Apple's Next External Display: Everything We Know About Key Features and Launch Date

[Danfango]

I think a better way to gauge profit margins than trying to estimate individual parts costs (which are very hard to know) is to take a big-picture approach and compare the ASD's pricing to the 2020 iMac's. The iMac had a very similar panel to the ASD (both are 8-bit), probably had Apple's usually excellent profit margins, and started for $1800, only $200 more than the ASD. I expect if they can have excellent profit margins on a complete AIO for $1800, they should have excellent profit margins on the monitor portion alone for $1600.

And at that price, I don't think it's as high-end as it could be. As a prosumer display, they should have made it a bit more special and invested the parts budget into a true 10-bit panel (like on the XDR), rather than fancy audio, camera, and power delivery, since the latter three are not what a display is fundamentally about.

It’s not a high end display at all. Those cost real money. $14k+ for broadcast / medical. You can pay $30k for a broadcast 24.5” OLED display for example.

The thing is it’s a very good set of compromises between a display, audio system, laptop charger and docking station and camera for the money. It’s more than just a display which is what makes the value proposition so good.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

How does a 5120x2160 screen give you more space than 5120x2880? Unless you are talking about a physically larger screen, running in low-DPI mode, which doesn't at all sound pleasant to me.

Working width is working width. I can spread 3 full-size windows open side by side with some room to spare or have a much wider FCPX timeline without having to scroll so much. 5120 X 21000 (yes, thousand) wouldn't do either any better. We get so wound up about a very specific resolution chosen by Apple as THE one and only resolution, but all that extra 720 vertically gets us is a slightly sharper picture- not more horizontal working space.

Why do some people put 2+ monitors side by side? They too want more horizontal working space. With an ultra-wide, we can have it without the break in the middle for monitor bezels.

I really didn't expect it to be as big a deal to me as it has turned out to be. But now I could not go back to 16:10 or so. I got here after well over a decade using 27" iMacs. My perfectly-good eyes can't see a difference between 2160 and 2880. To me, it looks as good as the last iMac screen except now I have much more horizontal space to enjoy or get my work done.

 

[theorist9]

It’s not a high end display at all. Those cost real money. $14k+ for broadcast / medical. You can pay $30k for a broadcast 24.5” OLED display for example.

The thing is it’s a very good set of compromises between a display, audio system, laptop charger and docking station and camera for the money. It’s more than just a display which is what makes the value proposition so good.

Didn't say it was. I am aware of the $43k Sony Trimaster. My phrasing "as high-end as it could be" was instead merely meant to connote that it could be more in that direction. Specifically, I explcitly qualfied it by saying it's not as high-end as it could be for a prosumer display.

It's as if I said "the [insert mid-range sedan here] isn't as fast as it could be for a mid-range sedan", and you criticized that statement by saying "it's not fast at all; you can get exotic cars with 0-60 < 2 sec and top speeds > 250 mph. I.e., it's a quibble that entirely misses the point.

I'll add that dpreviews mentioned they thought the tradeoff would have been better for prosumer use if they substituted a 10-bit panel for the fancy audio/charger/camera/etc. Or course, this is subjective and dependent upon personal use cases.

But that was not the main portion of my post, which was about profit margin. How do you explain your assertion that Apple doesn't make much profit on the ASD, when they (presumably) were able to make an excellent profit when selling an entire computer featuring a very similar display for only $200 more?

 

[umbilical]

I prefer a single 32 than two 27, I like focus on the center of the screen, with two 27 I see a line in the center.

 

[Aston441]

I wasn't talking about microLED. That tech is still years away (probably 5-7+).

MicroLED is starting to feel a lot like fusion power generation.

 

[Freida]

Yeah, same here. I thought double monitor would be great but in the end its not the case. For ergonomics its a nightmare and having a big screen in the middle is just the best approach. We only have one health so looking after it is important

I prefer a single 32 than two 27, I like focus on the center of the screen, with two 27 I see a line in the center.

 

[theorist9]

I prefer a single 32 than two 27, I like focus on the center of the screen, with two 27 I see a line in the center.

