I used one of the ports on the display to connect to a USB hard drive that I use for backups, and another to connect to the USB SuperDrive that's an optional accessory for the Air. Since the display has three powered USB ports on the back, it can also serve as a USB hub for peripherals - and it'll even charge your iPhone or iPod when they're connected. The USB connector is particularly useful when connecting a MacBook Air to the display because the laptop only has one USB port. But it makes sense for the company to do so.
I have no way of knowing whether Apple will update its hardware accordingly, since Apple doesn't talk about upcoming products. displays haven't yet been updated with either the Mini DisplayPort connector or LED backlighting.
Keep an eye on next month's MacWorld Expo for updated hardware that includes the new Mini DisplayPort - maybe even a full revamp of the rest of Apple's older display line.
I expect this mismatch to be rectified soon. MacBook Pro and Apple's Mac Pro desktop machines are out of luck because those machines don't have Mini DisplayPorts - yet. Although there are adapters available to connect the new laptops to older Apple displays - the adapters cost either $29 or $99, depending on the type of connection you need to make - there aren't any that could be used to connect older Mac hardware to the new LED display. Video from the laptop is transmitted through the Mini DisplayPort cable (right) the other cable is for USB.īut it's bad because right now the only laptops that can connect to the new display are the latest MacBooks, the 15-in. Cinema Display at 2,560-by-1,600 pixels - as long as you have the $99 Dual-Link DVI adapter offered by Apple. (In fact, it can even drive Apple's mammoth 30-in. LED display at its full 1,920-by-1,200 pixel resolution. It's good in that it feeds plenty of video bandwidth from a very small port, so that even the entry-level $1,299 MacBook can drive the new 24-in. The introduction of the Mini DisplayPort connection is both good and bad. The cable splits three ways, offering a MagSafe connector that charges your laptop when you're using the display, a USB connector and the aforementioned Mini Display connector for video. Plug in the display, then plug in the connector cable. The backing features the same spherically vented aluminum as the Mac Pro.Equally welcome is how the high-quality display becomes a de facto docking station for Apple laptop users. However, they returned to the game in 2019 to produce the 6K Apple-branded Pro Display XDR, released Dec 2019. In 2016, Apple ceased production of the Thunderbolt Display to have LG produce their external display offerings. Also during this time, the case materials used shift from the colorful case of plastic to a primarily aluminum design to an aluminum-backed pane of glass with ever-shrinking bezels. The port standard would switch twice more to the Mini DisplayPort in 2006 and the thunderbolt (USB-C) in 2011. However, in 2000 the design was changed to use the proprietary Apple Display Connector (ADC). Early Apple displays like the Apple Studio Display featured industry standard connection ports for the time (DA-15, S-video, composite video), with the inclusion of the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB).
This display also featured translucent plastic akin to the iMac. Apple started integrating the computer with the monitor into a single case, and would continue to do so until 1998, with the 15” Apple Studio Display, which had a crystal clear resolution of 1024×768 pixels. In ‘87, Apple started producing color CRT monitors to be used with the Macintosh II.
Since graphical interfaces wouldn’t be a thing until the release of the Lisa and Macintosh, these early monitors just needed to display a 12” array of 80×24 text characters. These monitors both featured monochrome CRT displays and slow refresh rates. Three years after the Monitor /// was released, Apple introduced the Monitor //, which more closely corresponded to the Apple II, whereas the Monitor /// was meant for the Apple III. Previously, Apple computers were sold without monitors, and users were recommended to plug their computers into a television set or third party monitor. Apple began offering its own branded displays in 1980 with the Monitor ///.