27 imac lcd panel free sample

Many Apple products use liquid crystal displays (LCD). LCD technology uses rows and columns of addressable points (pixels) that render text and images on the screen. Each pixel has three separate subpixels—red, green and blue—that allow an image to render in full color. Each subpixel has a corresponding transistor responsible for turning that subpixel on and off.

Depending on the display size, there can be thousands or millions of subpixels on the LCD panel. For example, the LCD panel used in the iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) has a display resolution of 5120 x 2880, which means there are over 14.7 million pixels. Each pixel is made up of a red, a green, and a blue subpixel, resulting in over 44 million individual picture elements on the 27-inch display. Occasionally, a transistor may not work perfectly, which results in the affected subpixel remaining off (dark) or on (bright). With the millions of subpixels on a display, it is possible to have a low number of such transistors on an LCD. In some cases a small piece of dust or other foreign material may appear to be a pixel anomaly. Apple strives to use the highest quality LCD panels in its products, however pixel anomalies can occur in a small percentage of panels.

In many cases pixel anomalies are caused by a piece of foreign material that is trapped somewhere in the display or on the front surface of the glass panel. Foreign material is typically irregular in shape and is usually most noticeable when viewed against a white background. Foreign material that is on the front surface of the glass panel can be easily removed using a lint free cloth. Foreign material that is trapped within the screen must be removed by an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store.

iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple"s consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms.

In its original form, the iMac G3 had a gumdrop or egg-shaped look, with a CRT monitor, mainly enclosed by a colored, translucent plastic case, which was refreshed early on with a sleeker design notable for its slot-loaded optical drive. The second major revision, the iMac G4, moved the design to a hemispherical base containing all the main components and an LCD monitor on a freely moving arm attached to it. The third and fourth major revisions, the iMac G5 and the Intel iMac respectively, placed all the components immediately behind the display, creating a slim unified design that tilts only up and down on a simple metal base.

The fifth major revision (mid-2007) shared the same form as the previous model, but was thinner and used anodized aluminum and a glass panel over the entire front. The seventh major revision (late 2012) uses a different display unit, omits the SuperDrive, and uses different production techniques from the older unibody versions. This allows it to be thinner at the edge than older models, with an edge thickness of 5.9  mm (but the same maximum depth). It also includes a dual microphone setup and includes solid-state drive (SSD) or hard disk storage, or an Apple Fusion Drive, a hybrid of solid-state and hard disk drives. This version of the iMac was announced in October 2012, with the 21.5-inch (55 cm) version released in November and the 27-inch (69 cm) version in December; these were refreshed in September 2013, with new Haswell processors, faster graphics, faster and larger SSD options and 802.11ac Wi-Fi cards.

In October 2014, a major revision of the 27-inch (69 cm) iMac was announced, whose main feature is a "Retina 5K" display at a resolution of 5120 × 2880 pixels. The new model also includes a new processor, graphics chip, and IO, along with several new storage options.Retina 4K" display at a resolution of 4096 × 2304 pixels. It has the same new processor, graphics chip, and I/O as the 27-inch iMac, along with several new storage options.

On June 5, 2017, Apple announced a workstation-class version called the iMac Pro, which features Intel Xeon processors and standard SSD storage. It shares the design and screen of the 5K iMac but is colored in Space Gray rather than silver. Apple began shipping the iMac Pro in December 2017.

On April 20, 2021, Apple announced a 24" iMac (actual diagonal screen size is 23.5 in.Apple M1 processor, its first as part of its transition to Apple silicon.Thunderbolt 3/USB 4 ports, and two USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2 ports on the higher configurations.

The announcement of the iMac in 1998 was a source of controversy and anticipation among commentators, Mac fans, and detractors. Opinions were divided over Apple"s drastic changes to the Macintosh hardware. At the time, Apple had suffered a series of setbacks as consumers increasingly opted for Wintel (Windows PCs with Intel CPUs) machines instead of Apple"s Performa models. Many in the industry thought that "beleaguered" Apple would soon be forced to start selling computers with a custom interface built on top of one or more potential operating system bases, such as Taligent, Solaris, or Windows 98.

Ken Segall was an employee at an L.A. ad agency handling Apple"s account who came up with the name "iMac" and pitched it to Steve Jobs. After Jobs" death, Segall claimed Jobs preferred "MacMan" for the name of the computer, but after Segall pitched "iMac" to him twice, the name was accepted.Internet",adopted the "i" prefix across its consumer hardware and software lines, such as iPod, iBook (later MacBook), iPhone, iPad and various pieces of software such as the iLife, iCloud suite and iWork and the company"s media player/store, iTunes.

