I look at text all day long. The difference between 5k and 4k is vast - not on subtle things like color accuracy but on big things like “how well can I read this text without straining my eyes” and “how much content can I fit on one screen.”
I’m glad the value proposition worked out another way for you. Yet here we are, this many posts in this thread, and still no one has given me a 5k alternative that’s a “better deal.” Instead, I’m told to embrace my inner snob/fanboy.
@Jezmund_Berserker Yes, you need to embrace your inner fanboy if you want a 27" 5K, because as far as I know (someone correct me if I am wrong), the only choices are the Studio Display and the LG.
If the Studio Display is such a bad deal, how come there are none in stock anywhere?
That was more a reference to a general trend, not you specifically. Apple kit being known for high prices and sometimes that coming with questionable value. Note the other quote I included referencing “bargain hunters with no style”.
I think text and size and readability is all relative. What I’m really referencing is the cost of style that comes with some Apple gear and people’s willingness to pay it. And that includes me by the way! I’ve bought lots of Apple gear. But I do have a budget and I weigh carefully. This is just a case where I concluded for myself that it was better to go another way.
I’m sure there will be plenty to buy it and I’m sure that it is very well made and a pleasure to use. I’m sure those that make that choice will enjoy it!
Not to hammer on, but you quoted half my sentence and thus made me come across as far snobbier/more scoffing that my original comment intended. In fact, in the part you didn’t quote, I was pointing to the vibrant second hand market. I don’t know where you live, but here in NYC you can still find excellent condition Apple Thunderbolt Displays for ~$400/500. I would contend that any of those would represent a significant upgrade on the 1080p monitor you describe, with camera, speakers and excellent build quality, for a fraction of the price of a new Studio Display.
Admittedly, once all the old TB displays have broken down and/or are bought up, there will be a gap in the secondhand market corresponding to all the years that Apple wasn’t making a consumer display, but for now…
Also, FWIW, years ago I compared a TB display side by side with a cheap (then) 4K 27” and concluded that text was sharper at 1x on the TB Display than at imperfect scaling on the 4K 27”, to say nothing of color calibration.
Sorry about that! I didn’t really think about it too deeply as it’s just something I notice in general when it comes to Apple tech and the surrounding discussion anywhere. Yours just happened to stick out on this thread. I think we use and enjoy Apple gear in part because of the style and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that if we find value there.
My intent was really just to point to the high cost that comes with that. Sometimes I’m willing to pay it because the functionality is solid and worth it. Other times, as in the case of this monitor, not as much.
All good, but I do think the discussion shifted onto unproductive territory.
My comment on “bargain hunters with style” vs “without style” was off color, but intended sort of matter-of-factly as a short hand for people who want to pay for industrial design vs those who don’t. Perhaps it’s unfair to equate that with “having style” — that’s a different discussion. I was pointing to the 2nd hand market because we’ve all (ok maybe not all but probably most) been pretty penniless at least at some point and there are also Apple’s Pro products to remind us that we’re all penniless in relative terms.
With that aside, I think the bigger point is that, with the exception of a few specific categories like, in the Tim Cook years, the iPhone, Apple has not historically targeted the bargain end of the market. Instead, they keep selling old, once-premium products (e.g. AW S3) but, more importantly, they make stuff so well that often half a decade after its sale it still has more than 50% of the original value. There are all sorts of reasons — including the environment and, yes, style — that I believe this approach is far better than releasing cheaply made, high volume stuff to begin with.
If you are interested in seeing video from a Studio Display check out the latest Macbreak Weekly. As the video starts Renee Ritchie is using his new ASD, At the 19 minute mark he has switched to his normal camera
I usually use my AirPods Pro or Max to do teams calls.
Today I switched to the Studio Display microphones and someone asked if I had changed my microphone as it sounded like ’ I was in a professional sound booth’. They were very impressed.
Totally unprompted real world review
I can’t hear mine from my normal sitting position with the Mac Studio on the desk within arm’s reach. I have to bend down and get my head within a foot or so of the machine to hear the fans.
I ordered mine on the Apple Store, with shipping about 3 weeks out. Then today I figured I might as well check out Best Buy, which unfortunately has them in stock. Mine is waiting for me to pick it up.
