Checking out the Retina iMac

David Pogue
·Tech Critic
Updated


Apple has brought super-high-resolution screens to the iPhone, the iPad, the MacBook Pro laptop — and now to the iMac. (That leaves only my personal favorite — the poor MacBook Air — with standard resolution. And the Thunderbolt display is lacking, too.)

This 27-inch iMac packs in a lot of pixels. Apple says it’s the highest resolution screen on earth. It’s 14.7 million pixels, if you’re keeping score at home. That is seven times more pixels than your hi-def TV set. (And 67 percent more than even the newfangled Ultra HD 4K sets.)

Retina display on the 27-inch iMac
Retina display on the 27-inch iMac

The new Retina display on the 27-inch iMac is stunning. (Deanne Fitzmaurice/Yahoo Tech)

Photos, videos, and type look really, really, really great on this screen.

The price for the base model is $2,500. That’s a nice configuration, actually: 3.5 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, AMD Radeon R9 M290X graphics card, 8 gigabytes of memory, 1 terabyte of storage.

But guess what? This iMac is not the only “5K” screen. Already Dell (again with the Dell) has announced its own 5K monitor. But here’s the thing: Dell’s monitor will go for $2,500. Computer not included.

By that standard, the iMac price looks very good indeed.

Also check out my quick impressions of the new iPad Air 2.

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