$2,499 is the entry fee for a 5K all-in-one, which goes on sale today.
Apple’s latest press conference took place earlier today, and several product lines were refreshed during the event. With the iPhone getting attention last month, iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite were touched upon, as was the Apple Watch, but the real stars of the show were the iPad lines and the iMac.
The refreshed 27-inch iMac comes with a 5120×2880 resolution “Retina” display — yep, that’s 5K in a 16:9 format. It appears to be a custom-made (unique to Apple) panel, and A/V professionals everywhere have taken notice. The entry model, priced at $2,499, comes with a quad-core Intel Core i5, AMD R9 M290X graphics, 8 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB Fusion Drive (HDD + SSD combo). The I/O also got a bump, thanks to the inclusion of Intel’s Thunderbolt 2 standard.
Since the question will be posed in the comments — What’s the point of a 5K display? I’ll hedge a little, and say, there isn’t one, at least for the average consumer. A/V professionals will like the high pixel count (especially those shooting video on 4K or 5K sensors), but for the rest of us, it’s a really cool, cutting-edge piece of tech, and that’s about it.
But there is some Apple news for the more average consumer, in form of new iPads, and a refreshed Mac Mini. Apple announced the iPad Air 2, and iPad Mini 3 today, and both ship with 2048×1536 Retina displays (the Air 2 is 9.7-inches, and the Mini 3 is 7.9-inches). The Air 2 is a bit more robust, thanks to a new A8X chip, M8 co-processor, and 8 MP iSight Camera on the back (1.2 MP up front). The Mini 3 has the older A7/M7 chip combo, and a 5 MP iSight camera. The Air 2 starts at $499 for 16 GB ($629 for 4G), while the Mini 3 starts at $399 for 16 GB ($529 for 4G).
Last but not least, the Mac Mini got a spec bump, and now comes with Intel’s latest and greatest. Starting at $499, the $699 model comes with a 2.6 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, Intel Iris graphics (HD 5000), a 1 TB hard drive, and 8 GB of RAM. If the Apple TV (which did not see an upgrade today) isn’t powerful enough for you, but you still want a Cupertino product under the TV at home? This might be the place to start.
The iMac, and Mac Mini are on sale today on the Apple website, while the new iPad models go on sale tomorrow.
Excited about any of the new/refreshed models? My 2012 iPad is looking a little tired now, so an Air 2 might be on the agenda soon. And as much as I’d love a 5K display on my desk, I won’t be buying one attached to an iMac. Drop your own thoughts in the comments.
