The thing I’ve always disliked about retina iMacs is how glossy the display is. I don’t like to see my own reflection in the monitor. The new matte finish on the studio displays intrigues me.
I’ve generally heard bad reviews about it though, causing text to appear fuzzy. How do I decide if it’s right for me?
Does anyone use a base below the studio display built-in stand to get it up a bit higher? The VESA mount is always an option but wondering if it’s feasible to raise the base of the built-in mount version. There’s a few companies that make them for iMacs, but I haven’t seen it discussed or advertised for the studio display.
At what point should I stop considering one and wait for the next release? It’s been 1.5 years since this one came out. Any predictions on what the timelines are for the next one?
Are you in a position to buy and return a display? That’s the easiest way. While you have it, you could stack textbooks or coffeetable books to see if you’re happy with the wobble on your desk, and then buy a riser. Anything with at least 7"x7" will fit the non-height-adjustable stand.
I couldn’t say when it’ll be refreshed. It would be nice to have more resolution on the camera.
I have a simple glass riser beneath my Studio Display. That raises it about 77 mm higher, though arguably I should only have about 40 mm under there… I bought it for a prior 24" display.
My lighting conditions may well be different to yours, but I had to really concentrate to see my reflection in an essentially black wallpaper. I’m sitting with my eyes about 700 mm away from the display, so my reflection is 1.4 m away and nowhere near in my focus plane. I had to refocus my eyes significantly to see my reflection and even then it was very faint.
Now… I do not have bright light on my face, which probably makes it less of a problem than if you do.
I’d invest the extra sum needed for the non-glossy texture to get the height adjustable stand (it’s exactly what I did) and I’ve got no problem with the glossiness, if anything I like it, I feel it makes the colours more vivid.
I have both Studio Displays, a glossy one in my home office and a matte one in my office at work. I also don’t like glare, but I do not regret getting the glossy one at all. It has an amazingly sharp and crips image quality when I’m editing code (very important to me) that makes it a joy to work with. I do have a window behind me, but it’s east facing and shielded from the sun and so most of the time the sun isn’t shining through it.
At work my office has three walls of glass (much more potential for sunlight), so I opted for the matte option. I don’t think that I regret it, but the image quality is noticeably less sharp.
It’s probably worth mentioning that most of my work involves working with dark text on a light background. I might feel differently about the glossy screen if I were using dark mode or apps with dark backgrounds.
I am always in Dark mode and in text editors. The glossy vs matte was an important decision I had to make when I got mine. I chose the glossy one and even though it’s right beside a window, I don’t see that I made a mistake. It’s a gorgeous display and I’m loving it every day.
(I didn’t want to imply that the glossy one is a mistake for those who use it in dark mode(s); I only wanted to be clear that it may be a factor for glare and that my experience may not be representative of everyone’s. I’m old enough that dark text on a white background was exotic, and that’s stuck with me )
I actually said some time ago that I don’t notice the display at all, which is testament to it doing a good job. (I certainly used to notice the previous display that it replaced.)
However a few days ago, I just happened to lean in a little closer than normal and suddenly it was amazing all over again. So clear, sharp, and smooth.
that it replaced.)