Apple's Online Store Now Offering New 5K 27-Inch LG UltraFine Display

[cambookpro]

It's not difficult at all. I think the reason Apple is not offering is that it will cannibalize the XDR sales. When Apple announced it @wwdc many workstations had as much as three XDRs on it. If you are a Pro on specific segments, you will only need one super-duper reference display if Apple had a 5K ($1500) display selling alongside the XDR. I can easily see a lot of people buying two 5Ks and one XDR just as one example.

They're not the same market. The XDR is a very, very niche product - I expect that the main group of people that will use them will be those doing the final grade during video/TV production. A lot of post-production houses I've visited still get by with aluminium Cinema Displays from ~15 years ago for their editors, producers etc. Most people along the production chain just don't need (/they can't afford) top end specs on a display when a basic model will suffice. This may differ in film, but I doubt it.

A 5K display has a far greater market and I don't know why Apple aren't interested in it. It won't cannibalise XDR sales, as quite frankly if you are buying the XDR when you could make-do with a bog standard 5K panel from an iMac, you probably have more money than sense. The LG display is fine, but a 8-year old Thunderbolt Display still has it beat in terms of looks and build quality.

 

[RustyIron]

I've been running an LG as the secondary display for about a year. The image quality is spectacular. The camera is better than Apple's by far. But the styling blows. I don't understand why Apple just doesn't allow or pay LG to build a display with Apple's styling. Having displays that don't match offends my sense of aesthetics... but not as much as trying to work with a single display.

 

[CarrotD]

I noticed that iPad Pro can connect to this monitor through a USB-C cable, does it mean I can connect it to a windows machine using a USB-C to DP cable or a USB-C cable using a 2080's USB-C?

 

[uneeko1ne]

That Wallpaper is amazing lol

 

[sakurarain]

bezel of 4k version looks much more balanced, i do care about the front camera on a monitor

 

[brinary001]

Why on earth didn’t they get rid of the ridiculous top bezel?


"up to 94W of host charging power"

For the new 16 inch MacBook Pro. We have seen this with the new XDR Display too.

Therefore we can conclude that the new 16 inch MBP requires more power which also results in higher performance components.

This is quite an astute observation, actually. And probably dead on, too.

 

[Tucom]

All that still wrapped up in the most hideous plastic design to date, seriously? You're not going to lose out on potential XDR displays due to competent lower model aesthetics of the LG display Apple...

In fact, I probably will never be buying one, ever, due to this. So deliberate, too.

 

[cult hero]

Same cliches as the old monitor. I have two (a rev A and rev B) that I picked up during the original sale where they were under a grand.

They are still by far the nicest monitors I have ever used. Joke about the head but I use the camera all the time. It’s just plain nicer than using my laptop or having a separate camera. The color is gorgeous. No dead pixels.

The only negative is that there is no alternate input. The only eGPU I know of that does Thunderbolt chaining is the Black Magic unit and I have no desire to get an eGPU where I can’t swap out the card. (The enclosure itself costs more than a lot of video cards!) a pair of DisplayPort inputs would be really nice. (Oh yeah, and the volume increments are dreadful.)

Even with a couple warts, the resolution is fantastic for long work days and easy on the eyes. I got my second one because after working on a 5K for a month, going home to 1440p looked pixelated.

 

[Naaaaak]

The ugliest duckling of third party screens, consistently on the webshop of the company that once defined personal computing aesthetics and brand style. Yuck

If I were Chief Design Officer at Apple, I would hard-veto whoever decided to list this thing and get it unlisted.

Then again, the Chief Design Officer at Apple also approved the similar-looking notch on all the phones.

 

[nicho]

Is there no daisy chaining on this because powering 2x 5k displays is tough/impossible right now?

Yes.

About ⅓ of the way down the page - https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-32UL950-W-4k-uhd-led-monitor - of this other LG monitor (they don't have product pages for the latest Apple exclusive ones, even the 4k one) it says Thunderbolt 3 can handle 2x 4k monitors via daisy chaining or one 5k monitor at 60fps. I assume there's just enough left for the USB C ports (limited to 5gbps, so not gen 2 ones) and that's about it.

 

[AnonMac50]

If it can be carried over a standard USB-C connection, would there be a technical limitation stopping these from connecting to Thunderbolt 2 computers using 1 cable (ones that previously used 2 cables).

