Apple's 27-Inch LED Cinema Display Goes On Sale (PHOTOS)

Apple's 27-inch LED Cinema Display has gone on sale for $999.

The huge, glossy widescreen offers a vibrant 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) and boasts a wide viewing angle of 178 degrees.

The LED-backlit Cinema Display comes with an integrated iSight camera, 49-watt speakers and three USB 2.0 ports. Also included is a three-in-one connector cable with a USB connector; a Mini DisplayPort connector, which supports MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro ; and a MagSafe connector.

The display, which will ship in 1-2 weeks, is available now at the Apple website.

Take a look through the slideshow, and tell us what you think of Apple's LED Cinema Display in the comments below.

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Comments

[rcpmac]

03:29 PM on 09/30/2010

This display is the same as that on the 27" iMac. The Imac has the capability to operate as a slave display for any computer input. Just buy a 27" imac.

[iamvalid]

09:59 AM on 09/21/2010

Another new toy for the me.me.me crowd.

[zelduh]

08:44 PM on 09/23/2010

I have a 27" iMac. It looks just like that, but it is a little thicker (cuz the computer's right behind the screen.)

I guess I am just one of those in the "me.me.me crowd," but I gotta say that I LOVE my 27" iMac.

:-)

[T4]

08:26 PM on 09/20/2010

Of course this is an ad - all product reviews are ads - so what - the question i always ask aplle people iswhy would you spend all that extra money for something you can get cheaper, better, faster elsewhere. 27inch montior - whoopie dingee

[VDOD]

07:18 PM on 09/20/2010

This seems weird to me. Does anyone else think this "article" is an advertisement? I use apple products, phone, computer etc. but this seems just too blatant. This is not news.

[onlythetruthcounts]

08:44 AM on 09/20/2010

I'll take one. Will fit nicely on me wall. I wonder about its dpi though since my 21" iMac's screen isn't as crisp as my ipods.

[Cryostatic]

09:32 AM on 09/20/2010

If you run it in it's native resolution, it'll be fine.

[facepalm12]

08:14 AM on 09/20/2010

Well, unless you are a professional graphic designer i would say stick with buying a quality 27" for ~$250. Thats what i did.

Of course people like to flatter themselves, but 90% of people won't be able to tell the difference in contrast ratio anyways.

But i guess that extra $750 is for that little apple on the front.

[Fogy]

01:09 AM on 09/20/2010

Doods. Just get a Hanns HH281 28 inch from Newegg.com. $299. Gamer's delight.

[TruEngineHearing]

10:45 PM on 09/19/2010

Wow, days later and lots of comments later, and it's still a 'massive' 27 inch monitor. I've been 50 inches for years and I think it's too small. What am I missing here?

[KuttleFish]

06:23 PM on 09/20/2010

Self-Confidence

[PizzaGuy1]

07:42 AM on 09/21/2010

Classic. :)

[TruEngineHearing]

05:00 PM on 09/21/2010

LOL!

[ran6110]

05:39 PM on 09/19/2010

Well, I for one like it and if you can afford it I'm happy for you.

I't like the difference between buying a GEO Metro and a Lexus, all a matter of taste, need and affordability.

Would I buy one, nope. I'm too cheap, my existing 27 inch LCD monitor's (yup, 2 of them) works fine and are ok on my tired old eyes. Also, it would take a long time in energy saving to make up the difference between this new monitor and my existing ones.

So if you buy one I want to see some real comments here about it!

[Oso Wallman]

10:56 AM on 09/19/2010

or if you can stand to lose 3" of space get the Dell24" for 199 dollars, unless you're doing graphics or photography its not much of a difference. unless you thrive in the geeky "look what i got" moments which seems to drive a lot of sales. hey look i got fish on my iPhone!

[AnonymousHuckster]

07:32 AM on 09/19/2010

I have to chuckle at all the angry voices chirping, deeming this display "overpriced" and "narcissistic" of Apple to release. I guess it goes without saying, but you aren't obligated to buy one. Is it that you want one, but can't afford it? Or, you think people shouldn't be able to own it because you disapprove, for economic or other reasons? Maybe I'm missing something, but I'll bet it's just as ridiculous a reason. Truth is, if you don't need this monitor, you shouldn't buy it. But there are many people that work in media, graphic design, and visual art that will reap the benefits of a nice display like this. And hell, if you can afford it, buy it if you like. It's not a terrible price.

[rhomp2002]

08:11 PM on 09/20/2010

Seems to me that what they are saying is that it might be nice but they personally have more important things to spend that extra $700+ on than an overpriced monitor just because it has an apple on the front of it.

[CrimsonIdol]

06:24 AM on 09/21/2010

You'd probably buy a Ford Escort and get some super rims and "fancy" stereo rather than buy a quality car, Apple haters are all the same.

