Apple Discontinues Thunderbolt Display

[MacBH928]

Okay. So this is the direction Apple is taking.
Unless Apple exceeds my expectations with the MacBook Pro refresh, I'm done with this company. There's nothing for me here anymore.

not even colorful bands?

 

[maflynn]

Apple today told several news sites that it plans to discontinue its Thunderbolt Display,

Wow, didn't see that one coming.

I've often questioned why Apple remained in the monitor business, I guess they have too
[doublepost=1466762840][/doublepost]

Still rockin' my 2010 Cinema display, which i got on a trade over 3 years ago.

I got my LED Cinema display around 2009 (I forget exactly), but I bought it new, and its still going strong

 

[Steve121178]

Why the outrage? There are loads of better quality & cheaper displays available. Move on.

 

[Mactendo]

this is the BEST COMMENT EVER made!!!

Thank you

 

[h9826790]

I too want to believe. However, pointing customers to find some third party display is...well...pretty crappy. Looking at actions and words this pretty much spells the end of Apple's modern display line, 18 years...1998-2016. For what it's worth, I don't think I've ever seen them discontinue a product without having another one ready to replace it. That means lost interest and profits (yeah, they said go somewhere else we don't want your business).

I for one am incredibly happy I snagged a 27" LED Cinema Display (TD's older brother) on the refurb site a year ago...got Apple Care through 2018.

Tim Cook, what are you thinking?

I am using the same display as well. I use this monitor since 2011.

I start look at the Dell 4K display. However, I don't want to lost the iSight, keyboard control brightness etc. So, hopefully Apple will give us something, rather than force us to buy 3rd party monitor (after this one die).

 

[pmau]

I am using the same display as well.

Here as well ... very disappointing.

 

[Ryan0751]

This is rather disappointing that they discontinued this without a new model.

I actually have two of the thunderbolt displays. I had purchased them back shortly after they were announced, and at that time, they actually were a pretty good value. Comparable displays were only a few hundred dollars less and didn't come with all of the niceties of the ATD: iSight camera, integrated hub, "docking" features for laptop use.

Today I use a Mac Pro Late-2013 at home and I'm using Dell P2715Q 4K monitor's, the ATD's have been relegated to my office (for some reason they still insist on giving engineers 1080 monitors).

The Dell's look nice, and have a matte display, which I prefer. They can be finicky though, about once a month I have to unplug the power from at least one of them to reset it. But at $500 a piece, the value and image quality is quite good.

I was really hoping to see a ~$1k-ish 5K from Apple with all the nice features you'd expect.

Sounds like that may not happen...

 

[iMcLovin]

and next up to be discontinued is the Mac Pro...and then the iMac. Eventually Apple will focus on iPhone and iPads.

 

[2457282]

Their official statement really leads me to believe they're just going to straight up not make a standalone display anymore, though.

I agree. After wwdc, it seems they continue to pour much of their Dev dollars into iOS over macOS. Tim seems convinced that the post PC world is where apple's future lies. And he continues to pump dollars into the iPad. I do think that we are headed in that direction at the consumer level. However there will always be a place for developers and professionals that require multi screen work stations with a ton of power. It looks like that Apple has become a consumer company and really is not focused on the pro niche. I get it because the profits are in consumers, but basically abandoning the heart is sad - I pause for a moment of silence..... Okay on with the profits and margins.

 

[Vaga8ond]

It will me interesting to see what happens to the Mac Mini now.

 

[amegicfox]

I agree. After wwdc, it seems they continue to pour much of their Dev dollars into iOS over macOS. Tim seems convinced that the post PC world is where apple's future lies. And he continues to pump dollars into the iPad. I do think that me are headed in that direction at the consumer level. However there will always be a place for developers and professionals that require multi screen work stations with a ton of power. It looks like that Apple has become a consumer company and really is not focused on the pro niche. I get it because the profits are in consumers, but basically abandoning the heart is sad - I pause for a moment of silence. Okay on with the profits and margins.

I guess developers will have to use windows or linux to write all the app for the iPhone, iPad, Apple tv, Apple watch and MacCar. This is why Apple ported swift to linux.

No more MacMini or MacPro.

Video production companies, design companies, music companies will have to move to windows / linux.

Tim Cook you will not make me use an iPad or a laptop over a mac with a 30" display.
You keep using the iPad and that useless watch, not me.

I am buying a NUC skull canyon and install ubuntu on it or may be os x....!

 

[BornAgainMac]

My original thought was Apple will sell a new display later this year. Now I am wondering if the Mac Pro and Mini will be dropped. I can see Apple doing that eventually. They can even justify it by lack of sales but they had a role in that themselves. But percentage wise, even frequently updates would make hardly any difference to overall revenue to them.

 

[borntrouble]

Rose Gold that will look pretty with large heart emojis.

Maybe with some new Disney-related backgrounds? I want Pluto so bad. =/

 

[pmau]

My original thought was Apple will sell a new display later this year. Now I am wondering if the Mac Pro and Mini will be dropped. I can see Apple doing that eventually. They can even justify it by lack of sales but they had a role in that themselves. But percentage wise, even frequently updates would make hardly any difference to overall revenue to them.

