“Can we all agree that Apple makes nice monitors? I think we can. They come in three magnificent sizes: 20 inch, 23 inch and the big daddy of them all, the 30 inch. Surrounded by aluminum goodness they are the ying that completes the PowerMac’s yang. Sadly they also boast price tags of $800, $1,500 and $3,000 respectively, therein lies the problem,” James R. Stoup writes for Apple Matters.
“If you just dropped $600 for a Mac Mini how can you justify spending $800 on a monitor? I could understand if you planned on placing it beside a $3,000 PowerMac, what is a few more bucks at that point right? But for consumers on a budget Apple has severely priced itself out of the display game,” Stoup writes.
“If you are Joe Schmuck then a simple bit of arithmetic will show you that at CompUSA’s website you can get FIVE 15” LCD monitors for $750, THREE 17″LCD monitors for $775 or ONE 20” LCD monitor for $800! Hum, which one should you choose? If you go with option A then you could set up two computers with a dual monitor display and still have one left over for a laptop. If you go with plan B then you could have a very nice dual monitor setup for one station and still have a nice display for another computer. Option C leaves you with one monitor for one computer. You know Apple, your displays are nice, but they aren’t that nice,” Stoup writes.
Full article here.
I think the new Lexus I want is too expensive too. Is this news?
I don’t understand. According to this, Apple’s $800 20″ is the same size and price as the CompUSA model he references. He seems to just be griping that Apple doesn’t offer a 15″ or 17″ monitor. Am I reading it right?
Apple’s cinema displays are gorgeous. However the problem with these displays is that the screen brightness is totally blown away the competition.
I have a 20″ alu cin display and I love it. But when I go to my friend’s house and look at his 20″ dell widescreen, it almost makes me regret buying my alu.
Apple’s design kicks ass no doubt, but the brightness…
This isn’t exactly earth shattering news, I agree, but his point is well taken. I must confess that I am still using my Gateway 17″ display w/ my G5 and would love to get the 23″ Apple, but c’mon, I’m just po’ white trash!
Do you think SJ would subsidize my getting one? He’s only the lowest paid CEO in the country. Or has that changed?
No mention that option C is the only one you could even hope to work with HD video on. I do agree that apple needs a cheap mac mini-looking 15″ or 17″ widescreen.
Yes, because that’s an awful comparison. Inside, Apple’s monitors are really not that different from the other ones he’s quoting. Other than making them look pretty, Apple doesn’t bring something spectacularly better to that segment the way they do to others. Yet their price difference in that arena is even worse. It’s gonna be much harder to convince Joe Average to buy a Mac Mini when he sees how much it will cost to add the display he needs. Sure, he could buy from another manufacturer, but it won’t match and at the Apple stores they don’t even sell other brands. Apple could price their displays reasonably and still make nice profit on them. It would make convincing people to try a Mac much easier. At the very least they could offer significant benefits, like a better dead pixel fix/return policy than anyone else, instead of one of the worst like they currently have.
I lust after a 30 inch Apple monitor (or even a 23 inch or EVEN a 20!) but the pocket book is on a bit of a diet so it’s a cheap third party 17 incher for me for a while.
BTW, I wonder how much of the 1300 dollars for the 17″ iMac covers the monitor?
Very true. I don’t think I’ve ever even tried to convince someone to get one. They look snazzy, but they are outrageously expensive compared to the other ones you can get. They may be nicer components, but I’m not sure that they are nice enough to justify the price. Cheaper ones seem to be just fine.
What does this guy think he’s buying, a TV? All of the 19″ LCD monitors on the CompUSA page are 1280×1024, which is the same resolution as most 17″ LCD monitors. Apple’s 20″ is 1680×1050, and that’s why it costs more. I believe Dell sells a similar display… for a similar price.