Yeah, same here. I thought double monitor would be great but in the end its not the case. For ergonomics its a nightmare and having a big screen in the middle is just the best approach. We only have one health so looking after it is important

Same here, I don't like a 2-monitor setup either. So what to do if you need more real estate than one display can provide? Easy: Three monitors -- a main central monitor plus one on either side. Since your eyes are mostly on the central monitor you can get by with lower-cost side-monitors.

Though my ideal is to be enwrapped by three 43" 8k Retina displays....
Actually, what I'd really like is even higher dpi, say 300 dpi, and then to use 3x scaling—if Apple ever offers the ability to do that.

 

[Chazak]

Everything in the article is rumor and speculation packaged, despite subtle disclaimers, to try and make someone think the article is accurate/contains non-public information. Everything in this article and similar ones elsewhere, is what any of us with some up to date monitor knowledge would assume will be in or heavily considered for new Apple monitors.

The period between XMAS and New Years is the slowest news week of a year and what we read reflects that!

 

[profcutter]

Same here, I don't like a 2-monitor setup either. So what to do if you need more real estate than one display can provide? Easy: Three monitors -- a main central monitor plus one on either side. Since your eyes are mostly on the central monitor you can get by with lower-cost side-monitors.

Though my ideal is to be enwrapped by three 43" 8k Retina displays....
Actually, what I'd really like is even higher dpi, say 300 dpi, and then to use 3x scaling—if Apple ever offers the ability to do that.

For zoom instruction, 2 27s was amazing. For everyday work, yeah probably one larger display would be the preference. For editing, I think 2 displays would win again, one with timeline and previews, the other with the program full screen.

 

[theorist9]

For zoom instruction, 2 27s was amazing. For everyday work, yeah probably one larger display would be the preference. For editing, I think 2 displays would win again, one with timeline and previews, the other with the program full screen.

I was really happy to have 2 x 27" + 24" for Zoom lectures. The central 27" had the PowerPoint lecture I was screen-sharing, the right 27" had my personal annotated PowerPoint with the worked-out calculations, and the left 24" had various other reference materials I'd want to consult or display.

 

[Chaos215bar2]

A monitor with an operating system is the nearly the stupidist thing ever, though not as stupid as a digital washing machine. A monitor is an appliance. It should just work.

Also, if you think your "smart monitor" isn't watching you, you're an idiot.

Essentially every monitor that's ever had a built-in menu (going back 30+ years) has an "operating system". Even something as basic as a $10 USB mouse has an "operating system", i.e. firmware. It's all a matter of what you do with it.

None of Apple's displays are or have ever been a "smart monitor" in the sense you're describing.

 

[profcutter]

I was really happy to have 2 x 27" + 24" for Zoom lectures. The central 27" had the PowerPoint lecture I was screen-sharing, the right 27" had my personal annotated PowerPoint with the worked-out calculations, and the left 24" had various other reference materials I'd want to consult or display.

Yeah. I teach social sciences and having the two big displays was as close as I could get to a seminar style experience. I had an iPad Pro for whiteboarding, and it sometimes worked but my USB ports were on the way out.

 

[SSDGUY]

27" is too small. Can we please get a bigger one that doesn't cost a fortune?

Exactly. A "semi-pro" 32" from Apple would be a perfect fit for many designers and video folks. 6K @60hz with Apple industrial design and integration would suit me fine at around $2500-$3000. And while we're at it, please simplify the Rolls Royce stand nonsense. A plenty sturdy, adjustable, and beautiful stand shouldn't have to cost an additional $1k.

 

[SSDGUY]

Hmmmnnn, somewhere sitting between $1600 and $5k for a 27 inch...so maybe ~$3k for a 27 inch? Won't even be on the menu.

It's cool Apple can make these high end displays - but 27 inches is considered a base size for a desktop display now (beyond the bottom end of things) and I'd really like to be able to buy stuff from Apple not targeted for professionals or the super expensive tier of the general user base. The ACD's actually hit that market pretty well, beautiful, nice and a bit expensive but not the price of another mid to high end computer...so far Apple doesn't seem interested in this market and its disappointing.

