My wife has a 27" iMac which is on its last legs. She also has an M1 MacBook Air so I’m thinking I’ll get her an external monitor. I would love to get her a studio display, but we’d prefer not to spend that much.
Any recommendations on a 27" 4K monitor with built in speakers and webcam? I see several Dell’s with built in speakers. I’d be happy to get an external webcam, but the problem is the Logitech Brio 505 has a USB-C cable and most of the Dell’s only have one USB-C port, which I will obviously use for the MacBook Air. She uses the iMac for A LOT of video-conferencing so a good experience there is a must.
I want this to be as simple as possible for my wife (one cable solution), but I fear anything other than a Studio Display will be glitchy as that’s been my experience. It would actually be cheaper to buy her a 24" M3 iMac!!
Personally I have given in and bought the standard Studio Display. Coming from a 2015 27“ iMac I was too spoiled by the display quality and overall ease of use and aesthetics.
I have tried some external dispalys to go with my M1 Pro Macbook Pro but nothing really cut it: display quality and resolution always was a issue for me, I hated the bulky ugly external webcams I had to put onto the monitor, internal speakers were all crap and sometimes my Macbook Pro would just need some time to connect to the external display and actually show something.
Since I got the Studio Display I’m happy and never thought back. Everything feels and looks nice, display quality is as good as with the iMac, speakers are great, no clutter on my desk and I’m at peace with the webcam as I mostly still look better than most of the people I talk to .
Expensive solution yes, but I value my peace of mind
This Samsung M80C monitor comes with built-in speakers and a webcam. I thought it was just 32in 4k, but they added a 27in variant last year. It also doubles as a smart TV which is either a positive or a negative depending on the situation. My wife also has a 27in iMac in her art studio that is often just a fancy TV while she paints so I’ve thought of purchasing this for her when the time comes.
Something to add: I personally have a Studio Display and I’ve just NEVER had any issues with it, which is the same experience I had years ago with my 24" Cinema Display.
With other monitors, they seem to work okay when I just use them as a monitor, but I would run into issues with speakers, camera, etc. My wife has even less tolerance for anything finicky than I do so I feel like the Studio Display or another iMac is my best option.
I have the LG Ultrafine 27" 5K, which is a very similar (or same?) panel as the old 27" iMac and Studio Display. It is gorgeous, but with worse frame and stand construction. Cheaper as well though – I would recommend. It is not for sale here anymore, but may be where you are?
It had a smaller version as well – 24" 4K which I never owned but saw in the shops when I went to buy mine. Same display quality, just smaller. I’d consider that as well if I was you.
In terms of connectivity it does the same as the Studio Display with a one-cable connection to the Mac which also takes care of the charging if it is a laptop. The built-in camera is good and the microphone and speakers very good for video calls (though not the best for music).
Same here - got my iMac replacement Mac Studio in December last year. After having tested some standard PC displays from Asus, LG and Dell (27", 32" 4k, 34") from the companies pool I recycled my old Thunderbolt Display for some days until the Studio Display came in … It really hurts when pressing the order button but then it’ll spark joy every day …
I’m looking at it right now. The Apple 24-inch 4K LG UltraFine display monitor continues to be great even though Apple no longer sells it. I happen to prefer 4K resolution on the smaller 24-inch panel, although 27-inch 4K seems to be the popular standard these days. As @Dewald said, Apple uses a 5K resolution on their 27-inch panels. And, of course, Apple uses 6K on their 32-inch panels.
Right, but in order to do this, the iMac has to function as an iMac and run software to receive the signal from the other Mac. That’s the issue: the iMac is about to die. If the 5Ks had target display mode like the old iMacs, I’d be golden!
.
Now that we’re faced with buying one ourselves, the cost is a factor.