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

Perfect in almost all other areas, but the lack of a matte option makes it virtually unusable for visual designers. It becomes nothing more than a nice mirror.

If you have the computer in the subject line (and most likely any earlier computers), this is not the monitor for you. The main issue is the need for a DVI to mini displayport (MDP) adapter. I tried both the Altona adapter and the Gefen adapter. The Altona produced a very pixilated image. The image on my 8 year old 23" cinema display is much much better. The Gefen didn't work at all. I have all the most recent software updates (the graphics update and the LED cinema display update). I purchased 2 of the 27" LED displays, 2 of the Gefen adapters and 2 of the Altona adapters. I tried them in all possible configurations. The results were consistently those mentioned above.

I did test my new 13" macbook pro with the 27" LED display. That looks great. However, I have never needed or wanted to plug my laptop into a separate monitor. But if a user wants to do that, this monitor will work well.

Lastly, the new 27" LED Cinema Display looks beautiful turned off. It's probably the most beautiful monitor I have ever seen. But a bit too pricey when used solely as a paper-weight. I'm returning my 2 displays and getting a third party display made by a company that rhymes with "Bell."

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.

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.

I see a lot of complaints about the glossy aspect of this screen. I too had this feeling which is why on my macbook pro I got the Matte option, and its great. Apple obviously did non-glossy/Matte right on the macbook pro. Unfortunately in this class of monitors, no one else is doing it right. You cannot get a 27+ inch monitor, and believe me, I even checked out the uber U3011, without having strong anti-glare coating.

The coating on these competitors totally ruins whites, and makes them glittery, which is what much of the web is in.

Glossy is only a problem is areas where you cannot control the lighting, at home and in pro work environments, most people can fix their lighting to prevent any issues. Real pro monitors even have hoods for their displays.

I returned my primo-expensive 30" anti glare and got the glossy apple display. I'm happy with my choice. White looks white and not sparkly.

The display is superb. Great quality and I love the glossy display. Sometimes however, after restarting my MacBook, the volume up and down keys on my keyboard seem to react very slow, and there is no audio anymore. Restarting the MacBook does NOT resolve the issue, but turning it off and powering it back on DOES resolve the issue. Since I almost never reboot my MacBook, the problem is not critical.

I bought this monitor today despite the many warnings about the glare problems. Luckily, I don't have a glare issue, but I see why so many are complaining about it. You basically cannot have ANY light source behind you. There should not be any windows, low-hanging lights, other monitors/TVs, or desk lamps. If you do, it's a problem. Fortunately in my office, I don't have any of that behind me.

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.

I have waited a few months after purchasing this display to be sure it wasn't just a matter of being in love with it because it is gorgeous and typically Apple looking. It suits my environment well. I'm using it with a 2009 MBP 17", and have done dual displays, though with the real estate on this display, I find it's easier to just run in clam shell with the MBP sitting in a cradle. I was a little frustrated that the Thunder Bolt display would not work with my MBP, and shelling out the same dollars for what is arguably an older design without the latest features, but I honestly have no need for Thunder Bolt at this time anyway, and when it comes time to need it, I'll likely need a new display anyway. There is some reflectivity from the gloss panel, but I rarely notice it, and I'm in a bright room near a window. Once you are accustomed to the gloss you will hardly notice it, and the picture is gorgeous. You will not be disappointed.

I almost didn't buy the display from all the bad glare reviews here on the site, but I went and looked at it today in the Apple store and bought it! the glare is a non issue for me in my studio and i don't even notice it after working on it for 5 hrs.
I have been a professional digital Illustrator and Photographer for over 28 years and using apples the whole time. i totally recommend the display. it is stunningly sharp and beautiful to look at!