 

[deconstruct60]

I noticed that iPad Pro can connect to this monitor through a USB-C cable, does it mean I can connect it to a windows machine using a USB-C to DP cable or a USB-C cable using a 2080's USB-C?

the 2080's USB-C socket isn't technically standard. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VirtualLink . It is a proposed Alternative mode, but I don't think it has been adopated by USB-IF ). I'd be surprised if the 5K monitor would be "happy" to find a USB 3.1 stream where it expected a USB 2.0 one.

It may or may not be happy with the USB-C to DP cable because that won't have any USB side channel at all. Even if it "happens to work" the USB sockets on the monitor will be 'dead' (along with the speakers and camera ). And pretty good chance you won't be able to any adjustments ( e..g. brightness ). The monitor is built for Type-C alternative mode flavor of DisplayPort.


As for connecting a PC, this monitor likely has the "Apple feature' of not having controls on the monitor. All the adjustments are suppose to be made from macOS Monitor System Preferences settings and the Mac drivers.

 

[MX20]

Tim Cook started selling ugly product in the past few years and it definitely doesn’t uphold its impeccable standard as the predecessor that strive to improve humanity as a whole.

 

[Bustycat]

I don’t know how good the display quality is but these LG screens do not look very aesthetically pleasant. I recently bought a HP monitor and it is just so pretty, glossy and beautiful to look at, I don’t feel the same about these ones.

Then you shouldn’t choose Apple products as most of them (including Pro Display XDR) use an LG panel.

 

[ImaxGuy]

I have the original LG 5K. Not the prettiest thing on the block, but I find myself looking at the panel and not the bezels. The 5K is stacked above and LG 34" ultra wide (Thunderbolt 2). The 5K has much better colour fidelity. Overall LG's panels are great IMHO.

Cool.
But how good are LG products?
I never owned LG products. But it is tempting.

 

[deconstruct60]

....
A 5K display has a far greater market and I don't know why Apple aren't interested in it.

In the general landscape, there are also a ton more competitors in that market also. There is no shortage of 3rd party supplies for discrete monitors. Even in the "pro" space there are several. Eizo , the top end NEC , and the very top end of others like Dell , HP , etc.

Apple doesn't really want to be in the general monitor business. The Thunderbolt Display docking station was as much a docking station as a display. Apple also doesn't want to build everything for everybody. Their track record on larger monitors is the ship something and 'sit' on the model for 6-8 years at a time. The rest of the general monitor market tends to be a bit more dynamic than that.

It won't cannibalise XDR sales, as quite frankly if you are buying the XDR when you could make-do with a bog standard 5K panel from an iMac,

The XDR is in the expensive reference monitor class. It really isn't subject to high commoditization. The customer base is slow moving and pay top dollar. So that is a closer match to Apple's pace and amount of 'work' they want to assign to the product line over time.

you probably have more money than sense. The LG display is fine, but a 8-year old Thunderbolt Display still has it beat in terms of looks and build quality.

My guess is that Apple is not fully funding these monitors but doing lots of 'back seat driving" ( no physicals controls , no on/off button , one and only one input , etc. ). Apple perhaps puts a floor under the number of units sold but not really enough to through tangent design R&D at it.


apple meanwhile doesn't have the design bandwidth to do it themselves so outsourcing. So they just get most of what they want.

Most Mac users probably buy something else out of the general monitor market stream. Apple used to make printers too but it is something they let go of over time. Generic Monitors has been the same boat for the last 10+ years. (in terms of new effort to stay up to date). The last two 27" solutions were moves toward a docking station more so than a mainstream monitor solution.

 

[nutmac]

Except for the logo on the front and the thicker top bezel I really don't see what so many find ugly about this monitor.

My main quibble, aside from the logo, is the black plastic finish similar to ThinkPad notebooks. It just looks so dated.

 

[jasoncarle]

Good, but I still kinda wish Apple made their own smaller monitors. Kinda sucks that you have to go third party to get a monitor for the Mac Mini, for example.

23 incher is too large?
[doublepost=1564553008][/doublepost]Is 5k really needed? Why not get one of the other LG monitors with thunderbolt 3...
https://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-34WL850-W-ultrawide-monitor

 

[mosher]

Will this monitor suffer from image retention as iMac 27 5k?

