So I’ve resisted the Studio Display for a long time.
I’m a bit of a desk freak. My desk is huge and empty. I use a dining table I got from Ikea a while ago and I put pretty much one whole MacBook on it. It’s overkill. Part of resisting putting a permanent screen has literally been to avoid putting anything additional on my desk.
It’s not only this though. I struggle a little with really large screens. They can feel a little overwhelming. I tend to be that guy who focuses on one app at a time in fullscreen mode. Very occasionally split-screen (Stage Manager makes no sense to me - it’s like an extra disorganised desktop that also wastes 50% of your available pixels). So my workspace is a string of spaces that I’ll four-finger-swipe between as I work. Most apps in fullscreen mode on a 27" monitor are ridiculous, but they’re perfect on a 16" screen.
Anyway, I’ve been on an advanced SQL course this week to sharpen up my skills for some data warehouse work and swapping between a remote desktop, Zoom (gosh I dislike Zoom), various websites, and SQL queries while trying to mute/unmute and have a realtime conversation finally broke me. Either a second screen or a much bigger screen were necessary.
I also use a Windows laptop for work, and while I know that connected to a Windows laptop the Studio Display is just a dumb monitor, that means it’s at least as functional as just about any alternative. My other half ran a Studio Display and an expensive Dell Ultrasharp (well reviewed and well-regarded) side by side for a while driven by a Mac Studio and though the Ultrasharp was in fact a gorgeous screen the Studio Display blew it out of the water (the Dell now serves as a TV in the bedroom with an Apple TV 4K and stereo pair of HomePods mini and the second monitor is now a second Studio Display). For this reason, and the more advanced Mac-specific features, the Studio Display is the most appealing choice to me. A big part of that is actually the speakers, which have generally been the most positively reviewed feature.
My desk also gets used for painting. I’m a nerd and I do suitably nerdy things. I need to basically clear my desk completely so I can paint little imaginary men with little imaginary guns to wage little imaginary war on a completely different table in the house (example below). Another reason I’ve resisted adding another thing to my desk.
So I’ve ordered the VESA mount version and an Ergotron monitor arm. It fits my criteria:
Fancy Mac-specific features
Large screen I can use as a second screen or in clamshell as a much larger primary screen
It has no permanent footprint on my desk and can be moved out of the way when I need space
Thunderbolt driven so will work with the same cable plugged into either my MacBook or Windows laptop
It’s pretty (yeah I just dont wanna put some ugly plastic thing in my workspace)
The 27" pays off for photography or video. Otherwise, partition it for multiple apps. Multiple monitors work well for that as well. I used a pair of 19" monitors at work for years and paired a 20" with an iMac at home for years as well. I’m undecided about the Studio Display + Mac Mini versus the iMac when I eventually replace my 27" (Intel) iMac.
Are you okay with sharing which IKEA table you purchased? I’m looking into a larger workspace. Most standard desks aren’t big enough for me (I like a lot of depth).
It’s a slightly odd one, it has a slight gap between its panels on the top, which actually made me hesitate on buying it for months.
I really love the design though.
I’ve found that in practice the gap is an irrelevance. My MacBook (or laptop stand) straddles the gap with the rear feet on one side and front feet on the other. I’ve actually used the gap on the ends to hide cables, though you can’t do this in the centre as the gap is too narrow to pass through a USB-C head.
I think it would infuriate anyone who might use their mouse in the centre of the table, though. That would be an uncomfortable extension for me and I’d presume most people, so again not an issue.
The other thing to consider is that dining tables have struts underneath the tabletop, just a couple of inches in. In this case they’re pretty deep, so putting a mic/monitor arm clamp on the long sides hasn’t been an issue. The short sides however you couldn’t fit a clamp. This will vary by table so it’s worth checking before you buy.
You’d also be unable to affix any under-desk drawers or storage if this is something that matters to you.
Just be aware that other monitors look awful after using the Studio Display for any amount of time. I had to convince my work to buy me one after I got one at home as nothing else looks as good!
In case anyone else wants to convince their work, tell them it is for your eyesight and that blurry monitors give you headaches. At least in my case, they then approved it immediately as they don’t want medical liability for my eyes deteriorating!
You’ll be fine with like a cable tray. Question might be whether it goes on the inside or the outside of the under-table. I’d take a measuring tape and check.
I have some more tidying to do: I’m waiting on a fancy new BookArc from Twelvesouth and a new desk mat.I’m also waiting on a boom arm adapter so I can put my Blue Yeti on the arm you can see at the rear left there, too.
Everything’s running through the thunderbolt 4 dock there, which is a Razer TB4 dock in ‘Mercury’. There are some docks with more ports on them around now but honestly for a peripheral made by a gaming accessories company the design is superb and it looks so much better than pretty much any competitor. Kind of like how Razer laptops look more like MacBooks than average gaming laptops these days.
I meant to reply to this, but you might like to know that anytime any of my models has a dismembered piece of a Space Marine, I paint it as an Ultramarine.
I had to wait for a mic screw adapter to fit my mic to its arm. I have a Blue Yeti X which has fallen out of popularity in recent years but it has a nice warm sound that I quite like. It’s connected by one of the USB-A ports on the back of the hub.
I also have a few cables clipped to the back of the desktop:
USB C on a 60W (I think) charging brick for when I need to plug in another device such as my iPad or if I need to charge one laptop while using another.
Power cord for my gaming laptop as despite having thunderbolt it does not charge by thunderbolt.
Lightning cable for the AirPods Max. If Apple make a gen 2 with USB-C I’ll probably buy them just ro remove the one remaining lightning port from my life.
There’s also an ethernet cable that would be plugged into the hub but I’ve discovered that when the hub goes to sleep it somehow causes the router to reboot, which is odd and annoying.
