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DJRiful

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 9, 2011
27
0
As for the new Apple Thunderbolt Display. Any users who doesn't have thunderbolt in their MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, MacBook Air and etc. are screwed?

I heard there are no backward compatibility and the Old 27" Display is being discontinued... Seriously? It looks like I'm stuck with the old gen Display which I have to buy?

I guess I'll look for Dell U2711 in that case.
 

AbeFroman77

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2010
334
1
I'm pretty bummed. I am buying a 2011 27" iMac and a 2011 MBA. I was planning to get the 27" ATD to use as a secondary display for the iMac, an external display/dock for the MBA, and a display for my gaming PC. Now I can't use it for my PC.

I was thinking about the U2711 but I don't like the AG coating. I could go with the 27" ACD I guess.
 
Last edited:

colmaclean

macrumors 68000
Jan 6, 2004
1,702
348
Berlin
I originally posted this on the other Thunderbolt Display thread, but it seems relevant here, too...

On the Store, it looks like Apple are still selling the Apple LED Cinema Display as well as the new Apple Thunderbolt Display (notice the subtle difference in their names). Both now show the new Lion backdrop in their pictures.

Looks like they're keeping the old line open to satisfy non-TB customers, so calm down.
 

Grolsch30

macrumors member
Dec 25, 2007
90
0
Bergen, Germany
I am pretty gutted that the new TB Display is not compatible with my 2010 MBA as I have been waiting for this refresh for 6 months now.

I could like many say just buy the old one but then it's the same price as the new one and does not feature any of the upgrades like facetime HD camera etc!

If they would reduce the price more to compensate for this then I would maybe buy it but now I'm kinda stuck on what to do!
 

foiden

macrumors 6502a
Dec 13, 2008
809
13
Mostly because it also has Thunderbolt pass-thru. That is, the monitor allows connections of Thunderbolt through it to the machine itself. I would guess that alone kills the idea of straight mini display port compatibility, especially since thunderbolt is used for a lot more than display.

Still glad they still deliver the Cinema Display, though I've kind of waited on getting any of the big displays, so far. I'll probably stick with the cheaper (lesser quality) stuff for right now until such a time I eventually have newer machines. I just don't have a real reason to upgrade my systems, at this time.

I'm also a bit bummed that the new display isn't compatible with last years' model. Especially with the mini display port being such a new and young technology. Probably the fastest obsolescence I've ever seen for a tech. Then again, they are still offering the last model, though it would've been nice if they simply allowed the new TB display to be backwards compatible at the expense of losing the TB pass thru capability.
 

Battlefield Fan

macrumors 65816
Mar 9, 2008
1,063
0
Why wouldn't it be not compatible with earlier Macs? Thunderbolt was invented to be backward compatible with other digital interfaces, wasn't it?

No. The old display will connect to a TB laptop but the new display will not connect with a mini display port laptop.
 

DerApfel

macrumors newbie
Jul 31, 2010
8
0
I'm pretty bummed. I am buying a 2011 27" iMac and a 2011 MBA. I was planning to get the 27" ATD to use as a secondary display for the iMac, an external display/dock for the MBA, and a display for my gaming PC. Now I can't use it for my PC.

I was thinking about the U2711 but I don't like the AG coating. I could go with the 27" ACD I guess.

This is -exactly- what I'm doing myself. It's sort of a trade-off, I suppose. The thunderbolt connections will make it wonderful for my setup, but ditching the mini display port so soon after it being implemented is unfortunate.
 

Icaras

macrumors 603
Mar 18, 2008
6,343
3,380
Well that's just downright horrible. What a painful transition this is. :(
 

easy-mac

macrumors member
Oct 14, 2008
90
1
Is it possible that the Thunderbolt display could be used as a display only for MDP Macs and the ports on the back and Facetime camera wouldn't work? I was really hoping to buy one of these to use as a second display for my 18 month old iMac, 1 year old MacBook Pro, or 6 month old MacBook Air, but it looks like Apple wants us to buy new Macs to have the honor of using these new displays. If it works as a display then I'd consider it since I don't really need to extra ports and I'd like to have it when I do get a Mac with Thunderbolt, but there's no way I'd buy the old LED Cinema Display which lacks the new features for the same price. I guess we'll find out for sure in 6-8 weeks, but it doesn't look good...
 

DJRiful

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 9, 2011
27
0
I just want to confirm this, I went to Apple Store earlier today.

The new 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display is ONLY for devices that support Thunderbolt. Otherwise, get the last generation one Apple Cinema Display.

The previous Apple Cinema Display will be remain in production for a year or two until Thunderbolt will get more widely popular as ever.

Just like the old 30" Apple Display vanish off stores and market soon.
 

Ashok0

macrumors regular
Jul 27, 2010
131
1
As for the new Apple Thunderbolt Display. Any users who doesn't have thunderbolt in their MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, MacBook Air and etc. are screwed?

I heard there are no backward compatibility and the Old 27" Display is being discontinued... Seriously? It looks like I'm stuck with the old gen Display which I have to buy?

I guess I'll look for Dell U2711 in that case.

DJ, is there any particular reason why you want the DELL U2711? Imho, as an owner of the ACD27" and Dell Ultrasharp displays, the U2711 is a very very poor monitor compared to the Apple. It has a FUGLY AG coating that creates a very strong "sparkle" effect. The entire screen looks very "dusty" and "grungy". The upcoming 27" 2560x1440 Samsung SA850 looks to be a much much better alternative to the ACD27", plus the Samsung has built-in USB 3.0. :)
http://www.samsung.com/hk_en/consum...ype=prd_detail&subsubtype=sa650-and-sa850-led
 

maddin4j

macrumors member
Jul 28, 2009
96
0
The new 27" Apple Thunderbolt Display is ONLY for devices that support Thunderbolt. Otherwise, get the last generation one Apple Cinema Display.

The previous Apple Cinema Display will be remain in production for a year or two until Thunderbolt will get more widely popular as ever.

That sucks. I was hoping to buy the new display for my Early 2008 MacBook Pro AND the new MacBook Air...so theres really no chance that this will work :(?
 

Ashok0

macrumors regular
Jul 27, 2010
131
1
That sucks. I was hoping to buy the new display for my Early 2008 MacBook Pro AND the new MacBook Air...so theres really no chance that this will work :(?

Kanex claims they are working on a Thunderbolt to mDP adapter but there is no ETA.
 

sdv5

macrumors member
Jun 15, 2010
36
1
So this is a major disruption. The new Thunderbolt display will not work with any Mac except the latest Thunderbolt equipped Macs. So, last year's Mini cannot be connected to Thunderbolt display. The totally obvious question is why Apple did not put a mini Display port next to Thunderbolt input on the new display? That way, the new display could be used with several older generations of Macs. There are many monitors out there that feature many different input connectors. But with Apple, we get Thunderbolt or nothing. This is really hard to fathom unless there is some major technical barrier that prevented them from adding mDP input next to Thunderbolt.
 

maddin4j

macrumors member
Jul 28, 2009
96
0
So this is a major disruption. The new Thunderbolt display will not work with any Mac except the latest Thunderbolt equipped Macs. So, last year's Mini cannot be connected to Thunderbolt display. The totally obvious question is why Apple did not put a mini Display port next to Thunderbolt input on the new display? That way, the new display could be used with several older generations of Macs. There are many monitors out there that feature many different input connectors. But with Apple, we get Thunderbolt or nothing. This is really hard to fathom unless there is some major technical barrier that prevented them from adding mDP input next to Thunderbolt.

Or you buy the older and still available Apple LED Cinema Display.
 
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