Yes, at the time, we complained that the Cinema Display’s DisplayPort didn’t support older Macs and MacBooks either, but at least it worked – and still works – with PCs running Windows.Īs things stand, there’s not much incentive for Windows PC manufacturers to worry about supporting an £899 Apple monitor. The same 27in screen used to be available with a DisplayPort connector – it was called the Apple Cinema Display – but it was discontinued in 2011. Indeed, Apple doesn’t seem to offer a screen for users with older Macs that don’t have Thunderbolt ports. In this case, unfortunately, Apple only supports Thunderbolt and nothing else. Monitor manufacturers usually support more than one standard to increase the chance that their screens will work with more devices, though adaptor cables can sometimes bridge the gap. HDMI is a licensed consumer electronics connection designed for flat screen TVs and things that connect to them: Blu-ray players, games consoles, PCs etc.
VGA are DVI legacy computer standards that have been replaced by DisplayPort. The more popular options include VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
Thunderbolt is one way of connecting a computer to a monitor, but it’s not very common. But this is not guaranteed, and it won’t be soon enough for you. Also, it might work in the future, if the widespread adoption of the new USB Type-C port makes Thunderbolt more popular. Your Thunderbolt display should work with a PC that has a Thunderbolt port, but I wouldn’t buy one without a guarantee that it will work.