Apple now pushing LG displays, instead of their own

[Kaido]

LG's latest 5K screen is Apple's new flagship display:

https://www.engadget.com/2016/10/27/lg-ultrafine-5k-4k-thunderbolt-display-apple/

Think of it as a very expensive dongle.

If you're eyeballing Apple's new MacBook Pro line, but you need even more screen real estate than 15 inches of Retina display -- LG has already got you covered. Taking the place of Apple's own, discontinued Thunderbolt Display, the LG 27-inch UltraFine 5K and 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K displays are stepping up as the new go-to companions for the MacBook Pro's sharp new screen and limited port variety.

The biggest selling point for both models is the ability to charge your new MagSafe-less laptop over the same Thunderbolt 3 connection that delivers video, audio and data. That, plus the three USB-C ports on the back led Phil Schiller to describe them as "the ultimate docking station" during today's presentation. Both models also bring an additional FaceTime-ready camera and microphone setup with built-in speakers. At the pixel level, the 27-incher brings 5120 x 2880 resolution with 218 ppi, while the smaller model has 4096 x 2304 4K resolution with 219 ppi. One Thunderbolt 3 advantage: you can adjust settings like screen brightness and speaker volume without the need for a separate cable or dedicated buttons on the monitor itself.

The larger model will run you $1,299.95 and the smaller is selling for $699.95. Only the smaller model is available for pre-order today, but it should ship in late November, with its big sibling coming sometime in December.

Very interesting that they're not pushing their own aluminum-brushed Apple Cinema Display anymore...they are kind of shrinking down to an iPhone & Macbook-only company. Sure, they've got some new AppleTV stuff, but the glaring lack of Netflix search is insane imo. I used to justify a lot of Apple's moves as a fanboy, but it's getting kind of ridiculous at this point. Editorially speaking, when Jobs died, Apple lost their innovator. But that's getting off on a completely different tangent lol. I am curious as to what Apple's future plans are with their hardware offerings...

 

[Yakk]

I was really surprised Apple wasn't able to strong-arm LG to omit their brand in exchange for Apple marketing, so Apple could continue to have their own brand monitor.

Interesting the display market lately...

 

[Kaido]

I was really surprised Apple wasn't able to strong-arm LG to omit their brand in exchange for Apple marketing, so Apple could continue to have their own brand monitor.

Interesting the display market lately...

Yeah, for real...they must not have made much money on their displays. Plus all of their non-A+ displays ended up going to the Korean knockoff market, so people were buying cheap models off eBay, then eventually Fry's & other mainstream retailers to get the same panel for much cheaper. I guess it makes sense, from that perspective.

 

[manly]

What's so interesting about it? Apple displays have had almost no market share for many years, and many people now believe the Mac Pro will never get another update. Which leaves just high-end MacBook Pro users as the addressable market for ACD buyers.

I didn't even realize the TB display was actually discontinued back in June.

As to the question of what's next besides discontinuing Mac "desktop" computers, the logical final conclusion would be to one day spin off the Mac business completely. I'm not saying they will do that, but it's something that Jobs would never ever consider.

 

[Eug]

What's so interesting about it? Apple displays have had almost no market share for many years, and many people now believe the Mac Pro will never get another update. Which leaves just high-end MacBook Pro users as the addressable market for ACD buyers.

I didn't even realize the TB display was actually discontinued back in June.

As to the question of what's next besides discontinuing Mac "desktop" computers, the logical final conclusion would be to one day spin off the Mac business completely. I'm not saying they will do that, but it's something that Jobs would never ever consider.

Well, Jobs left Apple to develop NeXT, and then they stopped making NeXT hardware completely. His daily driver was a ThinkPad.

 

[Anubis]

FWIW LG has made the panel in the cinema display since forever. so they were pretty much always pushing rebranded LGs

 

[MacBAir]

I'm not saying they will do that, but it's something that Jobs would never ever consider.

This is fascinating to me. Jobs was the one that said "I will milk the Mac until the last penny, while working on the next bigger things".

Jobs was willing to axe almost everything. Jobs was the mobile.me guy, the cube guy, the non-windows itunes guy. It's pretty obvious to me that he was needed to put their talent in check "Slow the f*ck down, Ive", but he was fair from being the responsible of Apple's great products. The team was.

