As the Mac lineup moves through the Apple Silicon transition, the speedy new Macs spotlight a glaring hole in Apple’s product lineup: the lack of an external display priced for the masses.
I recently made a change to my Mac setup, dropping my 27-inch Intel-powered iMac in favor of the M1 Mac mini. There were a few reasons behind this change, including the pure speed of the M1 chip. I also wanted to ditch the Intel iMac sooner rather than later, as resell values are sure to drop quickly once the new Apple Silicon models are announced sometime this year.
The M1 Mac mini has been an absolute joy to use in nearly every regard. I just wish I had an Apple-made display to pair it with — for under $4,999. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t considered buying a Pro Display XDR, but it’s impossible to justify in my situation. It’s overkill for my needs, despite how badly I want one.
It’s bizarre to me that Apple sells such a good desktop computer, the M1 Mac mini, without a reasonable display solution for buyers.
The M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air also underscore the need for an Apple-made external display. These machines are so powerful that they outperform some of the high-end Intel-powered Macs. This means that they can replace a desktop computer for many buyers, but this argument is harder to make when Apple doesn’t sell a mass-market external display.
MacDailyNews Take: “Oh, just buy an XDR and be done with it. And, don’t be cheap: get the nano-texture glass and throw on a Pro Stand, too.”
Sorry, we were channeling Tim Cook… Uh, wait a sec: “…and justice for all,” or some such shit, Tim added there at the end. You get the gist. 😉
Anyway, we’ve already been through this Apple monitor bit years ago:
Apple ceding the display business damages the Apple brand. Apple does not lead in an essential personal computing component and other companies logos are destined to be in Mac users’ faces all day long. Not smart. Cook & Co. should reconsider their decision and make and sell Apple-branded displays. Direct profits aren’t the issue, ancillary profits are; smart executives like Cook should be able to recognize the power of perception. — MacDailyNews, March 2017
Ah, but hope springs eternal. Maybe this year is the year!
FYI: We currently drive dual 27-inch 4K displays (LG 27UK850-W units, $405.67 at Amazon currently) when at our desks with 16-inch MacBook Pro units (AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8GB). We’d switch to Apple displays in a heartbeat, if only Apple would offer them.
(Yes, the LG logos are covered with black tape.)