Apple LED Cinema Display (27" flat panel)

Reviews for Apple LED Cinema Display (27" flat panel)

Customer Reviews and Ratings

3.5 out of 5 stars

Based on 331 reviews

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    The Curse of the Gloss

    • Written by from Star

    Why, O why does apple keep tormenting designers with these awesome displays with glossy screen? Designers and photographers thrive on detail. We need to be able to detect the slimmest of value shifts and for this reason alone I have to rate this as a 3 star product. While working on these glossy screens I find my self shadow boxing with my own reflection as I shift and dodge to see past the glare into what I am looking at.

    This is an awesome monitor, but unless your ambient lighting conditions are perfect it causes pain and irritation. I love that it seamlessly links to my macbook pro and the size is just perfect. But the glare, I hate the glare!

    Give us an antiglare option please!

    4022 of 4612 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice display but glossy reflections make it unusable for me

    • Written by from Louisville

    Apple has become so enamored of glossy displays that they've forgotten that in many home and office environments the glossy surface renders them a mirror, making the whole point of owning such a large, beautiful display moot.

    So unless you mind working in very indirect light or with the lights turned way down low, try and find yourself a store that still has a 30" Cinema Display in stock, or hope that as they did with the MacBook Pros, they eventually realize there are a lot of users who still require an anti-glare display.

    I gave it two stars because if you CAN minimize reflection from ambient light, it really IS a good looking display.

    2643 of 3089 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Glossy mirror and lack of inputs

    • Written by from WALTON

    If you don't want to use plastics for environmental reasons Apple, there are glare-free glass options out there too. This is a giant mirror unless you have the perfect lighting conditions. Really fatiguing over the course of a day to continually have to force your focus from all the reflections.

    And no HDMI either? This thing is the size of a TV, and I would like it to serve as one when I am not using it as a computer monitor. Would love to be able to plug in a blu-ray or my HD Receiver into this thing too. Would be acceptable if Apple supported blu-ray in its Mac line. Unfortunately, the Dell Ultra-Sharp has to complement my Mac this time around. A travesty. But it is matt, with tons of inputs.

    2610 of 3205 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Where did all the displays go?

    • Written by from Sherwood Park

    I am a die hard Apple supporter that just purchased a new 12 core macpro. When I went to select a new 30" display, it was gone. All that I can choose from is this 27" GLOSSY display. These workstations are being used in Pro environments where glossy is not an option. Fine... after my initial anger, I figure I'll get the 27" and put it on another station while hooking up one of our existing 30" displays to my new 12 core mac. WRONG... The 27" only connects to machines with display port. so it doesn't work with our 2 year old 8 core Mac Pro's. This is absolutely ridiculous. Apple has made it absolutely impossible for me to buy this no matter how hard I'm trying to go all Apple. Congratulations, this is the first time since 1984 that I am forced to purchase a non Apple display.

    288 of 310 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Mirror Finish is Painfully Glossy and Makes the Monitor Useless

    • Written by from Cohoes

    Apple, Have you forgotten that professional designers were the only group of customers that were by your side when no-one else was? It seems that you have become ungrateful with the success of you ipod line that you are now only interested in being flashy even at the expense of functionality. Surely, someone at Apple must realize that a glossy display may look nice in the store, but it not practical to use for any length of time. The glare that comes off your new monitors is truly painful to the eyes after only a short period of use. I have used you products for years, but fail to understand how you can overlook something so obvious, and the top complaint by all designers. Please take a moment to read your own reviews. Read some of the negative ones and not just the compliments. We are not the only ones complaining about this issue. Yes, your products are beautiful, and I am not complaining at all about any other feature, however, a Matte finish screen option is a must if you expect to retain your loyal customers. I would have purchased several of these new displays, but instead are not keeping a single 1.
    PLEASE, PLEASE give this matter some serious attention. ASAP.
    While you are at it, an updated 30" or larger version with a MATTE finish would also be a welcome update. Again, I understand that the HD screen proportions are what is hot, but as designers those 160 extra vertical pixels are significant. Why follow other companies' trends, when you have the power to lead ?

    297 of 349 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Good design, should make a product useful. - Dieter Rams

    • Written by from Groningen

    I've tried this display, loved it for its features and tried to think of every excuse imaginable to keep it.

