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Apple Thunderbolt Display Replacements (That are not as pricey as the 27" LG 5K Ultrafine)

Yebubbleman

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 20, 2010
6,056
2,648
Los Angeles, CA
My stepfather is clinging to his 2011 Apple Thunderbolt Display. Said Thunderbolt display has a frayed attached Thunderbolt cable (he gets around this by using the working Thunderbolt port on the display to connect to the computer). On top of that, he's eventually going to upgrade from a Thunderbolt 1 Mac to either the M1 MacBook Air, the M1 2-port 13" MacBook Pro, or a subsequent refresh of either product (suffice it to say, an Apple Silicon Mac portable with, most likely, only two Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone jack).

I'd like to find a decent monitor that is (a) 27", (b) the same, if not better screen resolution as the Apple Thunderbolt Display, (c) at least has a built-in Webcam and speakers (the former of which is at least comparable to what's in the Apple Thunderbolt Display) not as pricey as the 27" 5K LG Ultrafine display.

I don't need the charging or USB-C expansion that the LG Ultrafine has (as I'm sure I can get that functionality with a good USB-C or OWC Thunderbolt 3/4 dock). But it's going to be difficult to sway him toward ditching his Apple Thunderbolt Display in favor of something better with the price tag of the 5K LG Ultrafine. My main concern is that he's going to eventually get annoyed with the fact that both charging and docking his M1 Mac will use up both Thunderbolt ports and require dongle hell (only to get him 2 USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet jack [as he certainly doesn't use FireWire 800]). That and that compatibility with the Apple Thunderbolt display may one day be reduced on newer hardware.

Any recommendations given this?
 
Funny, I was just gonna post a "Wheres the Apple Thunderbolt(3) Display Replacements?"

Im also looking for a display, but with a slight twist, I want it to have all the same features of the THB Display but with two TH3 ports. It gets frustrating when looking at the options (prices aside) either the display will have 1 THB3 port (no daisy-chaining) with a webcam or 2 THB3 ports with no cam. The LG Ultrafine 4/5K displays are a perfect example of features on one— not available on another. Sophies choice of two ports or a cam. (and yes you can but hubs and cam separately but it just doesn't make sense, especially when compared to everything built on a Apple THB Display.) Very frustrating for the consumer!

To your question... Benq and Samsung offer some choices, but to be honest (pricing aside) I haven't found anything to replace the Apple THB Display including all the basic and updated features (THB3/USBC/Speakers/Cam/Mic).
 
kkclstuff said:
Funny, I was just gonna post a "Wheres the Apple Thunderbolt(3) Display Replacements?"

Im also looking for a display, but with a slight twist, I want it to have all the same features of the THB Display but with two TH3 ports. It gets frustrating when looking at the options (prices aside) either the display will have 1 THB3 port (no daisy-chaining) with a webcam or 2 THB3 ports with no cam. The LG Ultrafine 4/5K displays are a perfect example of features on one— not available on another. Sophies choice of two ports or a cam. (and yes you can but hubs and cam separately but it just doesn't make sense, especially when compared to everything built on a Apple THB Display.) Very frustrating for the consumer!

To your question... Benq and Samsung offer some choices, but to be honest (pricing aside) I haven't found anything to replace the Apple THB Display including all the basic and updated features (THB3/USBC/Speakers/Cam/Mic).
Click to expand...

I actually am cool if there's no USB-C hub, especially if Speakers, Cam, and Mic are there as I can do a USB-C or Thunderbolt 3/4 dock with his setup. The ports don't have to come out of the monitor. Though, I'd prefer if macOS recognized and knew how to deal with the camera and speakers. I do like that the Ultrafine has USB-C ports (as one can suffice for a USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet adapter while the other one can take a USB-C to USB-A 3.0 hub and that would effectively solve all of his I/O problems while charging whatever M1 MacBook he ends up getting and still leaving the other Thunderbolt port free.

It's the integrated Mic, Cam, and speakers that I care about. That and the display size and resolution at least being equivalent or better than the Apple Thunderbolt display.
 
..an afterthought.. it is almost CES time of the year so there may be some new releases in the next few weeks :p fingers crossed!
 
That Thunderbolt display will likely outlive the M1's integrated memory, i can't blame him for clinging on to it as it's of stellar build quality and everything else feels like cheap crap next to it, i've been in the same super-frustrating hunt and found nothing out-there that ticks all the boxes.
 
Coheebuzz said:
That Thunderbolt display will likely outlive the M1's integrated memory, i can't blame him for clinging on to it as it's of stellar build quality and everything else feels like cheap crap next to it, i've been in the same super-frustrating hunt and found nothing out-there that ticks all the boxes.
Click to expand...
The built-in Thunderbolt cable (which you cannot easily replace without taking the whole display apart) is frayed (his primary use of it, for the vast majority of its lifetime, was docked to a stationary Mac mini). So, no, it's not stellar build quality and no, it won't outlive the M1's integrated memory.

Plus, I don't need every box ticked. I want the same resolution, an integrated webcam, and speakers. The ports I can get from a USB-C or Thunderbolt dock that I would presumably connect this monitor to. I just don't want both of his Thunderbolt ports consumed by the one monitor, especially when the only decent I/O he gets is USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet.
 
How important is an integrated camera? This is going to vastly limit your options. It seems in 2020 there are fewer displays with this than there were several years ago, possibly because thin bezels are all the rage? Of those that are available, most seem to be business class FHD displays, which would be moving in the opposite direction of the display he currently has...and I am also willing to bet most would have inferior speakers to the Thunderbolt Display. I'd be inclined to say to bite the bullet on the LG 5K, but the high price combined with the short warranty, mixed longevity, and LG's own common refusal to service it leads me away from this. How open are you to a display that does not have a built in webcam + a webcam that attaches to the display? (think Logitech C920 is you are looking for 1080p...4K options exist but given even 1080p videoconferencing is a rarity, I don't think we will be videoconferencing in 4K for a very long time.) This would likely not only be more cost-efficient but you could get a much better camera (albeit it would not be nearly as clean as the beautiful Thunderbolt display.)
 
Yebubbleman said:
The built-in Thunderbolt cable (which you cannot easily replace without taking the whole display apart) is frayed (his primary use of it, for the vast majority of its lifetime, was docked to a stationary Mac mini). So, no, it's not stellar build quality and no, it won't outlive the M1's integrated memory.

Plus, I don't need every box ticked. I want the same resolution, an integrated webcam, and speakers. The ports I can get from a USB-C or Thunderbolt dock that I would presumably connect this monitor to. I just don't want both of his Thunderbolt ports consumed by the one monitor, especially when the only decent I/O he gets is USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet.
Click to expand...
Hi,

i recently replaced the thunderbolt cable in my display with an aftermarket one as thats all i could find, i followed a youtube video on how to do it and did it in less then 20 mins.

Im also in the same boat as all of you, upgrading to a M1 Macbook Pro soon but love my thunderbolt display to much, even the new curved monitors just don't look or feel as good as TBD. I found a MagSafe to USB-C dongle and a Displayport to USB-C so aslong as he has 2 USB-C ports on the macbook he should be fine.

don't be scared to replace the thunderbolt cable its much easier then it looks or sounds

Sam
 
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