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OS X El Capitan beta seems to reveal plans for a 4K iMac

OS X El Capitan beta seems to reveal plans for a 4K iMac

By Jacob Kastrenakes / @jake_k

Source 9to5Mac

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Apple's latest beta for OS X El Capitan may be giving away plans for some upcoming products. 9to5Mac and journalist Pierre Dandumont have spotted references in the beta's code to a nearly 4K Retina display, which is something that Apple doesn't currently ship. It's quite likely that such a display is destined for future iMac — and given that it's now in the operating system's code, potentially one that isn't all that far off. Apple currently ships a 27-inch iMac with a 5K display, but the 21.5-inch iMac still hasn't made the jump to Retina. This makes it seem like a fairly safe assumption that the 21.5-inch model is closing in on a 4K Retina refresh.

The beta also backs up reports of a fancy new Apple TV remote

The El Capitan beta also appears to reveal one other new product from Apple: that fancy new remote that it's said to be building for an upcoming revamp of the Apple TV. 9to5Mac and Dandumont say that they've found references in the El Capitan beta to a Bluetooth remote, and code appears to indicate that it has an infrared sensor (meaning it works like a normal TV remote), a Multi-Touch trackpad, and potentially Force Touch support. It's also said to have some sort of audio support, though it's unclear if that indicates audio playback or being able to dictate to Siri. All of that falls in line with prior reporting from The New York Times and 9to5Mac, so this seems to back up those stories.

Read next: The OS X El Capitan review.

It's not uncommon for Apple's plans to sneak out through its beta code. This has happened quite a few times in recent years, and, by and large, it seems to be unintentional. That said, it's hard to imagine Apple being all that upset by some of these leaks, which can help developers plan ahead. Already this month, we've seen iOS 9 beta code reveal potential plans for an improved FaceTime camera on a future next iPhone.

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