Lower-priced Apple external display rumored to be on the way

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
Apple's Pro Display XDR could be joined by a second display aimed at Mac users, a report claims, giving consumers a more value-conscious option than the $4,999 pro-level screen.




At the moment, consumers wanting an external display for their Mac either have to pay a premium for the Pro Display XDR or go with a different brand of screen. In a report about Apple's future screen plans, it is forecast that an alternative option could be made available by Apple itself.

Writing in his latest Bloomberg "Power On" newsletter, Mark Gurman says he "strongly believes" Apple is working on a new "external monitor for its latest Macs."

In qualifying his response, Gurman offers that a lower-cost monitor would be "a hot seller for those looking to add a larger screen to their new MacBook Pro without spending the equivalent of a luxury car down payment on the Pro Display XDR."

The cost of producing the Pro Display XDR has "likely come down" since its launch, and with some tweaks and a small drop in brightness, Gurman reckons Apple could offer a similar-quality and slightly smaller monitor at around half the price.

Gurman's comments follow shortly after a rumor that LG was working on a trio of displays based on the current Pro Display XDR and iMac sizes, screens that could end up being branded with the Apple name. The leak pointed to the screens having sizes of 24, 27, and 32 inches, with the latter potentially supporting mini LED backlighting and a 120Hz refresh rate.

The suggestion of a cheaper Apple display is also not a new one. One Bloomberg report from January claimed one such external monitor was on the way, and that it would have a lower price than the Pro Display XDR.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    Half the price is still to high. Sometimes I think that there is no point in making the best products if people can’t afford them. 
    darkvaderelijahgwatto_cobraAI_liaslkruppdewmekitatitrobaba
  • Reply 2 of 40
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,520member
    Just strip the Mac out of the M1 iMac, half the price and ship that. They’d sell boatloads of them!
    shareef777williamlondonmcdavewatto_cobrablastdoormike54namethespruceMisterKitStrangeDayskitatit
  • Reply 3 of 40
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.
    baconstangwatto_cobrapatchythepiratenamethesprucekitatit
  • Reply 4 of 40
    Of course Apple can make high end monitors like they do but for the rest of us they should also be able to go back to make great monitors with more reasonable prices. A 27” monitor that is more expensive then say a Mac mini simply is hard to understand. Don’t get me wrong, I love Apple but sometimes they do things that is hard to understand.
    williamlondonwatto_cobraAI_liaskitatit
  • Reply 5 of 40
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    opinion said:
    Half the price is still to high. Sometimes I think that there is no point in making the best products if people can’t afford them. 

    10% of the price is still too high.  $350 would be about reasonable for a good 27" monitor, you can get a nice 27" 4K LG for about that.

    I suppose Apple might charge $500 for a monitor about that quality, but it would be a ripoff.
    williamlondonelijahgkitatit
  • Reply 6 of 40
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    williamlondon12StrangerselijahgsloaahAI_liaskitatit
  • Reply 7 of 40
    I stopped buying Apple monitors 20 years ago.  The price and feature set has not been favorable compared to other vendors. I rather save the money and use that on Apple computers instead.  I have only one rule and that is not to buy any Samsung displays.  Dell's out too.  Even with that limitation you can get monitors that are equivalently spec'd to an Apple one at half the price.
    Here's a selection of USB-C monitors are all types of activities.
    https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/usb-c

    Bottom line, Apple monitors will always be more expensive because they cannot sell in the same volume as other brands.  
    williamlondonelijahgwatto_cobraAI_liaskitatit
  • Reply 8 of 40
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.
    Just a reminder that XDR is only at entry-level in professional monitors.  That’s already $5,000
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 40
    I eagerly await Apple to return to making a display that includes a camera and speakers. The LG UltraFine 5K screen that Apple no longer sell was an absolute disaster - after buying it I quickly remembered why I swore away from pricy 3rd party displays. This screen was reputation damaging:
    • It would receive interference from nearby wifi devices, which would crash the system
    • It was slow to wake, or often didn't wake at all - sometimes waking with subtle visual distortions, or again crashing the system
    • It has a sub-par viewing angle and excessive light bleed from the edges
    • It was freaking expensive for being a dud product and LG made it near-impossible to return it
    You can play this game with just about any 3rd party device, cost is irrelevant. Want a good wifi router that plays along with hand-off and homekit? The best device is still the old Apple Airport Extreme from 2013. Want a Network attached storage that won't silently corrupt your Time Machine backup? That's the 2013 Time Capsule. etc. etc.


    edited December 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 40
    darkvader said:
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    Sadly this is true. I’m also in the film industry and the XDR has received so much flak for its poor backlight performance. It sits in a no man’s land - too expensive for a GUI monitor, and nowhere near good enough for colour critical applications. 

    It also feels to me a bit like the philosophy of the previous gen of Intel MBPs. A proper colour grading pipeline is quite complicated involving LUT boxes etc. Apple tried to simplify all of that but has consequently forced a workflow which simply cannot work in an professional colour grading context. 