Despite Jobs stating literally the opposite of what you just said, you feel the need to say otherwise. Why? Apple doesn't exist to cater to your needs. They also have 0 obligations towards you. Don't like it? Move along.

 

[nerp]

This is fascinating to me. Jobs was the one that said "I will milk the Mac until the last penny, while working on the next bigger things".

Jobs was willing to axe almost everything. Jobs was the mobile.me guy, the cube guy, the non-windows itunes guy. It's pretty obvious to me that he was needed to put their talent in check "Slow the f*ck down, Ive", but he was fair from being the responsible of Apple's great products. The team was.

Despite Jobs stating literally the opposite of what you just said, you feel the need to say otherwise. Why? Apple doesn't exist to cater to your needs. They also have 0 obligations towards you. Don't like it? Move along.

People are. In droves.

 

[Commodus]

The simple answer isn't so much a lack of interest as realizing it's a bad business: monitors, much like TVs, are highly commoditized products. Even Thunderbolt-equipped 5K displays have to compete partly on price. Apple likely decided that there was no point to being in the display business unless it could offer something that stands out, and it can't.

 

[MacBAir]

People are. In droves.

If that was true, it would be amazing, because maybe Apple would focus even more on these things.

Unfortunately, as user base keeps growing as showing by the latest metrics (per the latest financial quarter, Mac userbase and Macs in use are higher than ever), and the sales slowdown can be obviously explained by people waiting for updates and Apple still had one of the best Mac years ever (as far as sales), those users leaving are a nice, justified price to pay.

It seems everyone wins. 1000$ from people not willing to learn more and improve their working habits are worth as much as 1000$ from users that are willing to do just that.

 

[manly]

Well, Jobs left Apple to develop NeXT, and then they stopped making NeXT hardware completely. His daily driver was a ThinkPad.

This was a vastly different scenario. Jobs was sidelined at Apple, so he left to go start a UNIX shop. Apple sued him, and they agreed to a non-compete clause. If I understand it correctly, his intentions were always to enter the "affordable" workstation market, so the overlap was very thin even though high-end Macs were insanely expensive back in the day.

This is fascinating to me. Jobs was the one that said "I will milk the Mac until the last penny, while working on the next bigger things".

Jobs was willing to axe almost everything. Jobs was the mobile.me guy, the cube guy, the non-windows itunes guy. It's pretty obvious to me that he was needed to put their talent in check "Slow the f*ck down, Ive", but he was fair from being the responsible of Apple's great products. The team was.

Despite Jobs stating literally the opposite of what you just said, you feel the need to say otherwise. Why? Apple doesn't exist to cater to your needs. They also have 0 obligations towards you. Don't like it? Move along.

Where's your source for this quote?

Note I never said Steve Jobs was dogmatic about products, although there's some evidence he's dogmatic about certain principles or preferences (no big screen iPhone, no stylus). Yes, he killed off a lot of products in his time. That's vastly different from sending away the business unit that he not only spearheaded, but then saved in his second act.

My opinion is that Steve Jobs wouldn't have allowed the Mac business to languish as badly as it has the past several years. I also believe that as one of his babies, he wouldn't spin it off. Although it's dwarfed by the iPhone, it's still a $25B per year business that is solidly profitable. Hypothetically if the Mac BU declined and had no long-term prospects, would Jobs jettison it? Sure, anything's possible.

Finally, I don't know what your huffing and puffing is about. I stated an opinion about what might be the ultimate fate of the Mac business unit, and you somehow pivoted off to Tim Cook's Apple doesn't owe me anything.

 

[HiroThreading]

What's so interesting about it? Apple displays have had almost no market share for many years, and many people now believe the Mac Pro will never get another update. Which leaves just high-end MacBook Pro users as the addressable market for ACD buyers.

I didn't even realize the TB display was actually discontinued back in June.

As to the question of what's next besides discontinuing Mac "desktop" computers, the logical final conclusion would be to one day spin off the Mac business completely. I'm not saying they will do that, but it's something that Jobs would never ever consider.

Except the Cinema Display and Thunderbolt Display never competed with other displays. They were catered to Mac users who were prepared to pay a premium to attach their Mac Pro, Mac Mini, and MacBook Pro, or as a dual monitor setup with their iMac. That last group of users are probably feeling pissed off, because the LG monitor probably doesn't even have the same height as the iMac.

