Apple's history of displays is a saga of fire and innovation

Science · Published 1 November 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: From monochrome screens that left 'ghosting' trails to high-end monitors notorious for catching fire, Apple’s display journey is one of extreme technological swings. It reveals a brand moving from basic hardware compatibility to the pinnacle of professional visual fidelity.

Apple's relationship with displays began in the 1970s as a recommendation rather than a product; users were encouraged to plug into televisions or third-party monitors. This changed in 1980 with the Monitor ///, an in-house manufactured 12-inch monochrome screen for the Apple III. While functional, it suffered from slow phosphor refresh rates that created a 'ghosting' effect on the video. By 1984, Apple began experimenting with both color CRTs and early flat panels, though the latter—like the Apple Flat Panel Display—were initially expensive failures requiring direct sunlight to be visible.

The late 1990s and early 2000s were marked by high-stakes hardware risks. The 'Apple Studio Display' series of CRT monitors became infamous for faulty flybacks that could cause units to catch fire or destroy entire computer systems, including GPUs. Simultaneously, Apple was pivoting toward the LCD revolution. This transition was spearheaded by the Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh in 1997 and culminated in the successful iMac G4 in 2002, which moved the brand toward all-in-one designs with integrated flat panels.

Today, Apple's hardware strategy has shifted from manufacturing to curation. After pausing standalone display production in 2016, they partnered with LG for Mac designs. The current lineup—the Pro Display XDR and the consumer-focused Studio Display—represents a move toward high-end professional standards after decades of iterating through various CRT technologies like Trinitron and Diamondtron.

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