Attention was given to the out-of-box experience: the user needed to go through only two steps to set up and connect to the Internet. "There"s no step 3!" was the catch-phrase in a popular iMac commercial narrated by actor Jeff Goldblum.border collie Brodie, with an iMac, against Adam Taggart, a Stanford University MBA student, with an HP Pavilion 8250, in a race to set up their computers. Johann and Brodie finished in 8 minutes and 15 seconds,

By 2005, it had become more and more apparent that IBM"s development for the desktop implementation of PowerPC was grinding to a halt. Apple announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference that it would be switching the Macintosh to the x86 architecture and Intel"s line of Core processors. The first Intel-equipped Macs were unveiled on January 10, 2006: the Intel iMac and the introductory MacBook Pro. Within nine months, Apple had smoothly transitioned the entire Macintosh line to Intel. One of the highly touted side benefits of this switch was the ability to run Windows on Mac hardware.

The timeline of iMac from 1998 to 2021, comparing it with the original Macintosh 128K (1984). This chart shows the change in the physical characteristics and appearance of the product.

On July 27, 2010, Apple updated its line of iMacs to feature the new Intel Core "i-series" processors across the line. The 21.5" models now feature the Core i3 processor, but these are upgradable to the Core i5. The high-end 27" features a Quad-Core i5 processor, which is upgradable to a Quad-Core i7. On this date, Apple also announced its new "Apple Magic Trackpad" peripheral, a trackpad similar to that of the MacBook Pro for use with iMac or any other Apple computer. Apple also introduced a AA NiMH battery charger intended to simplify the use of batteries in these peripherals. Apple offers an option to use a solid-state drive instead of a large mechanical drive.

On May 3, 2011, Apple updated its iMac line with the introduction of Intel Thunderbolt technology and Intel Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge processors as well as a 1 mega pixel high definition FaceTime camera, features which were first introduced in the MacBook Pro line in February 2011.

On October 23, 2012, a new iMac was announced (for a November/December release) with a substantially thinner edge, new Apple Fusion Drive, faster processors (Intel Core i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge) and graphics along with updates to the ports, but with the same overall depth (stand depth: 8 inches (20.3  cm)). To reduce the edge, the SuperDrive was removed on these iMacs.

On October 16, 2014, a new version of the 27-inch (69  cm) iMac was announced, whose main feature is a "Retina 5K" display at a resolution of 5120 × 2880 pixels.processor, graphics chip, and I/O, along with several new storage options. This computer was designed with professional photographers and video editors in mind, with the 5K resolution allowing 4K video to be played at its native resolution in Final Cut Pro, with room for toolbars on the side.

On June 6, 2017, Apple’s 21.5-inch iMac, which has a "Retina 4K" display at a resolution of 4096 × 2304 pixels, and the latest Intel 7th generation i5 processor, was announced. The iMac has Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz supported, and a 1 TB hard drive. Apple’s iMac with 4K display has Intel Core i5 quad-core processor with 3 GHz or 3.4 GHz clock speed. The RAM on board is 8 GB, and it will support a Turbo boost of up to 3.8 GHz. This iMac has options of 1 TB hard drive or 1 TB Fusion Drive. This 21.5-inch iMac also has the option of Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB of video RAM for graphics or a Radeon Pro 560 with 4 GB of video RAM. Apple’s 27-inch iMac with the 5K display comes with the quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, which is clocked at 3.4 GHz, 3.5 GHz, or 3.8 GHz. This iMac supports a Turbo boost of up to 4.2Ghz and comes with 8 GB RAM option.

In March 2019, Apple updated the iMac to feature 9th-generation Intel Core i9 processors and Radeon Vega graphics. Unlike most other Apple releases, Apple opted not to announce the iMac at an event; instead, they updated the specs and released a press statement. For the first time, the iMac can support 6-core or 8-core Intel processors. Apple claims the 21.5-inch model is up to 60% faster than the previous model, and the 27-inch is up to 2.4 times faster. The exterior of the machine remained the same as the previous model.

On August 4, 2020, Apple refreshed the iMac models. The smaller 21.5-inch model was updated with SSDs standard. The 27-inch model received 10th generation Intel chips, a T2 Security chip, a 1080p camera, studio-quality microphone, an option for nano-textured glass, as well as SSDs standard. The 27-inch model now has SSDs soldered to the motherboard, which means the storage is no longer replaceable, and in order to replace a hard drive the entire motherboard must be replaced and any data on the drive will be wiped.

The original iMac was the first legacy-free PC.USB port but no floppy disk drive. Subsequently, all Macs have included USB. Via the USB port, hardware makers could make products compatible with both x86 PCs and Macs. Previously, Macintosh users had to seek out certain hardware, such as keyboards and mice specifically tailored for the "old world" Mac"s unique ADB interface and printers and modems with MiniDIN-8 serial ports. Only a limited number of models from certain manufacturers were made with these interfaces and often came at a premium price. USB, being cross-platform, has allowed Macintosh users to select from a large selection of devices marketed for the Wintel PC platform, such as hubs, scanners, storage devices, USB flash drives, and mice. After the iMac, Apple continued to remove older peripheral interfaces and floppy drives from the rest of its product line.

