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Apple is now selling an updated version of LG’s UltraFine 4K Display

Apple is now selling an updated version of LG’s UltraFine 4K Display

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With Thunderbolt ports and a display size bump but a lower resolution

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Image: Apple

The only monitor Apple sells directly through its website lives on, despite questions about its survivability over the past few months. The company today resurrected the UltraFine 4K Display, the one made in partnership with LG, as a 23.7-inch model with two new Thunderbolt 3 ports (as well as three vanilla USB-C sockets) around back. It costs the same as the previous 21.5-inch model: $699. But this one takes a hit on resolution, dropping down to 3840 x 2160 from 4096 x 2304. That said, with a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports, you can now hook up an additional monitor or Thunderbolt 3 external drive if you like.

Dedicated Apple blogs first noticed the product’s revival yesterday when it began showing up unlisted on the company’s online store. The updated version arrives just a couple of months after Apple removed the initial 21.5-inch model from its US website, and one month after the company stopped selling the pricier 5K variant of the LG UltraFine. Those moves led to speculation that Apple was gearing up to reveal a 31.6-inch 6K display, one rumored to come with a “Mini LED-like backlight design,” according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

It’s not clear whether bringing back the LG UltraFine 4K says anything significant about the rumored 6K monitor. If anything, it suggests we may not hear about it for some time — at least not until Apple is ready to take the wraps off its much-anticipated Mac Pro redesign. Although recent reports say Apple may show off its new high-end desktop machine as early as WWDC next month, so perhaps the official Apple monitor line will expand in short order.

Correction, 8:42 PM ET: We previously wrote that the monitor adds a second Thunderbolt 3 port, but Thunderbolt 3 is new here. LG’s previous monitor used USB-C instead of Thunderbolt 3 to pass video, data and power.