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Infinite Loop / The Apple Ecosystem

Apple to start offering 17″ displays again?

If rumors are to be believed, Apple may be venturing back into the 17" display …

 It always seemed peculiar to me that Apple discontinued their 15" and 17" LCDs just when 15" and 17" monitors were becoming affordable. It seemed spectacularly unoportunistic of Apple to have their lowest-priced display at $699, especially since 17" is a perfectly acceptable display size for many people.

Some might argue there isn't a need for low priced LCDs for Apple. Their consumer-oriented iMac comes with a display and most people buying a Mac Pro can either afford an Apple display or can justify the additional cost because Apple's LCD color handling is "spectacular" or something. One has to wonder if Apple's attachment rates would be higher if they had a lower-priced LCD available, especially for their Mac mini line. Spending six hundred bucks is great and all, but if you have to spend $699 to get a display in the same stop, are you going to?

Well, if rumors are to be believed (and if we have learned anything, they aren't), then Apple is going to rekindle the 17" display. The key seems to be that manufacturers will begin producing a 17", 16:9 aspect ratio LCD for about the same cost of a 4:3 ratio display. Currently Apple's line of displays—20", 23" and 30"—are 16:10 aspect ratio.

If the rumors are true and Apple does begin offering a 17" display, will they price themselves out of competition for people looking for cheaper solutions? Should Apple, perhaps, offer a line of budget LCDs for potential switchers who want to try a Mac mini? I'm willing to bet not. If a 20" fetches $699 in Apple's eyes, it seems reasonable that a 17" will be at least $399 and that isn't a winning situation for consumers.

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