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

PROS: looks nice, good colors
CONS: it's glossy - which means you can see yourself in it all the time and all the reflections in the room. That's not good for the eyes at all!

One thing is when you have glossy screen on MacBooks, or IPads, which have smaller screens - it is fine... but 27 inch and gloss?

Apple, please manufacture this 27 inch monitor with matte screen!

121 of 146 people found this useful

I upgraded from a 20-inch cinema display and all I can say is wow. This thing puts any other display I have seen to shame. For one, the gloss enhances the clarity and hasn't proven to be an issue because it can get so bright that it can overpower any reflection you throw on it. The design is great and the crispness and color is unparalleled by any other comparably priced display I've seen. I will say that you can get this to work with computers that do not support Thunderbolt or Mini Display Port with a converter. I used a dual-link DVI converter and no resolution has been lost. It is important that you use a DUAL link and not single link DVI converter because it won't carry the full 2560x1440 resolution. I don't recommend this for the casual web surfer, it is a luxury for those of us who use computers extensively in design and video. The added resolution provides digital elbow room that allows you to keep many applications running simultaneously without needing to constantly minimize and hide other windows. Despite the price (and I don't make a whole lot of money) I have absolutely no regrets. Period.

22 of 31 people found this useful

After a hard work day, this has to be the absolutely best marriage to my 11" Mac Air imaginable. As expected, hook-up is seamless straight away out of the box + all the wires are there. The three-way wire bundle even has extra reinforcement for any friction the cable may encounter if you choose to route it through the hole situated in the back the monitor base! In the usual Apple fashion, the monitor case has a beautiful smooth aluminum brushed finish along the edges and back, (except for the black Apple logo centered in the back which doesn't appear to light up). The front borders of the stunning display have an approx. 1" black border along the both sides and top, and a 1-3/8" border along the bottom. Interestingly as well, there are several evenly spaced magnets inside of this border too?! Six along the top front edge, three on each side front edge, and four on the bottom front edge. I found a paperclip w/6 pages easily holding up... The glossy screen I prefer when working with photos and video, so this is not a problem for me. Also, being able to control the light source and moving it or me to be either behind or at worse angled far enough away to not cause problems. Perhaps the magnets could be used to rig up a hood of some sort for you folks who can't? It seems to me entirely unfair to rate this beautiful monitor low due to physical conditions outside of its control.

27 of 42 people found this useful

For me, this is the greatest $1000 I have ever spent. Thank you so much Apple. Considering buying a second for my dad.

15 of 21 people found this useful

I've had the new display for a week. Before, I had separate speakers and microphone. It's nice to have those built in. Playing DVD's is a real pleasure, the image is a lot crisper than on my old Apple display. I like that the display options are far greater and I can rotate the screen if I need to. The speakers are surprisingly powerful. Face Time is a real pleasure. People are complaining about the glare, I have a MacBook Pro with the same gloss--don't have any problems doing my work on it. If I have to pick on something, it would have to be that I'd like to test it with Blu-Ray. Until then, I'll use the HD option via iTunes. It also generates less heat than my old model. So this gets a very big thumbs up from me to Steve, Jonathan and the design team! THANKS! ☺

16 of 23 people found this useful

Just a beautiful display and excellent to use! Love the power supply for my laptop!!!
Great size, quality, display!!!

20 of 27 people found this useful

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

Hello all,

I am a developer and love this monitor. I have my macbook pro over to the left on a stand hooked to this 27" monitor and it gives me plenty of room for all my windows. Very sharp, clear, bright, and the sound is great.

15 of 21 people found this useful

after reading these reviews im not going to buy this display. im an architect and i cant have a glossy monitor at the oficce. we do a lot of work on papper so we need rooms with light, hopefuly sun light. SO we cant have glossy displays.

im keeping my good old 23" cinema display.

82 of 197 people found this useful

Colors are bright and the 'light sensor' works perfectly; the only negative thing I've noticed about the monitor, is that it turns too bright in well lit rooms, but it adjusts very well when it starts to get dark in the afternoon, or if it rains and it gets dark all of a sudden. Be sure to position the desk or monitor in a way that the window(s) or other light sources do not reflect directly on the monitor. If there's little that can be done about repositioning the monitor, then at least avoid wearing white or other bright colors while working with this monitor; bright clothing will be seen on the monitor’s screen a lot more than darker clothing. Images are neatly displayed at it’s impressive 2560 x 1440 resolution; most colors are displayed bright and vibrant, as in inviting to look at the monitor even for extended periods of time; all this without the disliked image 'Ghost' effect. There's a lot of space on this 27” screen so, shortcuts and features such as Expose and Screen Zoom options can be awesome tools to use.
About the audio: it's very good; the way it should be. The sound from my HP 23" is very low quality compared with the audio obtained from this monitor. And also, I always questioned the quality of my $450.00 HP 23" monitor; it's squeaky, very low to the desk level; and it’s very glossy; and according to a small survey run with Apple’s 27” monitor, which I'm facing as I type this review, the 23" HP monitor (which is right next to Apple’s monitor) is glossier than Apple's 27" monitor, according to all my friends answers. About the price ($999.00) for this Apple 27" monitor, sounds expensive, but the quality is there; the HP monitor makes noise with minimal touch; the screen and the components surrounding it make squeaky sounds that indicate the monitor is not solid built; Apple’s monitor is built strong, solid and with great quality materials; and like always, the design is super cool; I use mine at home, with the MacBook Pro 15” and an accessory used to keep the MBP standing and therefore takes a fraction of the desk space the MBP would take; this way the MacBook Pro focus all it’s resources on a single monitor and I have a lot of space to work with; I don’t want to even know about the return policy on this item; worth the $999.00.

66 of 80 people found this useful