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

I have almost nothing but praise for this incredible display.

The image quality is simply stunning. I previously had a professional grade flatscreen CRT and this monitor matches, if not exceeds the picture quality. Calibration out of the box is practically perfect. I was pleasantly surprised to find that though as listed it only tilts 10 degrees, it is plenty of play to adjust to a comfortable viewing angle. Like most Apple products, setting this up was fast and simple and I was ready to go in a few minutes.

The design and finish are beautiful and perfectly compliment my Mac Pro. The high gloss surface does act somewhat like a mirror - when it's turned off. Like any other high-gloss black surface does. I had no issues whatsoever with reflection on the screen. I have a window to my left, lights above, beside and behind me, and a 50" plasma tv on the opposite side of the room and no difficulty clearly seeing what's on the screen in front of me. I had more of an issue with the display reflecting on my plasma, easily rectified by turning the Cinema Display off. I've been a professional graphic designer for over 20 years and for the life of me cannot fathom what other so-called "professionals" are complaining about. Headaches? That's Darwinism in action. I have sat for hours at this display with no ill effects.

The three additional USB ports means I can get rid of my hub. Printer, scanner, iPhone, iPod, external drive and keyboard all plugged in at a much less cluttered work station. HDMI? Why? This is a monitor, not a television. And I have watched DVDs and streaming broadcasts perfectly on it. The addition of an internal blu-ray player and now available software for playback means I can watch whatever I choose without any need for HDMI. A few comparable monitor reviews have rated one or two slightly higher than the Apple Cinema Display, mostly due to connectivity issues: not enough USBs, no HDMI. Those aren't shortcomings, that's whining over nothing. Except you will find that every single one of those reviews fails to point out the Cinema Display comes with built-in speakers, microphone and camera where the others don't. Tack on another hundred bucks or so to the other guys' monitors and then compare. The only niggle I can think of is the glow at the corners when the image filling the screen is completely black, though this is common in LEDs, minimal, and does not affect the image when there is actual content.

Game play is at a new level. Despite the higher response time than the 2ms display I have at the office, I find no difference in motion. The speakers sound great with a pleasant amount of low end. Colours and visuals are second to none. Photo definition is unreal and detail at low and high-end viewing percentages is remarkable. It's perfect for photo editing.

Professional, gamer or surfer, buy this display.

37 of 48 people found this useful

The screen is beautiful. Unbelievably clear and gourgeous. But, like many new Apple products it is plagued with reliability issues ....

I am so disappointed. This review is accurate because I am actually biased to being on Apples side.

Owned the screen for a while. Couldn't have been happier. Glossy screen is what it is, you know what your getting into. As long as your not in a room with tons of sunlight it's fine.

So after a couple months, suddenly this screen I paid $1,100 fobackers randomly flickering then going half the brightness without me being able to change it back unless I restarted a few times. Then it wouldn't even start coming back on. It would flicker then just shut off. No it just won't turn on altogether.

I checked online, apparently this is pretty common and most people could not get it fixed. I will never buy Apple again if they don't fix my screen I paid $1,100 for.

I have switched COUNTLESS friend to iPhones and MacBook Pros, I'm the one they always call for advice.

I'm trying to love apple but have had problem with reliability with almost all their products recently: iPhone, iPad, Macpro even my iTVs freeze and get all weird. Plus they actually DESTROYED final cut pro with "X". I am furious everything I think about it and am terrified to see what hey do with Logic.

I have spent over $20,000 personal money on Apple, their reliability is going down the drain. I'm worried.

58 of 63 people found this useful

I've always loved the idea of owning one of these but resisted due to its inability to plug in a pc (I am an avid mac user but my work laptop is a pc so wanted to be able to plug in either depending on what machine I needed up and running).

It worked seamlessly with my Airbook - loved it and was really chuffed. HOWEVER, ... I was spun a line with it operating with my pc. Even taking my pc into the Kingston store with me I was assured connectivity was possible and was given a cable/converter that would do the job but alas NO. The tech expert in Kingston store thought the solution was a cable with mini display connector on one end and a HDMI connector on the other - heavens know which ports he was planning to use ... (Apple need to reassess the technical expertise of their staff pronto - this isn't the first time a member of staff in that store has given me a bum steer).

Whilst I love the screen it is just so ridiculously limited - why oh why would they only put 3 USB ports on the back! so it is going back to the store (it's packed up and ready to be returned). Another bunch of fuel to return to the store not to mention my wasted time - it really isn't on.

Come on Apple sort this out the technical abilities of your staff AND add the necessary port to connect the display with a pc.

30 of 35 people found this useful

When I read some of the negative reviews of this monitor I find it hard to believe we're talking about the same product. I have been a professional photographer and videographer for more than 30 years and I have found this monitor to be one of the best I have ever used, including some that cost considerably more.

The main complaint seems to focus on the glossy monitor face. It's interesting that some of the so-called "pros" here admitted that they do their critical editing at their kitchen table or in a brightly lit office. This is nutsI. Everyone I know whose livelihood depends on critically accurate, repeatable color has a work room with subdued lighting. In fact, that's a requirement for most monitor calibrators. The glossy surface presents a saturated, sharp image that is beautiful to behold with no reflection problem whatsoever in a room with subdued lighting.

