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LG Accidentally Leaks Apple iMac 8K Is Coming Later This Year

An anonymous reader writes LG accidentally revealed in blog post that Apple is planning to release a 8K iMac later this year. This news comes as a surprise as the leak came from a different company rather than Apple. LG is one of Apple's biggest display partners and has already demonstrated 8K monitors at CES in Las Vegas. They note that the panel boasts 16 times the number of pixels as a standard Full HD screen.

36 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. Too many pixels = slooooooow by gweihir · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seriously, 4k is already overkill in most situations. 8k is just fetishism. And it may well be worse, as all those pixels have to be controlled somehow.

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    1. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Fuck everything, we're doing five blades.

    2. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by gameboyhippo · · Score: 4, Funny

      And 20 years from now when we are using 8M monitors, someone will dig up this post and giggle. "Remember in 2015 when gweihir said that 8k was overkill! ROTFlyingCar!!!"

    3. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by st3v · · Score: 4, Informative

      8K is useful for the movie industry filming in 4K. The 8K cameras can downsample the 8K to 4K and get better picture quality than just filming using a 4K image sensor.

    4. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's useful for still photography - DSLRs are pushing 50 MB file sizes - a large 8K screen would be wonderful for Photoshop. Not so sure about the iMac format - that's basically just laptop parts slapped behind the panel. Maybe Apple can make an iMac + that's build from real computer parts.

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    5. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by vux984 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Seriously, 4k is already overkill in most situations.

      Agreed. I ended up getting 2k monitors this time around; (2560x1440) because good 4k screens tended to be slower (refresh rate), much more expensive, and put more demand on the video card).

      Admittedly technology doesn't stand still, and I might have bought a 4k screen if I were shopping TODAY. Prices have come down, refresh rates over 30Hz aren't hard to find on affordable units, etc.

      Or maybe not...they still push the video card a lot harder, and I'm happy with my 2k screens. They are great for programming, and working with PDFs, etc. 4k honestly doesn't look better to me; there is virtually no 4k content at all, games don't benefit from it... the consoles barely drive 1080p; and I need a pretty solid card to run my 2k screens in games. And shrinking the text down and getting 4x as much on the screen wouldn't be readable to me anyway so that's not a plus. So even 4k, as the parent said, is overkill for most things.

      8k ... what's the point? Do I want one? Sure I do. And a pair of GTX titans to drive it too. But need one? Or have any use case that even sort of validates having one? Nope. I don't. And I'm curious what one would even look like.

      I guess at the end of the day, I'm glad it exists because it'll continue to push the hardware advance, and prices will come down.. and maybe one day I'll be able to buy a 100" 4k TV for cheap because the 150" 8k 3D TVs will be "the premium" model.

    6. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by geekmux · · Score: 2

      Fuck everything, we're doing five blades.

      Yeah!

      And don't give me any of this "visible to the naked eye" or "only a dog could hear that" bullshit either. Marketing doesn't want to hear that! There will be ZERO excuses as to why we don't develop "high-end" headphones that go to 100,000Hz and 32K screens. Why? Because stupid people will buy anything when advertised as the "best".

      No wonder I shave with a DE razor.

    7. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by cruff · · Score: 4, Insightful

      8k is just fetishism.

      And yet an 8k monitor would be very useful for viewing the complete image of many DSLR cameras without scaling or subsetting, with room for controls and menu bars or panels to be also visible. I'd probably get one for this reason.

    8. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by NatasRevol · · Score: 2

      They already have a 5k iMac...

      --
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    9. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by Locke2005 · · Score: 2

      4K is the limit of human visual perception. More than 4K is only useful if you are planning on taking a small section of the image and blowing it up; that's the only time ridiculously high resolution makes sense. So, useful for still images, yes. Useful for a television or tablet screen? I don't think so.

      --
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    10. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by rahvin112 · · Score: 2

      4K = 3840 x 2160 or in other words double the dimension of the 1920x1080 doubled in both directions. I've always thought calling it 4K was a bit dubious, yes it's 4 times the number of pixels but it's only twice the resolution.