Borrowing from the 1997 Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh, the various LCD-based iMac designs continued the all-in-one concept first envisioned in Apple"s original Macintosh computer. The successful iMac allowed Apple to continue targeting the Power Macintosh line at the high-end of the market. This foreshadowed a similar strategy in the notebook market when the iMac-like iBook was released in 1999. Since then, the company has continued this strategy of differentiating the consumer versus professional product lines. Apple"s focus on design has allowed each of its subsequent products to create a distinctive identity. Apple avoided using the beige colors that were then common in the PC industry. The company would later drift from the multicolored designs of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The latter part of the decade saw Apple using anodized aluminum; glass; and white, black, and clear polycarbonate plastics among their build materials. Today many PCs are more design-conscious than before the iMac"s introduction, with multi-shaded design schemes being common, and some desktops and laptops available in colorful, decorative patterns.

iMac has received considerable critical acclaim, including praise from technology columnist Walt Mossberg as the "Gold Standard of desktop computing";Core 2 Duo iMac received CNET"s "Must-have desktop" in their 2006 Top 10 Holiday Gift Picks.

Apple faced a class-action lawsuit filed in 2008 for allegedly deceiving the public by promising millions of colors from the LCD screens of all Mac models while its 20-inch model only held 262,144 colors.Twisted nematic LCD screens. The case was dismissed on January 21, 2009.

While not a criticism of iMac per se, the integrated design has some inherent tradeoffs that have garnered criticism. In The Mythical Midrange Mac Minitower, Dan Frakes of Macworld suggests that with the iMac occupying the midrange of Apple"s product line, Apple has little to offer consumers who want some ability to expand or upgrade their computers, but do not need (or cannot afford) the Mac Pro.Mac mini"s introduction, there were rumors of a "headless iMac"Other World Computing provide upgrade kits that include specialized tools for working on iMacs.

Similarly, though the graphics chipset in some Intel models is on a removable MXM, neither Apple nor third parties have offered retail iMac GPU upgrades, with the exception of those for the original iMac G3"s "mezzanine" PCI slot. Models after iMac G5 (excluding the August 7, 2007 iMac updatemini-tower cannibalizing sales from the Mac Pro, Frakes argues there is enough frustration with iMac"s limitations to make such a proposition worthwhile. This disparity has become more pronounced after the G4 era since the bottom-end Power Mac G5 (with one brief exception) and Mac Pro models have all been priced in the US$1999–2499$ range, while base model Power Macs G4s and earlier were US$1299–1799. The current generation iMac has Intel 5th generation i5 and i7 processors, ranging from quad-core 2.7 GHz i5 to a quad-core 3.4 GHz i7 processor,

Windows XP can only be installed on Macs built up until late 2009 with Boot Camp 3 or earlier, excluding the late 2009 high-end 27-inch model. This includes Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier and copies of Mac OS X 10.7 that have not been updated to Boot Camp 4.

Windows Vista can only be installed on Macs built up until late 2009 with Boot Camp 3 or earlier, excluding the late 2009 high-end 27-inch model. This includes Mac OS X 10.6 or earlier and copies of Mac OS X 10.7 that have not been updated to Boot Camp 4.

Olivarez-Giles, Nathan (May 3, 2011). "Apple updates iMac line with quicker processors, graphics and Thunderbolt I/O". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 29, 2012.

Raletz, Alyson (June 7, 2012). "Man who came up with iMac name tells what the "i" stands for". Kansas City Business Journal. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

Rich DeMuro (November 22, 2006). Must-have desktop: Apple iMac Core 2 Duo (24-inch, 2.16 GHz). CNET (Internet). Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2007.

Look, people have wanted Apple to sell the 5K display from the now-discontinued 27-inch iMac as a standalone product for years now. When that first 27-inch 5K iMac came out in 2014, the display was so far ahead of the competition that buying one for the screen alone represented a bargain — that there was an entire computer attached to it was almost a bonus.

So now Apple’s gone and discontinued the 27-inch iMac and essentially replaced it with the new Mac Studio and the new 27-inch Studio Display. If the Mac Studio represents the fulfillment of a 20-year-old Mac power user’s dream, the Studio Display should be the fulfillment of a similar dream that’s been around since 2014: just give us the iMac’s 27-inch 5K display.

