Apple’s Thunderbolt Display is currently seeing significant supply shortages at a number of major Apple resellers, suggesting that Apple may be clearing inventory in preparation to release an updated model of the display. AppleInsider notes that MacConnection and J&R currently list the device as out of stock. Meanwhile, Amazon only has a few units in stock at the moment.
Other retailers, including MacMall and B&H, currently list the Thunderbolt Display as in stock, as does Best Buy (although a number of Best Buy retail stores are currently out of stock). The supply constraints come even as Apple is beginning to catch up on demand for their new ultra-thin iMacs. Prolonged supply constraints are often one of the first clues that Apple is preparing to discontinue a product or release a new model.
Supplies for the Thunderbolt Display have dipped extremely low several times in the past few months, suggesting that Apple may be building only a limited number of the displays as the launch of a new model draws nearer. The Thunderbolt Display is overdue for a refresh – it has been about a year and a half since the last version was released, and according to the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide, new displays are released every 399 days on average. As of today, it’s been 532 days since Apple updated their displays.
An updated Thunderbolt Display will most likely take design cues from the new thinner iMac lineup recently introduced by Apple. The display has historically borrowed technology form Apple’s popular all-in-one computer line. The iMac’s new display technology was re-engineered to be thinner, and reduce glare by 75%. The current-generation Thunderbolt Display uses the same screen as the previous generation 27-inch iMacs, a TFT active-matrix LCD panel built by LG. It’s also likely that Apple will add USB 3.0 ports and a second Thunderbolt port to any new model released from this point forward.
At this point, this is still all speculation – but considering Apple’s release pattern, and considering that the current Thunderbolt display weights more than the latest 27-inch iMac, I wouldn’t surprised if new models arrived sooner rather than later.
