A true work of art. And physics.

Precision and innovation have always been a part of the iMac story. Bringing the Retina 5K display to the 27-inch iMac was no different. It meant making incredible leaps in design at every level — from reengineering the brains of the display to maintaining 1/100th of a micron tolerances within the display cell. Not to mention fitting four times as many pixels — and the power to drive them — inside. All without compromising the amazingly thin iMac design.

Watch the film

14.7 million pixels
Oxide
TFT
Organic Passivation
Photo Alignment
Timing Controller
Efficient LEDs
Compensation Film

Layers of innovation.

To engineer the world’s first iMac with a Retina 5K display, we had to rethink every component. And with 23 layers that make up the 1.4‑mm display panel assembly alone, it’s innovation too small to see with the naked eye. But it takes only one look to appreciate.

While we were at it, we made advancements to improve not only the resolution but also the quality of the entire iMac display. So in addition to the incredible detail, now you’ll see blacker blacks, more vibrant colors, and images that practically jump off the screen.

Display Panel 1.4mm thin 

Orchestrating the performance of 14.7 million pixels.

A more advanced timing controller.

The timing controller, or “TCON,” is the brains of the display — it tells each pixel what to do and when to do it. Because iMac with Retina 5K display has four times as many pixels as the standard 27-inch iMac display, the TCON had to be able to handle more information than ever. But even the most powerful timing controllers available couldn’t manage this number of pixels, so we had to create a new one with four times the bandwidth of the previous-generation 27-inch iMac — up to 40 Gbps. Now a single supercharged chip beautifully orchestrates the symphony of all 14.7 million pixels.

Oxide TFT.

The heart of the display panel is the TFT, or thin film transistor. The TFT transports the electrical charge to each individual pixel. By manufacturing an oxide-based TFT more precisely than had ever been done before, we enabled each pixel to charge quicker and stay charged longer. This was essential for delivering consistent and uniform brightness from corner to corner across such a massive display with so many pixels. And it turned out to be even more energy efficient, too.

Timing Controller
Oxide TFT

Powering 4x more pixels with 30 percent less power.

Highly efficient LEDs.

Powering so many pixels without overheating the display — or compromising the thin iMac design — required more energy efficiency. So we switched to highly efficient LEDs for iMac with Retina 5K display, reducing power consumption while maintaining our high standard for display brightness.

Pixels
Organic Passivation
Data Lines

Organic passivation.

With four times as many pixels within the same 27-inch screen, clear communication required organic passivation, or “overpass” technology, an innovation introduced in iPad with Retina display. It separates the pixels from the signals that tell them when and how to light up — preventing any “cross-talk,” or interference, that could result from putting so many pixels so close together. This maintains the quality of the image onscreen and keeps energy from being wasted while those signals are being transmitted.

Together with the oxide TFT, these innovations not only made the massive 27‑inch Retina 5K display possible, they also enabled it to consume 30 percent less power than the previous-generation iMac display.

Pixels
Organic Passivation
Data Lines
Organic Passivation
Efficient LEDs

Delivering true‑to‑life imagery from every angle.

Photo alignment.

To improve on-axis contrast, we implemented an advanced process called photo alignment. This involves shining UV light to create a uniform terrain across the film coating on the TFT and color filter, so when the liquid crystal molecules are applied, they lie exactly where they should. Better‑aligned molecules mean you see better contrast when you’re directly in front of the display.

Compensation film.

A display like this is the kind that people gather around. And at this size, even when you’re looking at the center of the screen, you see the corners at an angle, or off-axis. To make sure the contrast is perfect from every angle, we added a compensation film that controls how the light exits the display. The result is a display with blacker blacks and truer colors, no matter where you view it from.

Compensation Film
Photo Alignment

Calibrated for
true‑to‑life color.

None of these innovations would matter much if the iMac Retina 5K display didn’t deliver vivid, true-to-life color. Which is why we put every display through an exacting color-calibration process using state-of-the-art spectroradiometers. This equipment is tuned to meet color standards recognized around the world for precision and accuracy.

Compensation Film
Photo Alignment

As thin as before. More brilliant than ever.

The first iMac was a revolution: An all-in-one computer that put everything — display, processor, graphics, storage, memory, and more — inside one simple, stylish enclosure. Today iMac includes the most advanced, most brilliant desktop display we’ve ever built, and it’s filled with the latest high-performance technologies. Yet it’s still just 5 mm thin at its edge.

Seamless design.

One of the biggest challenges our engineers faced with the iMac enclosure was how to join the front to the back. The enclosure is so thin, it’s not possible to weld the pieces using traditional methods. So we searched far and wide for other ideas, and we found one in a process called friction-stir welding. It’s commonly used on airplane wings, rocket booster tanks, and other parts that simply can’t fail. This process uses a combination of intense friction-generated heat and pressure to intermix the molecules of the two aluminum surfaces — creating a seamless, precise, and superstrong join. You may not see it, but this iMac wouldn’t be possible without it.


5 mm edge

iMac and the environment.

1.2
W
electricity in sleep mode

Energy efficient.

Even while driving our highest resolution display ever, the most powerful AMD graphics, and the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, the 27‑inch iMac with Retina 5K display uses just 1.2 watts of electricity in sleep mode.

Environmentally friendly.

iMac is free of many harmful toxins, including mercury, arsenic, BFRs, and PVC. It’s also made from materials such as aluminum and glass, which are more likely to be recycled and reused. In fact, the iMac base is made from 30 percent recycled aluminum and the iMac speaker enclosure is made with 30 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.

Responsibly designed.

As a result of all our efforts, iMac far exceeds the stringent low power requirements set by the EPA, giving it ENERGY STAR 6.1 qualification. And it has earned the highest rating of Gold from EPEAT, which evaluates the environmental impact of a product based on how recyclable it is, how much energy it uses, and how it’s designed and manufactured.*

Learn more about our environmental initiatives