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.
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.
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.
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors.
Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report.
iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design
The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
Wednesday April 30, 2025 3:59 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is preparing to launch a dramatically thinner iPhone this September, and if recent leaks are anything to go by, the so-called iPhone 17 Air could boast one of the most radical design shifts in recent years.
iPhone 17 Air dummy model alongside iPhone 16 Pro (credit: AppleTrack)
At just 5.5mm thick (excluding a slightly raised camera bump), the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air is expected to become ...
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too.
2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3
Apple didn't update the...
Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station.
The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM.
...
Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
As much as I wanted to pull the trigger and order one of these iMacs yesterday, this is the main reason I didnt get one right away. I am a first-gen MBPr owner who was and still is being burned by LGs 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? Ive been living it for the past ~2.25 years.
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!!!
As much as I wanted to pull the trigger and order one of these iMacs yesterday, this is the main reason I didnt get one right away. I am a first-gen MBPr owner who was and still is being burned by LGs 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? Ive 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.
As much as I wanted to pull the trigger and order one of these iMacs yesterday, this is the main reason I didnt get one right away. I am a first-gen MBPr owner who was and still is being burned by LGs 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? Ive 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.
