The Apple interface is highly consistent. The fit and finish on their products is also highly consistent. I assume that this is a quality that Apple users enjoy.

Personally, I find the bezels on both monstrous, so I wouldn't go for either.

When exactly did people start to fear bezels in screens?

Bezels matter when we're talking about side by side displays.

They just look like constraints of a less sophisticated production process.

Probably when thin bezels became widely available (as dual monitor setups probably predate that).

Using dual displays with the second one not being the exact height/bezel-size/shape as the other is distracting and is less of a nice experience than when both displays are the same.

Usually with an iMac, the second display is always something else, this is a nice way to make the overall experience nicer.

The LG Ultrafine looks and feels like the same cheap shells that every monitor vendor uses, and doesn't fit the Mac aesthetic. It's really weird that Apple finds that fine to sell, but then again desktops at the low end don't seem to be their biggest thing these days.

I have legitimately considered just buying the Pro XDR because I want a monitor that looks good on my desk. I'd have pulled the triggers but the rumors about the new iMacs started, and I want to see where they go - I didn't buy an older iMac as I refuse to buy an Intel Mac at this point.

I can’t explain why, but having the top bezel be thicker than the bottom just looks pain wrong to me. Outside of that, I think it looks fine. The running joke is that it’s called the UltraFine because it’s the most “ugh, fine” monitor you can get for $1200.

Appearance aside, anecdotally I’ve seen numerous reports of quality control issues (dirty screen effect, backlight bleed, pinstripes, wobbly stand, etc).

The LG is almost the price of a 5k mac...

You can't buy it in Europe anymore, and it has been almost impossible to order one for over a year.

It looks like an iMac. That’s why people used to shell out big bucks for Apple-branded displays back when they were a thing

> people used to shell out big bucks for Apple-branded displays back when they were a thing

They still are:

Pro Display XDR https://www.apple.com/pro-display-xdr/

The pricing of the Pro Display XR makes it kind of „vaporware“. The difference is it does exist, you can buy it but with this insance pricing almost no one will buy it.

The old displays were a thing because they had really been affordable.

> almost no one will buy it

Just like reference monitors which are much pricier, it doesn't mean they have no reason to exist.

This Apple Display fits in a strange zone in between reference monitors and high quality "regular" displays (which the previous Apple [Cinema||Thunderbolt] Display went at) that no one else went for.

The question is, is there a market for that niche or is that a "Vader trash can" Mac Pro mistake again?

For what it's worth, rumors from last month have speculated that a regular iMac with an XDR-like chassis might be coming.

https://9to5mac.com/2021/01/15/new-imac-2021-apple-silicon/

Interesting. Wonder if the next iMac release will be M1-only - which would be pretty bad for a large part of the "creative audience" that iMacs are supposedly targeted at, given that the infrastructure is not there yet to make the switch (e.g. in music making, the plugins will take years to catch up and get rebuilt).

Doesn't have the Apple logo? :)

But it looks like it was ~$500 less than the LG version all in all, so a decent project.

It really baffles me that Apple fanboyism goes as far as putting non-Apple hardware into Apple cases.

It's like voting with your wallet but still promoting the brand you didn't vote for.

"Camera Type: Built-in camera" does not give me a lot of confidence about that webcam ;)