I agree that it would be nice for Apple to sell a 17″ display, though.
i don’t think the apple cinema display is not bright enough. i have a 20″ apple at home and it is awesome for color correcting. on the other hand, i have a 17 sony (cheapo model, but new) that sucks. it’s slightly darker on top, and normal brightness on the bottom. i’ve seen the dells and other brands at comp USA, but they don’t seem any “brighter”
brightness is subjective, but you don’t want your highlights getting blown out
Yes, so right – and what is often forgotten is the rest of the world where wages are mostly lower, taxes higher and so are even the prices! If Apple fully realised this and was able to make more low-price products like the Mini (and saw to that these were not over-priced compared to the USA) I am sure they would make money on that.
Lower the prices, sales increases and so does profit.
Seems like that is difficult arithmetics, sometimes…
“Apple’s cinema displays are gorgeous. However the problem with these displays is that the screen brightness is totally blown away the competition.”
Uh, i don’t know what the hell you are talking about but my 23″ is frickin bright as hell. It’s so bright actually that I had to turn it down.
On another note, everyone here who thinks that joe sixpack that might consider a Mac mini needs a cinema display doesnt understand the idea behind the mini or the marketing. Joe Sixpack already has a monitor. I think it should be obvious to people (suppose it isn’t) that the market for mac minis is WAY different than the market for cinema displays.
Ironically, my MW is ‘market’, as in most of you don’t understand the market for the Mac Mini.
Also one question I’m wrestling with:
If you were to spend 3K on a monitor,
Instead of going for the 30″ (which then needs an extra card) Why not just get two 23″?
I paid $3000 over 10 years ago for a 20 inch professional Radius (remember them?) monitor that just recently kicked the bucket. So the fact that I was able to replace it with a 30 Cinema Display for the same amount (although it hurt to have to pay the extra $600 for the card to run it) seems to me a pretty good deal.
Anyone know how to hook up cable tv to this thing?
i just got 2 dells, a 20 and a 24″ widescreenfor home and work. the Dell at first glance is much much brighter than any cinima display, and my choice of the 20″ for home was the best choice. I got this monitor for under $400 shipped by wathing the coupon sites, and to be honest, i would not trade it for the Apple 20 even if the price was the same.
HOWEVER… The 24″ i purchased for work is equally bright and eye catching, but it is imposible to use this, or the 20″ for that matter for any type of image editing, even with the brightness set to Zero, everything is to bright for print work or color corection, even after extensive calibration. If there was only a way to tone down the brightness we’d have a winner, but alas, the cinima displays are much better for any color work.
I definitely think that alongside the next Mac Mini refresh, Apple should introduce a new line of matching displays – 15″ and 17″ at very competitive price-points. Heck, Dell practically gives away CRT monitors with their el’cheapo machines…couldn’t Apple get away with branding some CRT monitors and offering them in a package deal with mac mini? I understand Apple’s reasoning in that they intended the Mac Mini for folks to use as a replacement for their current CPU – reusing the monitor, keyboard and mouse. However, typically people rarely ever just buy a new CPU and reuse what they have. They want everything to be nice and shiny. Hopefully Apple will realize this and make some concessions this quarter.
What the fsck does Apple display prices have to do with a mini? You mean I can only plug an Apple display into my mini??!!!??? Oh SHIT!!!???? I better get home before the cheap-ass Chinese no-name display it is plugged in ASSPLODES, killing a few of my cats in the process.
Damn, Mr. Stoup, thanks for telling me.
I guess I also imagined the mini being plugged into the old Blue and White Apple display I had it plugged into last week. There’s no way that mini could have been working with a monitor I picked up for $20. (And yeah, I mean picked up–that bastard is heavy.) I must have been hallucinating….
Ever think maybe Apple doesn’t sell cheap ass 15″ monitors because it isn’t worth doing–and anyone wanting such a monitor can buy them pretty much anywhere. Hell, 15″ LCD’s show up for $75 on craigslist these days.
The only people with an honest beef about display prices is Apple dealers required to sell a certain number of displays to keep their dealer status–the fact that Apple doesnt’ have any lower cost displays really hurts those folks, not the consumer. The consumer can just go to CompUSA and pick up a cheap monitor–it is the dealer that finds themselves with fewer add-on sales than required.