Apple is generally terrific when it comes to displays across its devices, and the Studio Display is great at the basics: it’s clear, it’s sharp, it’s bright. If you have ever looked at a 27-inch 5K iMac display, you know exactly what this thing looks like. The Studio display is the same 27-inch size, the same 5120x2880 resolution, the same 218 pixels per inch, the same 60Hz refresh rate, and has the same single-zone LED backlight. The only real spec difference is that Apple says the Studio Display now has a “typical brightness” of 600 nits vs. 500 on the iMac, but in my actual typical use next to a 2015-vintage 27-inch iMac, that’s pretty hard to see.

The real issue is that $1,599 is a lot of money, and here, it’s buying you panel tech that is woefully behind the curve. Compared to Apple’s other displays across the Mac, iPhone, and iPad lineup, the Studio Display is actually most notable for the things it doesn’t have.

The Studio Display has… well, it has none of that. It’s a regular old LED backlight that lights the entire screen all the time, and the darkest black it can produce is basically gray. In normal use in a well-lit room, it looks fine enough — LCD displays have looked like this for a long time now — but if you’re watching a movie in a dark room, the letterboxing will look light gray. There are $379 TVs with more advanced local-dimming backlights than this.

Our rule has always been to review products based on what we have in front of us and never against the promise of a future software update, and based on what I have in front of me, I simply wouldn’t want to use this camera. The cameras on the new MacBook Pro and M1 iMac are far superior to what we’re seeing here, and an iPhone front camera is even better still. I’m hopeful Apple will improve things via software in the future, but I would not spend $1,599 on this display until that actually happens.

Want to find a way to use iMac as a monitor? While Apple’s target display mode is limited to 2009 to 2014 iMacs, fortunately, there are several other options to make use of that nice big screen on your iMac as a monitor.

Target display mode is an Apple solution to use iMac as a monitor with another Mac in a wired setup. It was a very popular feature for years, but when Apple launched its Retina iMacs starting in late 2014, support was dropped.

The good news is even if you don’t have an 8-year-old+ iMac that supports target display mode, you can still use iMac as a monitor with a variety of different options. Let’s dig into your 5 options…

This of course doesn’t offer Mac to Mac support, but if you want to use iMac as a monitor with an iPad, Sidecar is a great free solution. And it works wired or wirelessly.

This feature doesn’t work if you want to extend your iMac or iPad desktop space, but you can mirror from iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch directly to an iMac or any other compatible Mac.

This might seem obvious but another choice is to pair your iMac with an external monitor and choose which one you want to be the primary display and secondary display.

If you happen to have an old iMac, you may be able to use target display mode but it will also need to be running macOS Catalina or earlier – same for the secondary Mac. Here’s what you’ll need to use iMac as monitor with the original solution.

You can use more than one iMac as a display, if each iMac is using a Thunderbolt cable to connect directly to a Thunderbolt port on the other Mac (not the other iMac).

A cracked glass screen or LCD display is no fun, especially if you were in the middle of working on something important when the damage occurred. If your broken or cracked Apple iMac monitor still has working components, you don"t necessarily need to replace the entire display. You can fix it easily yourself with one of the many affordable iMac replacement screens available on eBay; installation usually only takes minutes, so you can get back to work or play quickly.How does a replacement iMac screen work?

The iMac LCD glass replacement screen has a built-in magnetic perimeter which holds it into place on the display. The LCD panel attaches to the display via cables that supply the power and data to the screen. As long as you have a properly functioning display base and cables, it should be easy to install a new glass display and LCD panel without the need for expensive tools.How do you choose the right iMac 27 LCD screen?

When purchasing an iMac 27 LCD, you"ll need to make sure that the model you select is compatible with your specific computer model. eBay has tons of new and used iMac LCD and replacement screens available to select from. You can use some of these helpful search options on eBay to select the right type of screen or display for your needs:Brand compatibility: You can choose from OEM or unbranded screen replacements that fit your device and budget.

Custom bundle: Some offerings include a custom bundle that includes everything you need to replace your screen, including an opening wheel and adhesive strips. This can make the job quicker and easier.How do you know if the LCD panel is broken?

LCD or liquid crystal displays use liquid crystals to produce color and images on the screen. The crystals themselves don"t produce any light, so they get the light they need from a backlight. If the LCD panel is broken or cracked, you might notice strange lines or patterns on the screen, black or blurred spots on the display, or the screen might be totally black. In this case, the LCD panel might need to be replaced and not just the glass.Which computer is the iMac 27 LCD screen compatible with?

eBay offers a variety of replacement glass and LCD displays for the iMac computer. You can find compatible replacement displays and screens for every model, from late 2009 models up to 2015 models.Content provided for informational purposes only. eBay is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.

