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

[akbarali.ch]

Still pretty decent specs for a 12 year old display.

I'm using one as my daily driver, couldn't get a better package than that at that bargain price. I was dearly waiting for an updated display, but Studio Display is such a let down.
TD was was such a futuristic device back then and Studio Display seems out dated right out of the gates.

 

[jaster2]

Picked up this display from our university surplus store a couple years ago for $75. Still works great.

 

[dork]

Still have two Thunderbolt displays in service with my Mac Studio - they're great.

 

[DestructoTim]

And it was essentially just a refreshed LED Cinema Display from 2008, taking the same case and panel and updating the I/O. I have the older model and it works beautifully with my M1 mini.

And its not just the specs that hold up, the actual panel is amazing for its age. I have a 3 year old $300 Samsung monitor and a 2 year old $500 LG UltraFine, and the Thunderbolt Display runs circles around them in accuracy and lighting. The UltraFine can do 4k, but who cares when the 4k looks worse than the 1440p on the ThunderBolt?

 

[GtrDude]

Apple needs to make the maps app stop zooming in and out when they're following the car.
When I have a zoom setting I like it's because I like it and sometimes I want to see a bigger area than Apple wants me to.
Apple does not always know best.
Ridiculous app.

 

[iSayuSay]

Still pretty decent specs for a 12 year old display.

Except for the fact that it constantly gets hot, you can feel it on the back side. For a monitor with a few USB ports, it's a powerhog.

 

[lfaa]

I still love my Thunderbolt Display.

I was shocked it hadn’t been put on the obsolete list years ago, however!

I'm still working with that display at home. Great display indeed.

 

[svish]

A long time since the introduction of the iPad Air lineup! But the iPad Air 2 was a fantastic tablet.

 

[Jwinnin]

I just pulled mine out and connected it up to my new Mac mini M2. It used to serve as a 2nd display for my 2013 iMac, just recently retired. It looks a bit dated, but still works great. Haven't decided what I will replace it with. It's cool to see how many people are still using their Thunderbolt displays!

 

[Maigrais]

Thunderbolt Display was an amazing Apple display. It completely transformed your notebook into a desktop. iPad Air was released 10 years ago this fall. I was the proud owner of both devices. RIP.

 

[weckart]

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?

What gap could there be? Apple never made the most important part, which was the panel. What you paid for was the packaging and firmware to better match your other Apple equipment in aesthetics and use. I will echo what the other poster mentioned was that I never understood why the stand on the ATD kept the panel at a different height from its lookalike iMac cousins. Maybe it was a centre of balance thing but it looked clumsy at Apple stores when you could compare them next to each other.

 

[Playfoot]

Apple will be adding the Thunderbolt Display and the first-generation iPad Air to its obsolete products list worldwide on May 31, according to an internal memo obtained by MacRumors. Obsolete products are no longer eligible for repairs or other hardware service at Apple Stores or Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Introduced in 2011, the Thunderbolt Display featured a 27-inch screen, a 1440p resolution, a 720p camera, three USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire 800 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and a Thunderbolt port. The monitor was priced at $999 in the U.S. and was discontinued in 2016, resulting in years without an Apple-branded external display. Its modern day successor is the Studio Display, released alongside the Mac Studio last year.

The original iPad Air launched in 2013 and was also discontinued in 2016. The device was equipped with a 9.7-inch display and the A7 chip, and it was advertised as being 20% thinner, 28% lighter, and having 43% narrower display bezels compared to the previous iPad. Pricing started at $499 in the U.S. for the Wi-Fi-only model.

Apple classifies a product as technologically obsolete once more than seven years have passed since the company stopped distributing it for sale.

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

Wow, had no idea. This then obviously means the mini-display port 27" that sits on my desk in the office, purchased in 2009 or 2010 is obsolete. Hard to believe. Still working fine, no issues, camera good. Microphone great. And the speakers very good.

