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

Write a Review
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Yes I have one of these

    • Written by from Antelope

    Why is it that some people chose to review a product based on spec, when they have never owned or used that product?

    To actually use this display is dreamy. I would rather pay extra money to block ambient light than choose another display. For the most part tilt the display and your glare will go away. If you are a PRO, then work in a light appropriate environment. You do not see/hear an audio specialist working in a noisy environment. (they have sound proof specially designed rooms to record in.) Don't cut yourself short by working in a light filled environment, have drawn curtains, no overhead lighting, and control your light source... master it. A mat finish is horrible.

    The Apple LED Cinema Display 27" is beautiful.

    81 of 114 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Bring Back the Matte

    • Written by from BRECKENRIDGE

    I'm fortunate enough to have windows in my office! The 27" screens are beautiful except when the sun is blasting through my windows. The 30" matte screen works great when there is the same amount of sun in the office... 27" with matte would be awesome! Please bring it back!

    64 of 80 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Why not an anti-glare option???

    • Written by from Solna

    I'm shopping around for a nice 27 inch screen to my MBP but I can't find the answer. The Dell u2711 seem to have some sort of communication issue with the mac.

    The choice would have been so simple if the Apple's 27 LED Cinema Display would have been offered with anti-glare.

    Why so shiny? I'm looking for a good monitor not a jävla rear view mirror!

    Frustration!

    54 of 61 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Great Monitor but USB Sound Problems

    • Written by from Northborough

    Picture quality is excellent. Not such a fan of glossy but one could argue either way.
    However the sound keeps dropping off seemingly at random. I need to shut down the system unplug the displays power, unplug the USB connection in order to get the sound back. Furthermore when this happens the whole system seems to lag.
    Please fix this bug Apple.

    57 of 67 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Great monitor. Best in class.

    • Written by from Hillsboro

    First, the mini display port is where the future of video connection lay. The HDMI is second best in my opinion. They both do about the same thing. However, I am glad to see a company pushing the industry standard away from the horrible DVI cable. I have resented the DVI cable for ages. It carries no audio, you have to line up pins, and it has the screws that get caught on everything.

    The monitor itself is absolutely amazing. I have tried several other monitors, thanks to Fry's generous return policy, and honestly cannot find a better looking display (believe me, I have tried). This display costs a premium, yes. However, it comes with all the bells and whistles that make it worth the premium. Apple is far from Microsoft, as they do not simply mark up mediocre hardware and sell it as amazing.

    The color of the IPS panel is amazing, extremely accurate. The display is also really bright. This gives you the pop in the colors that an IPS should have. The blacks are deep, with the exception of the greying around the corners from noticeable backlight bleeding. The glossy screen makes the colors pop even more, it adds a level of depth to the colors that is not found in non-glossy IPS displays. The speakers are also very high quality. They sound better than any other speakers that come included in PC monitors (admittedly, not many do). Lastly, the monitor looks very appealing. I knocked off one star for the backlight bleeding. I also knocked off a star for Apples horrible one year warranty (premium products should come with a standard 3 years).

    52 of 57 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Good Monitor

    • Written by from Long Beach

    I agree short cable is a pain and also the glare is horrible. I wish there was antiglare

    60 of 74 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    Glossy screen makes this completely unusable

    • Written by from San Diego

    Unless you work in a cave, this screen is completely unusable. I work from home and I have large windows directly behind my workstation. The eye strain caused from reflections on this monitor is so bad I'm probably going to have to return it, which is disappointing considering everything else about it is 5 star worthy. The reason I gave it one star is because the primary purpose of this monitor is be able to SEE the things you are working on. I would have purchased a large mirror if I wanted to see myself all day long... After years of buying Apple products, this is my first truly disappointing purchase from an otherwise stellar company.

    58 of 71 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    When will they incorporate HDMI

    • Written by from Richmond

    Another screen without HDMI.

    76 of 107 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    BIG PRICE NO CABLE

    • Written by from Burbank

    I had to replace my old Apple display which was great. Today I purchased a new Apple display from the local Apple Store. My old one died. The new one is nice except the cable is like 3 or 4 FEET LONG!!! If you computer isn't sitting at your feet and your monitor is sitting on your desk, THE CABLE WILL NOT REACH! It's a thousand dollar monitor! Apple, Come on!!! You guys think of EVERYTHING! So now I have to buy a $30 extender cable. That would be OK, except NO ONE ON THE GROUND HAS ONE...IN LA! So, now I have a nice new display that I cannot use until I order one online. Holy moly that is frustrating. Why the heck would you make the display cable so short when they were always long enough in the past. If you just wanted to make another $30 for each monitor, then HAVE THEM IN STOCK!!!

    52 of 60 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Great 27" LED Display

    • Written by from Frisco City

    I needed a display for Photography image enhancing using Photoshop CS5 Extended and Lightroom 3 ....The display on my 17" MacBook Pro was good but too small to see the details I wanted to see as I work turning images into ART oil paintings.....The New 27" Display works Super great. The Display connected right up to my 2010 Model MacBook Pro with the provided cables.....I recommend the Display to anyone that needs to work on Photos....The LED is a must have for me.....I looked at the reviews before I purchased this product and there were a lot of reviews talking about the display glare , However I have not had that problem. ....I Love This 27" Display of Mine.

    I hope this helps.

    50 of 56 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Functionally excellent

    • Written by from San Diego

    A huge investment for my start-ups, used with a Mac Pro quad for a digital photo lab, was well worth the money over an off brand cheap-o. While there is credence to some other posts about gloss, this only seems to be an issue when backlit (e.g. you have your display in front of a window).

    What really makes this worth it is the size? it allows me to work on images in near real scale with room for my tool bars which keeps me from zooming in and out constantly.

