First Look: 2015 27-inch iMac Lineup Goes All 5K Retina

by Tom Nelson

Apple recently updated the entire 2015 iMac lineup, including the first 21.5-inch iMac with Retina 4K display. The 27-inch iMac lineup, however, got the best of the updates. The non-Retina iMacs are gone from the 27-inch lineup. If you’re going big, you’re going Retina; at least, that seems to be Apple’s take on the matter, and I tend to agree.

Image courtesy of Apple

Ever since the 2014 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K Display was released, we knew that, just like the MacBook Pro lineup, which kept non-Retina models for the short term (in the 13-inch models), in the long term, Retina was the direction Apple would go across the entire product space.

So, besides the all Retina lineup, the 27-inch iMac received some significant updates that will please anyone looking to squeeze out more performance.

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First Look: New 2015 21.5-inch iMac Lineup With Retina 4K Display

by Tom Nelson

Apple recently took the wraps off a new 2015 21.5-inch iMac lineup that uses new Broadwell-based processors, faster Intel integrated graphics, and, as expected, a new Retina 4K Display model, finally bringing Retina image quality to the smaller of the iMacs.

Image courtesy of Apple

The new 21.5 iMac lineup is divided into three basic configurations: a baseline and a mid-level model, both with the standard 1920 x 1080 display used in previous generations, and a high-end configuration that includes the Retina 4K display, with 4096 x 2304 pixels.

Processors

It’s been a long wait, but the 21-5-inch iMacs will be configured with Broadwell-based processors from Intel. On the bright side, the Broadwell chips will provide a nice boost in overall performance, when compared to the older Haswell-based iMacs. But I’m a bit surprised that the newest Skylake processors, which Apple incorporated into the 2015 27-inch iMac, weren’t included; this would have allowed Apple to just skip over the Broadwell family.

I imagine the issue was cost, as the Skylake processors are still very new, and continue to command a bit of a premium in price. However, let’s not get too wrapped up in the processor’s name, when what’s really important is how well the new iMacs will perform.

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