For the most part, while Apple products are expensive, and certain products have major QC issues, think late 2016 MacBook Pros, when Apple gets it right, it REALLY gets it right.

 

[Bartosz Kwiecinski]

Great Display using it from 2012 with my MBP mid 2012!
But I have that flickering problem. Every tenth time using it, it starts flickering. I plug it in and out and then it is working fine again.

Anyone same experience? Solutions?

 

[Will Co]

Two displays in the house, both working well for their users. Great product.

 

[Tom66]

I connected my new M1 Max Mac Studio to my LED Cinema Display yesterday and it looks and sounds as good as ever.

 

[Wanted797]

The original iPad Air was launched in 2013.

Hard to believe this was 10 years ago. Wow! Where did the time go? RIP! 🪦

Shhhhh

I’m still pretty sure 10 years ago is 2007

 

[Vundu]

Still rocking my Thunderbolt Display with my M2 Pro Mac Mini 😅

 

[conradwt]

After 12 years, an inflation adjusted $999 is only ~$1370. So Apple's upped the price ~$200. I personally don't think the Studio Display will have the same legs as the Thunderbolt display. Time will tell.

I was going to get the Apple Studio Display but then there were just too many issues. For example, Apple Thunderbolt port has the following:

Cables

Built-in Thunderbolt cable
Built-in Universal MagSafe cable (up to 85W)

Peripheral connections

Three powered USB 2.0 ports
FireWire 800 port
Gigabit Ethernet port
Thunderbolt port
Kensington security slot

The Apple Studio Display had issues with the webcam resolution, no built-in ethernet port, and Center Stage. I would have taken the Apple Thunderbolt Display as a template and did the following:

• update Built-in Universal MagSafe cable (up to 85W) to MageSafe 3
• update Built-in Thunderbolt cable to Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) cable
• update to allow the cable easily disconnect from the back of the monitor similar to the Pro Display XDR
• update Gigabit Ethernet port to 10 Gigabit Ethernet port
• update FireWire 800 port to Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)
• update Thunderbolt port to Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)
• update Three powered USB 2.0 ports to USB-C
• update to use the current Apple Studio Display design and tech specs
• update the refresh rate to 120Hz but 60Hz is fine here

In the end, I just stuck with my trusty Apple Thunderbolt display and I have been using it since 2015. It has never required servicing. Thus, this is an excellent example of build quality.

 

[krell100]

Still rocking a Thunderbolt Display here!

 

[Apple0000Mr]

How many displays can one have?

 

[Apple0000Mr]

Macbook Pro? Mine broke

 

[amartinez1660]

Joining the longevity crowd over here: I also got all these devices, currently up and running all of them as displays:

1. 1x TB display as a daily driver (next to a main Studio Display)
2. 1x TB display passed on to a brother of mine, daily driven
3. iPad Air as floating screen on a light arm via Duet Display

They still push those pixels like the day they were unboxed.

Have already bought a couple of ASD due to this: they are amazing quality, convenient and sharp/easy on the eyes during all day use (contrary to what the lukewarm reviews and reception experience seem to convey).
Expecting the same long lasting longevity 🤞

The iPad itself is sluggish on its own, but as a display it’s actually great and text is perfect. Mostly static-ish images is what I put there.

 

[haemolysis]

Thunderbolt Display was one of my most regretted purchases of my life. The glare on that thing was INSANE. No matter where I put it, in whatever lighting, it looked like I was staring into a mirror.

 

[Robert.Walter]

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.

Agreed.

Bought a iPad 2, then a 3 for the retina. Loved the retina hated the thickness and added weight compared to my iPad 2.

Upgraded from a 4S to a 6 because wanted Touch ID. After that 3 was clunky without TID. Air 1 without TID was a dealbreaker.

Jumped at Air 2 with TID. Was really happy with its amazingly long life. Far as I could tell it never slowed down.

 

[fompsweeva]

My thunderbolt display is still kicking. Just wish I could hook up a KVM