Apple Reportedly Planning to Launch iMac With OLED Display

[fantasyname_qwertz]

Can't they just put a Mac in the studio display?

 

[deevey]

That's no excuse for taking 3-4 years to do it when Samsung is giving Apple 220ppi samples later this year. And, a 220PPI display is about 4.5K. Apple could have gone standard 4K and most people buying a 24" iMac would think it's beautiful and wouldn't know the difference. Instead, as always, they choose the harder path of demanding 4.5K displays.

It's always something with Apple. In the meantime, I enjoy my 32" 4K QD-OLED every single day and it's stunning.

1. 4k would not look beautiful, it would be a step down.

2. Burn in is still a thing with OLED.

3. Brightness levels are not there except for very expensive displays.

I cannot imagine Apple drop brightness levels, PPI and reliability over what they currently use, and I'd hate to see them compromising on any of the above just to keep OLED lovers happy.

I've got the 600-nit Studio Display, and 50% Brightness is about as much as my eyeballs can bear. What's the use case for representing things brighter than any real-world objects?

HDR

 

[tenthousandthings]

That's no excuse for taking 3-4 years to do it when Samsung is giving Apple 220ppi samples later this year. And, a 220PPI display is about 4.5K. Apple could have gone standard 4K and most people buying a 24" iMac would think it's beautiful and wouldn't know the difference. Instead, as always, they choose the harder path of demanding 4.5K displays.

It's always something with Apple. In the meantime, I enjoy my 32" 4K QD-OLED every single day and it's stunning.

Of course there is an "excuse." Without knowing what generation QD-OLED you have, it's hard to comment on how the current Samsung Display generation compares to yours, but suffice it to say OLED technology has been rapidly developing, with major improvements each year. Apple's involvement has been integral, if not critical -- the 2024 OLED iPad Pro specified features that are just now becoming standard, including the "RGB-Stripe" (LG) or "V-Stripe" (Samsung) sub-pixel layout for improved text clarity.

I get that you're happy with what you have, but to stay abreast of the competition, Apple would have to had come out with a new edition of your display every year, just like Samsung, LG, ASUS, and the like do.

Also, Apple is not requesting QD-OLED, they're requesting OLED. LG is supplying W-OLED so Apple doesn't care.

This is incorrect, what do you even mean by that? OLED is an umbrella term at this point. As the article says, Apple is requesting Samsung Display's latest QD-OLED technology, and LG Display's latest as well, most likely with additional specifications that will shape future developments. Just like the process that resulted in the 2024 iPad Pro. Apple has tremendous weight because of the stability of an Apple order, which is usually for years of steady production, unlike the volatile nature of much of the display industry, especially gaming and television.

For what it's worth, I think the iMac is getting a redesign for M6, and the OLED iMac is coming sooner than this rumor suggests.

 

[ikramerica]

It's mind-boggling it takes Apple 3-4 years to incorporate into a new iMac, what is a common display technology in the industry everywhere BUT Apple.

220 dpi OLED 24” screens are common? Can you point me to a product?

 

[capamac]

Micro LED is the real tech to watch for:

"Compared to OLEDs, the inorganic nature of microLEDs gives them a longer lifetime and allows them to display brighter images with minimal risk of screen burn-in."

Micro LED gets you the reliability of IPS panels plus the ability to turn off each pixel individually for true blacks / higher contrast ratios like OLED.

OLED's just some kinda potato-grade halfway house on the way to micro LED.

 

[uczcret]

Can't they just put a Mac in the studio display?

Of course they can, that thing has an A19 Pro chip already. But they'd rather sell you a Mac Mini and Studio Display.

 

[deevey]

I get it. Apple set some standard and now has to follow it. Meanwhile, millions of people buy Mac Mini's and MacBooks and connect to 3rd party OLED (and other) monitors and aren't complaining. I just don't think 4.5K vs. 4K is worth the cost and wait time.

Thats no excuse to Lower standards.

If a Michelin star restaurant does that they lose their stars, despite most customers could probably not tell the difference between margarine and butter.

Terrible example. This test was running CNN for 24-hours a day on a TV. Hardly the use case for a Mac, wouldn't you say?

I have a 21" BENQ OLED on my desk right now in use for only 3 years that has burn in from being used for just 8-12 hours a day (which would be pretty typical). It's extremely apparent on light to dark grey.

I can replace the monitor, I could not afford to replace an entire iMac with the same condition.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Micro LED is the real tech to watch for:

"Compared to OLEDs, the inorganic nature of microLEDs gives them a longer lifetime and allows them to display brighter images with minimal risk of screen burn-in."

