Ever since the iPhone 4 and the iPad 3, Apple fans far and wide have been crying out for Retina displays across the board. The MacBook Pro with Retina display was the first Mac to be treated to a higher-res offering in 2012, and as we continue to wait on the elusive Retina MacBook Air, the iMac was recently handed 5K support for an ultra-sharp experience. Now, for the first time, the Retina iMac is available refurbished at the Apple Online Store, and while availability will certainly vary, this is definitely the least risky way to score yourself a cheaper desktop from Apple.
Although Apple currently sells a 21.5-inch and 27-inch model of the iMac, only the latter saw the Retina support in an upgrade that occurred back in October, and if you don’t mind owning a refurbished model, you can score the entry-level version for the very reasonable price of just $2,119. Given that the starting price of the basic 5K iMac stands at $2,499, that’s a saving of almost 400 bucks, and with a quad-core Core Intel i5 processor and 8 gigs of RAM, it’s plenty powerful enough.
The next model in line features the same core hardware, with an identical processor and graphics, but offers double the RAM and treble the storage space with a 3TB Fusion Drive. This configuration will set you back $2,419 refurbished – still better than the retail cost of the standard Retina iMac – and for $2,549, you can forgo the Fusion Drive in favor of a 512GB flash drive.
If you’re looking for the Mac desktop experience for a super cheaper price range, then you should also take a look at the Mac mini lineup, which will set you back very little money, but you will have to invest in a decent looking display and keyboard, mouse input to make the whole rig stand out.
Still, refurbished products offer a great discount, and given that these iMacs are still fairly new, it’s well worth looking into if you want to save a few bucks. You get a one-year warranty, after all, so it’s not like you’re buying a second-hand machine in the traditional sense, although as aforementioned, you may have to keep stalking Apple’s site for general availability, as they’re not as readily in stock as brand-new goods.
(via: 9to5Mac)
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