Apple Adding Thunderbolt Display and Original iPad Air to Obsolete Products List

[lazyrighteye]

Not sure if it's halo effect or rose-tinted glasses... But spending something like 65,000+ hours pushing pixles over the years, I've always preferred Apple's displays. By a wide margin. It's been a while since I was up-to-speed on display tech, but I do get the sense the gap has narrowed. Maybe?

 

[erikkfi]

it was advertised as being 20% thinner, 28% lighter

We mocked them for this. We knew not what we did.

 

[CWallace]

After 12 years, an inflation adjusted $999 is only ~$1370. So Apple's upped the price ~$200.

Irrelevant, unless the new display has the exact same component and labor cost in real dollars, which I doubt it does.

Well you can be sure the component and labor costs for the Apple Studio Display in 2023 are higher than they were for the Thunderbolt Display in 2011. So the ASD today is better value at $1599 than the Thunderbolt Display was at $999 in 2011.




I had an ATD connected to my Mid-2012 iMac and it was great, though I never understood why Apple did not attach the stand at the same level as the iMac instead of where they did, which meant the ATD sat lower (so you needed a stand to make it even).

 

[beach bum]

I gave my Thunderbolt Display to my Uncle who is using daily it as a 2nd display with his 27" iMac working with his photography and art projects, and it is still a gorgeous display. I imagine that it'll still be in use for another 5-10 years (🤞).

 

[Asbow]

Although expensive, for some reason, I prefer to watch content on my ASD than on my other monitor. It might possibly be the glossy finish, but the colors seem more vibrant and more accurate on the ASD than on the other OEM monitors, such as LG, Asus, etc.

Do you get the free reflection as well?

 

[anshuvorty]

Do you get the free reflection as well?

Haha...yes...but because this display can get pretty bright, the reflection almost disappears once you increase the brightness to almost 100%.

 

[Asbow]

Haha...yes...but because this display can get pretty bright, the reflection almost disappears once you increase the brightness to almost 100%.

I’ve got a BenQ PD2720U. Matt screen. Colour a tad flat but no reflections. Was using it with my M1 Max 16” but switched back to the iMac Pro (macOS is weird in 4K). Wish I’d had got the nano glass on that.

 

[daanodinot]

I really consider the Thunderbolt Display the platonic ideal for an iMac design. I would empty my wallet in a second for a new iMac in that vein.

 

[JamesHolden]

Still pretty decent specs for a 12 year old display.

Mine is still going strong! I considered replacing it with a Studio Display, but I don't think the Studio Display is that much better, so I'll keep using my Thunderbolt Display until it fails. I think a 12 year old Thunderbolt Display is still a much better display than a lot of the third party monitors out there today.

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

Still using that display. Works great with my M1 Air with the Thunderbolt 2 to USB-C adaptor, but my new work laptop (Dell something or other) with a Thunderbolt 3 port won't see it at all.

 

[BrentT]

I still use my Thunderbolt display as a second monitor with my M1 iMac. Compared to the iMac it doesn't look very good but it's great for my purposes.

 

[hofer]

I still use my Thunderbolt Display. It has survived 3 different Macs, and it is still going strong.

 

[poorcody]

I don't like any non-retina displays these days, but the one exception is the Thunderbolt Display which I still use today. It has served me well for many years!

 

[gugy]

I still have two ACDs 30" love them! I wished Apple would sell the XDR at a more attractive price. No way, I can justify even as a professional paying over $7k (stand/nano). LMAO

 

[xraydoc]

I used one back in the day attached to a Mac mini (still have it, actually, but it's mostly collecting dust and has a dying capacitor somewhere on it that renders it operable for only a few days at a time, then needs to discharge for a few days, then repeat). Was pretty cool for the time.

 

[Isentropic]

My 14 year old apple cinema display works great with my 15 inch MacBook Pro. It even works with my iPad mini 6 as an external monitor via USB-C! I really see very little need to upgrade to a Studio Display.

And the apple cinema display is actually older than the thunderbolt display.

 

[riverfreak]

The thunderbolt displays were awesome for narcissists. Their mirror like finish meant that even in a nearly pitch black room you mostly stared at yourself.

Still waiting for two of them to die so I can be done with them forever.

 

[jbsiii]

A few months ago, I switched from a 2011 ATB display to an ASD. Although there clearly are improvements w/ the SD, the TB display was a great display and, during COVID, it was a great device for Zoom/Teams, even with the low resolution webcam. Kudos to Apple for producing such a capable and reliable monitor.

 

[Lexster]

VALE THUNDEBOLT DISPLAY. I have two of these daisy chained together with my Macbook Air M2. Amazing screens and set up in eery way. I even think the camera feels better than my new Macbook Air camera. I will keep these babies going as long as I can.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Still using my TBD.

Bought with a 2011 MBA, then used until recently with my 2012 Mac mini, now with my M2 MBA.

Been happy with it. Only complaints surround 1) the deterioration & failure of the outer jacket in the TB connector signal/MagSafe power cable and 2) the odd 1/yr having to disconnect from power and devices for a period of time because the display wouldn’t light up.

 

[Henry S]

My Thunderbolt Display is still going strong. Will cop a new MBP or new Air and get the necessary cables to keep this party going.

Mine worked fine with a Mini with a USB-C dongle. I used it until I needed a monitor with more ports so I could switch back and forth from my work Surface laptop.

 

[JosephAW]

My Air Gen 1 cellular is still going strong. Although apps and streaming services are dropping iOS 12 now.
Mainly my book reader now.
Too bad Apple wouldn't allow 3rd party browsers that don't use WebKit. Some sites won't load now. Thanks Apple. /s

 

[smoking monkey]

I owned the original iPad Air and I gotta say it wasn't a great piece of kit after about 18 months. its processor dated quite fast and felt sluggish. A bit like the iPad 3. I think both were poorer releases of the iPad when looking back at the history of the iPad.

 

[dampfnudel]

Even accounting for inflation, the $999 Thunderbolt Display was much cheaper than the $1599 Studio Display.

As far as the iPad Air, good riddance. It should have never had only 1GB of RAM. The Air 2 was so much more "future-proof" in that regard, and it was proven with its much longer support for iOS.

Yeah, the first generation iPad Air was my first iPad, but I sold it in 2014 because I hardly used it and I was waiting for the first iPad mini to get a laminated display (iPad mini 4). That 1GB gimped it just like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

 

[canadianreader]

My 14 year old apple cinema display works great with my 15 inch MacBook Pro. It even works with my iPad mini six has an external monitor via USB-C! I really see very little need to upgrade to a Studio Display.

And the apple cinema display is actually older than the thunderbolt display.

It looks like a giant iPad