Apple Says It's Out of the Standalone Display Business

[sunwukong]

They obviously have moved beyond their customers and their former core

May be a mistake, too, if they are trying to be so 'ahead' and leaders that they are so far ahead that no one can follow. If no one can follow then they are just 'out doing what they want by themselves and screw whoever is not sufficiently enlightened to see', alone. Which also leaves them alone and without enough paying followers to enable them to do what they do.

 

[eebrown]

Does it though? Dell's 5K is a year old and costs $1100 and requires dual display ports to run it, so is an extra $200 for a device with a single cable and native Mac support really "Apple Tax"?

When people say "Apple tax" what are the referring too?

 

[newnew777]

Are there any alternatives to the new LG/Apple 27-inch 5K UltraFine Display that would work great with the new 15" Macbook Pro?...Anything fairly new with the TB3 connection?

 

[richinaus]

So two days after Apple introduces new MacBook Pros you are convinced they're out of the Mac business?

I think lack of any desktop machine plus 100% recent confirmation on no monitors helps this conclusion

 

[Anuba]

When people say "Apple tax" what are the referring too?

Simply that Apple isn't OK with just premium pricing. They're also hell bent on having much higher profit margins than any competitor. They'll want a higher retail price than competitors even when the Apple product cost less to make and therefore logically should be the low budget alternative. They have their stuff mass manufactured in China by contractors just like everyone else, nothing special there, but they still want the price tags to convey the illusion that the products were lovingly and expertly hand assembled in the US.

If they can't have the Apple tax, i.e. if people see right through them and buy a cheaper alternative, Apple will pull out.

 

[MarsViolet]

Not the same logic at all, @MarsViolet. A monitor is only just that. A monitor. It's pretty much ALL panel.

The Thunderbolt display was a lot more than just a panel. It was a full peripheral hub with FireWire, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, and USB ports, built-in 2.1 speakers, a microphone, an HD FaceTime camera, a Kensington security slot, and even frikkin MagSafe, all wrapped up in a beautiful, matching aluminum body.
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And why's that?

Go back and read your own post and extrapolate what I mean.
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So two days after Apple introduces new MacBook Pros you are convinced they're out of the Mac business?

Not quite out, but certainly handing the Mac its hat. There is yet some milking to do.
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I expected that and is not a bad news, as long as they don't go out of the Mac business.

Five bucks says Tim Cook's plan is to phase out macOS and Mac hardware, and replace it with iOS and ARM hardware. There will be ARM-based laptops running iOS. Apple will milk the MacPro and Mac Mini for as long as people are willing to overpay for them, and then they'll be quietly discontinued. It bums me out since I've been using Macs since 1988.

 

[Viking2]

I don't mind if Apple makes monitors or not. I would also be happy if Apple made OS X available for other manufactures as I don't like Windows or others, that would be great.

Still LG should have asked Apple for some simple design tips. And I wished LG had done it to a hub with , SD-card reader, USB-A, Displayport and so on...

So ugly. Will still buy one 27 inch or two 21. Just have to bite the Apple..

I ordered two Mac Bro 15 with max graphics and 1 TB yesterday. Are eagerly awaiting them.
Now need to decide, one 27 inch or two 21....I am using photoshop/FCP and so on. What do you say?

 

[0388631]

I don't mind if Apple makes monitors or not. I would also be happy if Apple made OS X available for other manufactures as I don't like Windows or others, that would be great.

Hah!

 

[wilhoitm]

Yes it will work but that's a sRGB monitor (8-bit color) and not P3 (10-bit) like those on Apple's site.
Not that it matters unless you're doing Photo/Video editing.

http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-27UD88-W-4k-uhd-led-monitor

No, that is a 10bit (8bit + A-FRC) monitor, look at the bottom of the page. I wonder why Apple is not setting this one instead? What is P3 exactly anyway, anyone know?

 

[MacsRgr8]

I'm sorry to say but that thing is fugly.

I think Apple is very slowly, and very carefully, getting out of the computer business and into the consumer gadget business.

Which is a business that is very fragile.
Once you're devices are not cool anymore, or you did not jump on the correct technical bandwagon, you are too expensive, etc... you are out.
The Mac has proven to be a stable business throughout the Mac OS X / Intel - era.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Not commented for a long time, and little wonder given I'm a desktop user and indeed have the Apple Thunderbolt Display, the one still sporting USB2 for God's sake. Suffice to say, it seems that by teaming up with LG Displays Apple is just confirming it is a Telco rather than a computer company - whatever excuses are wheeled out it seems Apple has little regard for a market segment it once dominated, i.e., professional desk top publishing, design and video editing, essentially it now produces shinny things with limited battery life and utility. Sad I am, very sad indeed having started out with Apple in 1994 with a LCII - nothing inspires anymore or excites, hence lack of posting as now can't see the point given its now into what seems like a three-year lifecycle for its desktops, whilst charging a premium price.

 

[pika2000]

I don't mind if Apple makes monitors or not. I would also be happy if Apple made OS X available for other manufactures as I don't like Windows or others, that would be great.

Remember, Apple did this way back. Even Microsoft if feeling the pain. OEMs don't care about the OS, all they care is selling cheap crap products. Even Microsoft decided to jump in and make the Surface devices. They realize the OEMs just cannot be trusted to make a product that reflect the brand of the OS.
For example, trackpads on Windows laptops are crap. Microsoft has developed the system for OEMs to adopt to have great trackpad and gestures, but no, the OEMs just keep using the cheap crap they have. That's just one example.

