You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Is the new iMac 2021 computer compatible with my MacBook Pro?

Hi,


I want to purchase and use the new iMac 2021 as a monitor for my MacBook pro. The previous iMac 2019 model was NOT compatible. To attempt to make it compatible a user had to purchase a 3rd party sw Bluetooth USB add-on tool and it was a glitch festival. I just want my apple experience back in the form of a monitor that works with my laptop.


Will the new iMac work with my MacBook pro????


Thank you,

Carolina



MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.3

Posted on Jun 14, 2021 10:29 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 14, 2021 10:45 AM

The LG display is made by LG in conjunction with Apple for best performance. It is for all intents and purposes the Apple experience, just branded as LG: link-> LG UltraFine 5K Display - Apple


Beyond that, the iMac is not a display. It cannot be used as a display. It is not part of the Apple experience for use as a display. It is a complete computer.


link-> Use the LG UltraFine 5K Display with your Mac or iPad - Apple Support


6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 14, 2021 10:45 AM in response to carfernand

The LG display is made by LG in conjunction with Apple for best performance. It is for all intents and purposes the Apple experience, just branded as LG: link-> LG UltraFine 5K Display - Apple


Beyond that, the iMac is not a display. It cannot be used as a display. It is not part of the Apple experience for use as a display. It is a complete computer.


link-> Use the LG UltraFine 5K Display with your Mac or iPad - Apple Support


Jun 14, 2021 10:56 AM in response to carfernand

+1 on the "NO." Not via Apple's discontinued Target Display Mode which, in its day, was quite nice if your could get it to work And that was a big "if' based on problems we've see here over the years


FACTS: The last iMac that could act as an external monitor for another Mac was discontinued on Late 2014. The last Mac that could be the video source for a supported (i.e., "old") iMac were the 2019 models.


To attempt to make it compatible a user had to purchase a 3rd party sw Bluetooth USB add-on tool and it was a glitch festival.


Not surprising given Apple decided iMacs would no longer be monitors seven years ago. There is the free option of network screen sharing:


Share the screen of another Mac - Apple Support


but even that seems ill-advised considering you would pay US$1200-1500 for an iMac that, via sharing, could only mirror the notebook's desktop and not be as responsive, and use a LOT of energy.


Frankly for US$80-100 you can today find a nice external FP monitor on sale that will have an amazing image, do extended desktop, and use FAR less energy than a computer.


Remember, when Apple instituted Target Disk Mode in Late 2009, FP external monitors were very expensive. Today, they are practically a commodity item.


Also please avoid the post-processed horse feed about Target Display Mode that appeared all over the Internet as soon as COVID hit. Articles posted by "writers" who had neither an editor nor the research skills of a vole have the world thinking that TDM is alive, well, and working with every computer ever made regardless of make and OS. It's simply not true.



Jun 14, 2021 10:38 AM in response to Jack-19

Thanks. I could but I want an Apple experience not LG or Samsung. I want the full apple experience. Nothing like it.


If I can't use the iMac for a true apple display then my only option is the high-end 4,999 graphic design genius option. Dissapointing you can't simply plug the monitor into a macbook pro and use the monitor.


Why not make the iMac work to do that or simply sell the dumn monitor separately? Sadness.


The experiences isn't the same on non-Apple monitors. Period.

Is the new iMac 2021 computer compatible with my MacBook Pro?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.