Collaboration with LG may mean Apple is no longer making its own stand-alone displays

By Mark Coppock October 28, 2016

lg ultra fine 5k apple display ultrafine — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Apple’s October 27 event introduced a number of products, from updates involving the Apple TV app to a new MacBook Pro with the first-ever touch screen display on a MacOS device, the Touch Bar. One thing Apple did not introduce, however, is a stand-alone Apple-branded display.

Instead, the company introduced a new monitor developed alongside LG, creating some doubt about the future of Apple’s display business, according to MacRumors reports. Rumors have circulated for a while that there might be a new Thunderbolt display coming with its own built-in GPU, but according to The Verge, that and any other new displays from Apple may have gone the way of the dodo bird. Heading to the Apple Store’s display section seems to confirm this, as the previous Apple displays are no longer listed.

LG’s 27-inch 5K UltraFine display looks like an excellent monitor, and so perhaps those hoping for an Apple-branded 5K display might be able to take some solace. While the new monitor might carry LG’s logo instead of Apple’s icon, it looks like Apple’s involvement in its design could have some benefits. Various settings are configurable from a connected MacOS device, meaning that there might not be any functional difference between it and any potential monitor made by Apple.

The LG 5K monitor is priced at $1,300, and it requires a machine running MacOS Sierra and sporting a Thunderbolt 3 connection. That makes it perfectly suited for the new MacBook Pro machines, which include two or four Thunderbolt 3-enabled USB Type-C ports depending on the model. The LG display will also work with other Macs that support Thunderbolt 3, whenever they arrive. The monitor itself will be available in December and cannot yet be ordered.

LG is also rolling out a smaller, 21.5-inch 4K UltraFine monitor for $700, and that one is more universally compatible. It doesn’t require a Thunderbolt 3 but still uses USB Type-C . The LG 4K UltraFine display will ship in five to six weeks, but can be ordered today.

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