Positive sign for 4K iMac in 2014? (Dell 28" 4K monitor $699) (1 Viewer)

[Sam Posten]

Yeah, I wanted to ask why you were bothering with 4k monitors to begin with. You'd get much more bang for your buck with an Apple Thunderbolt display or something similar.And gotcha on the double monitors thing, I am not sure if I misread it above or it was phrased that way but I understand now.Edit, relooked at it and the way you posted made it very much look like 2 monitors from one Mini:

We have 2 x DELL 4K monitors (both P2815Q) Connected to (same setup) Late 2012 Mac Mini running 10.9.3 connected via Mini DP to DisplayPort. All cables, keyboard and mice.everything is exactly the same...

 

[Krista Kimba]

Yes..it's just us trying to "up" the overall technology.
Investing in something we think we will have for a few years...us being a video production company. etc...

So yes...lesson learned...don't updated too quickly...whether it's Hardware or OS!!! Even though it seems like a good bargain.
I've heard it before.."If it ain't broke...."

It's why I'm still on Mountain Lion at the office. Everyone else...goes through the bitchfest...I get to watch.
Lovely!!!

 

[Carlo_M]

Well this rumor is a bummer:
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/11/updated-imacs-faster-processors-next-week/

Processor speed bump, potentially lower prices (that's good) but no 4K. Wonder if the GPU they're using in the iMac can't properly push that many pixels...

Later in the article they do mention that retina iMac is still a possibility, with Apple potentially launching it later and splitting the product line, like they did for a few years with the Macbook Pro retina vs. non-retina.

 

[Sam Posten]

Denied!http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/06/18/apple-makes-new-low-end-14ghz-imac-official-with-1099-starting-price?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitterWhat a strange update.

 

[Carlo_M]

Sam - I had heard of something similar a few years back where Apple made a low end model of their iMac but it was only sold to academic entities (like schools) who wanted to put cheaper Apple computers in their classrooms and school labs. This seems to me to be thinking along the same lines, but made available for consumers.

Regardless, this is okay news because with such a small change, that leaves me hope for a larger change (4K please!) update in the near future.

I do think Intel's delays with Broadwell are the big hold up. I think had Broadwell come out when it was supposed to we'd already be seeing refreshed iMacs.

 

[Sam Posten]

Ouch.http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/07/1099-imac-review-lose-50-of-your-performance-to-save-18-of-the-money/Thing is the buyers of this model won't care. "gimme teh cheapest iMac y'all got!"

 

[davenott]

Hi All,

Long time reader, firs time poster here

I too was initially concerned when I read about the delay of Broadwell, although perhaps some hope still remains?

My immediate thoughts were that we'd have to wait until 2015 to see a 4k/retina iMac but I guess it's still a realistic possibility this year if Apple were to make a 4k iMac using the refreshed Haswell chips (yay, an extra 100 MHz!) accompanied with a new GPU offering from nvidia/amd, therefore only offering the 4k version with a discrete GPU, much like the original Retina Macbook Pro.

What do you think?

 

[Sam Posten]

I don't see them splitting it without a new form factor. I could see a low end with the old chassis and an iMac Pro with a 4k retina screen and other high end features, if that's what you mean...

 

[davenott]

Yeah that approach wouldn't surprise me, I guess it would be following the same path they took with the Macbook Pros.

Would really like to think we can still see a 4k iMac without the need for Broadwell, and if it can be achieved with a newer Haswell chip and newer GPU that comes out this fall, I'll happily take it!

 

[davenott]

That said, do you think 4k would work in the current 27 inch form factor? I'm current running 24 inch 1920x1080 on my MBP via an external display and the UI elements already seem pretty large, an extra 3 inches might seem a bit too much, presuming the 4k display is ran in 'retina mode' giving a logical resolution of 1920x1080...

 

[Sam Posten]

I dunno. I'd like them to make something more easily calibrated and with full gamut first over more pixels, I don't see it as necessary at that size. COULD they do it? Sure. Would it be better as an incentive to buy a bigger iMac, yes, and I see that as much more likely. I'm but one nutter tho, who can say!

 

[davenott]

heh You make a good point about the calibration, sure would be nice.

Certainly an interesting time for the iMac, that's for sure. For what it's worth, I wrote this a little while ago (pre WWDC) if it's of any interest:

http://www.davenott.co.uk/how-apple-could-implement-a-4k-imac

 

[Sam Posten]

I have no idea what you are saying in that blog post:

If Apple were to make a 4k version of the 27", we'd see a decrease in logical resolution - 1920 x 1080 down from 2560 x 1440.

4k is

Consumer 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 (at a 16:9, or 1.78:1 aspect ratio) differs from the industry standard of 4096 x 2160 (at a 1.9:1 aspect ratio)

via Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolution

 

[davenott]

Appreciate what you're saying but if apple were to follow the path of other manufacturers and put a 3840 x 2160 "4k" panel in the new iMac.

Like this: http://store.apple.com/uk/product/HD971ZM/A/sharp-32-inch-pn-k321-4k-ultra-hd-led-monitor
And this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-058-AS
And..this: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&sku=210-ACHO

If the iMac was ran in 'retina mode' we'd end up with an effective 'logical resolution' of 1920x1080 pixels.

Be interested to see if they go with a 4096x2160 panel though. If anything I'd be in favour of it for more real estate. At least then the logical resolution would be slightly higher at 2048 x 1080 - has to be a good thing in my case, I can use all the real estate I can get.

 

[Sam Posten]

Um, you can run those machines in pure resolution mode if you want, it's not required that you downsample.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5266

 

[Carlo_M]

So you're telling me there's a chance...
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/07/23/os-x-yosemite-october-plus-macs/

 

[Sam Posten]

I like the cut of this jib:https://www.behance.net/gallery/17289975/4K-Cinema-Display-Concept

 

[Sam Posten]

Drumbeats!http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/07/30/another-apple-page-briefly-mentioned-mysterious-mid-2014-27-inch-imac?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Carlo_M]

No mention of possibility of 4K. I'm really thinking with the "light" refresh of the MBP, Intel's Broadwell delay into mid 2015 really left Apple in the lurch. Broadwell was going to debut a more powerful onboard GPU, as well as substantial power savings in addition to the traditional speed bump. I think they'll need a more powerful discrete GPU than what they've been using to drive a 4K display well, so I'm starting to lose out hope that they'll have a 4K this year.

Kind of leaves Cook holding the bag, since he announced "we've got some really great stuff coming in the fall (of 2013) and all of 2014". So far, nada in 2014 outside of this MBP light refresh. Now we know why Apple is investigating using ARM chips in more than just their mobile devices, they don't like being beholden to Intel's roadmap and delays. However they, more than most, should understand how hard it is to compete in the CPU/chipset world. It's one thing to create CPUs for mobile, relatively limited devices, versus creating CPUs for full functioning laptops and desktops that users expect to edit 4K video, manage thousands of DSLR 25MB RAW files, and create and edit 128 track Logic Pro/Pro Tools recording sessions

 

[Sam Posten]

Righto Carlo, my thinking exactly, chicken and egg: Is this delay pushing Apple to build their own desktop class ARM processors faster or is this delay reactionary by intel because Apple is threatening to move to their own ARM processors?