I was wrong about the Studio Display and 5K

29 Comments

1. Its a shit screen for that price

2. Thank you… I cant believe people are soo taken with the Mac display.. it has almost zero functionality. and people are spending a morgage payment to get one.

3. I'm rocking an old Thunderbolt display that I've got connected to my M1 MBP. It's fine, but it's starting to show some wear and tear, especially around the cable (I got it second hand) and it can sometimes come unplugged, meaning I've got to jiggle the cable around to get it working again. I'm looking at the Studio Display and the BenQ PD3200U. I really like the idea of speakers being built in as my desk at home is very, VERY small (maybe 2' deep and a little less than 4' across). I really just want there to be fewer cables on my desk because frankly, I'm getting tired of it.

   I'm leaning heavily toward the Studio Display.

4. Made my own 5K display:
   https://youtu.be/TRxAxbHYZPc

5. As a system administrator, much of my work involves text-based tasks in a terminal. I primarily use a Macbook Air M1 connected to a 27-inch UDH (3840×2160) external monitor. For me, text clarity is crucial. While a 27-inch 5k display would be ideal, I've found a workaround by setting my Mac to upscale from 2560×1440 to 5120×2880, and then downscale it to 3840×2160 to fit the monitor. This approach significantly improves text readability compared to native 1440p on a 27-inch screen. In my view, the Apple Studio Display is not cost-effective, offering only a 20% improvement in text clarity for an 80% higher price compared to an average 27" 4k monitor. Just sharing my opinion.

6. You are truly an apple fanboy.

7. The dealbraker with Apple Studio Display for me is 60hz. If it would have at least 120hz then I would buy it instantly. Why? Because I use mac for work and pc for gaming on the same monitor.

8. Oh btw , liked and subscribed

9. I just about bought a dell 27” 4K monitor for photoshop. But after watching reviews they pointed out the size of text and how small it was . So now you’re left with changing the resolution to 1440 to increase the size of the text and other tools in photoshop. So my thinking is to give up and buy apples studio display , as I think it will have larger crisper text and tools when you’re using photoshop. I think ?
   The bad news is I have a brand new PC gaining rig , 4090 gpu , i9 etc , and I was hoping to connect several monitors. My oled 34” as a gaming monitor, and two Apple studios for photo editing . I think this is going to create problems in windows 11 , at least I think . I have been researching using a studio monitor with windows and apparently there’s no control over calibration and brightness without some software that’s not available anymore (at least I think that’s true ) .
   So anyways , now if I want to use the studio monitor I’m stuck buying a Mac mini .
   Gotta win the lottery here soon lol 😂

10. I got the standard model of the Studio Display (Tilt only model) for $1299 from Best Buy during Presidents Day. No regrets! I tried 3 different 4K models (Dell S3221QS, Dell S2722QC, and the INNOCN 27M2V) before getting the Studio Display and the Dell models would sometimes flicker. The INNOCN model didn't flicker on me, but 4K resolution really hurt my eyes after awhile. The Studio Display, however, is well-built and has a clear and sharp display out of the box. Unlike the 4K monitors, the Studio Display has great sound for a monitor, so I might not even get computer speakers or a soundbar for it. So, I happy with the Studio Display and the INNOCN monitor will go to my Acer Predator 300 PC. The 32" Dell (w/ Curved Panel) will hook up to my ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo and the 27" Dell monitor will probably hook up to my 2015 MacBook Pro. Anyway… Great video!

11. I went with a 27” 4K Dell U2723QE IPS Black as a 2nd monitor for my 5K 27” iMac and was very nervous about some of the scare stories I read about scaling issues and performance penalty of not running at exactly 1/2 resolution (i.e. 2560×1440 on the 5120×2880).

    But I quickly discovered that running both displays at 3200×1800 was perfect, giving me consistent GUI scaling across both displays so that when a window moves from one to the other there is no disconcerting size change. The Dell is also a very good colour and brightness match for the 5K iMac. It cannot complete at maximum brightness, but I never run the iMac at max brightness and the Dell only has to use about 90% brightness to match the iMac at the brightness I do use. There is a very slight red/yellow imbalance between the two, but it is unnoticable unless comparing large white areas side by side on both screens simultaneously.

    The scaling theorists will tell me that text should be unacceptably blurry on both displays, and absolutely terrible on the lower pixel density 4K panel. They’re wrong.

    My primary use case is software development, so I’m working with text (i.e. code) all day and into the night in a variety of lighting conditions. I’m also in my 50’s with eyesight that has been deteriorating and needing reading glasses since my mid-40’s, but I am very happy working at 12-14pt text at that resolution.

    Performance wise, there is no discernible performance degradation running with these scaling options. Where I HAVE seen a performance issue is when trying to drive the 27” Dell from an Intel MacBook via a DisplayLink dock, in which configuration even moving the mouse around suffers very obvious and annoying lag and moving windows around is unusable. But the issue there is DisplayLink, not macOS scaling, because if I plug the same Intel MacBook directly into the same monitor, the performance issue disappears entirely.

    The iMac can of course drive the Dell directly without needing DisplayLink, and has a very capably GPU to assist with the scaling, so it is not entirely unexpected that it should take this very much in its stride.

    The one thing I prefer unequivocally about the iMac display (and by extension the Apple Studio if I were to get one) is the deeper blacks with the glossy glass. The Dell gives very satisfying black levels and without the iMac screen next to it the IPS Black panel would be very impressive but, side by side, the comparison cannot be avoided. Is it that worth 3.5x the price? If I didn’t also edit photos and video from time to time I would say “no”. But since I do, when I eventually replace the iMac I think I will have to get a Studio Display (hopefully they will be cheaper and/or even better by then).

