Everything We Know About Apple’s Upcoming iMac

Back in June, Apple unveiled a new cheaper iMac, but that wasn’t the one we were waiting for. Apple is expected to launch its first iMac with Retina screen on 16th October. The company’s last big update for iMac came last year in September when Apple added the Haswell processor, new graphics, next generation Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage options.

As reported by 9to5Mac, which cites sources that have used the desktop, the rumored new iMac with Retina display will feature a thin profile similar to the current generation of iMac machines, alongside faster processors and improved Wi-Fi connectivity.

Retina Display

According to the multiple reports, Apple will launch a 27-inch iMac with a 5K ‘Retina display’ screen. The screen will have a 5120 x 2880 resolution. This resolution is mentioned in the OS X Yosemite code. Earlier this year, French site, MacBidouille claimed that the developer preview of Yosemite includes a file that refers to a display scaling resolution option for the iMac. Apparently, the file includes a collection of scaling resolution options for the new iMac. They max out at 6400 x 3600 pixels.

Also, the recent announcement of DisplayPort 1.3, which can support 5K (5120×2880 pixels) monitors using a single Display Port cable without the use of compression, can also make the 5K resolution in the high-res iMac models a reality. If you compare, the existing 21.5-inch iMac flaunts a 1920×1080 pixels resolution display, while the 27-inch variant boasts a 2560×1440 pixels resolution screen.

There were previously suggestions that to qualify for the ‘Retina display’ definition, the resolution would only need to be 3,840 x 2,400 if Apple used ‘pixel doubling’. The cost involved in producing a 27-inch iMac with Retina display may also prove prohibitive, resulting in higher prices.

Innards

According to leaks, new iMac will use the Haswell i7-4790K, with a base clock speed of 4.0GHz. We know, you are waiting for the Broadwell processor to arrive in the Mac, but those new Intel processors will “likely be added in an update next year. Also, it is said that the new iMacs will have AMD graphics rather than the Nvidia graphics of the current generation. Little is known about which graphics processor Apple has in mind, but it’ll need to be quite beefy if there is any hope at running 3D games at the native resolution of the display. Apart from this, some sources also hinted an upgrade in iMovie and Final Cut Pro video editing softwares. The software are likely to feature improved tools for editing 4K footage.

Low-End iMacs

Well, it is said that the 21.5-inch model won’t be getting any considerable amount of iterations. We can expect the smaller iMac to be pretty much same as the previous generations at 1920×1080 (102 PPI), however, we can expect minor changes in CPU and GPU . While it’s disappointing that only the biggest model is getting a Retina update, it’s not particularly surprising. High-res displays are still very expensive, so it doesn’t make sense for the cheaper low-end iMacs. For now, 5K displays are still a rare and premium feature.

When Does it Arrive?

All the rumors regarding the new iMac have hinted that Apple will launch a new iMac, with a Retina display, at Apple’s confirmed special event on 16 October, which is expected to also see the launch of new iPads.