Apple’s Thunderbolt Display has been put out to pasture, here are the best alternatives at every price point

| Jun 24 2016 - 4:49 pm PT

During the lead up to WWDC there was some recommended prospective buyers check out 3rd party options. There’s a chance Apple could release an all-new monitor at some point down the road, but given Apple’s recent shift away from professional products, it wouldn’t be surprising if we never see another display come out of Cupertino.

To that end, we’ve rounded up the best monitors available right now across all budgets for Mac users…

Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt Display has been on its deathbed for years. It was last updated back in 2011 (well, 2012 but that was extremely minor) and its 2560×1440 resolution was no longer cutting it at a price of $999 when you can get the latest 5k iMac for as little as $799 more. Not only had Apple’s 1st party options eclipsed the Thunderbolt Display in terms of performance, but other manufacturers have also been pushing out powerful Mac-friendly monitors at much more aggressive price points. You can gone for good.

Obviously, there are a ton of options when it comes to an external display for your Mac. You may be drawn to a gorgeous 5K screen, but depending on your use-case, a solid 1080p may be the smarter buy for you. Take into account how and where you’ll use your new monitor to help guide your decision making process. Some things to consider when comparing monitors are screen size/resolution, refresh rate, I/O, VESA compatibility, warranty, adjustability and added features like speakers and webcam. If you’re considering going with a UHD, 4K or 5K display, refer to Apple’s support page to make sure your Mac can power all those pixels.

If your new external monitor is for a MacBook, we’d recommend buying a laptop stand to put your built-in display at an optimal viewing angle. click here.