Mac Pros are due soon -- "Fall 2013." I wouldn't be surprised to see updated displays to coincide with that launch.

It is highly unlikely to see any updated displays (I suppose you are thinking at something like a retina 27" display) this year. The update of the iMac suggests that the display is not ready yet for a major change.

There are 4K resolution wallpapers in OS X Mavericks, and Apple is pitching the 4K display capability pretty hard in the previews of the new Mac Pro. The display alone might cost 3500-4000 dollars though, which is completely ridiculous for an iMac. I look at the iMac as the MacBook Air and the new Mac Pro as the retina MacBook Pro. There can be differentiation.

This is a useful indicator: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Displays

Depends on what feature you are looking for.

For laptop users, the displays still require you to use a dongle for Magsafe2. I consider this unacceptable.

If you are waiting for a Retina screen, you're screwed. IMO this soft launch indicates no Retina iMac is forthcoming in the near future.

I've got a late 2011 (non-retina) MBP, so old style magsafe connector suits me. There's been a lot of hints at a 4k screen to match the new Mac Pro.

Not looking for any features in particular, I've just got a bad habbit of buying something just before it gets updated :s

Could you please buy it now?

Care to elaborate?

Edit: no wait, just got it! I'm having a slow day today :)

I would have guffawed at the hint of a 4K screen being cost prohibitive in the past, but the Retina Macbook is proof that Apple still has aspirations of setting the tone when it comes to displays.

You might be right to make your decision after the official launch of the Mac Pro. You could be on to something.

Another problem standing in the way of it being an obvious dock for newer MacBooks is that it doesn't yet support USB 3.0.

The Thunderbolt Display has a Thunderbolt port, as the name suggests. You can connect a hub that allows you to connect USB 3 devices.

http://www.belkin.com/us/p/P-F4U055

It did sound very promising for the couple years that it was in development, but the reviews don't make it sound like it is really worth it.

- The USB 3.0 connection operates at half speed

- The Thunderbolt Display also includes most of the same connectors: ethernet, firewire 800, 3xUSB-2.0

You get the audio interface and faster USB with the Belkin dock, but it sounds like it is much further from the plug and play without thinking about it compared to the monitor, which also includes a monitor.

If you compare a Belkin Dock ($300) + 2560x1440 IPS Monitor ($500 ?) to a Thunderbolt Display ($1000), the savings aren't that significant, and it is probably more of a hassle, even if you have to plug any USB-3.0 drives in separately.

It just seems surprising that Apple hasn't upgraded something that makes so much sense as part of a well-integrated and carefully designed system.

Oh, I definitely agree Apple should update its external display to include USB 3. The Belkin dock is not ideal. My point was merely that it’s possible to connect USB 3 devices.

I do think Apple will release a new display this year. I’m hoping for the introduction of a model with 4K resolution, geared towards creative professionals and (medical) science.

When the new Mac Pro was announced, Apple made a big deal about the Mac Pro being able to drive three 4K displays, it’d be odd if they didn’t come up with a best-in-class display of their own.

I suspect it’s not going to be cheap, though. 4K displays currently go for $3500, and Apple’s current display costs $1000. So if it happens, the 4K display is likely a high-end option, not a replacement for the current model.

And, perhaps, versions of the 4K display with and without a GPU would fit into their m.o. of making pretty high end stuff requiring low effort on the part of users.

and then if the monitors could also run iOS on their own when the computer is elsewhere ...

With as much cash as Apple has on hand it must be difficult not to just put out a single continuum Nano-Touch-iPhone-Mini-iPad-monitor-TV with OS X computers only occasionally filling a role for content creators.

No, nobody knows.

Apple retail UK used to swap out old stuff for new stuff if you bought it within a month of a product release, the time period did get (rarely) stretched out if you kicked off about it. Three months was the longest I saw. They might still do this, I don't know.

Source: I worked there a long time ago.

If you're not tied to Apple, with my Air I use a Dell U2713HM -- an excellent display of the same size and without the annoying glass screen. Also plugs into the Thunderbolt port.

Just one anecdote -- I went through 5 of these before giving up and going down to the 24" model. Horrible image burn-in -- literally 5 minutes of screen appearance would leave a residual image sharp enough to read text off of for 30+ minutes.

(These were bought through 3 different Amazon sellers [well, Amazon and 2 different marketplace sellers], so the likelihood of a bad batch was reduced.)

I just bought the U2413 (replaced a 2006 24" UltraSharp - not a bad lifetime!). At first I thought it had a stuck pixel because of a red dot in the center of the screen ("Why oh why did it have to be in the middle??"), but it turned out to be some joker mods on Reddit that had put in some CSS to turn those dots red.

On the whole, I like the monitor. Non-glare screen, menu controls are pretty responsive. USB hub. But I wish it still had a legacy VGA port. If I ever have to reload some of my older machines, I'm going to be stuck since I won't be able to SSH/RDP in.

Ah, wow, that sounds lousy. Sorry it didn't work out for you. Didn't see this with either of two of mine. Buying Dell (as opposed to a no-name brand) should ensure a higher-quality LCD panel[1], but apparently YMMV...

[1] http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/04/campaigns/dell-premium-pa...

I'm still convinced it was an aberration, but yes, a lousy one :-) I've purchased 5 of the Dell Ultrasharp 24" models (and a handful of older Dell monitors) and been happy with all of them. In a way of bringing the convo back at least somewhat on-topic, supposedly the Dell panels are from the same manufacturer as the Apple display / iMac panels, so take that how you will.

I've had better luck with my Dell Ultrasharps than my iMac, but the sample size is small. (1 imac, 2x 20", 1x 24")

Newer batches of Dell monitors at our workplace have a brown tint that one can't get rid of. The new REV A00 is noticeably different to old A04 or so. Quick googling revealed that warranty won't cover that, as Dell's calibration policy is quite loose. Tough luck. Otherwise they're great.

Hmmm, a matte screen might be nicer, but I like the idea of the Apple displays having a built in magsafe, USB and FireWire (I see that the Dell has USB, but I need the FW more)

It might not be important to you, but the cinema display also has built in 2.1 speakers and iSight camera. As someone who uses my laptop speakers for most things, this tends to be an upgrade for me.