Last week, Apple’s biggest display partner LG Display published an explainer on 8K (7,680 by 4,320 resolution) screens, claiming that the specification is the future of display technology. LG has already demonstrated 8K monitors at CES in Las Vegas, and notes that the panel boasts 16 times the number of pixels as a standard Full HD screen. Strangely, however, LG’s document explicitly says that Apple is working on an 8K version of the iMac (emphasis ours):
As anyone who reads up on Apple would tell you, this statement from LG Display is not accurate: Apple has not announced an iMac with an 8K display and has not publicly indicated that one is coming this year…
Perhaps this is just a complete factual error from LG, but it’s also possible that the company, which has been one of Apple’s main display suppliers for years, has some insight into Apple’s roadmap. Regardless, a major manufacturer such as LG claiming that Apple is working toward 8K displays is interesting.
Late last year, Apple leapfrogged many desktop computers on the market by launching an iMac with a 5K display. Apple has not updated its standalone monitors since 2011, so perhaps the company is working on something even more elaborate for that professional-focused product line.
We noted earlier this year that 8K displays will start hitting the marketplace in 2016, so it wouldn’t be surprising for Apple to already have such screens in its Research and Development labs. Speaking of display resolutions, the next-generation Apple TV, to be announced this summer, is not slated to include support for 4K video streaming.
