Dan Riccio, SVP of hardware engineering, is now talking in a video
He hasn't really been a visible exec at Apple
Frankly, 4K on a 15-inch laptop feels like overkill, but on a huge 27-inch display, a very high-res display is more defensible.
Riccio: It means you see incredible detail on a scale that just hasn't been done before on a desktop
Riccio is talking through the display technology
Riccio: One of the results is the vivid brightness you see across the display
Riccio: Timing controller tells every pixel what to do and when to do it. T-Con didn't exist that could do that job, so we had to invent it.
But, I ask, what kind of GPU is going to drive this display? I've heard some murmurings of Apple switching back from Nvidia to AMD, but we'll see what they say.
Riccio: Whether you're looking at photos or text, the picture is stunning. Also increased contrast ratio so whiter whites and blacker blacks.
Now testimonal by a photographer
Will Apple start offering 4K video, perhaps in the iTunes store?
For professional video people, Apple really pushed last year's Mac Pro desktop as 4K-friendly.
Riccio: With its stunning Retina 5K display, the new 27 inch iMac is by far the most amazing iMac we've ever built
Would you buy this as a standalone 5K cinemadisplay?
Video wraps up. Schiller is back on stage
How much? Don't know yet, but it's not gonna be cheap.
Schiller: Not only have we built an iMac with the most incredible display we've ever made, but throughout the product line we've update.
Intel 3.5GHz, quadcore i5. Upgradeable to 4 GhZ.
AMD Radeon R9 295. Upgradeable to 295X
Ah, there's the AMD. Radeon R9 -- the Mac Pro desktop was also AMD-powered for GPU.
Schiller: It's also built together in the most environmentally friendly manner
No talking Intel's delayed Broadwell chips. This is strictly Haswell.
Schiller: What does this amazing state of the art new iMac cost?
Schiller: Let's make a comparison. If you try to buy a new 4K display, not quite as many pixels as iMac. Range from $3000 and more.
Schiller: new iMac with Retina 5K is going to cost $2,499
Pricing on a 4K display? Schiller says $3K. Guess he doesn't shop Monoprice.
Ships today, at $2,499. But old non-5K versions still available, including the recent 21.5-inch, which is essentially a MacBook built into an iMac case.
Schiller: Can't wait for you to see it and experience the incredible images
