Which it was. For the first generation of 5K iMac (2014). At some point it would have become capable and Apple simply didn’t implement that version.
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I cannot believe there's no way to use a 27" 2015 iMac as a second display
- Thread starter ronrather
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I’ve seen vids of people using AirPlay and connecting the lightning cable for full resolution with minimal lag. No hardware mods. Works for any iMac.
Can macOS "Cast" to another screen and use that as an extra monitor? If so, you could try installing Windows or Linux on the iMac and use it as a Cast client (note, I know Windows will do this, not sure if Linux does or which distros would support it). The response time would be slow, but it would at least get you an image on the screen.
No one is going to add back in a feature they removed that most people dont even use.
Home-Brewed: Hdmi cable from Mac to Monitor, Tv + Thunderbolt to Hdmi Adapter + https://eshop.macsales.com/item/New...9wpVBMN2YPMfea2Zsz86-WPjKjQ2RGzlOYgz2efWpI7P-
Note: Drawback no Brightness/Contrast control 1 Screen not tested on 2.
Note: Drawback no Brightness/Contrast control 1 Screen not tested on 2.
Yeah I cringe every time I dispose of a retina iMac at work. I don’t recommend buying them because you’re throwing away that beautiful display at the computers end of life.
I would even say that nobody uses it (since it isn’t available).
The technical limitations could apply to Intel computers from certain period, let’s even say all of them, but if the Mx iMacs have no TDM (I don't know that, I’m not interested in a 24” screen anyway) that is Apple’s conscious choice.
It needs a separate switch that can toggle OS used in studio display and Mac OS. Look at the windows AIO, it’s the same mess. Either you don’t get decent resolution or drivers don’t work at all. I know some one who was trying to use a touch screen AIO as display. It would ghost click all over.
I got it, why Apple stopped selling the 27'' iMac's, and went back to separate Mac's ans display's.
But I also get your pain if you have a retina iMac - what a waste on a good display😢
My 2013 iMac wasn't retina so I was glad to trade it in when I bought my present set-up.
But I also get your pain if you have a retina iMac - what a waste on a good display😢
My 2013 iMac wasn't retina so I was glad to trade it in when I bought my present set-up.
Looks like it doesn’t for ANY Mac, and certainly only for 2019 iMacs. I’d be happy if I were wrong!
It’s a technical limitation. At the time 5K iMacs came out, driving such a display was really hard. iMac used a custom controller.
They could probably do it with the new 24” iMacs, if they wanted to.
I have Luna display and dongle and it works quite good.
For a company that touts its as environmentally conscious and active, producing an iMac is the complete opposite.
But Tim and friends have payments on their third or fourth luxury cars to make!!
But Tim and friends have payments on their third or fourth luxury cars to make!!
The 2012+ iMac would have been designed and prototyped during the Jobs/Ive era, and the electronic interior for the 2014 redesign would still have been subject to Ive’s minimalist ‘less is more’ approach.
If it could have been easily done, it would have been done.
Not easy = not done.
For the older 5K iMacs the DIY conversion to a 5K monitor is straightforward if care is taken.
Those that can do, do.
Those that can’t, keep on posting away on MR. It’s therapeutic… 😵💫
If it could have been easily done, it would have been done.
Not easy = not done.
For the older 5K iMacs the DIY conversion to a 5K monitor is straightforward if care is taken.
Those that can do, do.
Those that can’t, keep on posting away on MR. It’s therapeutic… 😵💫
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There are so many way, you can get a Lunardisplay dangle for 69 bucks,
or you pay 14 bucks per month with a duet app
easy
or you pay 14 bucks per month with a duet app
easy
The custom controller is in the 5K iMac - it would be used to drive the 5K mode from another Mac the same way as it is used by the iMac.
The technical limitation is due to them excluding the technical stuff needed to remove the limitation.
Cars can't fly unless you add wings.
iMacs can't be displays for other computers unless you add the connections and switches to do that (and maybe software to control the connections and switches).
A lot of odd replies in this thread, but hey, it's MacRumors...
For no cost, OP could try turning on the built in Screen Sharing on the new Mac and the open the Screen Sharing app on the old iMac and connecting to the new Mac.
Performance is at least decent, and yes I use it all the time so this isn't some sort of hypothetical answer.
To improve the performance even further, the new Mac and the iMac could be connected via Thunderbolt and then networking between just those two Macs could then be set up, giving a very high speed & dedicated connection between the two.
The old iMac would only have the thunderbolt connected and no other networking connection active. The new Mac would have both the Ethernet (or Wifi) for LAN and WAN access turned on, plus the thunderbolt connection active for the screen sharing. You wouldn't turn on Internet sharing for this.
I've also done this thunderbolt networking, it works fine, great even.
Now, whether this is up to what the OP wants in performance is their call. But it's easily done so they can see if it works for them.
Is it perfect? No. But it's worth the time to quickly check it out.
For no cost, OP could try turning on the built in Screen Sharing on the new Mac and the open the Screen Sharing app on the old iMac and connecting to the new Mac.
Performance is at least decent, and yes I use it all the time so this isn't some sort of hypothetical answer.
To improve the performance even further, the new Mac and the iMac could be connected via Thunderbolt and then networking between just those two Macs could then be set up, giving a very high speed & dedicated connection between the two.
The old iMac would only have the thunderbolt connected and no other networking connection active. The new Mac would have both the Ethernet (or Wifi) for LAN and WAN access turned on, plus the thunderbolt connection active for the screen sharing. You wouldn't turn on Internet sharing for this.
I've also done this thunderbolt networking, it works fine, great even.
Now, whether this is up to what the OP wants in performance is their call. But it's easily done so they can see if it works for them.
Is it perfect? No. But it's worth the time to quickly check it out.
You don’t really understand how display cables and ports work and what were the limitations, do you?
@smithrh “For no cost…”
Well, no cost with a 2015 target iMac if you have a TB2 cable and an Apple TB2<>TB3 adapter to hand.
If not then even buying them used is a cost - they are not cheap in the UK..,
And Screen Sharing is only 1080p, although it’s HiDPI if the transmitting Mac is Apple silicon.
Well, no cost with a 2015 target iMac if you have a TB2 cable and an Apple TB2<>TB3 adapter to hand.
If not then even buying them used is a cost - they are not cheap in the UK..,
And Screen Sharing is only 1080p, although it’s HiDPI if the transmitting Mac is Apple silicon.
Screen sharing type options on Mac
On your Mac, choose Standard or High Performance screen sharing.
support.apple.com
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What's to understand? Apple made a display inside the 5K iMac that takes two DisplayPort connections from the iMac GPU. Apple did not add a method to switch those two DisplayPort connections to an external set of DisplayPort connections like they did with the 1440p iMacs. But they could have.
It's because entitled whiners think Apple is their friend.
Apple is not your friend.
Apple is a worldwide going concern dedicated to making hardware and software products that generate a profit for their shareholders. Whiners don't get to decide the amount of profit. This isn't "everybody plays because you all are winners". Nothing more. Nothing less. Crying about it, accusing Apple of being somehow predatory because they don't give things away some whiner demands isn't going to change their business model.
One is free to vote with their wallet and not participate in the Apple ecosystem if they wish. Anything else is just entitled whining.
I am running Sonoma on a i7 late-2015 iMac thanks to OCLP. Everything (including Filemaker database with 1.4 million records) running fine.
I’m confident that I’ll be able to run Sequoia when Sonoma updates end, which will give me 3 extra years, compared to Monterey (last officially supported OS).