Apple Displays

Apple Computer currently sells only LCD computer displays; a wide variety of CRT computer displays have been sold in the past.

Contents

CRT displays

The history of Apple CRT Displays dates back to 1977 when the Monitor II display was released with the Apple II. It was able to display 80x24 characters. The Apple III also had a similar monitor named Monitor III. In 1983 the Monochrome Monitor machines IIe and IIc were introduced. They could display pixels in monochrome and had a resolution of 192x60. All monitors were 12" in size. The Apple II line also had color monitors in the AppleColor line of monitors. The first displays able to display colors were introduced in 1983: the AppleColor 100 and AppleColor Composite Monitor IIe and were only able to display characters. The AppleColor RGB monitor was introduced in 1986 and featured color pixels in a resolution of 640x200. The AppleColor High resolution display was introduced in 1987 and was the last display compatible with the Apple II line. Only the Apple IIGS supported it. The display also supported the Macintosh II and had color pixels with a resolution of 640x480.

The second generation of displays were built into the Apple Macintosh line of computers. Back then the Macintosh had a high resolution 9-inch monochrome monitor that could display 512x342 pixels. All future models of the Classic style Macintosh later featured this exact display. New external Apple Displays were introduced in 1987 with the Macintosh II. The Macintosh II had a PC-style expandable case which required an external monitor, it was also able to run up to six external displays simultaneously using multiple video cards. The desktop spanned multiple monitors and windows could be dragged from monitor to monitor, or even straddle two or more. The Color 12", 16" and 21" displays were introduced with resolutions of 512x384, 832x624 and 1152x870. Also monochrome displays were introduced mainly for the publishing industry, like the Macintosh Two Page Monochrome Monitor which was able to display pages next to each other with identical resolution to the 21" color one. Also the Macintosh Portrait Display was introduced which had a vertical aligment of the screen and was able to display one page. A 12" monochrome version was also introduced at the low end.

The third generation of displays were introduced in the form of the Macintosh Color Display in 1992 and was the first Apple display to feature a Trinitron, or aperture grille, CRT. The first display to include built-in speakers was introduced in 1994 as the AudioVision 14". Monitors were divided into two groups. There were the cheaper Multiple Scan monitors with standard shadow mask CRTs with fewer colors and lower resolution. There was also the AppleVision series of displays which were positioned to the professional market and included more expensive Trinitron CRTs. Many models didn't include built-in speakers because they were considered toys by some in the publishing industry. The AppleVision line of displays were later renamed as ColorSync displays when Steve Jobs returned to Apple and consolidated the product lines. Only 17" and 20" models were left in the product line.

The fourth generation of displays were introduced simultaneously with the Blue & White Power Macintosh G3 which included the translucent plastics (initially white and blue, then white and grey upon the introduction of the Power Mac G4) of the iMac. The displays were also designed with same translucent look. The Apple Studio Diplay series of CRT displays were available in 17" and 21" models, both using Trinitron CRTs. The last Apple CRT was introduced in 2000 along with the Power Mac G4 Cube. It featured clear plastics to match the Cube and LCD Studio Displays, a flat screened Diamondtron CRT, and the new Apple Display Connector, which provided power, USB, and video signals to the monitor through a single cable.

LCD displays

The history of Apple LCD displays started back in 1985 when the LCD IIc Flat Panel Display was introduced for the Apple II. The display had a poor form factor and was expensive so it sold poorly and was discontinued in 1990.

The next flat-panel was introduced on March 17, 1998 with the 15" Apple Studio Display which had a resolution of 1024x768. After the eMate, it was one of the first Apple products to feature translucent plastics, many months before the unveiling of the iMac. It had a DB-15 input as well as S-video, composite video, ADB and audio connectors, though no onboard speakers. In January 1999 the coloring was changed to match the blue and white of the new Power Macintosh G3s, and the connector changed to VGA.

The 22" widescreen Apple Cinema Display was introduced in August 1999, simultaneously with the Power Mac G4 and in the beginning was sold only as an option to the Power Mac G4. It had a native resolution of 1600x1024 and used a DVI connector. The display had a striped look on the bezel, similar to previous Studio Displays and iMacs. In December, the colors of the 15" display was changed to match the new Power Mac G4s, and the input was changed from VGA to DVI, the audio and video features dropped, and the ADB functionality replaced by a two-port USB hub.

In 2000 the 22" Cinema Displays switched to an the Apple Display Connector interface, and the 15" Studio Display was remodeled to match the Cinema Display's easel-like form factor and also featured the Apple Display Connector. In 2001 an LCD-based 17" Studio Display was introduced, with a resolution of 1280x1024. In 2002 Apple introduced the Cinema Display HD which had a 23" widescreen display with a resolution of 1920x1200. In 2003 Apple introduced the 20" Cinema Display to replace the now discontinued 22" display and it had a resolution of 1680x1050.

In 2004 a new line was introduced, utilizing the same 20" and 23" panels alongside a new 30" model. The displays had a sleek aluminum enclosure with a much narrower bezel than their predecssors. The 20" model has a 1680x1050 resolution, the 23" has 1920x1200, and the 30" has 2560x1600. The 30" version requires a dual-link interface, because a single-link DVI connection (the most common type) doesn't have enough bandwidth to provide a picture to a display of this resolution. Apple sells the new NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL as an option to the Power Mac G5. The card includes two dual-link DVI connectors which allows a Power Mac G5 to run two 30" Cinema Displays simultaneously with the total number of pixels working out at 8.2 million.

Connectors

Apple has employed a large number of display connector designs over the years:

  • Original DB-15 used on all desktop Macs without a built in monitor up until the 1999 Blue and White Power Macintosh G3.
  • A non-standard "mini-15" connector used on early PowerBooks which allowed an Apple monitor to be attached via a short adaptor cable.
  • Apple MultiMedia Display connector (HDI-45) used on some "AV" model Centris, Quadra and Power Macintosh 6100 machines.
  • Standard 15-pin high-density D VGA connector, first included on some Power Macintosh 9600 models and available on all current Macintoshes either directly or via a short adaptor cable.
  • Standard DVI connector, which can also provide VGA via a short adaptor cable, and composite and S-Video in the Power Mac G5 and Mac mini.
  • Apple Display Connector, which carries DVI, VGA, USB and power in one connector.
  • A mini-VGA connector, which can provide VGA via a short adaptor cable. It appears on the white iBook, eMac, iMac G4 and G5, and first generation 12-inch PowerBook G4. Later models also support a composite and S-video adapter attached to this port.
  • A mini-DVI connector used on the 12" PowerBook G4 (except first generation) which provides DVI, VGA or composite and S-video, via short adaptor cables.

Additionally, various Macs have been able to output:

  • S-video via standard 4-pin mini-DIN connector
  • Composite video, via:
    • S-video port and use of short adaptor cable (PowerBooks)
    • Standard phono connector (AV macs)
    • A non-standard 3.5mm jack that functions as either a headphone jack, or stereo audio and composite video out via an adaptor cable (FireWire clamshell and early "Dual USB" iBooks)

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