AppleInsider Staff
Third-party retailers are reporting stock-outs, or near stock-outs, of Apple's 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, once again fueling rumors that the company is preparing to release an upgraded Retina display model.
A number of resellers, including Adorama, Fry's, CDW and MicroCenter are all sold out of the Thunderbolt Display, reports MacTrast, while PowerMax MacConnection and others are running low on inventory.
The supposed stock-outs mirror an identical situation seen in February, when even larger companies like Amazon and J&R noted Apple's Thunderbolt Display was sold out. At the time, it was speculated that Apple would soon reveal a thinner version of the product more in line with the redesigned iMac.
While it is unclear whether Apple is indeed preparing a successor to the current Thunderbolt Display model, which hasn't been updated since its debut in 2011, a high-resolution wallpaper discovered on Apple's servers hints at possible refresh. The image in question is the blue-and-green wave background seen in Apple's OS X Mavericks promotional materials. At 5,120-by-2,880 pixels, the wallpaper has dimensions exactly twice that of the current Thunderbolt Display and 27-inch iMac.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
56 Comments
Wow, that's a spicy meatball! I would imagine that it would take a pretty beefy video card to drive a display at that resolution.
Only problem is that there isn't a display protocol that can handle 5120x2880, nor are any GPUs certified for that resolution either.
[quote name="dagamer34" url="/t/158239/supply-of-apples-thunderbolt-display-reportedly-drying-up-for-second-time-in-2013#post_2352455"]Only problem is that there isn't a display protocol that can handle 5120x2880, nor are any GPUs certified for that resolution either.[/quote] That might stop an off-the-shelf PC maker, but we are talking about Apple, Inc.
27" Retina Thunderbolt display please! Thunderbolt 2 can hand it just fine, and the new Mac Pro has sufficient GPU for 3x 4k displays. But I bet it will cost $8000, which is $50 more than it's worth to me. Retina iMac? That will have to wait longer, I fear--due to price. P.S. Make it all-black to match the Pro, AND for the love of Pete, make the keyboard and mouse black too! Why the white?? Apple hasn't made a white Mac in ages, yet the mouse and keyboard still have white! Backlight the keyboard while you're at it.
Bring also a new wired numerical keyboard with built-in USB 3 as well as a 22 to 24-inch Thunderbolt display with Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.