27" iMac replacement

Question

27" iMac replacement

Freinds,

I never thought this would be my dilemma but seeing as how the Apple corporation never really takes care of its longtime users it's come down to this. My late 2015 Quad core i7 Intel Apple won't upgrade to Ventura, so I'm thinking about replacing it, but Apple is discontinued the large iMac. So I'm looking into getting their new option which would be the studio and the separate monitor, so I'm trying to decide whether I should go for it or wait for the fabled 27" iMac pro that they might come out with, or might not...

I don't mind paying more for Apple products but I was looking at the studio monitors and the one I need is like five or $6000 and I'm thinking this is insane. Anyway I was just wondering if any of you had the same dilemma and if there's any other large monitors that might be equivalent to the Apple one for less money. For less than that you can buy a 85" 8K tv now!!!!

Thanks for any advice in advance,

Rob

[Edited by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Mar 6, 2023 12:41 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

tbirdvet

Level 6

17,451 points

Mar 7, 2023 4:37 PM in response to Robert Garven

I have the Studio Mac and connected to a 27" LG 5k monitor. This is the one developed with Apple and runs about $1000.00. That being said I just purchased a new LG 34" 5K/2K monitor to increase the working space. I have not yet hooked it up to tell if that is better or not but reviewers love it.

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Answer 2

Mar 8, 2023 1:49 PM in response to Robert Garven

If a new 27" iMac would be good enough, why would you need the high end Pro Display when the $1600 Studio display is basically what you'd get in a 27" iMac?

I was an iMac pro user and like you dismayed that they did away with the 27" iMac as I needed to upgrade this year. I went with a Studio Ultra and the Studio Display and I am very happy with it.

And while there are cheaper alternatives to the studio display, they all had drawbacks so I went with the studio. You can frequently find them refurbished for about $1350 on Apple's refurb website - unfortunately I needed one with the VESA mount regular glass and that was the ONLY one they didn't have on the refurb site when I needed to order mine.

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Answer 3

Mar 6, 2023 1:08 PM in response to Robert Garven

This is the iMac (PPC - Power PC) for questions about iMacs from 2005 or earlier, I'll ask the hosts to move this to a more appropriate forum such as the Studio forum, or the current iMac forum.

Anyway, about the 27" iMac, we cannot speculate about what may or may not do in the future. As it is, there is no 27" option and no reason to think this will change any time soon.

The Studio Display, in my humble opinion is an overpriced 2015 iMac display, though it's nowhere near $6000. The most expensive option is the $2299 version with the tilt-and-height adjustable stand. You might be confusing it with the Pro Display XDR, which is an entirely different thing altogether. The Studio display at $1599 even, is still not worth the asking price at all though. There are many other better cheaper monitors out there depending on what you are looking for.

The Pro Display XDR is a professional grade display for high end photo editing and video rendering. It's overkill for most people.

If you really want a 5K display, you can get an LG Ultra Fine for around $900USD.

https://www.newegg.com/lg-27md5klb-27/p/N82E16824025956?Description=5K%20display&cm_re=5K_display-_-24-025-956-_-Product&quicklink=true

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Answer 4

Mar 7, 2023 9:50 PM in response to tbirdvet

Friends,

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I play in a band and do the album cover layouts along with being a photographer so I need accurate color. You can google me. I know the pro monitor is going up against 40K ones but Apple needs to make 32-34" one along the lines of the 27inch 5k one for those who are professional but not working for a rich corporation....

I will probably hold out till the end of the year as apple has a habit of announcing the mac I want the day after I bought the one I was forced to. This is my 8th mac going back to a monotone one so you cant say I am not a good customer. I will check out your suggestions but all the reviews I have read paint a black picture for the quality I need. I cant afford a 6K monitor...

Rob

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Answer 5

Mar 8, 2023 8:41 PM in response to Hugo Stiglitz

Hugo,

Fair enough I felt since I was going to have to buy a separate studio monitor I would like a little bit more real estate. I used to have two 27 inches side-by-side and now at home I just have the 27 inch iMac, and would like to have a larger screen, I think 32 inches would be ideal. I looked at all the ones available and quite frankly none of them have very good reviews. The benq one that look the best has a brightness issue. Your solution is what I was thinking about just wish apple made an affordable 32” studio monitor.

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Answer 6

Mar 9, 2023 12:53 PM in response to ghr165

GHR,

I live in the city of Ventura which the new version is named after so when I first read your response I was confused. Ha. I just always like to stay updated with the current operating system, but unfortunately for now since I can't upgrade, I'm still stuck on Monterey. It's ironic that I live in a city that is named after and I can't use it.

I know my thread and post to come off as being more like a complaint or musings, but it's not because it I'm going to probably end up spending 5-6K or more on a new Apple system, but just trying to find something that's right for me, not what they want to sell me. And of course I want the latest hardware so in a couple years I'm not stuck with the same dilemma as now.

Rob

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Answer 7

Mar 9, 2023 4:19 PM in response to Robert Garven

I was buying car parts at a speed shop. I was asking about the differences between the various manual clutches that would fit my car, an about their cost. The "best" one was Very expensive, so I asked the parts guy for guidance. His response will stick with me forever:

"How fast does you wallet want to go?"

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Answer 8

ghr165

Level 4

1,336 points

Mar 9, 2023 5:10 PM in response to Robert Garven

Robert Garven wrote:

GHR,

I know my thread and post to come off as being more like a complaint or musings, ...

Rob

Not at all.

I used a 2012 Mac mini (built in 2014) with two monitors until about a year ago when App Store changed to require a version of Xcode that ran on at least MacOS 11 to upload to the App Store. Forced redundancy and in my situation the replacement M1 Mac mini is no improvement (two issues where it is worse). Hence my question.

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