      But calling 2560x1440 2K is just an abomination of nomenclature, it's neither twice the size nor two times the number of pixels. In fact there is no mathematical relationship between them that's even a whole number. It's not 2K, it's a resolution between HD and 4K, but it's not halfway between in either number of pixels or resolution so stop making up nomenclature like it's a real thing!

    11. Re: Too many pixels = slooooooow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      The theoretical total screen display resolution of the MDA was 720×350 pixels. This number is arrived at through calculating character width (nine pixels) by columns of text (80) and character height (14 pixels) by rows of text (25). However, the MDA again could not address individual pixels; it could only work in text mode, limiting its choice of display patterns to 256 characters. Its character set is known as code page 437. The character patterns were stored in ROM on the card, and so could not be changed by software. The only way to simulate "graphical" screen content was through ASCII art.

    12. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by vux984 · · Score: 4, Informative

      I agree, and I misused the term.

      That said, 2k *is* a real thing. Its a cinema / projector standard (usually around 2048x1536)

      And cinema 4k is 4096 x 2160; whereas monitor resolution 4k is 3840x2160 -- which comes up a bit short. Cinema 4k refers to horizontal reslution being 4k (4096) vs it being 4x as many pixels as 1080p (1920x1080).

      So yeah... I definitely abused the nomenclature; and I'll avoid calling 2560x1440 "2k" going forward as you are right... But its not like I started it. Nomenclature for resoultion standards is a godawful MESS.

    13. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by pushing-robot · · Score: 4, Funny

      In a few years we'll have videophiles who buy 2048 DPI screens and $1000 woven silver DisplayPort cables and describe how their new baby produces such a visual canvas with airy colors and edgy lines that add presence to windows and make Chrome seem more forward.

      --
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    14. Re: Too many pixels = slooooooow by Malc · · Score: 4, Informative

      Surely it depends on screen size and viewing distance?

    15. Re: Too many pixels = slooooooow by Malc · · Score: 2

      I'd rather have Apple implement 10- or even 12-bit displays first. It's kind of annoying seeing banding where none actually exists in the underlying RAW photo.

    16. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by swillden · · Score: 5, Informative

      4K is the limit of human visual perception.

      The limit of visual perception is measured in pixels per angular distance. It doesn't depend on the number of pixels, but on their size and distance... at least until you get to the level where your entire field of view is covered by pixels that are small enough to be invisible at their given distance.

      At the distance from my eyes to my desktop monitor (about 20 inches), I expect I can resolve pixels down do about 200 pixels per inch. My 30" monitor is about 26" wide by about 16" tall, which means that to reach the limit of my visual perception (assuming my estimate of 200 ppi is accurate; it may be a little low), I need 5200 horizontal pixels, about 5K. I'm hoping that within the next couple of years I can upgrade to a 40" monitor, though, and 8K would be about right for a display that size.

      More pixels would be good if I sometimes want to lean closer to see fine details (and I do).

      And, really, we absolutely do want sufficient resolution that pixels are indistinguishable, so we can have what appear to be perfectly smooth curves and arbitrarily fine lines. Smooth text, in particular, is much easier on the eyes. I have a MacBook Pro with a high-resolution display on my desk right next to my big monitor and it is sooo much more pleasant to look at.

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    17. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by Ralph+Wiggam · · Score: 2, Funny

      Because stupid people will buy anything when advertised as the "best".

      Except 8K resolution is immensely better than 4K. The only people dismissing it as marketing bullshit are people who haven't seen it.

    18. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by jonnyj · · Score: 2, Interesting

      They already have a 5k iMac...

      And, if you lean forward - which most people do instinctively when they want to see something in more detail - you can discern the pixels on a 'retina' 5K iMac. 8K would be a definite improvement for photographic or artistic work. If the new model has a larger screen, 5K would definitely be insufficient.

