[jfb]

Apple already sells a Thunderbolt docking station, with a very nice 27" display built in.

[roc]

Personally I think baking the GPU power into the displays themselves is the more Apple-y approach. As opposed to some sort of additional-stackable-boxes solution.

(Which I'd love to see; I just don't see Apple doing it.)

[grecy]

> Personally I think baking the GPU power into the displays themselves is the more Apple-y approach.

I don't agree.

Any Monitor with built in GPU won't make sense with the new Mac Pro, which (I think) will be the driving force for the new (likely 4K) Thunderbolt cinema displays.

[roc]

But without the GPU what Apple machines other than Mac Pros will decently drive a 4k display? [1]

Apple's left the Pro line to languish for so long, I can't imagine they'd let it limit their ability to differentiate in the larger display business.

[1] And of those upgraded MBPs that could hit 4k aren't going to be able to do it on two displays, which is quite popular.

[barrkel]

GPUs become obsolete way faster than monitors.

[roc]

Are you trying to say Apple wouldn't put GPUs in displays because it might accelerate the display upgrade cycle?

[barrkel]

I'm trying to say that customers aren't quite stupid enough to invest in a display that they'll throw out 18 months later.

[roc]

In a product line-up where a new GPU requires an entire new machine, merely having to replace a display would actually be an improvement.

Not that people with those sorts of interests, even when Apple customers, rely on Apple hardware to serve those interests.

[sneak]

As long as it can be used with a pass-through Thunderbolt mode, it would still be perfectly usable as a display/port expander without using the internal GPU, should you buy a faster machine.

Also, Apple stuff seems to last damn near forever, so it'll hold a lot of resale value (even if the GPU is two years old) for those who want to upgrade.

[tsmarsh]

It would be great if that docking station optionally included an awesome GPU. In the mean time, daisy chaining something like this on to the back looks very interesting.