Skip to main content

With 5K resolution, Apple’s new iMac has more pixels than any other display

At its latest event, Apple revealed a slew of new changes that the company made to its line of iMac desktop computers.

The new iMac, dubbed iMac with Retina Display, wears a screen that offers an extremely high resolution of 5,120 x 2,880, which is equivalent to 5K. That’s seven times more pixels than what you’d get with 1080p screens, which are ubiquitous.

On top of that, the iMac with Retina Display offers significantly more pixels than 4K screens do as well. A 4K resolution amounts to 3,840 x 2,160. Apple claims that the new iMac with Retina display also consumes significantly less energy than previous screens.

To help power this super-demanding display tech, Apple has also upgraded the GPU and CPU on the iMac with Retina Display as well. The new iMac with Retina Display can now be had with a 3.5GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core processor, which is upgradeable to a Core i7 CPU running at 4GHz.

The default iMac with Retina Display configuration offers a Core i5 CPU that’s 100MHz faster than what the highest-end 27-inch iMac has. While you can bump the latter chip’s up to a Core i7 running at 3.5GHz, that’s where it tops out at. The iMac with Retina Display now has the most powerful CPU in the entire line.

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s also swapping out the Nvidia 700M-series GPUs, which are in the current slate of iMacs, for newer AMD Radeon R9 M290X and M295X GPUs. That’s surprising, considering that Nvidia recently outed new 970M and 980M GPUs. The latter is an incredibly powerful performer, according to our tests, and offers power that’s not far off from the desktop-based GTX 980. The latter is currently the most powerful single-GPU graphics card you can get today.

Apple is offering upgrades in other areas as well. For instance, the 1TB hard drive that’s available by default with the non-Retina iMacs has been upgraded to a 1TB Fusion Drive, which should offer significantly better performance compared to a standard mechanical drive.

The new iMac with Retina Display can be had for $2,500, and is shipping starting today.

It’s worth noting that Dell will soon be releasing its own 5K display for $2,499. However, that screen, dubbed the Dell UltraSharp 27 Ultra HD 5K Monitor, will cost $2,500, and doesn’t include a computer inside it. It also won’t be released until sometime during the upcoming holiday season.

Editors' Recommendations

Konrad Krawczyk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…
Apple’s 32-inch M3 iMac could be facing yet another delay
Man using a 24-inch M1 iMac.

If you’ve been holding out for an iMac loaded up with a new M3 chip, there’s bad news: it might be delayed until next year. It means an even longer wait for anyone who wants an all-in-one Apple computer with an upgraded chip -- right now, the M1 chip in the current 24-inch iMac is over two years old.

The news on the iMac postponement comes from the Power On newsletter published by journalist Mark Gurman, who has released accurate information about Apple’s upcoming products many times in the past.

Read more
iMac 27-inch: Everything we know about Apple’s larger, more powerful iMac
Apple iMac Pro News

When Apple killed off the iMac Pro and then completely removed the 27-inch iMac from its online store, we thought that was the end of the road for the larger all-in-one computer. Right now, Apple only sells one size of iMac: the smaller 24-inch version. But what about that gaping hole in the iMac lineup previously occupied by the 27-inch model?

It could be that Apple decides to leave this device dead and buried and instead hopes that the Mac Studio and Studio Display scratch that itch -- that's certainly what sources at 9to5Mac have contended. But there are tantalizing clues that Apple is considering offering a larger iMac with a greater level of performance than the 24-inch iMac. Regardless of whether this is branded an iMac Pro or an iMac, here's everything we know about the next high-end all-in-one from Apple.
Price and release date

Read more
Major leak reveals every secret Mac Apple is working on
Apple's John Ternus stands next to an image of the 15-inch MacBook Air at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2023.

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in early June, the focus was almost entirely on the company’s Vision Pro headset. But Apple has plenty more up its sleeve, according to a new report, which has spilled the beans on every single Mac we can expect to see in the coming months.

The report comes from journalist Mark Gurman, who accurately predicted a plethora of details about the Vision Pro before it was announced. Now, he says Apple has a few surprise Mac announcements in store for late 2023 or early 2024.

Read more