    Personally I think the monitor should be retired completely, and that Apple should release cheaper models and possibly an updated Pro XDR which is actually functional. 
    williamlondon12Strangers
  • Reply 11 of 40
    darkvader said:
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    lol, riiiiiiight, "tv stuff". You do realize there're monitors yet more expensive then the XDR. Not saying the XDR is worth it (far from it), but some photo/video professionals spend north of $5k on a monitor.
    edited December 2021 williamlondonwatto_cobraDuhSesamemike1StrangeDays
  • Reply 12 of 40
    I eagerly await Apple to return to making a display that includes a camera and speakers. The LG UltraFine 5K screen that Apple no longer sell was an absolute disaster - after buying it I quickly remembered why I swore away from pricy 3rd party displays. This screen was reputation damaging:
    • It would receive interference from nearby wifi devices, which would crash the system
    • It was slow to wake, or often didn't wake at all - sometimes waking with subtle visual distortions, or again crashing the system
    • It has a sub-par viewing angle and excessive light bleed from the edges
    • It was freaking expensive for being a dud product and LG made it near-impossible to return it
    You can play this game with just about any 3rd party device, cost is irrelevant. Want a good wifi router that plays along with hand-off and homekit? The best device is still the old Apple Airport Extreme from 2013. Want a Network attached storage that won't silently corrupt your Time Machine backup? That's the 2013 Time Capsule. etc. etc.


    I have two LG 5K displays and know exactly what you mean in regards to the first two points. First was a factory shielding defect. Was able to ship the monitors back to LG to get fixed and haven't had that issue since. The second issue was 100% and Apple MacOS issue (haven't had that since Mojave), and I've been using both on my current M1Max MBP and they're performing superbly.

    Third point was specific to individual monitors. One of mine had excessive light bleed, and even worse, really bad image retention that bothers me to no end. Enough so that I'm no longer buying LG monitors. Second monitor was perfect from the start. Not sure how pervasive the light bleed and retention issues were/are, but that's something that took a year to appear and LG support wouldn't do anything for me. If my first monitor didn't have the light bleed and image retention (essentially if I'd just gotten two of the same batch as my second monitor) I'd be a life long LG display fan. But I got a dud and support told me to get lost so they lost me forever and I let everyone know to avoid them.

    But to your point, the LG 5K is THEE BEST monitor for Macs, bar none. Even the XDR doesn't include a camera or speakers! Issue is they don't support their own products so here I sit waiting for an Apple monitor instead.
    williamlondonthtwatto_cobraDetnator
  • Reply 13 of 40
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    opinion said:
    Half the price is still to high. Sometimes I think that there is no point in making the best products if people can’t afford them. 
    This is Apple's business strategy. They focus on the high end. 

    No $150 junky smartphones. No $200 netbooks. No $20 MP3 players.

    Apple sells premium products with a high gross margin. That's why their market capitalization is enormous. They don't care about having the most market share, they care about sucking up the majority of the profits. They would rather sell one device with a $100 margin versus selling five devices with a $10 margin.

    This also drives profit to their Services group. Even today app developers say they make 5-10x from the iOS App Store versus the corresponding Android marketplaces (despite that there is greater unit share in the latter).

    There is NOTHING new about this.

    Remember the notorious cmdrtaco comment about the iPod?

    ""No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame."

    iPod ate Nomad's lunch. In fact, iPod OWNED the MP3 player space despite being the premium-priced product. Eventually the iPod touch gained wifi but none of the iPod models were price-capacity value champions. Ever.

    And when Apple releases the Apple Car, it's not going to be a Honda FIT. The Honda FIT is a great value but it is not Apple's target market.

    Sorry, Apple won't be selling $300 monitors.
    edited December 2021 watto_cobradanoxmike1Detnator12StrangersStrangeDays
  • Reply 14 of 40
    darkvader said:
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    lol, riiiiiiight, "tv stuff". You do realize there're monitors yet more expensive then the XDR. Not saying the XDR is worth it (far from it), but some photo/video professionals spend north of $5k on a monitor.
    Great point. And if you’re a colorist, a graphic designer who needs to match exact color, editing for IMAX, or actually care about producing top quality and consistency visuals, you’ll have a top notch monitor. 

    Apples display is actually on the low rent end of the equation, though they do a great job of making it punch above its weight class/price tag. 
    edited December 2021 mike112Strangers
  • Reply 15 of 40
    darkvader said:
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    lol, riiiiiiight, "tv stuff". You do realize there're monitors yet more expensive then the XDR. Not saying the XDR is worth it (far from it), but some photo/video professionals spend north of $5k on a monitor.
    Great point. And if you’re a colorist, a graphic designer who needs to match exact color, editing for IMAX, or actually care about producing top quality and consistency visuals, you’ll have a top notch monitor. 

