Another classic Apple product has been discontinued. This time, it’s the Thunderbolt Display that’s come under the proverbial axe.
When it was first launched, the external display was the industry leader in speed and resolution. However, it hasn’t been updated in over five years. Once standing proudly in the spotlight, the Thunderbolt display soon started fading away, and now, it’s been done with forever.
Apple announced the discontinuation a fortnight ago (23rd June). A spokesperson of the company said:
We’re discontinuing the Apple Thunderbolt Display. It will be available through Apple.com, Apple’s retail stores, and Apple Authorized Resellers while supplies last. There are a number of great third-party options available for Mac users.
What’s interesting is that Apple is suggesting third-party options as alternatives to the Thunderbolt display. After having kept their door locked closely on ‘outsiders’ and touting the virtue of exclusivity, they are suddenly propagating a more accepting philosophy. But it goes to show the direction in which Apple is headed when it comes to external displays.
What does the future hold?
There are talks of Apple making a Thunderbolt Display with a 5K resolution and a built-in GPU. The new display is also expected to connect using the USB c-type instead of the standard Thunderbolt 3.0 port. This means, Apple is not quite done with the Thunderbolt Display yet, although there is some indication that the product’s name will be changed.
As you may have noticed, Apple has been doing some rebranding recently, the most famous ones being renaming OS X as macOS. It’s not a stretch to believe that they might be renaming their display as well, right?
And in the larger context of things, this is just another small step for Apple in the direction they are resolutely progressing in. Rebranding their products, opening up their eco-system to developers, and discontinuing many classic products and features – all of this point to some tectonic shifts in Appleland.
“There’s a storm coming, Mr Wayne,” and when it hits, we’ll see the emergence of a brand new Apple.