I employ a total color-managed workflow from camera to printing press, and this was one of the easiest monitors to professionally calibrate. It was not overly saturated or too bright (as many other monitors are) and the difference between before and after calibration was slight

What about more casual users in brighter rooms? Here I think the room configuration and personal taste will be most important. When I'm not doing critical work and open the windows shades that are to the immediate right of the monitor, the reflections don't bother me even though I'm now fairly brightly lit. When I open the shades behind me I can see the window reflection, but, it's no worse that my beloved iPad. Usually tilting the monitor (practical because of the great viewing angle) solves the problem. But, obviously, some can tune out reflections better than others.

My only complaint: the short 4' cords. I understand why Apple made the cords short (to eliminate desktop clutter for MacBook users) but they should have included an extension for the many MacPro users like me who find it about 2 feet too short.

This monitor isn't for everybody, but, for me it's been the perfect balance of quality, usability, and price.

40 of 44 people found this useful

I just got this display, and i have to say it is amazing and lives up to all my expectations. My plan is to use the display as work monitor with my macbook air, and it works perfect. But i have to say that i tested the macbook air i a game (the game was Trine) and tried to set the resolution to max but unfortunately my macbook air could not handle the graphics.

I also got a Dell XPS computer which I'm going to upgrade with one of the new AMD radeon 7000 series (planing on bying the xfx 7850 card). I do not have the graphic card yet, but hopfully it will work because of the built in mini display port, so i should be able to plug the display direct to my Dell pc so i am ready to play diablo 3 on this amazing display.


pros and cons:

+ perfect picture
+ extra usb and camera
+ georgius design

- a bit of at mirror when sitting towards windows.
- only mini display connection
- no on and off button

15 of 18 people found this useful

Glossy screen reflects out the ambient room light and keeps the colors and brightness of this display accurate, vivid, and bright.

Everyone who complains about reflections probably hasn't realized that they can either:

a. tilt the screen to aim those reflections somewhere they can't see them
b. move or turn off the lights behind them so they don't see reflections

Matte finish screens are terrible for color accuracy and brightness. They let all of the room light into the display, washing out the picture significantly. Yes, there's no reflections, but there also isn't brightness or color accuracy. For photographers these things are MUCH more important than managing a reflection by tilting the screen or managing your lighting.

Is this reflective? You bet. That's why the picture is so good.

44 of 61 people found this useful

I own a web business and am in front of a screen for 16+ hours/day. I decided to go "all in" on Apple and am using a MBA 11" with the T-bolt 27" display, in addition to the iMac, 2 MBP's and Time Capsule, AppleTV, Airplay, iPad, etc. Hardware works together flawlessly which is why you buy Apple. It never occurred to me I'd have problems...

Although I LOVE the plug & play with the MBA 11, crisp image, sound, etc., I HATE the fact it makes 11 pt. font look like 6 pt. font. And the headaches have become unbearable. I've tried apps (flux, sunvisor), font smoothing, brightness, etc. It is too much to take and I'm thinking about dumping it. I don't have reflection problems that I notice - i can see the screen fine and don't focus on seeing myself or background. But the pain is brutal.

What am I missing? Am I the only one? Is it possibly the MBA causing these problems on the Tbolt 27? Apple store guys are clueless.

40 of 59 people found this useful

I don't get it, I really don't. In a world of Airplay, Wifi and Bluetooth 4.0 why in the heck do I *need* to plug this friggin thing into a computer? Sure the sound is good. Yeah the pictures great. HD FaceTime... I'm tickled pink. But come on Apple don't stifle your own products. Allow us to throw our slideshow up on the monitor wirelessly. Allow the speakers to be used in conjunction with iTunes and airplay from any device. iOS included. Throw us a 21st Century bone here. Bob Mansfield. I'm looking at you. Lets do something about this guys. It could be killer. Instead its dead on arrival.

69 of 135 people found this useful

This display is amazing even next to an old Apple 23" cinema display with the plastic frame which is still a great monitor. I held off for a long time because of glare fear but as long as the light is behind the screen it's not a problem. Not that much different from properly lighting a home theater.

31 of 39 people found this useful

I just got mine a couple days ago, and it's wonderful! the sharpness, the brilliance, the pixel resolution, the vividness of the colour -- it looks like the image on the screen was printed on, not composed of pixels.

I now have this as my primary, and a 24" acer 1200x1920 (it's rotated 90º) as my secondary. I was happy with the acer before i got the Apple, but beside the Apple it looks terrible by comparison.

A couple complaints: (1) the cable is a bit too short, maybe 4' long? If using a Mac Pro, the tower has the be near to the monitor to work. (2) There is no provision to replace its base with an arm and there is no pivot -- so the monitor cannot be rotated and must sit on the desk. I want my secondary monitor to be tall, not wide, so, while this monitor is a terrific primary, it is unacceptable as a secondary.

Many people complained about the glossy display. If you have control over the room lighting, the glossy display is actually very nice as a matte display interferes slightly with the picture. Glossy is annoying in a brightly lit cube farm though.

27 of 32 people found this useful