    What really makes it worth the money? It is a simple, elegant multifunctional interface that renders true colors right out of the box. What I get on the screen is what I get in a print.

    49 of 55 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    REALLY needs anti-glare version

    • Written by from Milpitas

    I just bought one and hooked it up. It's stunningly beautiful, and although I could use double the number of USB ports on the back, overall it's got everything I need (more video inputs would be nice).

    However, I only give it three stars because the glossy screen has far too much glare. I'm going to have to spend a small fortune (in addition to what I already spent on the display) to re-do the lighting in my office. Blah.

    50 of 57 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Screen flickering

    • Written by from San Francisco

    I love this display so much, with all its bells and whistles, but there is one annoying problem, the backlighting.

    For some reason, the display screen would flicker in low-brightness settings. (Google it)

    It isn't a big deal to me, but I just thought that others should know before buying. Also, the intermitting audio problem has been fixed with an update.

    50 of 58 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 4.0 out of 5 stars

    Good but...

    • Written by from Ellicott City

    I am very pleased with the monitor itself. I purchased it for editing digital photographs and it is superbly vibrant, the nuances of subtle colors are clearly displayed. I have not experienced the glare problem reported by others, but I have also made sure the lighting in my work area is not positioned to reflect off of the screen.

    BEWARE, though, if you have an oder Macbook/Macbook Pro. I have a mid-2008 Macbook Pro with DVI port. The well-intentioned Apple sales rep guided me to the overpriced Gefen "DVI-to-Mini Display Port" converter that does not work with the Apple 27" LED monitor. It worked with the 24" monitor, but not the newer one. Apple online sales and technical support apparently did not know this, and I found out directly from Gefen. Gefen is planning to come out with a compatible product around November 2010 but don't have one now. On my own, I found the Atlona DP-400 DVI-Mini converter and it works fine, it makes my older Macbook Pro compatible with the monitor. The Atlona does not feel as well-built as the Gefen, and it is more expensive, but it works.

    I give Apple 4 stars for the monitor because it is so vibrant, otherwise they would get no more than 3 stars for the hassle I went through. I give online sales and tech support 3 stars at best because they had no idea about the Gefen compatibility issues, and I give Apple 2 stars this one time because they made my 2-year-old Macbook Pro almost obsolete with respect to this monitor. I can understand obsoleting items 36 months or older, but not 24 months. And I had to solve my own technical problem, the Apple tech support engineers tried but I found the solution on my own.

    So just be aware that you have to do some jerry-rigging if you have an older Macbook. Maybe Apple online support will have a better solution in the future.

    46 of 50 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best Monitor Ever!

    • Written by from Las Vegas

    This is by far the best monitor out there. I liked it so much I bought a second one. Nothing can compare to how crisp the images are on this thing. Two other people from my office bought them and they fell in love with them also. I truly will never buy a different brand monitor as long as Apple keeps producing these.

    59 of 77 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 2.0 out of 5 stars

    Mini Port vs. Thunderbolt

    • Written by from Vinton

    Ok you are gunna get drilled on this. I purchased the Thunderbolt display but apparently the slot that looks exactly like the thunderbolt port is a mini port on 2009 macs or later. THERE IS NO WAY FOR THE AVERAGE CONSUMER TO KNOW THIS UNTIL YOU PLUG IT IN AND SEE THAT IT DOESN'T WORK! What the heck!!!!

    81 of 121 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 1.0 out of 5 stars

    27" display - glossy

    • Written by from Renton

    I was ready to purchase the 27" cinema display then tried it out at an apple store. Changed my mind due to the glossy screen. I dont believe I have ever worked in an environment where a glossy screen would work. I will be buying a non-apple display with a non-glossy screen - sorry apple. Looks like I am not the only one with this issue. Maybe you should listen to some of your end users.

    44 of 47 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    Superb colors, but the glossy surface and high pixel density kill my eyes

    • Written by from Los Angeles

    I see many reviews here with the same issue: the high pixel density and the glossy surface strain my eyes after less than 30 minutes of work. I have had 3 large LCD displays from Apple over the last 10 years, first the beautiful 22" Cinema Display, then the 30" model, and most recently this one. I still use the 30" model (non-glossy), and largely prefer the latter. Apple has made it impractical to read pages in browsers with the standard small lettering that they default with (yes, this can be changed, but not as a default). I work all day with this screen and end up having severe eye strain, to the point that I am seriously thinking of getting another display. It is too bad, because otherwise for color fidelity and resolution, it is a superb screen. I am a photographer and appreciate the accuracy of colors for this screen after the usual calibration.

    58 of 75 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars

    glossy display is a minus

    • Written by from St. Albert

    The cinema displays you produced two years ago are much easier on the eyes for designers. You seem to have forgotten the positive attributes and gone for the glitz.
    I bought two of your non-glare monitors before they were discontinued. They run perfecto, great color balance. Great resolution.

    43 of 45 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate

  • 5.0 out of 5 stars

    Best monitor ever

    • Written by from Middlebury

    I had problems with the 24" Cinema Display and replaced it with this one. I am SO glad I did. This is the most beautiful display I've ever seen. It blows the 24" out of the water. The colors are so vibrant. The resolution is fantastic. And having all this real estate to work in is a dream. I love love LOVE this monitor! It is just stunning. Worth every red cent.

    The glass is beautiful. I would not want it any other way. My office is perfectly lighted for computer work so glare is absolutely not a problem. If you don't like or have concerns about the glossy display then I would recommend that you don't buy it. It's not for you. However, if you can look past that and/or adjust your lighting environment then I don't think you'll have a single regret.

    48 of 56 people found this useful

    Was this useful?

    Flag as inappropriate