Apple’s release of the Mac Studio—the company’s first completely new Mac line since the MacBook Air debuted in 2008—and Studio Display also seems to have triggered the end of what was likely the company’s most popular desktop Mac: the 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display (see “New Mac Studio and Studio Display Change Mac Buying Calculus,” 8 March 2022). At the close of Apple’s Peek Performance presentation, John Ternus summed up with:

If the Mac Pro is all that’s left, there’s no room for the 27-inch iMac. That immediately raised the question: If you have been waiting to purchase an Apple silicon 27-inch iMac, what are your options in a world that doesn’t include it? Some hold out hope that Apple will bring back a high-end all-in-one desktop Mac, perhaps with a 30- or 32-inch screen. However, sources tell 9to5Mac that Apple currently has no plans to release a large-screen iMac.

If you have to decide based on the Macs you can buy today, there are numerous good options. Pricing out comparable systems revealed that while the 27-inch iMac was in a sweet spot where price meets performance, other combinations of Apple gear come close. When the new options’ prices are higher, the associated performance and capabilities are also greater—a classic Apple technique for encouraging users to pay more. Plus, when you expand your thinking beyond a single purchase, the 27-inch iMac isn’t nearly as compelling.

Don’t assume I’m here to speak ill of the 27-inch iMac. Nothing could be further from the truth. But if Apple has no plans to update it with Apple silicon, we have to move on.

I’ve been a huge fan and promoter of the 27-inch iMac since it appeared in late 2014—I still remember visiting an Apple Store in Santa Monica with Michael Cohen and Tonya while en route to the MacTech Conference so I could see that screen in person. I ordered one immediately, spending $3150 for a 4.0 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD, plus another $900 for a 27-inch Thunderbolt Display. With tax, the package came to $4550, but that combination served me well (with a bump to 40 GB of RAM at some point) until early 2020. Then its internal SSD died, forcing me to boot with an external SSD and deal with increased flakiness (see “Six Lessons Learned from Dealing with an iMac’s Dead SSD,” 27 April 2020), so I was happy to replace it once Apple released what would turn out to be the final update. In August 2020, I bought a 2020 27-inch iMac with a 3.8 GHz eight-core Intel Core i7, 8 GB of RAM (again upgraded to 40 GB via OWC), and 1 TB of storage, for just under $3000.

I wasn’t alone. By mid-2015, Tonya had replaced her 2011 27-inch iMac (also paired with a 27-inch Thunderbolt Display) with an identical 2014 27-inch iMac, and when Josh Centers needed a new Mac, TidBITS bought him a 2014 27-inch iMac as well. Similarly, when my parents wanted to upgrade from an older iMac, they looked at my 27-inch iMac and bought one too. Tonya continues to use her 27-inch iMac to this day (and a 2019 model in her office at Cornell), and Josh used his until it became unbearably flaky in 2019, after which he sent it to me and replaced it with a 2019 model. Unable to stomach those lovely machines being unusable, I performed major surgery on both mine and Josh’s to replace the problematic SSDs—both are now fully functional again. In short, I adore the 27-inch iMac—when Tonya was working from home entirely during the pandemic, we had five of them in the house. (Know anyone who’d like to buy a nice 2014 27-inch iMac or two?)

The only real design problem with the 27-inch iMac has been the unbreakable connection of the actual Mac with that gorgeous screen. The 2014 27-inch iMac can’t upgrade to macOS 12 Monterey, and its ports are dated, but there’s no official way to use the screen with any other Mac. Target Display Mode never supported the 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display, and until a few months ago, no secondary-display technology supported the 27-inch iMac’s Retina resolution, rendering it no better than the old 27-inch Thunderbolt Display or any cheap 27-inch screen.

There is one possibility now. Astropad released an update to its Luna Display solution that supports 4K and 5K Retina screens, and I’m testing it now (see “Luna Display Turns a 27-inch iMac into a 5K Display,” 16 March 2022). In short, it works, but there are tradeoffs.

Let’s assume for the moment that you have to replace your existing computing setup right away—a fire, flood, or burglary has left you with an insurance check and license to shop. (You do have online or offsite backups, right?) As a fan of the 27-inch iMac, you probably want to replicate its 5K Retina display with the new Studio Display.

What makes the decision of how to replace a 27-inch iMac hard is that any current Apple silicon Mac could fit the bill, depending on your needs and budget. That’s because even the least-expensive M1-based Macs outperform all 27-inch iMacs in single-core benchmarks. While M1-based Macs aren’t as fast as the top two 27-inch iMac models in multi-core benchmarks, they still best the low-end model. Move up to a Mac with an M1 Pro or M1 Max (or an M1 Ultra, though we don’t have benchmarks there yet), and the Apple silicon Macs handily dust every Intel-based Mac except a Mac Pro or iMac Pro with 16 or more cores. In other words, if keeping the cost down is more important to you than performance, any M1-based Mac will suffice. When performance matters, the decision depends on how much you want to spend and your portability desires.

