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The year in reviews: a look back at the best gadgets of 2014
It's been quite a year in products here at the Engadget offices. Not only have we looked at the latest flagship phones and hottest laptops, but our reviews have run the gamut from VR headsets to WiFi Crock-Pots. We've worn lots of smartwatches and fitness wristbands on our arms, tried out an ultra-secure phone and looked at more Chromebooks than we can count. And while we reviewed plenty of average and mediocre devices (and even a few bad ones), there are a handful that emerge at the top of the heap. Some come out as clear winners, while others are good, but don't quite break away from the pack, leaving us with a rather perplexing six-way-tie for seventh place. Thus, we present to you not our top 10, but top 12 highest-scored products of 2014.
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.
