You can't buy a 5K monitor from Apple right now, but why?

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LG UltraFine 5K
LG UltraFine 5K (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple normally sells the LG UltraFine 5K display in stores and online.
  • Right now it seems that stocks have run very dry.
  • That means Apple currently can't sell you a 5K monitor.

Apple can't currently sell you a 5K display to go with your Mac after the LG UltraFine 5K display went out of stock pretty much everywhere. Normally Apple sells the display online and in its physical Apple Stores.

The lack of stock was first spotted by 9to5Mac who notes that the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Brazil have all run dry of late.

Lg Ultrafine 5k Unavailable

Lg Ultrafine 5k Unavailable (Image credit: iMore)

With the UtraFine 5K now showing as unavailable it isn't clear why that might be. Apple doesn't sell any competing products beyond the costly Pro Display XDR and LG's option has been the go-to option for Mac users in recent years. That doesn't mean everyone liked it, though. It isn't a great display in the eyes of a lot of Mac users – but it's a better option than nothing at all!

While we can all hope that this is part of an Apple pan to introduce a more affordable version of the Pro Display XDR, it's unfortunately more likely that LG has simply been struggling to build displays thanks to the COVID-19 situation we're all dealing with. The counterpoint to that? I can't imagine there's been a run on a $1,299.95 display that nobody truly liked.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.