Apple is reportedly preparing a 27-inch Retina 5K display with integrated GPU

Apple is reportedly preparing to refresh its long-in-the-tooth 27-inch Thunderbolt Display.

Originally released in the summer of 2011, the current Thunderbolt Display features a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 with an aspect ratio of 16:9. While that was certainly impressive five years ago, there are now plenty of 4K resolution monitors on the market at half the cost. Even Apple’s 27-inch iMac now includes a Retina 5K display with a resolution of 5,120 x 2,880.

Sources familiar with the matter tell 9to5Mac that Apple’s refreshed 27-inch Thunderbolt Display will likely feature a 5K resolution display and include an integrated GPU. Wait, what?

According to sources, Apple wants to ensure that its new 5K display will be compatible with as many Macs as possible. Driving a 5K display is no easy task and may very well be too much for today’s Mac to handle. A dedicated GPU built into the display would make it possible for new and future Macs to work flawlessly with the high-resolution monitor and further enable Apple to thin down its entire line of Macs.