Micro LED gets you the reliability of IPS panels plus the ability to turn off each pixel individually for true blacks / higher contrast ratios like OLED.

OLED's just some kinda potato-grade halfway house on the way to micro LED.

Micro LED is like Fusion..

Always like "5-10 years away."

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

1. 4k would not look beautiful, it would be a step down.

2. Burn in is still a thing with OLED.

3. Brightness levels are not there except for very expensive displays.

I cannot imagine Apple drop brightness levels, PPI and reliability over what they currently use, and I'd hate to see them compromising on any of the above just to keep OLED lovers happy.


HDR

1. My eyes looking at 3K 120Hz OLED on my laptops and 4K 240Hz QD-OLED on my 32" Asus monitor would disagree with you.

2. See previous posts saying not so much plus tech on OLED these days help to minimize burn-in.

3. Not true. Most OLED's have HDR brightness levels exceeding IPS panels.

I agree with your last point, which is too bad, as it just causes Apple people to wait forever -- but they're sort of used to waiting, right?

 

[macjaffa]

After theyve finished touchifying mac ps they might do this

 

[capamac]

2. See previous posts saying not so much plus tech on OLED these days help to minimize burn-in.

Yeah, compensation. So as your blue channel on your OLED panel dies, the panel compensates by decreasing the brightness of the red and green channels, thus keeping the degredation of the blue channel less obvious to the user.

Note, at this point, your OLED panel *has degraded* ... maybe you've not yet noticed it, but it's happened. It's like that story of boiling a frog in a pot of water, slowly raising the temperature in such a way the frog doesn't notice. But he is getting boiled alive.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Thats no excuse to Lower standards.

If a Michelin star restaurant does that they lose their stars, despite most customers could probably not tell the difference between margarine and butter.

I have a 21" BENQ OLED on my desk right now in use for only 3 years that has burn in from being used for just 8-12 hours a day (which would be pretty typical). It's extremely apparent on light to dark grey.

I can replace the monitor, I could not afford to replace an entire iMac with the same condition.

An iMac is not the equivalent of a meal at a Michelin star restaurant -- the Mac Studio and Studio display are.

I have a 32" Asus QD-OLED on my desk. It routinely does a pixel-refresh to help minimize burn-in. Does your 3 year old BENQ do that? There are also idle mode screen savers built into ASUS OLED-based laptops (very pretty ones at that) that help minimize burn in.

Regardless, by the time Apple releases its "WOW" OLED iMac, no one will care as it will be old technology by then.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Yeah, compensation. So as your blue channel on your OLED panel dies, the panel compensates by decreasing the brightness of the red and green channels, thus keeping the degredation of the blue channel less obvious to the user.

Note, at this point, your OLED panel *has degraded* ... maybe you've not yet noticed it, but it's happened. It's like that story of boiling a frog in a pot of water, slowly raising the temperature in such a way the frog doesn't notice. But he is getting boiled alive.

You're posts show you are CLEARLY not interested in OLED technology. We get it. So don't buy one.

 

[1037]

How about a 30"- 32" version?

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

OLED's just some kinda potato-grade halfway house on the way to micro LED.

I'm stuck on what a "potato-grade halfway house" is? Never seen potato used to describe a house.

In any case, isn't every technology a "halfway house" to the next new thing? It's how things evolve.

FWIW, I have a 32" 4K 180Hz mini LED monitor on my Mac Mini M4. It's very bright and beautiful (despite only being 4K and not 4.5K). Seems like something Apple could use today in a new Mac Mini instead of waiting 4 more years.

 

[iDento]

A tandem OLED like the iPad Pro screen in an iMac would be amazing, but by 2030 we’re all dead from nuclear pollution! Try 2027 please.

 

[capamac]

Potato:

"An object of poor quality. Usually a video camera or a microphone.
"This youtube video quality sucks. Was it filmed with a potato?"

( www.urbandictionary.com )

 

[Adelphos33]

It's a 24" iMac for consumers, not a Studio display used by professionals. Do you think all those iMac fun colors are meant for professionals doing color accurate work? I know I wouldn't be even using a 24" display if I were doing serious work.

I switched to a mostly remote job last year, done primarily on the iMac 24". Spreadsheets, chrome, documents, slack. Serious work that earns me money. iMac works very well for it. A slightly larger screen could be beneficial, but the idea that the current iMac can't do "serious work" is one of the dumbest ideas out there. Every Mac, including the MacBook Neo, is capable of professional work.

 

[Adelphos33]

Interesting that as much as people complain about the current iMac, it apparently sells well enough for Apple to update it on a regular basis.