The table includes both models of the 24-inch iMac because its 7-core GPU option is notably cheaper. It doesn’t include the 7-core GPU model of the MacBook Air because it is only $50 less.

All Macs in the table are configured with 512 GB of SSD storage. That requirement eliminates the low-end 3.1 GHz 27-inch iMac, which was available only with 256 GB of internal SSD storage. It would have been $300 less than the 3.3 GHz model.

Since the M1 family’s unified memory is more efficient than separate RAM for Intel-based Macs, I configured the 27-inch iMac with 32 GB of RAM to estimate a comparable configuration. Previously, I would have recommended buying 8 GB and supplementing with less expensive third-party RAM—probably 24 GB total—but that’s no longer an option for any Mac and thus not a fair comparison.

With the chart in hand, I can now make some recommendations for different people and situations. Apart from the 24-inch iMac, I’m assuming that all of these include a Studio Display.

You’re on a very limited budget. The 24-inch iMac with the 7-core GPU option is by far the best option if you want to stay entirely within the Apple world. It’s cheaper than a 27-inch iMac would ever have been, with great performance. Its screen—actually 23.5 inches diagonal—isn’t as large, but in terms of resolution, it’s close: 4480-by-2520 compared to the 27-inch iMac’s 5120-by-2880. A consultant I know recently reported that he replaced all the 27-inch iMacs in a medium-sized law firm with 24-inch iMacs, and the pre-swap disappointment disappeared within a week. You might be able to save some money by buying an $1100 Mac mini paired with a larger 4K display, but the Studio Display’s screen quality and resolution will almost certainly be better.

You want an inexpensive desktop Mac. The obvious answer here is the Mac mini paired with a Studio Display. The performance won’t be any different from the 24-inch iMac, but the Studio Display is bigger, better, and more flexible. Many people have speculated that a future Mac mini will come with an option for an M1 Pro for more desktop performance that doesn’t edge into the Mac Studio’s price range.

For the most part, a current Mac combined with a Studio Display costs more than a 27-inch iMac. However, keep in mind that the Studio Display has a significantly better webcam, mic, and speakers than a 27-inch iMac, so you are getting more for your money in that regard.

Of course, if you were buying 27-inch iMacs on those schedules, you would be replacing the screen each time, even though it’s unlikely to have degraded in any way. Basing your setup around a Studio Display, however, enables you to swap Macs multiple times. How long will the Studio Display remain useful? It’s impossible to know, but since Apple stuck with the same panel as in the 27-inch iMac, which has been around for over 7 years, I would suggest that 10–12 years might be a reasonable lifespan for a high-quality display.

The table is sorted by the price of purchasing two Macs with a Studio Display, but as you can see, the more Macs you end up using with it, the more cost-effective it is. The 24-inch iMac and 27-inch iMac aren’t as much of a bargain as they are in a standalone purchase because you keep paying for the screen. I’m assuming that prices won’t change, but even if they do, they’ll likely change in concert throughout the Mac line. One number that I’m not considering above is how much you’d make from selling your used Mac; there are just too many variables to include in a sensible way.

Perhaps I’m unusual in this regard, but I have always paired my 27-inch iMac with a 27-inch Thunderbolt Display because the dual-display approach is essential for my productivity. So if I were to replace my 27-inch iMac and Thunderbolt Display with a comparable setup, I’d need to buy a pair of Studio Displays. The choice of Mac remains open, but let’s look at how adding $1600 to the cost of each current Mac changes the table.

Although the relative positions stay the same, you’ll notice that the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro disappear from the table. That’s because they support only a single external display. The 24-inch iMac can drive both its built-in screen and a Studio Display—and it can even run them at the same resolution to avoid a stair-stepped Desktop—so it sticks around, even if the pairing might not be that elegant. The Mac mini sticks around as well, but with an asterisk, because it can run only one Studio Display at its full 5K resolution; the second one would have to be connected via HDMI and would be limited to 4K.

This table shows that achieving a dual-display setup with current Apple gear will cost quite a bit more than it would have with a 27-inch iMac. The same caveats about the Studio Display being a better, more flexible monitor still apply, but I think there’s one more scenario to play out. With the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro options, you’re getting both a third screen—more pixels, if you can find room for everything on your desk—and the capability of using that Mac away from your home or office.

Apart from that 24-inch iMac, which continues to be a stunning deal, bringing the need for a laptop into the equation biases the decision toward laptop-only options. The MacBook Air suddenly looks really good, and even the 14-inch M1 Pro-based MacBook Pro is cheaper than the low-end 27-inch iMac plus a MacBook Air, while the 16-inch M1 Pro-based MacBook Pro is just $50 more.

