Apple clearly wants to bankrupt you, if rumors of a 27-inch Retina iMac scheduled to launch with OS X Yosemite this year are true.
iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks already have super high-resolution Retina displays, but when Apple refreshed its iMac line in June, adding a new, cheaper model, it seemed like Retina on the desktop wasn’tin the cards this year. According to 9to5Mac, we could see a RetinaiMac as soon as next month. But just the 27-inch model will see a jump in resolution, says blogger Jack March, doubling from 2560×1440 to 5120×2880.
March also reports that new iMacs will ship with AMD graphics instead of the Nvidia cards baked in current models.
An entry-level iMac starts at $1099, but the line tops out at $1999 before you start upgrading components, so you can expect a Retina iMac to clock in at the higher end of the price range. How much higher remains to be seen—if the refreshed model is priced above $2000, Retina displays will be out of reach for the majority of those who still rely on desktops to get work done.
The world has been expecting higher-resolution iMacs for awhile now, especially given PC manufacturers’ move toward 4K displays, and now that developers have adapted graphics to Retina on the MacBook, iPad, and iPhone, apps should appear sparkling on launch day.
Let us know in the comments if a Retina iMac would tempt you to hand over your credit card this year, or if your iMac-buying days are over.