Apple kills 20-inch Cinema Display

It's official. As of today, the 20-inch Cinema Display is no more, reducing Apple's display lineup to the 30-inch model (that works with all Macs) and the recently introduced 24-inch LED-backlit Cinema Display featuring a DisplayPort interconnect and works only with unibody MacBooks. Whether the product's removal is the sign of hardware refresh that will transition 20-inch models to DisplayPort or, as some think, indication of a new 28-inch Cinema Display that would nicely complement previous rumors of the new top-of-the-line 28" iMac model, remains to be seen. All we know is that Apple told its partners that the 20-inch model has reached end-of-life status, effective immediately -- adding that all backlog will be canceled.

Apple quietly removed the 20-inch Cinema Display from its online store today. In addition, the company has informed resellers that the product has reached "end-of-life" status, warning that "all backlog will be cancelled and there is no automatic order conversion." Apple allegedly stopped manufacturing the display at the end of last year and was selling just channel inventory. Sources have immediately deciphered the move as a sign of hardware refresh with an updated product of the same design, meaning the LED-backlit display and DisplayPort technology found in the 24-inch Cinema Display overhauled last October.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said during the unibody MacBook introduction (last September) that DisplayPort will find its way into every computer Apple makes. "We're building it into everything we make," he said. And Apple fans surely welcome the first signs of action from Cupertino, following an unusual period of silence that brought no refreshes to the company's hardware lineup since the 24-inch Cinema Display last October. The latter model replaced the previously sold 23-inch Cinema Display, having ditched the DVI interconnect in favor of DisplayPort.

Is Apple killing the 20-inch Cinema Display entirely?

Some Apple watchers are not convinced the removal of the 20" model means there is hardware refresh around the corner. Instead, they suspect Apple might have killed the 20" display in order to bring an alleged 28" display into the view. The move would fall nicely in line with previous rumors of a new top-of-the-line 28" iMac model that is also allegedly in the works.

The oversized iMac model would, according to these voices, sport the fastest processor and graphics architecture, catering to creative professionals who find Mac Pro too pricey but require more performance and screen real estate than the current top-of-the-line 24" iMac brings to the table. Readers should note that the 28" iMac rumor was based on unnamed sources, so it quickly fell in oblivion and has not been corroborated by reliable sources to lend it some credence.

DisplayPort confusion

With the removal of 20-inch model, Apple's current Cinema Display lineup consists of the 30-inch model (introduced in June 2004) and the24-inch LED-backlit Cinema Display with DisplayPort, meaning it can only be used with the latest unibody MacBooks equipped with the latest VESA-backed interconnect standard. Given Jobs' comments, the company will eventually update the largest 30" model to DisplayPort technology as well.

Apple's miniaturized DisplayPort variant, dubbed Mini DisplayPort and used in unibody MacBooks, has been officially approved and will become a part of the upcoming industry-backed DisplayPort 1.2 specification. Users should pay attention to compatibility issuesbetween non-DisplayPort-compatible Mac computers and DisplayPort-compatible devices like the 24" LED-backlit Cinema Display. The company is expected to refresh its iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro line with DisplayPort later this year, as well as its Apple TV set-top box.

By bringing DisplayPort technology to both its computer and display products Apple will eventually make life easier for new users, while owners of older displays or computers will have to resort to additional converter boxes to make their equipment work with the new standard. However, it is likely Apple will make this a relatively easy transition as well.

TRANSITION TO THE DISPLAY PORT
Apple began transitioning to DisplayPort interconnects with the new unibody MacBooks unveiled last October. The company soon replaced 23-inch Cinema Display with the new 24-inch LED-backlit model and its DisplayPort interconnect, meaning it can only be used with unibody MacBooks.

MINI DISPLAYPORT NOW PART OF DISPLAY PORT 1.2 STANDARD
Mini DisplayPort, Apple's own miniaturized variant of DisplayPort, can drive 30-inch Cinema Display via "Mini DisplayPort to dual-DVI" converter box and is just one tenth in size compared to the regular DVI interconnect. Mini DisplayPort will become part of the upcoming industry-backed DisplayPort 1.2 specification.