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I've been holding onto my dual Thunderbolt Displays for years. Just waiting, and waiting, and waiting.......and waiting... I honestly expected them to drop these when the M1 iMac came out, but here we are. 🙏 Please Q4 21' 🙏
Oh man, spot on, same situation here: 2 TB displays to the sides of an iMac (and before that, they were chained to a MacBook Pro).
What’s crazy is that they are from like 2011, can’t remember anymore… and they still have full brightness, zero connectivity issues, audio/webcam/USB’s all work, etc…
If the “new ones” come out I’m swapping them no questions asked, expecting them to be as sturdy and long lasting as these ones.
 
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I'm in for two if they can get it sub $1500. My Thunderbolt monitors are getting long in the tooth, but still going strong.
 
The A13 chip with Neural Engine would presumably serve as an eGPU, though details are light at this time.
That makes no sense, all the computers they are coming out with M1+ would have a GPU that would be on par or better than an A13 chip. If there is a chip built in, it would be for the secure enclave and Neural Engine for something like Face ID login for login or purchases (the monitor to Mac has to have some sort of security).
 
I can see the run on the bank already. The display itself: over $7,000. Add AppleCare Plus ($1,000 minimum for only 2 years; you have to bring it in to the nearest Apple Store). Add stand ($1500). Add Matte Finish (optional), $1000). Add cleaning cloth approved by Apple ($500). Comes with two Thunderbolt 2 connectors standard; Thunderbolt 3 or 4, add another $1000. Power supply? Oh, yeah, right, uhm, that's another $1000.

Oh, wait, I forgot Speakrs (?!) and iSight camera (!). That's another $1000 for the speakers and another $1500 for the state-of-the-art 720 dpi camera.

But to help soften the blow, if you use Apple Pay, you can extend payment over 12 years (not months) at 0% interests. Big Win!

P.S. Requires Mac OS 12 (or unlucky 13 by the time it's released) minimum to even bootup.

/s If it sounds like I've lost faith in Apple, uhm, you're right. This is no longer the "computer for the rest of us." It's the computer for the 0.01%.
 
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Thinking the A13 could be used for “displayOS” which is essentially webcam image processing, audio/video decoding, AirPlay, FaceID, Sidecar for macOS/iPadOS. Maybe even sidecar for some iOS apps running with an iPad like interface.
 
I think the reason for adding a Neural Engine is for image enhancement. The streaming of high Quality video from your phone or Mac can have choppy or reduced quality specially on Wifi. But with an Image Enhancement Engine similar to Nvidia DLSS or AMD's FSR you can make do with lower speed WiFI and still get a decent picture quality while streaming from devices. This also means a wireless Display is in the horizon.
 
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There was nothing on the market that rivaled the 27" Thunderbolt display in terms of the total package: image, build quality, durability/reliability, power/thunderbolt connection, etc. Plus it has camera & speakers (which many of those bargain monitors do not). $1000 was (and still is) a bargain. Those $130 and $300 monitors are junk.
The problem with the monitor is the mirror glass that reflects light too easily. The next year’s iMac toned down the glare, but apple never wanted to spend the money on a redesign.

If apple did that with the thunderbolt monitor it would still be good (concept) in 2021. I have one and still use it, but not my main monitor due to my aging eyes and the reflecting mirror now bothers me. Bought a 4K LG monitor matted as my daily driver, but still prefer the overall function and look of the thunderbolt monitor minus the mirror glare..
 
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I can see the run on the bank already. The display itself: over $7,000. Add AppleCare Plus ($1,000 minimum for only 2 years; you have to bring it in to the nearest Apple Store). Add stand ($1500). Add Matte Finish (optional), $1000). Add cleaning cloth approved by Apple ($500). Comes with two Thunderbolt 2 connectors standard; Thunderbolt 3 or 4, add another $1000. Power supply? Oh, yeah, right, uhm, that's another $1000.

Oh, wait, I forgot Speakrs (?!) and iSight camera (!). That's another $1000 for the speakers and another $1500 for the state-of-the-art 720 dpi camera.

But to help soften the blow, if you use Apple Pay, you can extend payment over 12 years (not months) at 0% interests. Big Win!

P.S. Requires Mac OS 12 (or unlucky 13 by the time it's released) minimum to even bootup.

/s If it sounds like I've lost faith in Apple, uhm, you're right. This is no longer the "computer for the rest of us." It's the computer for the 0.01%.
I don't remember your version of Apple, so your memory must be defective.

The Macintosh SE (1989) [low end Mac] was around $3,700USD... that is around $8,100 today (and before you respond that was because back then computers were more expensive - yes - but by then PC clones could be had for less).

Apple having non-essential higher end branded accessories for those that can afford it or for businesses - is not what Apple should be judged on... it is on what quality device you can buy that will work for almost everyone (and that would be your average iPad for most that only use email and consumption, or a MacBook Air (M1) for your computer needs... and those are reasonable.
 
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I wouldn't be surprised if AirPlay was one of these features.
Kind of similar to how Monterey will enable AirPlay-to-Mac.