The sad thing is that I haven’t cancelled the one on order at the Apple Store in case I decide I need two…
A) iMac 24” + 12.9”iPad w/MK
B) Studio Display + 14” MBP + 11” iPad
It’s becoming an identify crisis. I love the Studio Display but when I look at it next to the iMac 24” on my desk it’s just so much thicker, and my eyes ache with the two cables coming out of the back, and one being off to the side to boot. (The desk sits facing the living room, so from every sitting position you get a view of the back of the iMac / Studio Display, so it’s important to keep it neat).
Yet when I’m sitting in front of it, I love the extra room of the 27” vs 23.5” and I prefer the clean front of the Studio Display…
I did in-store pick up for mine a couple days ago, and it was so easy. The team at my Apple store was excited for me, which made it more fun.
I think the speakers sound way better than any other monitor I have ever used. I know a lot of the reviewer said the same thing, and I also agree that if your used to external speakers you will probably want more than what is offered here. I listen to most audio via headphones or AirPods, so I’m okay with what’s offered.
I’ve had my Studio Display for a week now, hooked up to a Mac Powerbook M1 Pro. I’m glad I bought it.
On the one zoom call I’ve had since getting it, I thought the camera was a big improvement over the camera in my 27" iMac. It made my image larger on the screen than the other camera, and I liked the Center Stage feature.
I don’t mind paying extra for the typical Apple solid build and aesthetics. It looks great on my desk and all the cables are hidden behind the stand. I like the much smaller form factor in comparison to my iMac.
As far as the height, it fits me just fine. Better than the iMac, in fact. Whether it’s “too low,” “just right,” or “too high” is of course going to totally depend on how the user’s body is built. Except for displays with adjustable stands, no manufacturer can design a display that fits everyone equally well. If it’s too low, people make adjustments by placing it on a shelf to raise it or buying the alternate adjustable height stand. At least with this monitor, there IS an adjustable height stand available, unlike the iMac.
One thing I’m still trying to figure out: if you have two Studio Displays, can you daisy chain them like you could the old Thunderbolt Displays? Or do they each require you to connect via a separate Thunderbolt cable?
Indeed! And I’m personally glad they make an option without the adjustable stand because I would keep it in its lowest position anyway and it looks terrible… and it would be very exposed in my set up.
My understanding is no daisy chaining here – but I haven’t tried personally.
If you can daisy chain, it’d be interesting to figure out how that affects which monitor you can select for camera and speakers…
Just thought I’d add my thoughts here to the Mac Studio (and the display reviews).
I have the M1 Max Mac Studio but am still to receive my Studio displays as yet. For the moment my studio is plugged into an 27" LG 4K monitor which previously served as a 2nd display alongside my iMac.
While I am loving the Mac studio performance I feel the using it with the 4K display is seriously hampering my enjoyment and excitement for the machine. How anyone reviewing the Studio Display can recommend getting a 4K display is beyond me. The difference is HUGE! I have been fine using mine as a 2nd display, mostly for streaming YouTube or viewing web pages while I worked on the iMac but using it a main display is just plain awful and I can’t wait for my Studio Display to arrive (still a week a way though).
All the reviews seem to focus too much on the the price which although is painful there simply isn’t a better option if you want the Apple experience and astheatrics. I have seen enough review to appreciate that the webcam is bad and hope that Apple fix this but its not a big issue for me. I look forward to trying the speakers but I actually use a set of KEF LS50’s which are amazing so I have no real ned for the speakers.
I’m also amazed how hung up everyone is on the power cord being fixed. While I appreciate this isn’t maybe ideal it doesn’t concern me either.
Now as for the Mac Studio itself. I had found it to be very quiet in general use at my desk, but as I have tuned everything else off to write this I am noticing the fan for the first time. IT isn’t awful, but it is there, and I really wish it wasn’t.
What I am most surprised at, is how little I like the form factor. I’m not really enjoying having this big box sat on my desk. I may need to find a way to get it under my desk but that presents an issue with powering it on.
I do like the IO although that too has caused me issues as my external storage uses the old thunderbolt mini display port and so I had to buy an adaptor which is a bit of a pain for cabling.
In short I am missing the all in one convenience of the iMac BUT do appreciate that I will now have a machine with much better IO that I can swap out more easily in the future due to its modular approach.
intriguing… i picked mine on launch day as well and the team was overly excited for me. To be honest, I recall thinking, these guys are more excited than I am.
Yesterday, I went to return the studio display and they genuinely seem interested to know why… After I told them that I got the VESA option, they seem relived.
Do you think, they are told to be excited?
Regardless, customer service at the apple store is world best.