    However, I didn't.

    I'll keep it short, as many users/reviewers have already pointed this out.

    This screen is way, and I mean WAY too reflective. I'm a graphic designer and to make this display useful, I would have to change my whole lighting plan, move the windows and….in essence...create a dark room to have this screen operating at its full potential.

    Any light from behind me, any dark color, any movement behind me, will DISTRACT my focus from the screen, and FOCUS it on the REFLECTION.

    This is where Apple's "we are trendsetters, and we are right 99% of the time" becomes their Achilles heel.

    In design there’s a principle. Form Follows Function.

    The FUNCTION of a display is to be able to SEE things (in the highest detail possible) on THAT screen.
    ANY OTHER ARGUMENTS AND ADDITIONS like "glass is easier to clean, the colors are deeper, it has a webcam and USB!" are SECONDARY. AND NOTHING MORE.

    If there's a petition going, set up by people who get headaches, eye-strain, back pain (because they subconsciously adjust their posture to get rid of the reflections'), it’s a SIGN.

    If its signed by thousands….it’s a bigger SIGN.

    It’s a statement that doesn't say: APPLE you’re Wrong. Its says: APPLE, we love your products so much, and we’d love to buy them, but PLEASE listen to us.

    It’s not 'complaining', it’s almost begging Apple to make something that will easily cost them a thousand dollars, that’s a bit more useful.

    Please Apple, take note.

    Good design, should make a product useful. - Dieter Rams

    235 of 256 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Shiny screen really bad for professional work

    • Written by from Købemhavn Ø

    I just gave this monitor a 2-week try to see if I could get used to a shiny display. I tried angling it so it wouldn't catch any direct light (hard with a 27" surface), I tried moving around. And especially, I tried to just get used to it.

    Sadly, at the end of most working days, my eyes were hurting.

    Many Pro-level modern apps are very dark - that works really badly combined with the glossy reflections from this monitor.

    Probably a nice consumer piece of tech, but doesn't cut it for 8-hours/day viewing during daytime hours.

    220 of 241 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    toooo bad

    • Written by from LOS ANGELES

    this display comparing to the oldest cinema 30" is like comparing diamond to ashes ,
    cause it reflects the smallest tiny light ....for me as artist painter and graphic designer
    i still using the 30" cinema display from apple ... really it is a downgrade if we buy the led display to replace the cinema 30" ....try to do something not GLOSSY ......

    214 of 240 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Quite disappointing......

    • Written by

    To be completely up front, there is way too much glare off the monitor to be useful as a professional tool. Owners of the monitor should not be required to perfectly situate the monitor to reduce glare. Also, the colors appear way too vivid, which though great for watching a movie, is a big problem for doing photo work. And lets face it, watching a movie on a Cinema Display, though certainly not a bad option, is nothing compared to a good HDTV. There is no doubt that the monitor is stylish and since it is an Apple, it is undoubtedly with technical peer. However, the glare problem, and the over amped colors, seem to be a direct result of the monitor glass. Apple needs to offer an OPTION to go MATTE like they did with the Mac Book Pros. It is amazing how one design component (the glossy glass) can severely compromise the attractiveness of owning the Cinema Display.

    204 of 224 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    awesome awesome awesome ... but ...

    • Written by from Vancouver

    that glossy surface! I bought one and returned it the same day. It's so far from usable as a serious monitor with that gloss.

    the sharp reflections add the environment images to what's being displayed by the monitor. thus you will never see accurate color unless in a very dark room.

    admittedly a diffused surface is not perfect either, but it's soooooo much closer to being accurate.

    please apple! please please please give us a diffuse surface option for these displays and I'd buy one the day they are released!!!

    209 of 239 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Excellent performance but quite disappointed....

    • Written by

    The design and performance of the display are second to none. However, I have to spend a lot of time in front of the monitor and eye strain from glare is a major problem. I am not sure whether a matte display is in fact better than a glossy display when it comes to color calibration. That, I suppose, is debatable. However, indisputably, glare off a glossy display is far more intense than off a matte display. Otherwise a really excellent monitor, the glare problem renders it far less usable, or at least bleeds the desire to use it. Glare as a function of intermittent use is perhaps not a big deal. But glare times hours of use each day is a big deal. The decision to go glossy only is a bit baffling and disappointing.

