Apple 4K 21.5 Inch Retina iMac to Hit Stores Next Week? [Release Date, Features & Rumors]

There are claims that Apple might launch the rumored 21.5-inch Retina iMac model in the middle of October 2015. The desktop is said to house some pretty powerful specs, and particularly have an impressive screen resolution of 4096 x 2304.

9to5Mac reported that the new 21.5-inch Retina iMac with 4K screens may become available in stores as early as Tuesday, October 13. More of the new 4K iMacs are expected to become available in November 2015. Reportedly, the new desktop will appear very much like the current version without 4K resolution. Some of the bigger upgrades will possibly include the 4096 x 2304 screen bump and a faster graphics card. Production already commenced allegedly, so the device might be released anywhere between the middle of October and the end of November 2015.

The 4K Retina iMac is expected to run on the El Capitan OS out of the box. One of the developer betas of OS X 10.11 El Capitan showed a reference to a Mac with a resolution display of 4096 x 2304, which then spurred reports that it was intended for the upcoming 21.5-inch model. The 27-inch device has a higher 5120 x 2880 resolution, while the 15-inch Retina MacBook has a resolution of 2880 x 1800, based on a report by MacWorld. The upgraded 4K display will generally feature a better image quality and color saturation.

It is still uncertain whether the new device will come with a new Magic Mouse 2 with Force Touch, a new Bluetooth Keyboard and an enhanced rechargeable battery. Mac Rumors wrote that the device may feature an Intel Broadwell chipset with Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200, and AMD Radeon M380 - M395X discrete graphics.

MacWorld cited KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believed that Apple originally intended for the 4K iMac to be released in September, just in time for students returning to school. The new desktop was predicted to have a panel that incorporates LED phosphor material, known as KSF, to significantly improve the quality of color saturation.

The retail price has not yet been revealed but will most likely be higher or the same as the non-4K model when it first launched in 2014. The current 21.5-inch variant retails at $1,099 to $1,499, depending on the chipset, RAM and internal memory.

There are also talks that the 27-inch iMac and 21.5-inch non-4K iMac will most likely have an update together with the release of the new 4K iMac. More updates and details are expected soon.