Here's one reason why the Retina iMac has a 5K, not a 4K display
Apple this month announced its new iMac with a 5K Retina display, which boasts of an impressive 14.7 million pixels packed into the 5120×2880 matrix. Why did Apple choose this novel 5K resolution over a myriad of standard 4K options? Ars Technica asked this question of Dr. Ray Soneira of DisplayMate, who provided a simple explanation -- video editing.
According to Soneira, this resolution is geared towards the videographer who can take advantage of the extra screen real estate when working with 4K video streams.
"This monitor is designed for video production, which is the primary reason for buying a 5K display as opposed to a 4K display," he said. "A 5K display is great when working on 4K content (3840×2160 or 4096×2160) because you can view all of the images at their true native 4K resolution, which is very important, and then have a fair amount of leftover extra screen space all around it for controls, icons, and even a generous 3.4-inch high text area at the bottom for commands and text input."
Soneira notes that while video editing on the new iMac may be dreamy, watching video may not be so pleasant as 4K frames won't fill the 5K display. Letterboxing the smaller video is undesirable, while upscaling may introduce artifacts. Early hands-on reviews, however, suggest this may not be an issue for the average consumer, with most journalists praising the machine for its "jaw-dropping" display.
