27" Apple Display as "don't buy" in MR's Buyer's Guide

[adamjackson]

I just bought a Thunderbolt iMac and currently am using a 27" 2010 iMac + 30" Dell LCD (3008WFP) I wanted to get a matching display for my iMac but the thickness of the 27" Thunderbolt display and black facade don't match the current iMac all that well.

I hit the MR Buyer's Guide which tells me I shouldn't buy the current display but I can't help but wonder when an upgrade will happen. Apple notoriously is bad at updating their displays and looking at the iMac 27", the specs between that and the current shipping thunderbolt are pretty similar. I know the 27" iMac has less glare, better brightness and color accuracy so, has there been any talk of an updated Thinner 27" thunderbolt display that matches the current iMac's specs?

These two displays would look so great side-by-side on my desk and I'd like to make a purchase within the next month.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

has there been any talk of an updated Thinner 27" thunderbolt display that matches the current iMac's specs?

Lots of talk but nothing official of course. 27" iMacs are only recently in good supply; lots of speculation that Apple wouldn't update the TBD while supply issues were constraining iMac shipments.

Personally I'm waiting for the next design, whenever that may be. My Dell monitors are holding out OK so I'm in no hurry.

 

[adamjackson]

Thanks for the info!

 

[EwanMcTeagle]

Thanks for the info!

Obviously the new TBD would have USB 3.0, less glare and the new iMac design. So in your case and as the design part is important for you - I would wait.
I have 2011/2012 Macbooks, so I wouldn't benefit from USB 3 and I like the old design better, so I just recently got a TBD. Plus I found a refurbished one in good price, so that was basically the deciding factor as i could've liced with my Dell for a year or even two.
But in your case I would probably wait - the new TBD should come out this year, but nothing's certain with Apple

 

[theluggage]

I have 2011/2012 Macbooks, so I wouldn't benefit from USB 3

I don't see any reason why a 2011 (USB2) Mac wouldn't benefit from the USB3 in any new Thunderbolt display.

Unlike the old Cinema display, which just had a USB hub that shared the Mac's existing USB, the Thunderbolt display has its own PCIe-to-USB2 host controller (see the iFixit teardown). A new TB display would use a PCIe-to-USB3 controller instead. So not having USB3 in your Mac shouldn't be an issue.

Of course, we don't know anything until Apple actually release a product - they're not known for legacy support, so I wouldn't put it past them to only support Mid-2012 Macs. For one thing, an updated TBD would almost certainly have a Magsafe2 cable rather than the original magsafe - who knows if they'll offer an adapter?

 

[tekboi]

I say go for it. Playing the waiting game with apple is always annoying. Plus, it will match your current iMac a whole lot more than the future TBD will.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

I have been very tempted to buy the current TBD. However I really want to be able to attach USB 3.0 devices via one TB cable....so wait I will.

have matching Acer H233H displays. I was running them as dual displays for my PC, but now I run one on the PC and one on the MacBook so I can afford to wait.

 

[DisMyMac]

The store is due for any sort of update, and their Display is a main candidate. I say wait.

 

[Acorn]

Im hoping they will update the thunderbolt displays at the same time as the mac pro and no later. there is a lot of rumors that they will be updating the mac pro this year so its just a matter of how far into the year it is. it would make sense for them to update the display that goes with the mac pro at the same time.

 

[mac jones]

The next one might not be VESA like all the iMacs.

 

[dspilman]

There are newly updated versions of the iMac that has VESA compatibility. I suspect the 2013 (hopeful!) Thunderbolt Display will take the same approach.

 

[mdh95070]

There are newly updated versions of the iMac that has VESA compatibility. I suspect the 2013 (hopeful!) Thunderbolt Display will take the same approach.

I wish Apple would get moving on updating their monitor. I like the idea of pairing up with a Mac Mini. I love the idea of the iMac 27, but it looks painful watching people truck in their iMacs for repairs.

