a resolution?

Yes, you'd just need dual TB connections for one display.

 

[macs4nw]

These would be awesome, Apple seems to be moving towards a high and low end type offering. The 5c and 5s, lower cost iPod Touch, presumably a lower cost Macbook Air if it's true that a retina will come out.. A low end iMac and a retina would fit right in

That makes a lot of sense. This would enable them to compete in emerging markets, while giving the mature markets (who on average have more disposable income), state-of-the-art offerings.

Also an opportunity to use some of those components from 'first-tier' products in the following year, for their lower cost models.

As an aside, it's hard to imagine how much nicer a Retina iMac is going to look, considering the current models are already pretty sharp.

 

[laserbeam273]

It has been maybe 15 years since I last looked at a screen and lamented how aliased some lines looked on it.

Since removing the antiglare screen protector on my iPhone 4S, I can notice subtle pixelation from over a foot away even though it's Retina. And on my non-Retina Dell monitor, I can easily see pixels from over a metre away. I'm a web developer, so it's my job to be fussy about UI crispness. I'm looking forward to 3x Retina rather than the current 2x!

Also, I question putting this on an iMac because iMac's are not notorious for offering high-end GPU options and if you hope to play any future game on this screen, at native resolution, then you are going to need like a 4-way SLI GPU configuration option from Apple.com. Unless you can add an external GPU through Thunderbolt which also daisy chains back to the internal iMac display, then I think most people are going to be frustrated trying to make full use of their iMac with an impressive waste of pixel count.

The iMac GPUs are pretty hefty. Listed here, the top iMac GPU has half the performance of the top (normal person) graphics card - a GeForce GTX TITAN Black - despite it being over half a year old. Definitely high end in my mind.

Also my MBPr's GPU, a paltry Nvidia GT 650M, can play Starcraft 2 & Civ 5 at native res. Not glamorously, but quite smooth on moderate settings. The top iMac GPU has about 3.3x the performance (same list & benchmark), yet with 2x Retina scaling of the current iMac's screen is 5120x2880, it's about 2.8x the pixels. Add on the standard GPU upgrade, and I expect a Retina iMac could do native res gaming.

Also, as always, iMac's aren't designed to be top end gaming machines. If you really need the max FPS & ultra high textures, then you'll just have to set the res to an *embarrassing* 2560x1440.

 

[thekeyring]

If we're at the point where iMacs can have Retina Displays, I hope Apple will release a new iPhone with twice the PPI.

A 4.7" with 652 PPI would be incredible!