Well said. It's been driving me nuts since the discontinuation of the old 30" ACD. When the XDR was announced for $5k ($6K with a stand) it more than quelled my love for all things Apple. Sure, for many folks that price point and feature set is a no-brainer, but not for a good many Apple fans out there.

 

[theorist9]

Yeah. I teach social sciences and having the two big displays was as close as I could get to a seminar style experience. I had an iPad Pro for whiteboarding, and it sometimes worked but my USB ports were on the way out.

Back when I started online teaching I got a Huion drawing tablet. Pretty nice hardware, but helplessly slow when I tried it while on Zoom, so I returned it; probably a combination of Zoom, the Huion's software, and the old 2014 MBP I was using. I ended up using the draw tools in Word and PowerPoint instead. I'm not doing as much online teaching now but, if I were, I'd consider an iPad.

 

[Apple2GS]

I found that a 32 inch was too big especially for a non curved display. The viewing angles were too extreme at the edges, so I ended up moving the display back several inches and adjusting the resolution to make the text bigger.

I replaced it with a 27 inch and have the same amount of real estate as the display is closer and at a higher resolution.

 

[theorist9]

Hmmmnnn, somewhere sitting between $1600 and $5k for a 27 inch...so maybe ~$3k for a 27 inch? Won't even be on the menu.

It's cool Apple can make these high end displays - but 27 inches is considered a base size for a desktop display now (beyond the bottom end of things) and I'd really like to be able to buy stuff from Apple not targeted for professionals or the super expensive tier of the general user base. The ACD's actually hit that market pretty well, beautiful, nice and a bit expensive but not the price of another mid to high end computer...so far Apple doesn't seem interested in this market and its disappointing.

Agreed. There's probably a lot of Air, Mini, and entry-level MBP owners who would like to plug their machines into a large monitor. Yet MacOS really needs a Retina display to look its best, and Apple offers no consumer-priced Retina externals. For the customer that just paid, say, $1400 for an MBA, $1600 for an ASD is a big ask.

 

[theorist9]

Sitting at a higher price point than the Studio Display, which features a single Thunderbolt port, it is possible that the new display could feature additional Thunderbolt ports.

It is not an option to daisy chain Studio Displays since they feature a single Thunderbolt port each, but since Apple's next display is expected to be a more high-end device, daisy chaining may be a feature that Apple wants to provide, especially as professional users are more likely to want to use multiple monitors. If so, it will need to offer more than one Thunderbolt port – which could also be used to attach other demanding, high-bandwidth peripherals.

If this is 5k@120Hz, how much bandwidth are they going to have left for daisy-chaining high-bandwidth peripherals? Is the Mac Studio/Pro they plan to pair these with going to offer 80 Gbps DP 2.0 and/or 120 Gbps TB5?

 

[NY Guitarist]

A 27" display is too small for my needs. I used a lot of 30" Apple Cinema Displays over the years that served me well and looked great.

 

[gund1234]

$1K or less please, get rid of that bloat, iPhone SOC, iOS running on a Monitor.
I love my Apple LED & Thunderbolt display, still using it.
was waiting to upgrade but after they released a decent monitor with iOS, iPhone SOC i decided not to upgrade.

 

[svish]

Hoping to see a much cheaper price tag!

 

[ascender]

Make it bigger than 27" damn you!!!

Baffling that they don't even offer the current ASD in two sizes tbh.

 

[Blaine]

I want a 32" display 😤

 

[GtrDude]

If you think Apple is going to make a display that is 100 PPI you haven't been paying attention. There is no chance that Apple will do that. And if you already have a display that meets your needs, why do you need another one from Apple?

I don't think "Apple is going to make a display that is 100PPI" and I never said or even mentioned that.
I don't "need another one from Apple" and I never said or even mentioned that either.
The theme of my post was the exact opposite of what you're implying.
Easy on the coffee.

 

[Biro]

People question why Apple is cramming a full OS and "pointless tech" into what should be a simple monitor. For the answer, always... follow the money. The A13 chip and OS are so Apple can declare the monitor obsolete in a few years - even if it works fine - and compel you to buy a new one. Apple at this point is busy trying to please Wall Street. It doesn't care what its customers want or need. Personally, I'll be looking at one of the high-quality and color-correct monitors from the competition.