[Bugs777Bunny]

05:24 AM on 09/19/2010

I've only been using normal laptops for years. I intend to buy this kind of new computer. What's the real good quality difference other than the shape, size, weight and famous Apple brand. Anyone can help me to decide?

[RV1025]

11:04 AM on 09/19/2010

The hardware is designed better. The Mac can run both OSX and Windows. OSX is a wonderful operating system. I find clients do a lot more photo work with iPhoto than what they do using a Windows machine. Depends on the age of the client and how much they enjoy photography. My Mom still can't get pictures from her new Canon to her XP machine, plug that same camera into a Mac and it automatically loads the images and loads up iPhoto, ready for you to sort and edit them. Even has a cool geographical feature, if you're a big traveler.

I use Macs for music with Logic Pro so the idea of using Apple's awesome music production software on their computers running their operating system is a very solid and reliable experience. I've had friends spend $2,000 for Windows machines for music studios and those machines usually wind up as gaming/web/email machines once they wind up buying a Mac.

Which leads to GarageBand, which is the coolest free software that comes on every new Mac. I've had client's children writing music, singing and playing synthesizers all with their little iMac.

I also have a Windows 7 machine, which is very solid. So it depends on how much you want to spend and if you enjoy using Windows. I'd go to a Apple Store and mess around with a Mac for a bit and see how it feels to you. They can make computing and creating very fun.

[facepalm12]

08:21 AM on 09/20/2010

Well a $2k windows machine is about a $5k mac pro.

There is THAT minor difference.

[Cryostatic]

09:43 AM on 09/20/2010

I use PCs strictly for music. I've thought about picking up a mac for Logic Pro, but seriously, it's just not worth it. There are so many powerful DAW options out there now that Logic's competitive edge is based mostly around familiarity. I've probably saved over fifteen grand with my last rebuild sticking with machines I've built myself, versus Macs, which is a lot of money to put forward to other studio equipment, VSTs, etc.

[Fredday]

04:26 AM on 09/19/2010

bah, spend $500 for the 32" Vizio Widescreen TV. Makes for a really great monitor and saves you about half the money. :P

[Roland Combes]

04:08 PM on 09/19/2010

... and about a quarter of the resolution. The 32" Vizio has a resolution of 1366 x 768 while the Apple display has 2,560x1,440. So an image that would fit on the 27" Apple display would barely show a quarter of itself on the Vizio.

So, no, not a good alternative.

[facepalm12]

08:22 AM on 09/20/2010

But to be fair, there are better alternatives.

[Melissa Serviteur]

03:49 AM on 09/19/2010

Nothing massive here--at 27" it's smaller than the 30" monitor it replaces. Apple should have gone larger than 30" and upped the resolution as well.

[Krek]

03:12 AM on 09/19/2010

For people wondering why this is so expensive, this isn’t the same type of panel as you’d find in a $300 monitor of the same size from Newegg or Amazon. Those are invariably TN (‘twisted nemantic’) panels, whereas this is an IPS (‘in-plane switching’) panel. The type of panel makes a big difference to picture quality:

“IPS panels…offer high quality images, superior viewing angles and a wider color gamut. They feature superior black levels... They also reconstruct colors better since they have an 8 bit panel as compared to TN monitors which usually have a 6 bit panel.”

This Apple Cinema display probably uses the same LG panel that is in the 27" iMac and the Dell U2711, though this one is lit by LED's rather than traditional CCFL. I have the Dell version (don't like glossy screens) and the image quality is brilliant. It also costs the same as this display ($999). I had a 24” Samsung T240HD before, which is a TN panel, and there is no comparison – colors always looked washed-out on the TN panel. If you’re into movies, photos, even games, then an IPS panel is a much better option. If you don’t like Apple there are plenty of others manufacturers out there, and if you’re on a budget a small IPS monitor is a better option than a larger TN screen.

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/46173.aspx

[Fogy]

01:18 AM on 09/20/2010

Tell that to gamers on a budget. Viewing angle is overrated. I don't work 178 degrees off center. Games and nondesign professional computing don't require perfect colors. That last bit of black you're looking for isn't worth 3x the price. Lastly, that input lag from IPS's is a big turnoff.

There is definitely a place for the $299 28" screens. Three of those places are on my desk, for the price of one IPS.

[facepalm12]

08:24 AM on 09/20/2010

AGREED.

This monitor is overkill for 95% of the people who will buy it.

"But look at all of these features that i don't benefit from!"

[PizzaGuy1]

07:46 AM on 09/21/2010

Excellent Points. Differences in specifications often do not translate well into perceptible differences in performance. I mean, c'mon, can one REALLY tell the difference between a refresh rate of 5ms and one of 2ms? However, you see all sorts of people inflating their epeen with that sort of thing......