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Integrating the display with the computer offers two advantages: 1) It's easier for customers. No need to think about which display to get -- you know the inte

Integrating the display with the computer offers two advantages: 1) It's easier for customers. No need to think about which display to get -- you know the integrated display will just work, and it will be very high quality. 2) Tighter integration: the built in display wakes immediately when the computer wakes, you can adjust brightness via keyboard, and you won't have trouble connecting the display and fidgeting with a crappy OSD to set the picture settings... Dealing with external displays is extremely frustrating -- there's always something that doesn't work right. The display doesn't wake up, refresh rate is limited if you use the wrong cable, colors look different depending on brightness setting of the monitor, ... If you just want one computer and one display, an iMac saves a lot of time and frustration.

lisper 8y ago
Neither of those benefits is a result of the display and the computer being in the same housing, they are the result of both being made by the same manufacturer (or at least adhering to the same interface spec). The same benefits accrued back when Apple made the Cinema Display. I had one of those and I loved it. It lasted through three or four different Macs.
- jakobegger 8y ago
  I think you underestimate how easy it is to build an external display. When they first released the 5k iMac, there was no interface available that supported an external 5k display. Now we have Thunderbolt 3, so in theory 5k displays shouldn't be an issue, but there are only very few options available, and from what I've heard they are plagued by bugs and compatibility issues. So it seems that it is somehow difficult to make external displays that work well. And one thing we haven't talked about yet is price: getting a computer with an integrated display is almost certainly cheaper than getting a computer + a good display. The iMacs have always been pretty good deals if you consider how much a comparable display would cost.

lisper 8y ago

Neither of those benefits is a result of the display and the computer being in the same housing, they are the result of both being made by the same manufacturer (or at least adhering to the same interface spec). The same benefits accrued back when Apple made the Cinema Display. I had one of those and I loved it. It lasted through three or four different Macs.

jakobegger 8y ago
I think you underestimate how easy it is to build an external display. When they first released the 5k iMac, there was no interface available that supported an external 5k display. Now we have Thunderbolt 3, so in theory 5k displays shouldn't be an issue, but there are only very few options available, and from what I've heard they are plagued by bugs and compatibility issues. So it seems that it is somehow difficult to make external displays that work well. And one thing we haven't talked about yet is price: getting a computer with an integrated display is almost certainly cheaper than getting a computer + a good display. The iMacs have always been pretty good deals if you consider how much a comparable display would cost.