    195 of 217 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    What about us?

    • Written by from VAIL

    Apple has long enjoyed a successful relationship with the professional imaging / visual arts industry. We need Apple, and they need us. Or do they? This glossy screen is useless for professionals in the imaging industry, such as photography, graphic design, etc. The glare is incredibly problematic when judging color accuracy, contrast, shadow and highlight detail and subtle changes in tonal areas. And, no more 30" option? That extra space is vital. So you choose to DOWNSIZE to 27"? Why would Apple seemingly ignore this large segment of their loyal customer base? We can't use glossy screens!!!! If you don't bring back a 30" matte screen, you're going to loose the support of thousands of professionals. Very very disappointing. Unbelievable really.

    196 of 229 people found this useful

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  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Nice but...

    • Written by from Edmonton

    Apple, where is antiglare / matte option? Please please please, we as a professional photographer, need antiglare/matte option. Can't bear the glare anymore.

    175 of 192 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Needs Anti-Glare

    • Written by from Los Angeles

    I am an animator in the ad / commercial industry. I have two of these in a dual configuration. The colors are vibrant and consistent, the contrast is beautiful, but the glare is unmanageable. Whenever a composition contains blacks or dark colors, I am met with the reflection of either my face or whatever is happening behind me. As excited as I would be to purchase one of these for personal use, paired with my anti-glare macbook pro, I will have to refrain until an anti-glare model is available.

    172 of 188 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Apple truly has abaonded its professional user base

    • Written by from Stamford

    I went to the Apple store today to buy a completely fitted out Mac Pro. Loaded. This is not a cheap investment, but since my original G5 has lasted about 10 years I felt it was a good investment. When I get to the store, prepared to also buy two 27" monitors I find out they no longer offer a matte monitor, only glossy.

    Between the Final Cut X fiasco and this, I can only assume that Apple no longer cares about their professional users. I am so disgusted right now I can't even sleep. I haven't been this upset with a company, ever. Surely, the folks at Apple must know that those of us doing color critical, detail oriented imaging work need a matte screen, so I can only assume that they really don't want our business.

    So now i have to find another brand of monitor. I can't believe that Apple did this, I really can't...

    253 of 362 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Matte option?!

    • Written by from Arlington

    Just not useable for video and photo editing... nice for watching movies and playing games maybe, but awful for work... returned mine after 3 days of frustration.
    When will Apple wake up and start making professional displays?!

    178 of 219 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Glossy only, no Matte option?

    • Written by from Vancouver

    Glossy means a lot of users in production will not want this display. Sad, but true. Too bad.

    249 of 364 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Gloss again? Help a doctor out!

    • Written by from Princeton

    Apple! Honestly, you must start listening to us. Once again I must go to the Dell Ultrasharps because your glossy screens create too much glare. I am a radiologist and this is truly the only thing preventing me from buying one. You must at least offer a matte screen option in the future if you hope to ever reach the market of photographers and medical professionals.

    143 of 154 people found this useful

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  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Display needs a matte option, limited usability without

    • Written by from Brooklyn

    This is a high quality screen with great picture quality, good contrast, brightness and color balance. However, all of that becomes irrelevant in most work places, as the reflections will distract and make it impossible to do any kind of critical graphics work.
    To overpower the reflections, the screen has to be viewed at high brightness settings settings, causing fatigue and headaches.

    Still, in some environments, such as bright office spaces with uncovered windows and sun light, it may be impossible to use the screen without third party glare reducing screen covers. This is is not acceptable for a high end workstation display, and will generally not give as good a result as if the screen itself had the correct finish. Therefore, I cannot recommend this product.

    146 of 160 people found this useful

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  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Display has big audio problems

    • Written by from SOUTH BEND

    Read the support forums before taking a chance on this display. When the display wakes from sleep it's a dice roll whether or not you'll have audio. This display consistently requires an SMC reset (shut down - unplug - hold power button for 5 secs - plug in - restart) in order to get the sound operational again. Until Apple addresses this issue I'd stay far away from this display.

    153 of 176 people found this useful

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