I purchased a 20″ LCD from Formac. Really nice, everyone likes it, wants one. I was happy with it. But when the prepress guy from the printing press came and tried to calibrate it, he found that even with a Gretag-Macbeth EyeOne calibrator, he couldn’t get the colors right. He spent, I don’t know, maybe an hour working on it. Then he went over to the all-in-one screen iMac and got the color right in about 5 minutes. I think Apple does have a degree of quality, especially in the printing industry, that is lost to general users.
I don’t pay much attention to monitors so my post may come off a bit daft.
But, when I wander through the monitor section at BestBuy, I don’t recall seeing any widescreen PC monitors similar to Apple’s.
Could this be why Apple charges a premium?
Sometimes I think people dont realize that a 15 inch monitor or
a 17 inch monitor or a 19 inch monitor is not a 20 inch monitor and that
a 20 inch monitor might cost a little more. I dont agree that Applr has the best monitors or the best monitors for the buck but Apple does have nice monitors –that is for sure. When I go into CompUsa ( and there are 2 locally ) it always seems to me that almost all non-apple displays are cheaper–it takes me a second to realize that CompUsa is only showing the 15 inch or 17 inch monitors and isnt showing any 20 inch Samsungs. I have to say I dont like the new glossy screen displays that some manufacturers are using but that is just my preference for a mat finish display. It is also apparent to me that Apple displays do not have the resolution that other manufacturers offer. Im partial to the look of the Apple display. BUT HERE IS THE PROBLEMO WITH APPLE DISPLAYS–APPLE DOES NOT BACK THEM WITH A WARRANTY–APPLE DOES NOT BACK THEM DOWN TO THE LAST PIXEL–APPLE DOES NOT SELL INSURANCE ON THEM–APPLE HAD NOT ARRANGED TO HAVE A THIRD PARTY SELL INSURANCE–Go buy a zhonnguo Thinkpad and ask them for a warranty on the display–you got it for a few bucks. Ask them for insurance–you got it for less than a .mac subscription. IM NOT SPENDING 3000 ON A NOTE BOOK OR 3000 ON A DISPLAY UNTIL APPLE BACKS IT UP. Could it be that the Apple display is so flimsy that no one will underwrite the display??????? Beam me up Scottie–and Steve now that you are using INTEL–when do we get that transporter?
I’m using a 23″ connected to my PB at the office and LOVE it. Because it’s a business expense I did get a tax break making the display somewhat affordable. For a workhorse display it can only be topped by the 30″ in terms of working with multiple windows. I actually saw the 30″ in person for the first time the other day at CompUSA and had to rapidly walk away before I started drooling all over my shirt.
While Apple displays are expensive they do come down in price periodically. The 23″ started around $3500 and I was able to get mine under $2,000. While I would have preferred the current price the fact is that the display has more than paid for itself several times over in terms of increased productivity. That is where the value is and Apple delivered.
He makes good points, we would all love it if the price was lowere. If you buy a mini at the Apple store it makes no sense to buy a monitor from them. Once the costs are added up, a G5 imac is about the same price and a lot snappier.
Unfortunately the DVI connector sets the rules. We use an Apple monitor for the primary and a VGA for the secondary. Tried a VGA as a primary and was dissapointed, the truth be told it comes down to what you’re comfortable with.
Apple can’t win.
Apple keeps prices (and quality) higher for better profits and the analysts complain about high prices.
Now Apple lowers the prices to be more “competitive” and the analysts complain that Apple is losing profit.
Anyone who buys a Mac Mini more than likely had a PC or and older Mac with a monitor that still works and would use that. This guy obviously didn’t go to Mac World in S.F. Also you can buy a lot of yugos really cheap but don’t expect them to run like a ferrari or a Mercedes benz. You get what you pay for!
I’ve looked at these cheaper displays and they are garbage!
Bla bla, than you buy a Samsung or so !