      For many people, this would represent a significant improvement in quality.

    19. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by bored · · Score: 2

      Without knowing the size of the display the whole discussion is pointless 8k in 2" or 8k in 50"?

      Cause there is a world of difference, and humans have pretty good spatial memory. Having a monitor larger than what can be seen without moving your eyes/head is a good thing. In fact that is what I'm using right now, 4 monitors are already more than I can see at the same time. With my focus on the left monitor I can't really see anything in the right. But that doesn't make it less useful for having a PDF open, or another window of code. I can flip my eyes back and forth between the right and the left far faster (and less disruptively) than I can swap virtual desktops.

    20. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      4k on a 32" monitor isn't even "retina" by Apple's original standard, let along near the limit of human vision. The original iPhone retina display was 325 PPI, which if scaled to 32" would result in an 8k display.

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    21. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      The problem is Apple always saddles these machines with displays that are so high res, you cant run anything 3D at the native resolution. I wish they would match up 3D hardware to actually drive the displays they put out.

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    22. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by tompaulco · · Score: 2

      Bill was right. 640k is enough for anybody. We just haven't got there yet.

      --
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    23. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by spire3661 · · Score: 2

      Apple should design more responsibly and use displays that dont require so much processing power.

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      Good-bye
    24. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by pr0nbot · · Score: 2

      The true videophiles will be buying vintage 1024x768 TFT screens from 1997 because only over VGA can you really capture the warmth and vibrancy of the signal.

    25. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by Jeremy+Erwin · · Score: 2

      The iMac "Retina" has a AMD R9 M290X (Pitcairn?) by default. It can be ordered with an AMD R9 M295X (Tonga XT?). Both are "mobile" chipsets,

    26. Re: Too many pixels = slooooooow by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      If you saw Interstellar in actual 70mm film, you can easily tell which scenes were shot in 35 vs 70 when the screen is the size of a real IMAX theatre.

      I could see a qualitative difference in the image between IMAX and non-IMAX on a 1080p rip. It's not just down to resolution.

      Although, to disclaim, the scenes were also different aspect ratios, which was a bit weird.

      --
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    27. Re:Too many pixels = slooooooow by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 2

      4K is the limit of human visual perception.

      Nonsense, stop repeating this untrue lie.

      The same crap was said back when 1080p came out, there were even people saying that 720p was enough and that 1080p was overkill unless you were on a 50" screen.

      It just isn't true.

      Load up a game on a 4k screen, with AA turned off. Find something like stairs and turn left and right with them on screen. You'll still see jaggies.

      Then turn AA on, notice it gets better.

      When AA no longer makes a difference, then we're there.

      You may or may not be able to see each pixel, but that has nothing to do with it. You can see the blended detail.

  2. What are those pixels for? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought the "retina" display already has a higher resolution than the human eye can discern. Are these new Macs for cats?

    1. Re:What are those pixels for? by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      The "retina" display is so you cannot discern a pixel. Having more makes the image even more crisper. I am sure we are reaching a point of diminish return though.

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  3. Well, that's game over for LG. by YuppieScum · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Apple have a history of shutting out suppliers who have loose lips.

    Maybe they'll start buying their panels from Samsung...

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  4. for those complaining about this being too much... by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2

    Keep in mind that if proper scaling ever gets implemented, there is still a long way to go for displays to equal the quality of text compared to paper. I saw noticeable improvements in text quality from laser printers all the way up to 1200dpi, and people back in the day were saying we'd never need anything more dense than 300dpi, then it was 600dpi, etc. If we can get displays to 1200dpi, and especially with near-zero reflectivity, then I'll say we've gone far enough - but we're nowhere near that yet.

    But we need GOOD scaling. I've read that Windows 10 will have proper scaling. We'll see.

  5. Only 8k? by Toshito · · Score: 2

    Silly Apple, my Commodore had 64k way back in 1983!

