iFixit Tears Down New Retina iMac, Internal Layout Largely the Same as Prior Generation

Though the new iMac with 5K Retina display was just released yesterday, iFixit has already acquired and disassembled one of the new machines, giving us a look at what's underneath the iMac's ultra thin display.

Apple's newest iMac continues to use many of the same design elements from previous iMacs, including an easily accessible RAM upgrade slot on the back of the device. With the RAM slot, users will be able to install their own RAM modules with little trouble.

retinateardowna
The 5K display, which has a resolution of 5120 x 2880, was manufactured by LG Display, the same supply partner that has manufactured iMac displays for Apple in the past. Aside from the display, iFixit found that the Retina iMac internals look much like the internals of the 2013 iMac, with the sole difference being a wider display data cable.

Along with an AMD Radeon M290X GPU and i5-4690 processor from Intel, the iMac contains SK Hynix 256 MB GDDR5 SGRAM. It uses the same SanDisk PCIe SSD as the late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro, with Marvell Controller, and it uses the same AirPort/Bluetooth card that was used in the 2013 27-inch iMac.

retinateardown1
The 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display earned a repairability score of 5 out of 10, the same score earned by the 2013 27-inch iMac. iFixit pointed out that the RAM, hard drive, and CPU are user replaceable with some adhesive cutting, but removing the glass and LCD panel from the machine remains a difficult task for all those but the most dedicated do-it-yourselfers.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Caution)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...

Top Rated Comments

Seramir Avatar
145 months ago
Oh no, LG displays again. Prepare for the onslaught of uneven yellowing and image persistence issues! :eek:
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naaaaak Avatar
145 months ago
The 5K display… was manufactured by LG Display

DANGER! DANGER!

As much as I wanted to pull the trigger and order one of these iMacs yesterday, this is the main reason I didn’t get one right away. I am a first-gen MBPr owner who was – and still is – being burned by LG’s burn-in prone display.



App Store and some other windows were visible for only a couple of mins before I started the installer. You think the Vista-like frosted-glass effect in Yosemite is cool? I’ve been living it for the past ~2.25 years.

Best of luck to new iMac owners.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hspace Avatar
145 months ago
In this day and age of integration, iFixIt stands for a by gone era of rack mounded devices, mother and daughter cards, ZIF mounted chips, repairable transistors in those chips and above all, repairable pixels in displays. If they had their Luddite way, we would never have had powerful portable devices and only mainframes would exist.

Yeah, us luddites actually wanting to be able to fix and repair things. And maybe even... upgrade? (ducks for incoming flames) How dare we!!!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sonmi451 Avatar
145 months ago
DANGER! DANGER!

As much as I wanted to pull the trigger and order one of these iMacs yesterday, this is the main reason I didn’t get one right away. I am a first-gen MBPr owner who was – and still is – being burned by LG’s burn-in prone display.

Image (http://i.imgur.com/csoG7HH.jpg)

App Store and some other windows were visible for only a couple of mins before I started the installer. You think the Vista-like frosted-glass effect in Yosemite is cool? I’ve been living it for the past ~2.25 years.

Best of luck to new iMac owners.

I have a gen 1 retina macbook pro with LG display. Never had burn in. Stop Fudding. Also if true, you should have gotten it replaced.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
145 months ago
We need an iPad Air 2 teardown!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
prospervic Avatar
145 months ago
DANGER! DANGER!

As much as I wanted to pull the trigger and order one of these iMacs yesterday, this is the main reason I didn’t get one right away. I am a first-gen MBPr owner who was – and still is – being burned by LG’s burn-in prone display.

Image (http://i.imgur.com/csoG7HH.jpg)

App Store and some other windows were visible for only a couple of mins before I started the installer. You think the Vista-like frosted-glass effect in Yosemite is cool? I’ve been living it for the past ~2.25 years.

Best of luck to new iMac owners.

And you didn't take it back to Apple? I had the same problem on my refurb 2012 rMBP after about 5 months. Took it to the Genius Bar and they replaced the display, at $0 cost to me.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)