scaling

Two 'scaling' stories June 2014 - December 2014

Mac Pro monitor review: The best 4K & UHD monitors for Mac

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Check out our updated roundup of the best 4K and 5K displays for Mac for 2016.

So Apple didn’t release a 4K (or 5K) standalone Retina display alongside the new 5K iMac, but you can’t hold off any longer on a shiny new display for your Mac Pro. I found myself in the same predicament not too long ago and decided to put a number of displays to the test in recent months. 4K might offer 4x the resolution of your standard 1080p display, but for the short time they’ve been around, they’ve also cost about 4x as much as the alternatives. The good news: There are a few Mac Pro compatible 4K displays (and UHD alternatives) finally starting to hit more reasonable price points just as recent OS X updates fix some issues early adopters first had with the higher resolution displays.

I’ve been testing Mac Pro compatible displays from Dell, Sharp, Samsung, LG, and others that are officially supported by Apple, and put together a list of my thoughts and top picks for those planning on picking up a new Mac Pro this holiday season. Despite my tests being done mostly on a new, stock Mac Pro, these picks stand for Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook users as well.

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Retina iMac references discovered in OS X Yosemite code

Following the discovery of reference to new iMac models in OS X, Macbidouille has found code in the new OS X Yosemite developer preview that points to Retina resolutions for the yet to be announced product. Specifically, the file points to scaled resolution modes like those available for Retina MacBooks including, according to the report, 6400 x 3600 (probably a 3200×1800 HiDPI), 5760×3240 (2880×1620 HiDPI) 4096×2304 (2048×1152 HiDPI) resolutions. The report notes that the native resolution of the machine appears to be missing from the file as it only lists resolution of the various scaling modes.

Much like the Retina MacBook Pro with a native resolution of 2880 x 1800 is capable of scaling assets at 3840 x 2400 down to 1920 x 1200 and producing sharper, clearer images in the process, the report speculates the 6400 x 3600 resolution would be scaled down to 200×1800 HiDPI.

Apple has long been testing Retina resolution iMacs and rumors last year and earlier this year suggested the company could also release a new lower-cost iMac sometime this year. Apple last refreshed its iMac lineup in September of last year adding updated processors and more storage at the same price point with the same slim, redesigned exterior introduced in the previous generation. Apple’s current iMac lineup includes a 27-inch model with a resolution of 2560-by-1440 and a 21.5-inch model with a resolution of 1920-by-1080.