    Apples display is actually on the low rent end of the equation, though they do a great job of making it punch above its weight class/price tag. 
    This is true. Apple’s Pro monitor sits in no man’s land as previously stated. I know post production experts and professional colorists and they all do not choose Apple’s offering, regardless of budget.

    Apple either has to re-position its current offering for a different audience at a lower price point, or introduce a professional monitor for the same price (or more expensive if that finds an addressable market) that meets professional requirements.
    edited December 2021 williamlondon12Strangerssloaah
  • Reply 16 of 40
    danoxdanox Posts: 2,804member
    darkvader said:
    opinion said:
    Half the price is still to high. Sometimes I think that there is no point in making the best products if people can’t afford them. 

    10% of the price is still too high.  $350 would be about reasonable for a good 27" monitor, you can get a nice 27" 4K LG for about that.

    I suppose Apple might charge $500 for a monitor about that quality, but it would be a ripoff.
    Then buy that non curated LG crap, Apple will sell a monitor at a profit, they don’t do lost leaders or marketshare.
    watto_cobrawilliamlondonStrangeDays
  • Reply 17 of 40
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    darkvader said:
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    lol, riiiiiiight, "tv stuff". You do realize there're monitors yet more expensive then the XDR. Not saying the XDR is worth it (far from it), but some photo/video professionals spend north of $5k on a monitor.
    That Eizo costs $30,000 but I'm sure that's too much for a guy still uses an Apple II.
    Detnatorwatto_cobrawilliamlondon
  • Reply 18 of 40
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    danox said:
    darkvader said:
    opinion said:
    Half the price is still to high. Sometimes I think that there is no point in making the best products if people can’t afford them. 

    10% of the price is still too high.  $350 would be about reasonable for a good 27" monitor, you can get a nice 27" 4K LG for about that.

    I suppose Apple might charge $500 for a monitor about that quality, but it would be a ripoff.
    Then buy that non curated LG crap, Apple will sell a monitor at a profit, they don’t do lost leaders or marketshare.
    He's a troll for the most part, last time I saw him he thinks XPS17 have just as a good spec as the M1 16".
    Detnatorwatto_cobrawilliamlondonStrangeDaysroundaboutnow
  • Reply 19 of 40
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    darkvader said:
    The best display is the XDR and it’s not meant for people in general, it’s meant for professionals. Just because it’s not sold in volumes doesn’t mean higher end (low volume) products shouldn’t be made. The average monitor today is 2k one going for ~$500. Apple offering a “lower cost” smaller XDR at $2500 doesn’t fit that average, not even on the high end. The high end consumer monitor is a monster 49 inch curved one by Samsung and it “only” goes for $2000.

    An M1 iMac sans Mac parts is EXACTLY what people would go for. $700 for the 24”, $1000 for a 27”, and $1500 for a 32”.

    No, it's not meant for professionals.  I work with video professionals, folks who do TV stuff that there's a decent chance you've seen.

    They don't have monitors like that ridiculous $5000 Apple screen.

    Those are for rich idiots.
    lol, riiiiiiight, "tv stuff". You do realize there're monitors yet more expensive then the XDR. Not saying the XDR is worth it (far from it), but some photo/video professionals spend north of $5k on a monitor.
    Great point. And if you’re a colorist, a graphic designer who needs to match exact color, editing for IMAX, or actually care about producing top quality and consistency visuals, you’ll have a top notch monitor. 

    Apples display is actually on the low rent end of the equation, though they do a great job of making it punch above its weight class/price tag. 
    This is true. Apple’s Pro monitor sits in no man’s land as previously stated. I know post production experts and professional colorists and they all do not choose Apple’s offering, regardless of budget.

    Apple either has to re-position its current offering for a different audience at a lower price point, or introduce a professional monitor for the same price (or more expensive if that finds an addressable market) that meets professional requirements.
    I understand what's the complain, at the same time (2019 to now) you rarely have monitors that does local dimming with true 10-bit.  Don't expect the current XDR to be above entry-level for professional use which will costs more than $5,000 if you dare.

    Of course with mini-LED the biggest issue will disappear.
    watto_cobrawilliamlondon
  • Reply 20 of 40
    doggone said:
    I stopped buying Apple monitors 20 years ago.  The price and feature set has not been favorable compared to other vendors. I rather save the money and use that on Apple computers instead.  I have only one rule and that is not to buy any Samsung displays.  Dell's out too.  Even with that limitation you can get monitors that are equivalently spec'd to an Apple one at half the price.
    Here's a selection of USB-C monitors are all types of activities.
    https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/usb-c

    Bottom line, Apple monitors will always be more expensive because they cannot sell in the same volume as other brands.  
    Except all of those are low resolution and ridiculously low brightness. Today’s consumer monitors are painful to do any serious work on. Why is Apple the only company that can deliver decent (retina resolution 500+nits) displays (except LG’s ultrafines which they made exclusively for Apple anyway. 
    thtwatto_cobrawilliamlondonMisterKit
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