I think Apple anticipates that customers will increasingly want to "connect" their iOS/iPad OS devices to bigger screens - and most don't want to be doing so though USB-C dongles/adapters and cable connections - but rather seamlessly wirelessly, as they demoed with Universal Control.


Apple has a "holy war" against wires so if this were not an XDR ( 6K HDR ) display this could be part of both a wireless monitor and/or prototypes for their wireless VR. ( the VR goggles are likely to have a A13 (or better) Apple SoC in them. A monitor mock-up with

Suspect this isn't "AirPlay" per se but more like Sidecar but on the same theme as Universal Control ( wireless KVM switch). A very short range ( 2-6 ft) , WiFi 6E connection to iPad/Mac could squeeze out several Gbps of data rate connection. That isn't going to get 6K HDR bandwidth but something between 1080p and 4K. If Apple threw some AI/ML upscalling at a compressed stream, it might be decent. A 24" screen would probably work.

Universal Control right now is really just a KM (keyboard and mouse) switch that lacks the "Video" part. Putting a A-series derivative chip in a monitor could make their "magical wireless control for multiple apple products " into the whole "KVM" coverage. ( multi monitor iPads. (with no more ports than have now ), etc. ) .


They could keep the "one and only one" external monitor cable but have multiple video inputs via a wireless connection. The A-series chip inside would only add value if had more than one Apple system product. Otherwise just an even more expensive monitor.

Probably not eGPU and probably more like the Touchbar relation to the T-series processor. Putting some "smarts" into the monitor display. Not much software other than firmware upgrade to fix glitches.

More doubtful would about moving security to the monitor . ( FaceID ). The Touch ID keyboards don't hold onto the biometric data at all. It is just securely passed to the Mac. Again though if related to the VR Goggles then onboard Ai/ML/Neural Engine for tracking eyes, face, etc. would make sense. ( or using attention focus to do mointor input switching. Use iPad and look at monitor switch to "input 2" . Using Mac and look at monitor switch to "input 1" , etc.)



With an A13 chip, a display will be quite future-proof to refine and expand such features.

Doubtful this would be like an Apple Watch were rolled out 'new' features. Again probably more akin to the Touchbar and its use of tweaked A-series processor (that was handy).
 
Bet you money it is for lag free AirPlay and they’re aiming at an almost completely wireless Mac Mini or MacBook Pro setup.

Wireless KB, Wireless Mouse / Trackpad, and Wireless Display.
 
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Thinking the A13 could be used for “displayOS” which is essentially webcam image processing, audio/video decoding, AirPlay, FaceID, Sidecar for macOS/iPadOS. Maybe even sidecar for some iOS apps running with an iPad like interface.
Some additionally intriguing ideas... hmmm.... Apple TV with monitor functionality.... (the articles focus on it being an eGPU I think is completely wrong)..
 
Interesting idea to be sure, pretty damned competitive approach too. Imagine getting a monitor that actually enhances performance without additional hardware upgrades (external display not included haha)
 
Wish list. 1) A 24" monitor to perfectly match the new M1 iMacs priced in the $600-700 range. 2) A 27-32" to match whatever size the new "big" iMac is. 3) A "high end" version of number 2 with the eGPU.
The "eGPU in the monitor" idea is, quite simply, wrong.
Not only is anything Apple makes that would connect to a monitor significantly more powerful than an A13, but the entire point of having an eGPU is that it can extend the capabilities of the base computer. A GPU in a monitor would not only be pointless and wreck Apples "unified memory" mantra, but would lock the fastest evolving computing part (GPU) inside the body of the slowest evolving (monitor), so you would have to buy a new monitor every time you wanted to extend those GPU capabilities that you cared enough about to want an eGPU in the first place.
Also, if you need to extend the capabilities of your existing computer with an eGPU, you want it in an easy-to-cool-reasonably-quietly enclosure. Not stuck to the backlight of an anorectic Apple display.
 
I don't remember your version of Apple, so your memory must be defective.

The Macintosh SE (1989) [low end Mac] was around $3,700USD... that is around $8,100 today (and before you respond that was because back then computers were more expensive - yes - but by then PC clones could be had for less).
The version everyone bought was only $2700 (dual floppy). It came with 1MB of RAM standard, which was more than the absolute upper bound in PCs (640K) and used a 32-bit CPU that ran circles around anything in PC-space.
In todays terms, it was akin to the AMD Threadripper Pro systems. In a small box with a handle, and a 9" screen that greeted you when it was turned on.
The context has changed a lot in the last 35 years. I doubt people who weren’t around back then in a post pupae state can really imagine how different computing was.
 
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What's so 'pretty nice' about that? What does such HarmonyOS thing simplify in everyday life? Can you explain that to me?
To me, the interesting features are 1) view webpage, videos in desktop mode on the fly. 2) Open multiple apps and see them at the same time. 3) use monitor’s speaker and camera.
 
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A13!! Will be at least 2 years old by the time it launches. But it should be powerful enough. Hope Apple does not price it sky high.
 
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