It’s easy to look at the prices in the various tables above and think, “Wow, that’s a lot of money to spend all at once!” But remember, you don’t have to upgrade everything simultaneously. Since I bought both my latest 27-inch iMac and MacBook Air in 2020, they’re likely to meet my needs for quite some time. However, I could upgrade my secondary display from a 2014 Thunderbolt Display to a snazzy new Studio Display. (The Studio Display isn’t compatible with all Macs, but most Macs released in 2016 or later will work as long as they’re running the soon-to-be-released macOS 12.3 Monterey.)

Then, in a year or three, perhaps after Apple has beefed up the Mac mini with an M1 Pro, or when the entire line has been refreshed with M2 versions of the chips, I’ll revisit the decision and see if it makes sense to trade in my 27-inch iMac for a Mac mini or Mac Studio with a second Studio Display. Or maybe I’d swap both my Macs for a 14-inch MacBook Pro and see if I even needed a second Studio Display.

I’m sure you’re in a different situation, but as much as it’s sad to say goodbye to the 27-inch iMac, Apple’s current Mac lineup has something for nearly everyone who’s not waiting for an Apple silicon Mac Pro. The main hole right now is between the current M1-based Mac mini and the M1 Max-based Mac Studio. If rumors are to be believed, Apple may release an upgraded Mac mini to fill the gap later this year.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your Mac but don’t want to get rid of your trusty old iMac, here we show you how to use an iMac as an external monitor including with M1 & M2 Macs such as the Mac Studio.

It’s important to be aware from the start that it’s far simpler and you’ll get much better quality resolution by using  a dedicated external display than an iMac as an external monitor.

This is especially true when trying to use an iMac as an external display for video editing or graphic design with the M1/M2 MacBook Pro, M1/M2 MacBook Air, M1 Mac Mini and the Mac Studio.

Not all iMacs can be used an external monitor. Only iMacs from 2009 to 2014 can be used as an external display with another Mac because they have something called Target Display Mode which Apple has since dropped from the iMac.

This is because the resolution in Retina iMacs was so high, that a Thunderbolt port would not be powerful enough to support it without increasing the bandwidth of Thunderbolt ports to support Retina displays.

If you have an iMac built between 2009 to 2014 with Target Display Mode, you an use it with your Intel Mac Mini, Intel MacBook Air or Intel MacBook Pro as an external monitor.

2009 – 2010 24-inch and 27-inch iMacs: Can be used an external monitor with any Mac that has a Mini DisplayPort or Thunderbolt 1 or Thunderbolt 2 port

Apple Silicon M1 and M2 Macs cannot use iMacs that support Target Display Mode as an external display because they do not support macOS Catalina which the Primary Mac needs to run in order to connect to an iMac with Target Display Mode.

However, there are other solutions that allow you to use any iMac as an external display with an M1 or M2 Mac such as the Mac Studio which we’ve covered here.

We therefore wouldn’t recommend using an iMac as an external display on an M1 or M2 Mac if you’re doing video editing unless you use a Thunderbolt or Ethernet cable to connect the monitors using Luna Display which supports 5K and reduces lag significantly.

Connect it to the Mac you want to use it with either with a Mini DisplayPort cable or Thunderbolt cable. If it has both, then Thunderbolt is preferable as it also allows you to use more than one iMac as a display at once. Most Intel Macs can support at least one or two external Thunderbolt displays and the latest Mac Studio with M1 Max or M1 Ultra chip can support up to 4 Thunderbolt displays.

Your iMac should automatically enter Target Display Mode but if it doesn’t, press CMD+F2 to activate it. You’ll see the desktop or screen of the Mac you’re connected to on the iMac.

If you want to play music on your source Mac and hear the audio come out of the speakers on your iMac, then go to the Apple logo in the top left of your screen, select System Preferences > Sound > Output and select the iMac as your output device.

Your Mac also won’t recognize any other ports on your iMac. If you want to connect an external hard drive for example, you must plug it into your source Mac, not the iMac it is connected to.

Any applications or software that are open on your iMac will also continue to run in the background consuming far more energy than a standard external display and generate a lot more heat.

Apple Silicon M1 and M2 Macs do not support connecting to iMacs with Target Display Mode because the primary Mac needs to be running macOS Catalina which is not supported by Apple Silicon Macs.

All MacBook Pros or MacBook Airs from 2018 onwards, iMac or Mac Pros from 2019 onwards, the ‌iMac‌ Pro, and the 2020 or later Mac mini support AirPlay.

AirPlay 2 mode is a feature in macOS Monterey that allows you to wirelessly share a screen and audio with another Apple device including iMacs running Monterey.

This means that AirPlay can’t utilize the full retina resolution on your iMac and it definitely won’t be able to use the full 5K resolution on 5K iMacs.

Because AirPlay requires Monterey on your iMac, you can only use a 2019 iMac or later or 2017 iMac Pro as an external monitor using AirPlay. It won’t work on older iMacs.

