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Apple Reportedly Planning to Launch iMac With OLED Display
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capamac
macrumors 6502a
Sure, perfect black. But OLED comes with imperfect blues, imperfect reds, imperfect greens.
B4U
macrumors 601
Dang, these companies sure know how to inflate their sizes!
(Thinking of the 11" foot-long Subway!)
Apple may be thinking they can get away with pushing us to a Mac mini and their stupidly expensive display. But that is gonna bite them in the rear hard since there are plenty displays out there unless we really want/need the 5k display. I can definitely live with 4k ultra wide screen!
Spock
Contributor
I guess that is a plus for the Mac, 9 years is a pretty good run for a computer.
I have a 2017-27" 5K iMac (32 GB RAM) that is now successfully running Sequoia, installed on an external 512 GB SSD thanks to Open Core Legacy Patcher. I have kept Ventura OS on the on the internal drive. Even though my external SSD is only mounted in a USB 3.0 (possibly 3.1) enclosure, the speed of opening and running apps is totally satisfactory for me, and is noticeably better than my iMac's internal Fusion Drive.
I'd suggest trying this out to squeeze a couple of more years of use out of your iMac. By installing Sequoia on an external SSD there isn't any risk of bricking the computer and you maintain the option of booting from Ventura whenever you wish. (Note: I had tried using OCLP to install Sequoia on my iMac's Internal drive, but ran into nothing but problems when I subsequently used Migration Assistant to restore my applications and thousands of files. Based on my experience, the easiest and safest route is to install Sequoia on an external SSD).
Sadly, it appears that an OCLP upgrade option may never be available for Tahoe.
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turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Have you thought about bumping up to NVME in a Thunderbolt enclosure?
Could be even better.
That hardware is super capable still and for many more years.
Can they tell the difference between an OLED display and an LED-illuminated LCD?
You aren't the iMac customer. Anyone who is "Happy" with less than 220ppi, WANTS a bigger screen and fine with the caveats that are currently OLED would probably be better served with a Mac Mini strapped to the back of a cheap 4k Monitor (or cheap 5k monitor).
Apple are not going to sell a display that doesn't scale correctly with MacOS. It's either right, or it's not.
Correct. Apple had a chance to sell a cheap 4K external monitor for the Neo, one with imperfect scaling. They could've made a mint from that alone. They chose not to because 4K isn't good enough. Let the monitor manufacturers fight over that audience.
Yes, but if I'm viewing HDR at 50% brightness, because I can't bear the extremes -- and objects that reflect light rather than generate light aren't capable of those high levels in reality -- why?
B4U
macrumors 601
Remember when Apple sold the 4k 21" iMac along with a 5k 27" iMac?
Yes, I had indeed given your suggestion a passing thought. I'm sure an NVME in Thunderbolt enclosure would be a lot speedier than my current setup. But I'm reluctant to invest that much cash in my aging 2017 iMac given that, even with OCLP, I probably won't be able to upgrade the OS beyond Sequoia. I decided it would be better to save the money toward a new Mac Mini purchase a couple of years from now. (I just repurposed a 512 GB SSD and external enclosure that I already had kicking around, so it was effectively a "free" upgrade for me). But you're right, an NVME in Thunderbolt enclosure would be much snappier and likely a more attractive solution for folks with deeper pockets!
As several others have already said, it's unfortunate that target display mode wasn't available on the 2017 27" iMac 5K. It will be a shame to retire such a beautiful display. On the other hand, I may very well keep using my current iMac for another five years for offline tasks like photo editing. Mac computers typically last a long, long time. Too bad they only get OS support for 8 years or so.
As several others have already said, it's unfortunate that target display mode wasn't available on the 2017 27" iMac 5K. It will be a shame to retire such a beautiful display. On the other hand, I may very well keep using my current iMac for another five years for offline tasks like photo editing. Mac computers typically last a long, long time. Too bad they only get OS support for 8 years or so.
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turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Totally get ya!
I would add, though, that if you buy correctly the TB and NVMe could be used in the future with a Mac Mini (booting off of it) which would allow you to not pay the Apple Tax for internal SSD on a Mini either.
joshwithachance
macrumors 68030
XboxEvolved
macrumors 65816
At 600 nits these panels would likely be easier to scale as I’d assume they’d be less complicated and 2029 sounds about right. Seems like shortly after they’d likely have everything that will get oled, to oled.
Apple focuses on displays for Macs, a small fraction of the PC market (where, granted, its brand gets a lot more attention), vs. Dell or LG making a display aiming for the PC and Mac markets. So in terms of economies of scale, I imagine it's hard to 'lead' over competitors with a larger user base.
Your call and to each his/her own, but since the 27 - 32" iMac doesn't exist and may well never exist, why not get a Mac Mini and either an Apple Studio Display or 3rd party display? There are 3rd party brackets to put a small computer on the back of your display if the sight of it sitting on your desk repels you.
I would want the display to have a very good chance of lasting 10-years with routine 'office' or home use. ASDs are very expensive, 3rd party 5K 27" displays are still expensive, and 6K 32" displays are expensive enough I'd like it to last through 2 computers systems. At the rate OLED is evolving, I take it we just don't know how today's offerings will hold up. I think about that when I see people report still using 30" Apple Cinema Displays.
Trusteft
macrumors 65816
Because in the end I buy what I want to, not what companies tell me I should. Since I neither NEED a new Mac, nor I have the money to for one, it's really not that difficult of a decision to not buy something I don't want.
Target Display Mode would be fantastic to bring back.