Apple drops 20-inch Cinema display, 30-inch may follow

Apple on Thursday discontinued its legacy 20-inch Cinema Display, reducing its external display offerings to just two options: its new LED-lit 24-inch model for notebooks and its legacy 30-inch display for desktops.

"With immediate effect, the following products are 'End of Life' (EOL); Apple 20" Cinema Display," the Cupertino-based company wrote in a worldwide bulletin to its sales and service channels. "All backlog will be cancelled and there is no automatic order conversion."

Around the same time, the Mac maker also removed the offering from its various online stores. Inventory of the display is extremely tight, as production of the product is believed to have been halted late last year. One of the company's largest distributors, Ingram Micro UK, reflects absolutely no inventory (below).

Interestingly, the same distributor has also run dry of the current 30-inch HD Cinema Display with a delivery date on new orders well past due, suggesting it may soon follow the 20-inch model out the door. The 30-inch model is not listed as discontinued, however, as it remains the only Apple-branded display that can be paired with new Mac Pro and Mac mini purchases.

Apple discontinued its previous-generation 23-inch HD Cinema Display last fall while introducing its new LED-lit 24-inch Cinema Display (review), which was designed with the company's new family of notebooks in mind. It did away with a DVI connector in favor of a Mini DisplayPort connector, which Apple has said will become its new standard display interface, shipping on all future products.

While Apple is widely expected to introduce a second LED-lit display in the 30-inch range, it remains unclear whether a new 20-inch model remains in the cards. Any future display update would presumably coincide with long-awaited updates to the company's line of desktop systems.

The 30-inch Cinema Display is amongst Apple's eldest available product offerings, having been introduced back in June of 2004.