Apple Says It's Out of the Standalone Display Business

[MacRumors]

Alongside the new MacBook Pro, Apple introduced a 27-inch 5K UltraFine Display made in partnership with LG, calling into question future plans for an Apple-branded display product.

While rumors have suggested Apple is working on a Thunderbolt Display replacement powered by an integrated GPU, Apple's LG partnership seems to indicate that Apple may have shelved plans to build a new display, something that's been confirmed by The Verge's Nilay Patel. According to Patel, Apple told him it is out of the standalone display business.

Good notes by @jsnell. I can add that Apple told me it's out of standalone display biz. https://t.co/6t1KqQODwD - nilay patel (@reckless) October 28, 2016

The last rumors about an Apple-branded display came in June of 2016 from BuzzFeed's John Paczkowski, a reliable source, so if Apple has ceased work on its own display product, it's a decision that may have been made rather recently.

In lieu of its own display, Apple is selling the aforementioned 5K display product from LG and a second LG-branded 4K display, both of which have been designed with input from Apple and optimized for Apple products. As pointed out by Jason Snell of Six Colors, the brightness and settings of the LG display can be adjusted from the Mac, suggesting a deeper level of hardware integration than you'd get with a standard 5K display.

Priced at $1,299.95, the 5K LG UltraFine display uses multi-stream transport and connects to the new MacBook Pro using a single Thunderbolt 3 cable. Because it requires Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, it's only compatible with the MacBook Pro (and any future Macs equipped with Thunderbolt 3).

LG's 21.5-inch 4K UltraFine display is more affordable at $699.95, and because it doesn't require Thunderbolt 3, it's compatible with any USB-C Mac, including the new MacBook Pro and the less powerful MacBook.

Both displays offer charging capabilities, support for wide color gamut, built-in stereo speakers, and include additional ports on the back for connecting accessories. The larger 5K display also includes a camera and a microphone, offering all of the features that might have been included in an Apple-designed display.

Article Link: Apple Says It's Out of the Standalone Display Business

 

[Bubba Satori]

This just in...
Apple is out of the Mac Pro business.

 

[sputnikv]

that's really unfortunate. this probably doesn't speak well for their interest in desktops either

 

[SSD-GUY]

Damn. There goes any change of eGPU support. That was the one thing that would MAYBE sway to me getting one of these overpriced MacBook's down the road, the fact that I could connect an external GPU to it (like the RAZR and XPS 13).

 

[puma1552]

Very disappointing, I don't want some ugly plastic LG display (no matter how nice the panel) sitting on my desk amidst all of my much nicer Apple stuff. And hell, at $1300, it has the Apple tax to boot. The stand on that LG one has got to be the most uninspired design I've ever seen, it looks like some heavy iron thing that you'd find in your garage, like a bike work stand base or something.

Guess it's a good thing I've been hanging onto my 24" LED ACD all these years. I was happy to pay $900 for this. I wouldn't pay that much for LG anything.

 

[Crosscreek]

Seems Apples out of the desktop computer business too considering Mac Pro and Mac Mini stagnation, SAD.

 

[iBug2]

Well, it was kind writing on the wall. They also advertised Mac Pro with 3rd party 4K displays as well, something they probably wouldn't have done if they were planning to release 4K/5K displays.

 

[awer25]

I think it's clear that Apple is no longer in the "pro computing" business at all.

 

[soupcan]

They're dropping out of the "Pro" business entirely at this rate.

 

[citysnaps]

Makes sense. Let display makers do what they do best... Make displays. And at a better price.

The 5K LG display (with collaboration from Apple) sounds pretty nice.

 

[pally]

What a bold move! Announce what you are not doing. Darling of the social season!

 

[britboyj]

I love my Thunderbolt displays because of how simple and easy they are to connect - Having the charging cable and Thunderbolt basically as one cable is outstanding and simple. I've yet to find a third party monitor that's half as simple and smooth and acts as a true hub like the Thunderbolt display.

Sad day.

 

[dannys1]

I think it's clear that Apple is no longer in the "pro computing" business at all.

Anyone using a Mac to earn their living will disagree with you there. So thats pretty much all record producers and engineers and according to last week, a large chunk of IBM!

 

[ZacNicholson]

After yesterday Apple only seems to be in the phone business

 

[gugy]

Pretty soon Apple will be out of the Mac business altogether.

 

[Quu]

Apple seems to be asleep at the wheel lately. Time for new leadership I think.

 

[omihek]

Apple please just stop making announcements. We can't take anymore of this.

 

[avanpelt]

So are they out of the Mac Mini and Mac Pro businesses, as well? Or are the out of the iMac business and are they just going to concentrate on the computer?

 

[needfx]

always liked LG display business
for the past decade or so, LG has been, and remains my go to brand for monitors and TV
very happy with that brand

 

[iThingsGurl]

I think it's a sane decision. Better than the LG Display + Apple Tax

 

[joecool99]

Fine,  display suck. No adjustability, glossy for a start.

 

[Soni Sanjay]

Courage! Innovation!

 

[dannyyankou]

Holy over dramatic posters...

 

[Wayfarer]

Worst news ever. I want my redesigned 5k Thunderbolt Display! Steve never would have done this! First no PowerMac G5, now this?! Apple is doomed.

 

[Luap]

I figured as much after Schill Philler pointed out the LG displays at yesterdays Mac event. Probably no bad thing either given the way Apple would have priced their own anyway!