On the Primary Mac that you’re connecting to your iMac’s display, go to System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar, select Screen Mirroring and check the box Show In Menu Bar and select Always from the drop down menu.

You can then either use a USB-C or Thunderbolt-to-Thunderbolt cable to connect your Mac to the iMac or use Wifi. For less lag, we recommend using a Thunderbolt-to-Thunderbolt cable.

On the Primary Mac, go to the Menu Bar at the top of the screen and click on the Screen Mirroring symbol (which looks like two small black bars) and in the drop-down menu that appears, you will see your iMac. You can choose whether to Mirror the display or Use as a Separate Display. We recommend choosing Use as a Separate Display because the image quality is much higher than mirroring.

Finally go to the Screen Mirroring symbol in the Menu Bar again and select Display Preferencesand click on the Arrangement tab. You can then arrange the displays as they are on your desk so that dragging the mouse cursor to the left for example makes it appear on the iMac screen if it’s positioned to the left of your Primary Mac on your desk.

Luna Display is from the makers of Astropad and is a small dongle that connects to the Thunderbolt port on your Mac including M1 & M2 Macs and allows you to transmit images and audio from any Mac to an iMac.

If you have an M1 Mac Mini, Luna Display will also connect to an iMac display via Ethernet too or via Ethernet to any M1/M2 Mac using a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter.

This does mean that you will need to use two Thunderbolt ports – one for the Luna Display dongle and one to connect your Mac to the iMac – but it’s well worth it.

Like AirPlay though, you can also run Luna Display over a WiFi connection as long as your Mac and iMac are connected to the same WiFi network although the quality and performance are not as good as using a Thunderbolt cable.

Open the Luna Display app on your iMac. Click on Setup and you’ll also have the option o grant Luna permission to use your iMac keyboard with your M1 Mac if you want.

You can also enable Retina resolution which is the real outstanding advantage of Luna Display compared to other ways of using an iMac as external monitor.

Although the big advantage of Luna Display is support for using an iMac as an external monitor at 5K, it can be unstable at times and cause kernel panics which crash the Primary or Source Mac.

When Duet detects the iMac the message will change from  “Connect to Mac or PC” to “Launching Duet” and you should see your Primary Mac screen on the iMac display.

You can customize the quality of the image you see on your iMac with Duet Display by going into the Settings and you can configure it to use the highest possible resolution that your monitor supports including 4K.

The unit arrived safely and well-packaged. Being 32″, the box was large yet no larger than it needed to be. In comparison, the box for my 27″ iMac wasn’t too different in overall size.

The image below is the BenQ 32″ display right next to my 27″ iMac (on the left). This iMac is one of the latest versions, with a Solid-State HD and Retina Display, so it was good to see how they compared.

After spending some time working with both displays, it was in-fact a refreshing change using a larger 32″ display. I’ve been using 27″ iMacs now for nearly 10 years, and I thought 27″ was more than large enough. It turns out, however, that having more screen-space was much more useful than I initially thought.

I’m unsure what I think about the BenQ’s matt/anti-glare screen coating, though. Maybe I’ve gotten used to how shiny the iMac screens are, as there’s a sheet of glass in front of the display which houses the actual retina display.

This monitor has an SD card slot, as well as 4 USB ports, too — which are handily located on the right-hand side of the monitor (which is quite handy). Even on my iMac, all the ports are all the way around the back, which is quite annoying!

I found the colour on the monitor to be ever-so-nearly as good as the iMac. On colourful imagery, there wasn’t really much difference, and the colour was just as vibrant as the iMac screen—which was impressive. In the process of using this display, I used the supplied Thunderbolt-to-HDMI cable to connect the BenQ screen (because I chose to use my User-Colour settings to view the screen). Apart from near-identical colour vibrancy, I did notice that the blacks were far deeper on the BenQ, though.

In any case, the colour was just as vibrant than my iMac Retina Display, but given that the BenQ has a matt finish, the colours do look a bit more diffused in my opinion. It does have a very sharp, colourful image with fantastic contrast, though. If colour is critical to your workflow, I’m sure that this display would suit your needs when the vast-array of built-in adjustments are tweaked to your specific needs.

Compared to my iMac resolution, which is 5120 x 2880, it’s still a decent screen resolution. Even though it isn’t as high as the 5K iMac resolution, the actual physical screen size is larger (32″ compared to the iMac’s 27″).

After working with this monitor, and then going back to the 27 iMac display, I must admit that I’d like that extra screen ‘real estate’ that the BenQ gave me. I’m unsure whether or not I prefer the matt finish on the BenQ or the shiny-glass of the iMac. Overall though, I was impressed with the size of the BenQ display and the clarity, sharpness and colour.