iMac reviews, both good and bad, have basically missed the biggest selling point about the new iMac 24″: the LCD screen. No, its not the new LED-backlit style screen, but it is vastly superior to every other 24″ LCD monitor on the market, except for professional displays costing $1500.00 or more.
Faster CPU, faster memory, more memory, more storage space, mini-displayport, blah. blah, blah. All reviews of Apple’s latest iMac 24″ talk about the obvious. But there is something that really should be even more obvious: the LCD screen. While its not the new-fangled LED-backlit style screen, it uses a fantastic IPS panel (”in-plane switching”) while most 24″ displays use inferior TN (”twisted neumatic”) or PVA/MVA panels.
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Contrary to the public’s belief, LCD displays are not all the same. It may be difficult to tell at a store, but spend 15 minutes working on different LCD displays and the differences will be easily apparent. Almost each and every 24″ LCD display sold by major retailers uses inferior TN panels, with a dwindling few using PVA/MVA which is only slightly better. They might look great on the shelf, but in comparison to a quality IPS display, they lose out every time.
Outside of the iMac 24″ , IPS screens are typically reserved for higher-end professional displays used by artists and photographers. IPS screens offer some of the finest color accuracy and the widest viewing angles available in an LCD monitor.
Professional LCDs with IPS panels marketed by the likes of Lacie and NEC are typically in the range of $1500 for a 24″ display. Some of these models use the exact LG/Philips IPS panel that’s inside the new iMac 24″.
The price of the new iMac 24″ is roughly equivalent to a professional IPS display, but with an entire Apple Mac computer included at no extra charge. Check pricing for a comparable Windows PC together with the same quality IPS display and you’ll find that the iMac’s value is absolutely undeniable.
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March 20th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Amen! I use a 20″ iMac at home and a 24″ iMac at work. Both are far superior to CRTs and PC-based flat panel displays, both of which I also use regularly, but far the 24″ iMac is the most accurate when it comes to color presentation, and a pure joy to use all day long.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:16 am
i’ve wanted an IPS monitor for a while. does the 20″ imac have the same IPS panel?
March 20th, 2009 at 11:21 am
In contrast, the 20″ iMac uses a TN panel so it has limited viewing angles. Due to the fundamentals of TN technology, the display is not a true 16 or even 8 bit color device. However the 20″ iMac is a good machine overall and the glossy treatment does increase the black levels and improve the viewing angle slightly.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:33 am
one of the NEC is priced at $1300-$1200 online
but I still agree iMac 24 is a huge bargain!
March 20th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
So basically your argument is I get a screen with a free computer attached to it…
Unfortunately (as far as I know) you can’t use that screen with anything other than the in-built computer… making this argument is specious.
I already had a Windows laptop and was looking to get into iPhone development, so started looking at Apple products. An iMac with some sort of video in is exactly what I wanted, so I could share the 24-inch screen with the laptop. I ended up going for a Mini and a Dell LCD.
March 21st, 2009 at 12:56 pm
@ steve I think point here is that the iMac’s IPS display, alone, is worth the entire price of the machine. Your Dell LCD is nowhere near quality of an IPS display. You should get external Apple 24 LED display instead. You also could have used an iMac connected to your windows laptop with VNC remote control. Or, how about ditching the windows laptop and running a virtual windows on your mac, like vmware or parallels or virtualbox? Mac mini is awesome but price of mac mini with an IPS display is a lot more than an imac because the IPS displays on their own are more expensive than a mini (plus you still need apple keybd and mouse). I will look at mini and see how it performs in real life, but then I will need a display and i really want an IPS display for photoshop.
March 22nd, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Is this true only for the newest 24″ iMac or does it include the previous generation 24″ iMac?
March 24th, 2009 at 7:34 am
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March 26th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I agree 100%. iMac is a good deal.
March 28th, 2009 at 1:41 am
I’d still rather have something like a Mac Mini and a couple of 22″ Dell UltraSharp 2209WA’s. That way I get my IPS displays, more monitor eal estate, and a Mac for around $1100.
March 29th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
@mike
Your math is way off, plus dell is not IPS unless you can document the panel, plus 22″ LCD means 1680×1050 which is actually the resolution of a 20″ LCD
Who wants big pixels and high dot pitch anyways? Dell? Just say no dude
April 11th, 2009 at 11:16 am
The Dell 2209WA IS IPS - look under “tech specs”
April 12th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Dell is not an IPS even if they (Dell) says it is. It first needs to be documented by a third party by actually opening it up and verifying panel manufacturer and model number. I’ve never heard of any Phillips LG IPS panel that is 22″ so someone needs to take one apart and prove it. Anyways, who wants a 22″ 1680×1050 which will have big pixels? Going in the opposite direction from “high resolution” if you ask me. That’s a 20″ resolution. What does this have to do with the iMac anyways? Who wants a Dell screen on their desk connected to a Mac anyways? Geez. Just my 2 cents.
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 am
the ss09wa is ips… don’t argue with someone just because they’re right.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 am
good review, interesting comments, don’t know about the Dell being IPS, but I do know that Dell changes panels inside displays whenever they want to, so you can’t be guaranteed to get a certain panel, its a crapshoot, just like that 24″ Soyo that was all the rage and Doublesight LCD that can come with or without polarizer
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:35 am
The Dell UltraSharp 2209WA **is** an IPS panel - do a little research on the web before you speak.
And it has two big advantages over the Apple 24″ display:
• Price: I purchased two of the Dell 2209WA monitors, each for $212. Compare that with the Apple 24″ LED display at $899.
• Glare: the Dell monitor is a true matte display (i.e., no glare). The Apple LED is renowned for its high glare level.
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:37 am
whats with the Dell comments? what does that have to do with anything? obviously a $200 LCD from Dell is not a pro-level LCD like the iMac 24″ geez. and you dont know what you are getting from dell, they change the lcd insides all the time. get a Dell dude, whatever….
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:38 am
by the way, the industry is moving to glossy screens so the matte screen of the much smaller Dell mentioned here means nothing
July 17th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Since it never got answered, I’d like to reiterate
Jonathan Richard’s March 22nd query:
“Is this true only for the newest 24″ iMac or does it include the previous generation 24″ iMac?”
I.E., is the monitor on the new gen 24″ macs an improvement over the old gen, or more or less the same?
July 18th, 2009 at 10:06 am
@ Fred Masterson
I think 24″ iMac (previous gen) had IPS panel also. Maybe not exact same IPS, but any IPS is awesome. About 90% sure. You can double check online, its not a secret.
July 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
@ Dojen3
Parden me but I’m new to the Mac Universe. Where could one go online to check this? (Surely not the Apple site).
July 27th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
duh, isn’t the Dell a 22 inch LCD? The iMac is a freakin’ 24″ LCD. Yes, its a big difference folks.