iMac Pro: Display size
- 27- or 32-inches have been reported
- Upgrade over the current LED display in the iMac
Display analyst Ross Young and others had stated that the iMac Pro will have a 27-inch display, the same as the predecessor, which is a little disappointing. However, in June 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman indicated that he had information suggesting that Apple is developing an iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches. He then elaborated further a few weeks later, suggesting that a 32-inch iMac is reportedly in testing. In October 2023, he reiterated that the new iMac Pro “will have a 32-inch display, making it the biggest iMac in Apple’s history.” Currently, the 32-inch Pro Display XDR is Apple’s largest display.
Kuo agrees that this new, larger iMac could have a 32-inch display, as per his October tweet. Neither Kuo nor Gurman expands on the screen specs, but it will presumably have ProMotion and XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range).
A larger display would certainly make the iMac Pro more attractive to potential buyers. Next to the 24-inch iMac, with its 4.5K display (4480 by 2520 pixels), the 27-inch iMac only looks slightly more impressive with its 5K display (5120 by 2880 pixels). But it’s not only the 24-inch iMac that the iMac Pro will be compared to. The 27-inch screen also doesn’t compare particularly favorably with many modern displays that are larger than 30 inches (including the 32-inch, 6K Apple Pro Display XDR).
Apple’s Pro Display XDR is a 32-inch 6K display.
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Gurman has previously predicted that the 27-inch iMac could see its display size increase by a similar amount to the 24-inch iMac: “I absolutely still believe that a larger, redesigned iMac to replace the Intel 27-inch models is en route. Apple increasing the screen size of the smaller model from 21.5 inches to 24 inches seems to indicate that the 27-inch model could see a size increase as well,” he wrote in July 2021.
A larger display could be possible without increasing the size of the iMac significantly. The 27-inch iMac measured 25.6 inches wide, 20.3 inches tall, and 8 inches deep, and Apple’s new design helps make the 24-inch iMac smaller than even the 21.5-inch iMac it replaced (21.5 by 18.1 by 5.8 inches versus 20.8 by 17.7 by 6.9 inches). Apple could also incorporate a notch into the top of the screen to accommodate the FaceTime camera, thereby reducing the size of the bezel at the top of the screen.
The new iMac Pro wouldn’t actually need to be as big as the Pro Display XDR to offer a 6K display. A 30-inch display with smaller bezels could still accommodate the 6016 by 3384 pixels for Retina 6K resolution and a 6K iMac.
In an October 2024 post on X, Kuo stated that the new iMac will have a 32-inch mini LED display, which would be an upgrade over the LED display used in the 24-inch iMac.
To get an idea of what we could expect with the display in the larger iMac if Apple takes it beyond the Studio Display, we can look at how it compares to Apple’s Pro Display XDR.
- Pro Display XDR: 6K Retina display (6016-by-3384 resolution), 1000 nits (XDR) or 500 nits (SDR) brightness, wide color (P3), True Tone
- Studio Display: 5K Retina display (5120-by-,880 resolution), 600 nits, wide color (P3), True Tone
The upcoming larger iMac is likely to have smaller bezels than the 27-inch iMac and iMac Pro, which could help the display reach a higher pixel density without having to make the display much bigger. A rumor by Ross Young in October 2021 and a follow-up report in December 2021 claimed that Apple would bring a Liquid Retina XDR display with “around 1,000 zones and over 4,000 mini-LEDs” to the iMac. That would be fewer than the 10,000 mini-LEDs in the iPad and the 8,000 mini-LEDs in the MacBook Pro, though it would likely be visually indistinguishable due to the size and viewing distance.
The 27-inch iMac used to ship with standard glass on the front of the display, but (for $300) Apple offered a nano-texture glass that provided a matte-like finish and did a good job of cutting down glare. Apple will probably continue to offer this with the new iMac Pro. As you can see above, it dramatically cuts down on the gloss and glare.
The 27-inch iMac has a nano-texture glass option (right) that does a better job of resisting glare and reflections.
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