    Bottom line: choosing and using an external display with a Mac can be a minefield. The Apple Studio takes a lot of the uncertainty away so there is that. But if you do your research and consider your use cases and needs carefully you will have many more, and much cheaper, options.

12. The biggest problem I have is: Where is the competition?
    Where are the OLEDs with better overall brightness? Or mini-LEDs with enough dimming zones so that blooming isn't a problem?
    Where are all the 5k and 32-inch monitors that aren't curved or ultra-wide or just offer a good mix of high refresh rate, peak brightness and color accuracy?
    I mean, I think the Apple Studio Display is overpriced for its IPS panel. Not a single IPS panel should cost over 1,000 euros, especially if it's only 27 inches. It's simply not good enough in terms of contrast and black level.
    Then there's the added cost of the stands and the poor port selection.
    But I'm looking for a display that fits what I'm looking for, and either I have to go for cheating and try my luck or have to go way more expensive like with the Asus Pro type line and their 6k mini LEDs. its nuts.

    And I would say even the gamer market has gotten better monitors over the years. But they either lack good overall brightness without huge fluctuations in homogenized screen brightness.
    Or they're curved or they're noisy and poorly calibrated and so on. There have always been flaws.

    So yes, it's sad that there's no real competition for Mac users.
    Still, I think anyone who buys a Studio or MBP can afford a similarly priced monitor if they be better.
    But like always. No one steps into the field and shows that you can have similar quality and speaker but also give a better display for the money. And I think it’s possible. But no one tries to do 5k and 6k other than unreliable companies like dough.

13. I cannot go back to 60hz after using 120hz for desktop display for work. I imagine their next version will get a bump.

14. 5K is best, second best to 5K is…. 2K !! Far superior to 4K which fails at every display point, text to small or text to big with limited workable screen estate.

15. Have LG 27 5k and happy with it for much less than Apple Studio Display. Not so many options available and coming from 5k iMac, it was impossible for me to use a lesser resolution display. I was tempted to go back to a smaller size 24 inch 4K in order to not compromise on resolution. Glad to have found a 5k 27 as it is for me the best combination of size and res.

16. It’s exhausting to continually see videos acting aghast at the cost of Apple products. And then people pile on. The thing is Apple has always, since day 1, operated as a provider of premium computing products and services. Their stuff costs more based on several factors. It’s like airlines. Some are premium, some are not. You choose the provider, but it doesn’t make sense to choose one and then bitch about what it is. Just choose other providers if cost is your only concern. Apple stuff is never going to be the cheapest.

17. The studio display was dead on arrival, Apple rushed it and couldn’t wait for the next revision of lcd modules. The ProArt at that was far far superior with the only grip being the 4K resolution but somehow people weren’t aware it supported all colour spaces and VRR for all video formats.
    Given OLED is now coming it’s basically 2 generations behind.

18. Good review and good advice!

19. Everyone in the comments justifying getting scammed by Apple. I want to pull the trigger but it’s so hard :/

20. I am extremely happy with the Samsung M8, which was very affordable, something like $500 for the 32 inch size that I wanted. It has a bunch of smart TV features that I can’t make use of here in Japan, but as a monitor, it certainly is fine. For gaming, I would rather get something better like an OLED TV.

21. I’ve been trying o sell my 4k lg for ver a year so that I can get a studio display。 Even at 150 people don’t want to buy it. 1600 for the studio display?? – maybe manufacturers should start considering what Apple is doing, because I’m sure the cinema display’s image isn’t ten times better than. a j4k lg.

22. I'm using the Dell UltraSharp 43 Monitor. The Studio Display is simply too small (price is another thing). I got the 43" for literally half the cost. It lives up to the name ("Sharp") but I would've preferred a 32". I don't dispute that the Studio Display is superior but not $1000 superior, not for me anyway and certainly not at that size. My 16" M1 Pro works really with Dell's monitor–its PNP is pretty awesome as well. I can use both my Mac and my XPS at the same time.

23. I ended up getting a 27” LG 4K monitor for $300 that is actually pretty good. It beats my pre-Retina 27” iMac with it’s Retina-like doubling up of pixels but at the same 1080p resolution. BUT it’s not a Studio Display…the LG’s speakers suck, the USB hub is useless…it only runs at USB 2.0 speeds if the cable from the laptop is also sending video…hello??? So I use the DPI port instead. It feels like the plastic that it is and the huge external power supply is ridiculous. It’s a bargain at $300 for the image quality, but for me it just comes down to price. If I had an extra $1300 to spend, I’d be viewing this on a S.D. I know people rag on Apple about pricing but my experience since the System 8 days is that Apple just builds better hardware. The displays are better, the trackpads are better, the battery life is better and so on and so on.

24. Other displays are more colour accurate and you can do more productive things with the money you don't spend on the Apple Display

25. Maybe it's the central European climate or the fact that I only use electricity from a solar island system, CalDigit TB docks have never lasted longer than eight months for me 🙁

26. There should just be more 5k displays. You can build your own by buying a 5k panel and controller board for a fraction of the price. Even for gaming it would be usable. You should be able to switch to 1440p for high refresh rates. It’s a shame 4K became the norm for desktop displays.

27. The most important feature of a display is the display and a 27” 5k is noticeably sharper than a 27” 4k display. For me the 4k display is unacceptable even if it is cheaper and has more ports or a higher refresh rate or a better webcam.

28. Hi Jerry!

    Is the gorilla glass provides better contrast and color vs the normal glossy dough ?

29. The best channel when it comes to mac. Can you tell me was the gorilla glass dough better in terms of sharpness and color compare to glossy dough?
    ❤