Mz guess for the product line:
iPhones / iPads
MacBook and MacBook Pros
iMac as a Desktop
Apple TV
Watch

No longer there:
MacPro
MacMini
MacBook Air
Display
Airport Express / Extreme / Time Capsule

And I do believe the iPad Pro 12" was a one-time event, unless iOS massively improves ...

 

[ikir]

Maybe because the thunderbolt port is a joke and nobody uses it?

Professionals use it, at work I'm using it everyday and all the pros I'm working with it use it everyday.
If you don't use it you probably are not a pro or support specialist, target mode for example is a must in support center like mine.

 

[d4gli]

TB is everyday in use... I travel with my old Mid 12er Book between office and home - everywhere it's connected to a 27er Apple TB Display - like a dockingstation. Just need to plugin power and TB - that's it. LAN card is embedded in the TB Display via Thunderboldt, USB like external drives on the display. No cables are visible... I often thought about a 27er iMac @home, but that won't fix my work problem... Hope to see a 5k display soon which'll replace the TB, and a new retina book my old work lady...

 

[Rogifan]

Apple is all about cloud services now. Hardware is simply a shell you use to access them.

So pretty much like every other company then/

 

[shadowmatt]

The real problem being Apple has been so poor in GPU updates ( and in general ) that none of their machines can really power 4K / 5K screens.

Sure the iMac can draw a nice retina webpage or play back a bit of video, but anything that needs to draw a ton of pixels at 60 / 90 frames per second, just struggles.
[doublepost=1466768757][/doublepost]Oh anyway, unless you need colour accuracy, just but a decent sized 4K Samsung TV, one with a decent refresh rate.

They are of such a quality now that dedicated monitors are no longer needed.

 

[Zwhaler]

Seems like the Mac line is imploding.
[doublepost=1466769062][/doublepost]

there are other monitors that rival this at a much lower price. this is a 4 year old product. Ancient by tech standards.

Even worse is that the LED Cinema display was almost identical, save for an extra speaker and thunderbolt cable. That's over 6 years.

 

[Cineplex]

and next up to be discontinued is the Mac Pro...and then the iMac. Eventually Apple will focus on iPhone and iPads.

If China & India are not interested.....neither is Apple. Who cares what US customers want...they are the minority.

 

[diipii]

Apple today told several news sites that it plans to discontinue its Thunderbolt Display, which has been available for purchase online and in Apple retail stores since it was first introduced in the summer of 2011.

Apple will continue to sell existing Thunderbolt Display stock so long as it remains available, but once stock is exhausted, the Thunderbolt Display will no longer be available as production is ceasing. It is not clear why Apple has decided to make an announcement concerning the discontinuation of the display and if it means a new 4K or 5K display is on the horizon.

Stock shortages ahead of WWDC sparked rumors that Apple might be planning to introduce a new display at the event, but no new hardware appeared and Apple instead focused on software for iOS devices, Macs, Apple TVs, and Apple Watch devices.

Rumors have suggested Apple is working on a 5K display, and if true, such a display could feature a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels, USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 peripherals, and a design that mimics the latest iMacs. Speculation suggests it could come equipped with a built-in GPU or use a DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Stream Transport setup to stitch two halves of a display together to make one seamless display.

If a new Thunderbolt Display is in the works, it could launch alongside next-generation Skylake Retina MacBook Pros, which are rumored to be in the works for late fall.

Article Link: Apple Discontinues Thunderbolt Display

Time now for a buy out of the computer section of Apple by someone who cares so we can have the new 4 core Mini, Mac Pro for £1k, iMacs with proper cooling and a world class leading computer platform again.

 

[theluggage]

Strange that they haven't introduced a 4K or 5K model yet. Wonder why the long delay?

Because a new Thunderbolt Display would probably depend on Thunderbolt 3, which isn't in any Macs yet. For a 5k display you'd currently need 2 DisplayPort/Thunderbolt 2 cables as per the Dell display. Even TB3 has to drive a 5k display as if it were 2 panels, although it can get the data on one cable.

Potentially, a year down the line, a new TB display would have a lot of competition from third-party USB-C displays offering docking & charge features that are currently the TB display's unique selling points. It's anybody's guess at the moment whether these are going to be USB-C+DisplayPort or USB-C+TB3

However... 5k (or dual 4k) at decent refresh rates takes a heap of bandwidth, so I wonder if it even makes sense to build a display that also tries to run ethernet, USB3/3.1 drives, daisychained TB devices etc. over the same link? 5k over USBC+DisplayPort1.3 alt mode uses all the high-speed data lanes on USB-C, only leaving the low-speed USB-2 lane for other equipment (fine for a mouse, kb, maybe speakers but not serious docking).

 

[sound]

Why the outrage?

good color reproduction without calibration fuss, looks good on the desktop (yes I care), power the MBP!

 

[iriejedi]

Heard Britain is pulling out of Apple too... or maybe Apple is pulling out of Britain...where will it all end... oh the humanity....

waiting on the ProExt vote... will Apple pull out of the Mac Pro?.... there is a point where their secrecy and lack of transparency can really frustrate loyal fanboys.... hoping for a surprise STAY vote in fall...

 

[sfwalter]

I'm starting to wonder if Apple will even come out with a replacement. Perhaps they will just point us to a third party alternative.