 

[eebrown]

Simply that Apple isn't OK with just premium pricing. They're also hell bent on having much higher profit margins than any competitor. They'll want a higher retail price than competitors even when the Apple product cost less to make and therefore logically should be the low budget alternative. They have their stuff mass manufactured in China by contractors just like everyone else, nothing special there, but they still want the price tags to convey the illusion that the products were lovingly and expertly hand assembled in the US.

If they can't have the Apple tax, i.e. if people see right through them and buy a cheaper alternative, Apple will pull out.

Ok thanks for the explanation. I'm all for profits and getting what the market will bare for product but it is getting ridiculous what these products are costing.

 

[gnipgnop]

Ok thanks for the explanation. I'm all for profits and getting what the market will bare for product but it is getting ridiculous what these products are costing.

Cost to own = retail price - resell price. The resell prices are also quite high vs. PCs, so actual cost to own doesn't end up being that different. That's what the "Apple tax" critics usually omit.
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I don't mind if Apple makes monitors or not. I would also be happy if Apple made OS X available for other manufactures as I don't like Windows or others, that would be great.

Still LG should have asked Apple for some simple design tips.

My guess would be that they did get some guidance. It's a very clean/simple design overall, despite the plastic.

 

[deckard666]

"Damned if you expand into a product range and damned if you pull out" - The MR members chant.

 

[thermodynamic]

LG? They suck with displays. And not just because of the Retina ghosting problem.
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"Damned if you expand into a product range and damned if you pull out" - The MR members chant.

Depends on the product line.

Maybe Apple will shift focus to bibs and condoms? That way people will find more ways to cry when being screwed over by exorbitantly high prices in return for less, though the stock owners (at least those with most stock, not people with their 401k plans) will probably be happy for a while.

 

[Scrivener]

Does this forshadow a mini that can actually run one of these monitors?

 

[MarsViolet]

Does this forshadow a mini that can actually run one of these monitors?

Seems to me that if not enough people were buying Apple's displays, not enough people are buying Minis or Mac Pros either.

 

[Adam Warlock]

*sigh* I wish Apple was out of the Tim Cook business.

 

[mrhick01]

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.

When Steve came back, he killed printers, and Apple/Adobe built the desktop publishing industry.

Less profitable ventures are cut all of the time.

 

[frankgrimes]

1. question why not Eizo? Their displays are best in class and they reach the highest sRGB levels possible
2. You even get a lied shield
3. And they have a beautiful yet functional design, users can even calibrate them to their likings.

 

[gnasher729]

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.

5K monitors are not cheap, no matterwho makes them. I have found 4K monitors for a lot less, but that's around what a 5K monitor costs.

The good news: You can't attach two 5K monitors to the 13" MBP.

 

[Digital Skunk]

This news wouldn't be so bad if those LG displays weren't so fugly.

I know I know I know ... how "attractive" does a computer display need to be, right? But I still think anything Apple sells should at least LOOK half as good as the machines they build. The LG looks like it's circa 2006.

 

[gnasher729]

Thanks for the reply. Will any monitor that supports USB-C do video and power passthrough? I assume if I connect a new MBP to the monitor via USB-C it will display the screen, charge/power the laptop and also be a port replicator.

4K uses the full bandwidth of one USB-C port and 5K needs two USB-C ports (1x or 2x 40 Gbit). There won't be anything left over for another screen, but the little bits that are left over are plenty for a few USB-3 ports. On the other hand, it should be enough for two 27 inch non-retina monitors. So a 27 inch monitor might have USB-C passthrough. Or maybe HDMI output.
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When I walk into advertising agencies, if their designers have Mac Mini's connected to non Apple monitors, I always think "Cheap skates, not investing in your staff or company". Just perception but it's amazing how that works in business.

Actually, being a Mac fan and iOS developer, I am happy to use the monitor that is best value for money and I really don't care about the brand. Of course I want the _value_. "Best value for money" most definitely doesn't mean "rubbish for the lowest possible price".
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When people say "Apple tax" what are the referring too?

"Apple tax" is an invention of Microsoft's marketing department. They came up with this as a response to "Microsoft Tax": When people buy a PC to run Linux, it _will_ come with some Windows version that they don't want, and they have to pay for it.
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No, that is a 10bit (8bit + A-FRC) monitor, look at the bottom of the page. I wonder why Apple is not setting this one instead? What is P3 exactly anyway, anyone know?

That one is a 4K monitor. "P3" is used for 10 bit monitors (vs. 8 bit monitors) and provides a larger range of possible colors. And of course just because that is not the monitor officially recommended by Apple, doesn't mean you can't buy it and attach it to a Mac. Look at all the competitors, and buy what gives you the best value for money. For a 4K monitor, this one seems a bit expensive.

 

[recoil80]

Five bucks says Tim Cook's plan is to phase out macOS and Mac hardware, and replace it with iOS and ARM hardware. There will be ARM-based laptops running iOS. Apple will milk the MacPro and Mac Mini for as long as people are willing to overpay for them, and then they'll be quietly discontinued. It bums me out since I've been using Macs since 1988.

I really hope you'll be proved wrong.
I believe they're going to put their own ARM SoC on the Mac sooner or later, but I think macOS will continue to exist.
iOS will be their primary source of income in the future but they can't discontinue the Mac, it is still a good business for them and a lot of people (including me) will be angry