 

[deevey]

1. My eyes looking at 3K 120Hz OLED on my laptops and 4K 240Hz QD-OLED on my 32" Asus monitor would disagree with you.

You cannot see the difference and scaling softness @ 32"? How far away is your screen?

If you were used to seeing how crisp everything is at 220 PPI on a large screen perhaps you'd have a different opinion. Movies looked great at 720p, vs 1080p until we had 4k as standard.

2. See previous posts saying not so much plus tech on OLED these days help to minimize burn-in.

If it can be minimized to the extent of IPS - great! I'm in. However many years of testing are probably required to ensure this is the case, especially for an AIO machine that owners tend to keep until they drop.

3. Not true. Most OLED's have HDR brightness levels exceeding IPS panels*.

Samples - 500 nits and above only please ?

*They must exceed Apple's IPS Panels

I agree with your last point, which is too bad, as it just causes Apple people to wait forever -- but they're sort of used to waiting, right?

Why would they slap unknown (and currently non-existent) technology into a machine when the older, reliable, tried and true technology does not affect 99% of the user base.

The pixel density doesn't exist, the brightness doesn't exist (at this size) so will take a minute unless panel manufacturers have been developing something behind the scenes for quite a while.

An iMac is not the equivalent of a meal at a Michelin star restaurant -- the Mac Studio and Studio display are.

I would disagree, all Apple products are known for their consistency and reliability - the iMac vs Mac Studio/Display are just the 2 vs 3 Michelin star equivalent.

I have a 32" Asus QD-OLED on my desk. It routinely does a pixel-refresh to help minimize burn-in. Does your 3 year old BENQ do that? There are also idle mode screen savers built into ASUS OLED-based laptops (very pretty ones at that) that help minimize burn in.

Nope it doesn't. I dont know how you work, but generally it's 8-12 hours a session so my monitors rarely go into screensaver mode. I'd take a stab you have the ROG swift which is still pretty new tech (vs the typical lifespan of an iMac) so I guess we'll see in a few years if that technology was successful in mitigating burn-in.

Regardless, by the time Apple releases its "WOW" OLED iMac, no one will care as it will be old technology by then.

True - but it will hopefully have matured by the time it's implemented.

 

[mlayer]

Can't they just put a Mac in the studio display?

The 24" iMac has the computer guts (logic board/storage) placed in the "chin" of the machine below the display portion. They would have to do the same with a new 27" as well assuming they wanted to keep the flat front and back design language. There isn't sufficient space to cram an iMac into the current Studio Displays as they are.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

I switched to a mostly remote job last year, done primarily on the iMac 24". Spreadsheets, chrome, documents, slack. Serious work that earns me money. iMac works very well for it. A slightly larger screen could be beneficial, but the idea that the current iMac can't do "serious work" is one of the dumbest ideas out there. Every Mac, including the MacBook Neo, is capable of professional work.

Did you misread what I wrote? I specifically was replying to someone who mentioned using a 24" iMac for "color accurate" work which I also specifically mentioned in my reply. I never said anything about doing "serious work" or using an iMac to make money. I'm sure plenty of people make income from any type of computer.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

You cannot see the difference and scaling softness @ 32"? How far away is your screen?

If you were used to seeing how crisp everything is at 220 PPI on a large screen perhaps you'd have a different opinion. Movies looked great at 720p, vs 1080p until we had 4k as standard.

Funny you should bring that up. For a short time, I had a Dell 32" 6K monitor (given to me by a friend as I'd never spend that much on a monitor), about a month. Due to issues with the monitor (screen quality was absolute rubbish for such an expensive monitor), I returned it and bought my current 32" 4K 180Hz QD-OLED, and honestly -- I could not be happier. Seriously.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Funny you should bring that up. For a short time, I had a Dell 32" 6K monitor (given to me by a friend as I'd never spend that much on a monitor), about a month. Due to issues with the monitor (screen quality was absolute rubbish for such an expensive monitor), I returned it and bought my current 32" 4K 180Hz QD-OLED, and honestly -- I could not be happier. Seriously.

Once you go (Perfect) black*, you don't go back

*OLED

 

[SidricTheViking]

Not gonna downgrade from the 27" iMac to the 24".
Hoping I am not the only one.

It’s a little worse than you think. I was ‘upgraded’ at work from an Intel 27” iMac to an M1 iMac a couple of years ago. I went from 27” to 23.5”! It’s quite noticeable. I’ve zero complaints about the iMac otherwise, it’s been excellent, but the display size decrease was very noticeable for several months after the ‘upgrade’.