 

[mbosse]

Just think, the 23" Cinema Display for my G5 cost $1699. What a bargain. (And it still works)

That's about $2,300 today and is much smaller, has less resolution, lower colour gamut, brightness and so on. Compared to that, the new Pro Display XDR looks even more like a bargain.

 

[Vjosullivan]

You won't get much (work) done starring at just a stand.

I don't get much work done staring at MacRumors.

 

[jkundi]

So you’re telling me the only additional change is the output of power?

I have the previous gen, I thought that would allow me to use it as a screen for an iPad Pro via usb c? Haven’t tried as currently don’t own the iPad Pro but it’s on the list.

 

[cambookpro]

In the general landscape, there are also a ton more competitors in that market also. There is no shortage of 3rd party supplies for discrete monitors. Even in the "pro" space there are several. Eizo , the top end NEC , and the very top end of others like Dell , HP , etc.

Apple doesn't really want to be in the general monitor business. The Thunderbolt Display docking station was as much a docking station as a display. Apple also doesn't want to build everything for everybody. Their track record on larger monitors is the ship something and 'sit' on the model for 6-8 years at a time. The rest of the general monitor market tends to be a bit more dynamic than that.



The XDR is in the expensive reference monitor class. It really isn't subject to high commoditization. The customer base is slow moving and pay top dollar. So that is a closer match to Apple's pace and amount of 'work' they want to assign to the product line over time.




My guess is that Apple is not fully funding these monitors but doing lots of 'back seat driving" ( no physicals controls , no on/off button , one and only one input , etc. ). Apple perhaps puts a floor under the number of units sold but not really enough to through tangent design R&D at it.


apple meanwhile doesn't have the design bandwidth to do it themselves so outsourcing. So they just get most of what they want.

Most Mac users probably buy something else out of the general monitor market stream. Apple used to make printers too but it is something they let go of over time. Generic Monitors has been the same boat for the last 10+ years. (in terms of new effort to stay up to date). The last two 27" solutions were moves toward a docking station more so than a mainstream monitor solution.

The problem is, there isn’t a good third-party offering at the moment besides from LG. I don’t think there’s another monitor that is 5K, Thunderbolt 3 with power delivery, and has built-in speakers, microphone and webcam. That’s what Apple monitors were so good at: few cables, lots of built-in features to essentially turn your laptop or Mac mini into an iMac whilst docked. Yes there are thousands of generic monitors available, but none match this functionality.

And yes, whilst they let the Thunderbolt Display fester for years, historically they were very good at updating their displays. The Cinema Displays received updates every 1-2 years, making it slightly perplexing that they stopped being in this business. I don’t believe they don’t have bandwidth for the design etc., as most of the work is done with the iMac! I’d wager people would even just buy a 27” iMac if it still supported Target Display Mode.

I’d also argue that a display is very different to a printer, scanner, camera or AirPort base station. When you buy a Mac mini, every part of it you use can be from Apple (keyboard, computer, mouse), apart from the display - which is the part you look at the most. For there to be no first-party option for one of the most integral parts of a computer, to me, is odd.

 

[PickUrPoison]

View attachment 850686
LG missed a HUGE opportunity by giving away the part pictured here. They could have gotten an extra $1,000 for it if they knew the market.

Apparently they’re quite aware of the market. That’s why it’s selling for only $1,299.

It’s a steal, they’ll sell millions.

 

[theluggage]

In the general landscape, there are also a ton more competitors in that market also. There is no shortage of 3rd party supplies for discrete monitors.

Name one alternative 5k (as in 5120x2880, not ultra-wide) display with Thunderbolt apart from the LG. Now name another one - and then find somewhere that actually stocks it - a lot of the early 5k displays from Dell etc have been discontinued.

While you can indeed throw a brick and hit a dozen 4k displays, there's not a lot of competition if you want 5k less if you want Thunderbolt rather than 2 x DisplayPort cables. If you want to dock + charge a MacBook Pro we're talking about hen's teeth, fingers on boxing glove etc... 5k displays are very much a Mac thing, as is Thunderbolt as a way of connecting displays.

So its very much up to Apple to make sure that there's a 5k display that you can plug your MacBook Pro into.

I have the previous gen, I thought that would allow me to use it as a screen for an iPad Pro via usb c?

No, the previous gen was Thunderbolt only and didn't support USB-C DisplayPort Alt Mode. I think the Thunderbolt controller chips that could fall back to USB protocols were only released last year.