What Apple has signalled by cancelling their display business, is that they have decided to move firmly toward mobile devices, and further away from the Mac Pro/Mac Mini group.

IMO, this is a bad decision. The Mac business, while not as big as the iOS business, was probably Apple's most stable portfolio. They have struggled (arguable failed) with watch, TV, and iPad, and even the iPhone can only grow so much. Letting go of the Mac as we know it is foolish, and I can't imagine what the payoff is for doing such a thing.

 

[SamQuint]

Damn, it still does not have multiple inputs. It only supports one USB-C connection from a Macs. Why would I want to spend that much money on a monitor that I can only hook up one thing at a time. If I am going to spend that kind of money on a monitor I want to have multiple inputs so I can hook up multiple computers, gaming system, chrome stick, cable TV, etc. Then I can just change the input to the system I am using at the time.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Makes sense. 98% of their buyers never need an external display, so why make one?

 

[sxr7171]

Well, Jobs left Apple to develop NeXT, and then they stopped making NeXT hardware completely. His daily driver was a ThinkPad.

Smart man.

 

[Kaido]

The 5K display Apple and LG built together just got cheaper:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/4/13527590/apple-lg-ultrafine-5k-display-price-cut

Apple is reducing the price of its new 5K LG UltraFine Display by more than 25 percent as part of an effort to ease the transition to its new line of MacBook Pros. The special promotion, which amounts to a $349 price cut for the $1,299.95 monitor, brings the product’s price under $1,000. The company is also reducing the price on the 4K version from $699.95 to $524. Both products, designed in partnership between Apple and LG, are available on Apple’s online store, with the 4K model available now and the 5K model going on sale next month.

Wow, a 5K monitor for a grand? Dang...

 

[Commodus]

The 5K display Apple and LG built together just got cheaper:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/4/13527590/apple-lg-ultrafine-5k-display-price-cut

Wow, a 5K monitor for a grand? Dang...

And the kicker is that, at least for the average person, it's probably better than those much more expensive Dell and HP 5K screens (which still cost more than a 5K iMac). Cinema color accuracy, Thunderbolt 3, even a webcam.

 

[Oyeve]

Did Apple ever "make" a display or only designed them?

 

[Kazukian]

Apple only designed them, why would you think Apple made LCD monitors?

Anubis even posted LG made their monitors in the past in this thread.

Only 5 companies "make" LCD panels:

Samsung
Sharp
LG
CMU
AUO

 

[Oyeve]

Apple only designed them, why would you think Apple made LCD monitors?

Anubis even posted LG made their monitors in the past in this thread.

Only 5 companies "make" LCD panels:

Samsung
Sharp
LG
CMU
AUO

Again, as in the past, you fail at reading compression . I never said I thought they did, I asked if they did.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

The 5K display Apple and LG built together just got cheaper:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/4/13527590/apple-lg-ultrafine-5k-display-price-cut
Wow, a 5K monitor for a grand? Dang...

I think the 4K is a better deal. My only problem is, as stated by someone else, the single input connector (USB-c). Unless there is a way to breakout multiple devices to feed into this one input then it is a handcuffed offering for anyone other than someone wanted a single device display solution.

That aside, if the panel used in the 4K model used in another LG product not deluded by Apple input constraints?

 

[Kazukian]

Again, as in the past, you fail at reading compression . I never said I thought they did, I asked if they did.

WTF?

 

[Tweak155]

I think the 4K is a better deal. My only problem is, as stated by someone else, the single input connector (USB-c). Unless there is a way to breakout multiple devices to feed into this one input then it is a handcuffed offering for anyone other than someone wanted a single device display solution.

That aside, if the panel used in the 4K model used in another LG product not deluded by Apple input constraints?

I thought the 4k was a better deal too until I saw it was 21.5" ?? That is one small display for such a resolution!

 

[Kaido]

I thought the 4k was a better deal too until I saw it was 21.5" ?? That is one small display for such a resolution!

I worked on a 24" 4K for a short while. Horrific. Would not go smaller than 27/28" for 4K personally.

 

[TheStu]

I worked on a 24" 4K for a short while. Horrific. Would not go smaller than 27/28" for 4K personally.

In which OS? I used to use a 21" 1080p monitor, and I loved the size.