 

[jetjaguar]

I want to add two atds to my current 2012 iMac but I am gonna hold out for the new one .. probably going to be announced with the new mac pro this summer but who knows

 

[RoastingPig]

i am hoping for a super thin profile thunderbolt display sort of like the imac but without the pregnant guppy syndrome

 

[PatriotInvasion]

If Apple doesn't hold an event until June, I'd have to imagine it would be the longest gap in events in their recent history. I mean October-June is 8 months.

It's my expectation that the new Thunderbolt Display gets a brief unveiling towards the beginning of the next event (likely shipping the following month to buy more time for iMac production to catch up). But with no event in sight other than the iPhone 5S in the summer months, I'm not sure when we'll see an updated display.

But, for them to still be selling the current model with USB 2.0 and a freaking dongle just to connect it to every new MacBook is sad for a company with $120B in the bank. Let's go already...Samsung could push out 7 new monitors in the same timeframe...

 

[Payton]

But, for them to still be selling the current model with USB 2.0 and a freaking dongle just to connect it to every new MacBook is sad for a company with $120B in the bank. Let's go already...Samsung could push out 7 new monitors in the same timeframe...

This.

This is what's begun to bug me about apple as of late. These obvious updates that everyone knows are coming, but they're so slow to even say what's going on. I realize the supply constraint on displays, so this one sorta makes sense.

My guess is the new TB Displays will come out when they announce the new Mac Pros, which will certainly, finally have thunderbolt. And in that case, I'm really looking forward to seeing where apple goes with the new Mac Pro.

 

[PatriotInvasion]

This.

This is what's begun to bug me about apple as of late. These obvious updates that everyone knows are coming, but they're so slow to even say what's going on. I realize the supply constraint on displays, so this one sorta makes sense.

My guess is the new TB Displays will come out when they announce the new Mac Pros, which will certainly, finally have thunderbolt. And in that case, I'm really looking forward to seeing where apple goes with the new Mac Pro.

I'm not in the market for a Mac Pro, but even if Apple still has some conflicting ideas of what a next gen Mac Pro should be, the least they could do is update the specs on the assembly line if they're still selling the product in stores.

It just comes across as lazy and unethical to still be selling such outdated tech at full price to consumers who may not know the difference (although most in the market for that machine know what they're buying). Either update it or discontinue it, but make up your mind.

Weird how Apple makes it so hard sometimes to take our money.

 

[theluggage]

I'm not in the market for a Mac Pro,

...not many people are, that's the problem. More and more "pro" tasks are within the capability of MacBooks, Minis and iMacs. Unless you're editing 4K video, doing production-quality 3D rendering then you really don't need a Mac Pro.

Back in the day, Macs featured a unique architecture and OS that made them far more suitable for pro media work than PCs. Those days are long gone - you can get more bangs-for-buck and a wide choice of software using generic PC hardware (not that the desktop PC market is currently booming!) Apple's strength now - since the 1990s, really - is in laptops and small-form-factor machines that are less-price sensitive and where cosmetic design is a major buying factor.

I'm not saying that nobody needs a Mac Pro - just that it is a relatively small and shrinking market.

but even if Apple still has some conflicting ideas of what a next gen Mac Pro should be, the least they could do is update the specs on the assembly line if they're still selling the product in stores.

I get the impression that there are plenty of already-assembled Mac Pros already in the supply chain. Here in the UK, although they've technically stopped shipping them to the EU, there are plenty available. If this wasn't the case, Apple would have fixed the EU compliance issues.

Either update it or discontinue it, but make up your mind.

Even if they update, they're not going to be getting many new "Pro" customers - just keeping a diminishing pool of existing customers happy. Discontinuing it would leave those users out on a limb when it came to replacing broken machines or provisioning new staff and create a disproportionate amount of bad publicity (c.f. the fuss when they dropped the XServe, which probably had an even smaller customer base than the Pro).

Anyway, "pro" users don't rush out and replace their machines every time Intel releases a new chipset. Most of the point of these machines is that they are expandable and flexible.