Reviews for Apple Thunderbolt Display (27-inch)

I was seeking a solution that allowed me to move between two offices regularly without having to fumble around with cords & cables. This display addresses that need perfectly. I use a TwelveSouth Book Arc, drop my MBP15 into it, connect the Thunderbolt (via a single cable w/two connections, one for power, the other for everything else) and I'm up and running in less than a minute. The display is stunning both in terms of image quality as well as resolution. Using spaces, I regularly have the equivalent of 10-12 separate full browser windows open and/or applications running simultaneously. The display is silent, clean and features a minimal footprint (really feels like it is floating in front of me). Yes, the reflectivity is high and depending on your environment (e.g. if you have natural light coming through a window), you may need to rotate the screen slightly. That said, you can slide this display around effortlessly thanks to its aluminum stand which smoothly sails across your desk. The upside to the finish is the image quality - again stunning. Hard to envision a better execution of a product. If you own this display, you will never be able to go back to anything else.

44 of 57 people found this useful

Works perfectly. Only gripe is I kind of wish it had an audio output. I assumed it did but I was wrong. After I get used to this may pick up another for dual TB displays. Still on the fence about if I need another one though.

Would I buy again.. you betcha.

49 of 68 people found this useful

I don't know if I have a defective unit or what, but my display flickers constantly to the point where it is unusable, I have to unplug it and power back up and hope that the TBD is in a good mood. If I get lucky and it doesn't flicker, the thing works beautifully. It has great picture and sound, it looks nice, and it has powered usb ports for all my iOS devices. I am going to try and return it after 6 months, hope they can resolve my issue.

34 of 39 people found this useful

I was hesitant at first to drop $1000 on a monitor, when there are comparable displays out there for much cheaper. But let me assure you, this is worth every penny. The casing of the display itself is a work of beauty. But the graphics are so crisp and vivid (especially in 2560x1440 mode). The Thunderbolt integration is simple...literally plug and play with my MBP. No issues with the Ethernet port on the back of the monitor, and I also have my Traktor Pro DJ Console connected via USB to the back of the monitor. The only thing that I needed to figure out was how to enable the Display Ethernet port in Network settings, but that's incredibly easy to do. Also, you need to re-route the audio and microphone to the display (again, very simple configuration change through System Preferences). Highly recommend.

33 of 37 people found this useful

First off the size of the display cannot even be disc ribbed in any words, much bigger in person. I think its a decent display, high resolution and nice and glossy. One thing I think apple could have improved on was making this a high resolution anti-glare...

32 of 35 people found this useful

In short, these displays are best on the market by far (that I have seen), in this price range. The price is actually very close to other high end monitors that do not have all the functionality these do. I own a Apple 27" Mini Display Port (aka MDP - the older model), and TWO of these 27" Thunderbolt (I do Maya and Video editing).

The Good
Everything. Sharpness, runs cool, design, color reproduction, I don't get people that could complain about this display. Also, I have a 17" 2.33ghz (quad core) laptop and daisy chain these TB monitors. It works perfectly with the laptop display AND the two displays running different desktops. The older MDP model won't daisy chain until you put it at the end of any other TB device. (Which I don't currently own). This is not a fault of Apple, it is a limitation of MDP. I have firewire plugged into display 1 and I also have a scanner (firewire) plugged into display 2. It all works flawless. I don't need to have the firewire drives in display 1 on for the scanner to work. Very elegant and seamless. I also do use the ethernet and USBs on display 1, and firewire and USB on display 2, which are all flawless. Interestingly, the ethernet on display 2 could also be used, but I don't.

The Bad
The 27" MDP (old) display I bought a year ago was flawless. The first 27" TB I purchased had the well known flaw where the fan stays on (when you unplug or sleep your computer). This IS a bug. I returned it to Best Buy, got another one, opened it and tested it (no noise), and it has worked flawlessly ever since. The second one I purchased a few weeks later was also perfect. Just beware, and return it if you encounter this issue. Also, every time I put it to sleep (and disconnect the computer), the displays get swapped, and I can't change them. I have to reboot to put display 1 back in the center, and display 2 to the right.

37 of 46 people found this useful

I currently have a 27" iMac and a 17" MacBook Pro I just purchased the 27" Thunderbolt Display and have it situated right>left on my desk with the 27" and use my laptop to travel and work remote. The display was not exactly what I thought it would be. The biggest disappointment that needs to be fixed immediately is the lack of being able to use full screen apps without the other (secondary) screen going blank. With that being said it is pretty amazing having 54" of desktop in front of you. You can really get a lot of work done, not to mention the amazing appeal it gives your workstation. I am able to run excel permanently on the secondary screen (biz costing) as well as my icalendar (biz scheduling) While working off of the dock and all other applications on the primary screen. For that use alone the money is worth it. Now only if it was a touch screen as well. My employees love it and it saves a lot of time. FIX THE FULL SCREEN APP PROBLEM. I honestly almost returned it when I bought it I could not believe the instant disappointment something so simple and obvious got missed as the first thing I tried to do was watch a movie while I worked lol.... This was a major mistake and my loyalty to apple may change if they are to out there to realize the importance and release a update very soon. If you have one of these I know that you know exactly what I am talking about. With that being said apples concepts in the past never really focused on the full screen application. It is 2013 I have 27" x 2 = 54" of screen I want to be able to USE IT ALL.

31 of 35 people found this useful

Four months of daily usage, this product compliments my mac mini perfectly. The resolution easily surpasses most all of the competition. It is pricey, but the built in ethernet, thunderbolt, firewire, and 3 usb easily makes up for it. I use the display ethernet with the mini ethernet to link aggregate the data signal from my airport extreme base station. Overall, very satisfied with this product.

43 of 59 people found this useful

This is a great monitor, potentially, but has turned into the most expensive dust gathering object yet for Mac os X, as Apple seem to be able to miss, by a country mile, the point of a second monitor on one of its products. As for the most part it is useless under Mac os X with the new style full screen apps that, when in full screen mode, blank out the second screen, rendering it useless for additional apps you might want open at the same time. Think i will go back to windows.

103 of 181 people found this useful