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

This monitor has really bad backlight bleeding. My first one had bleed on all 4 corners with the lower right being really bad. Exchange it out and all four corners still have very bad bleed.

82 of 100 people found this useful

If the glare disappointments you, turn your lights down for crying out loud. There ARE numerous ways around that ya know? This is an awesome display, a lot cheaper that the 30" and much bigger and nicer that the 24". This is even cheaper than other brands with the same resolution. Try getting the level of Apples service behind any other brand and you will be disappointed.

26 of 49 people found this useful

Bought it and love it. Most solid and crisp flat panel on the market. Spend the couple hundred bucks you won regret it.

11 of 21 people found this useful

If you bought this display knowing that it was glossy, and there was no matte option, why would you give it a bad review? It's like buying a Prius and complaining that it won't go off-road.

This display does have its issues, nonetheless. It eats CPU cycles! I've been wondering why my MacBook Pro runs hot all the live long day. It turns out, the screen saver has been running in the background, even while the display is sleeping. I couldn't figure out what it was until i turned off the screen saver on a hunch. I fixed it but it's still only a workaround. Mind you, this has NEVER happened with my previous display.

I tried playing with the webcam using photobooth and when the screen turns white as a pseudo "flash", it overexposes. Sup with that, Apple?!

Just today, the speakers on the display decided to stop working. I had to unplug, then plug it back in for the darn thing to reset. Oh yeah, btw, there is NO power button on this display since Mr. Jobs hates buttons, so unpluging/plugging was the only way to reset it.

I'm running the latest firmware update on this display, and until Apple fixes these issues, I can only give it 3 stars. As a display, this thing is AWESOME! It's got a little too much tech in there for things to go wrong though.

35 of 46 people found this useful

Extremely vibrant, sharp, and easy on the eyes (reading text is relatively comfortable as far as high contrast LCDs go). As noted in other reviews, make sure you are comfortable with the glossy finish - I find it accentuates the colors and makes for a 'crisp' image which I prefer. Backlight bleed through is minimal, evenly distributed, and white, so it's easily ignored.

Built-in speaker sound quality is solid for a monitor, and gives the option of ditching external speakers to reduce workspace clutter. The minimal bezel and overall thinness likewise make the display surprisingly unobtrusive, despite the large diagonal and high resolution (in terms of bulk, my previous 24" gateway monitor is about the same as this monitor).

One factor to be wary of is that it does produce an unexpectedly audible power supply 'buzz' noise at full brightness (projected from the back of the monitor), so I don't recommend using it in very quiet settings if you're sensitive to ambient noise. Given how silent Apple's more recent products have been (MacMini, MacBook Pros [when not heavily loaded], iMacs), the noise stands out.

17 of 21 people found this useful

HERE IS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GLARE!!!
When using the monitor for web surfing or application usage, any black or dark colored images or webpages that appear on the screen will produce a serious glare affect in those darkened areas.
It is only on white or bright colored images/websites that a person will not see any problem with glare!
If you are working in an area or office with windows and overhead lighting you will see some serious glare!
Unfortunately, you have to be in a much dimmed lighted room to avoid seeing a glare in the darken areas of the screen. I don’t know how Apple allowed such an obvious product flaw to get approved for product finalization, but this monitor (in my opinion) lacks professional usage and innovation.
This is the 24” Apple monitor only bigger, no real innovation or improvements from the previous monitors, not worth the $1000.00 price tag.
Now if they knock off a few hundred dollars, then they might have something worth wild.
Be smart shop around, then you will truly see what I mean.

83 of 117 people found this useful

This is a helluva monitor, make no mistake about it. As a long time user of 30" apple lcd and dell U2711, I can definitely say Apple has done a wonderful job for producing this decent monitor. I know peoples are complaining about the glossy screen, but considering its sharp, vivid, and bright picture quality you could easily ignore it. I think this is just in the different league from Dell's counterpart as I'm comparing side by side right now. I would sell the dell on ebay and order another apple tomorrow. I guaranty you, SEE FOR YOURSELF.

26 of 47 people found this useful

So I bought a new system and along with the Mac Pro a 27" monitor. Seems as if Apple has turned into a even bigger money grabbing w----re, let me explain. You see they made the chord on this monitor only 3 feet and realistically you must have the monitor right next door to the display in order for the chord to reach. What a horrible mistake unless of course you purchase a additional extension cable. What a piece of work.. can you imagine having to buy additional gear to get this to function. I wanted to send it all back. Honestly I have never been more disappointed. The monitor is nice except the glare can get to you after a few minutes. It is brighter than the 30" but not as sharp. I would caution anyone to at least have a look at it at the store before plunging to purchase this item.

38 of 55 people found this useful

cafe can't be too black, girl can't be too hot and HD Cinema can not be too glossy.
Thanks Apple :) Well done job, again :D
Your hardware rULeZ the World, no questions !

14 of 51 people found this useful

I tried to like this one, I mean I did put in time and effort to go to the store knowing that it had a glossy screen. Set it up and just could not handle the distracting glare. Even in an all dark room, I needed to put a light on in order to read documentation while using the screen at the same time; the reflection from having the light on was remarkably distracting as well. Kept for a week and forced myself to ignore the glare...eventually returned it.

After a little more time on the market, I am hopeful and optimistic Apple will be coming out with a matte option just like they did for the Macbook Pros. Until then, I will use my old Dell as a stop-gap.

92 of 112 people found this useful