    --
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  6. Pixel density? VR! by DrYak · · Score: 2

    8k iMac: depending on the specs of the iMac, that might means that they have managed to increase the pixel density (high DPI).

    8k in it self doesn't mean anything. You have to factor in display size, viewing distance, etc.

    And there is ONE FIELD that is going to benefit immensely from higher densities: VR!

    VR is typically a field of application where you are viewing a relatively small screen (Occulus tend to use typical smartphone displays. Older VR headsets like eMagine 3D visor had even smaller display, like a finger's nail per eye) from a very short distance. (Just next to the eye ball).

    Even at the current ultra-high resolution/pixel densities, that are over kill for a normal smart phone screen (1080p FullHD in a smartphone is more than 300DPI), when looked that close still is very pixelated (this FullHD is blown up to cover your *entire* field of view. That end up being not that many pixels per angle of view, even if keeping into account the varying resolution due to the simple len's distortion). (= Unlike older VR headset that used simple rectangular screens to convey a simple rectangular picture and relied on complex and expansive optics to keep the rectangle distrosion free, Occulus rift use a very simple (and cheap len) that completely distrorts the picture and compensate using a shader that draw a "pre-distorted" picture on the display. They don't convey a rectangular picture, but a pin-chusion picture with more pixels spent at the center than the periphery - thus higher resolution in front of you. Still pixels are visible).

    So even if it ends up being overkill for the iMac, increasing production of high density displays has nice side effects on the occulus rift.

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  7. Don't care by fyngyrz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If the new model has a larger screen, 5K would definitely be insufficient.

    I'm a photographer and and constant user/developer of image manipulation software. I edit every shot. I don't need 5k in a monitor; if I need a full-image overview, I can have that, zero perceptible time. If I need to look at pixels, same thing. Or anywhere in between. I do *not* need to be squinting at a monitor in order to resolve detail. I value my vision too highly. And at these resolutions, you don' t squint, you can't see it. And I have extremely high visual acuity.

    Higher (and higher) resolution makes sense in data acquisition. Once you have it, you can do damned near anything with it. Even if you exceed the MTF of the lens, you get the advantage that while the edges are smoother, they now start in a more accurate place, geometrically speaking. It can be thought of as like old TV luma; the bandwidth is limited, so the rate of change has a proportionally limited slew rate, but the phosphor on an old B&W monitor is continuous, and you can start a waveform anywhere (horizontally) with luma, to any accuracy within the timing of the display, which can be pretty darned high. So things tend to look very, very good as opposed to what you might expect from naively considering nothing but the bandwidth. It's not like a modern color display, where the phosphor/pixel groups serve to sub-sample the signal no matter how you feed it in. But that advantage goes away when the subtleties exceed your eye's ability to perceive them. Or you have to strain/hurt yourself to do it.

    So anyway... any single one or combination of these three things would motivate me to buy more new Apple hardware. Nothing else:

    o A Mac pro that is self-contained -- installable, replaceable drives, lots of memory, replicable display cards. The "trashcan" Mac pro is an obscenity. All it did was send me to EBay to buy used prior model Mac Pros. The trashcan isn't so much a wrong turn as it is a faceplant.

    o A Mac mid-tower that can have hard drives installed+replaced and at least 16gb of RAM. 32gb would be better. Doesn't have to be that fast. Real gfx. I know, mythical, not probable. Still want it, though. Actually, I want several. :/

    o A multicore Mac mini with a real graphics card, 8gb or better ram, network, USB, HDMI and audio ports.

    I have uses for all those. Failing that, and in fact that's my expectation, more fail -- I'm done with them. And I have no use whatever for "integrated" graphics.

    What's annoying is that just about when they finally managed to a get a stable OS with most of the features I like and want (and the ability to get around the stupid features like "App Nap"), they totally borked the hardware side. I just can't win with Apple. Sigh.

    --
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  8. picking nits, but.... by Chirs · · Score: 2

    An ASA 25 slide projected in a dark room looks *awesome*. A VCR on a CRT looks crap.