The expensive desktops too. I did that for mine. Given it was so costly it was worth it.
Also have it for the ASD - that was costly too. So far mine is good.
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Apple Studio Display - Owners Thread
- Thread starter KPOM
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Also have it for the ASD - that was costly too. So far mine is good.
OK, so I did a thing. I was at the Apple Store today and purchased a new 14" MBP with the M3 Max processor. And since the M3 Max supports more than two external displays, bought a height-adjustable Studio Display. My other two are VESA models.
Yes, it's overkill. And it's glorious.
![IMG_2370.jpeg]( "IMG_2370.jpeg")
Sorry about the blurry, compressed picture. Done on purpose to hide personal information.
Yes, it's overkill. And it's glorious.
Sorry about the blurry, compressed picture. Done on purpose to hide personal information.
I must try my
I might have to try something like this, I'm still not 100% happy with my two side screens also being in landscape orientation.
Nice setup!
I might have to try something like this, I'm still not 100% happy with my two side screens also being in landscape orientation.
For some reason, I really don't like Windows Management in Mac OS with multiple monitors. It might be a preference thing of me not liking how Mac OS works with multiple monitors. It's a source of frustration for me.
So I actually "downgraded" to a single monitor setup now.
If I need to reference something, I do have my M1 12.9 iPad Pro on the side which I can use as a temporary secondary monitor if needed.
Also multiple monitors was just too busy for me on the desk. I just work better if my desk is as "lean" as possible. It might be a psychological thing.
Sometimes I do go back to a multiple monitor setup because I think it is more productive, but then I downgrade later back to a single monitor setup (with an iPad on the side).
So I actually "downgraded" to a single monitor setup now.
If I need to reference something, I do have my M1 12.9 iPad Pro on the side which I can use as a temporary secondary monitor if needed.
Also multiple monitors was just too busy for me on the desk. I just work better if my desk is as "lean" as possible. It might be a psychological thing.
Sometimes I do go back to a multiple monitor setup because I think it is more productive, but then I downgrade later back to a single monitor setup (with an iPad on the side).
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I totally agree. I don't like the management in macOS so end up with a couple of spaces on each monitors. Primary space has the "work" apps and the secondary has everything else - music, messaging apps etc.
I spent a while trying a single monitor setup with and without stage manager as I prefer the clean look on my desk, but also a clean look on the machine itself - just a single window of focus. But with this, I felt like I could easily miss something on one of the other screens. Having stuff just "off to the side" means I can quickly glance at it.
I've also been experimenting with desktop widgets for Fantastical and Todoist rather than having them on another screen or iPad. I almost feel like it would be good to pin an application to the desktop in a fully customisable view. So I could have my Fantastical calendar for the day pinned to the desktop and always visible no matter what apps or spaces I'm using.
There's absolutely no doubt I prefer a single screen in the middle - having two angled in with the "join" in the middle isn't good as I'm always angled to one or the other.
I've worked this morning with the two side monitors in portrait mode and so far, I think it's an improvement. It feels more like one large screen and is more compact on the desk. Definitely easier to glance over and check something compared to landscape mode.
I spent a while trying a single monitor setup with and without stage manager as I prefer the clean look on my desk, but also a clean look on the machine itself - just a single window of focus. But with this, I felt like I could easily miss something on one of the other screens. Having stuff just "off to the side" means I can quickly glance at it.
I've also been experimenting with desktop widgets for Fantastical and Todoist rather than having them on another screen or iPad. I almost feel like it would be good to pin an application to the desktop in a fully customisable view. So I could have my Fantastical calendar for the day pinned to the desktop and always visible no matter what apps or spaces I'm using.
There's absolutely no doubt I prefer a single screen in the middle - having two angled in with the "join" in the middle isn't good as I'm always angled to one or the other.
I've worked this morning with the two side monitors in portrait mode and so far, I think it's an improvement. It feels more like one large screen and is more compact on the desk. Definitely easier to glance over and check something compared to landscape mode.
Same here.
I cannot quite put my finger on what it is about macOS that makes multiple monitor use so grating, I should probably start making a list and submit feedback.
I have tried "Displays have separate Spaces" both on and off, neither option works well.
I ended up moving one ASD to another location instead of having them next to each other. If Apple releases a 32" (or larger) ASD it will be an instant purchase for me.
I have multiple monitors on my computers at work and my WFH PC. Nature of my work requires it, so I'm pretty used to managing multiple displays. So on my personal Mac, it just feels "normal" for me to have multiple displays.
I still think my ideal screen would be a single, ultra wide one, but similar to Studio Display in terms of PPI and built-in features. Perhaps a larger XDR with built-in webcam and speakers would do the job, but despite trying ultra wide monitors, I keep coming back to the Studio Display.
I do a lot of video calls with clients so having a built-in (Apple) webcam really is handy.
I agree with you @Arctic Moose, I just can't quite get macOS setup for multiple screens as I think I should be able to.
Although, now after nearly a day in, I really am enjoying the dual vertical setup....
I do a lot of video calls with clients so having a built-in (Apple) webcam really is handy.
I agree with you @Arctic Moose, I just can't quite get macOS setup for multiple screens as I think I should be able to.
Although, now after nearly a day in, I really am enjoying the dual vertical setup....
I'm with y'all on the annoyance of macOS and window resizing, movement, etc. But I definitely want more than one monitor. Get tired of fidgeting with the windows on a single screen. I've gotten pretty happy with my current set-up and suffer with the need to reposition my windows from time to time.
Yeah, I have had multiple monitors more or less continuously since the late 90s, it worked great on Linux, classic Mac OS and even early Mac OS X, so it isn’t a matter of getting used to it.
I guess it got weird around the time Spaces was introduced as a feature of macOS, and it just hasn’t ever been improved.
I’d so prefer if macOS could be configured to just use the displays as a single desktop canvas, with the option of showing the same menu bar on all displays. (Why the hell can I not use the full width of both monitors for my very wide spreadsheet? It makes no sense.)
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Yeah, I do go back and forth between a 'single space' for all displays and 'separate spaces' for each display. I can't decide which is better. Single space make more sense as I can open a wide window to span two (or three) displays. But then opening things to full screen, like a YouTube video, blacks out the side displays completely (and I'd prefer those to stay as-is).
So there's no one mode that works best (for me). Windows, however, also gives me some funny-business, too, especially if the two displays don't have the same PPI - then things get really weird. And on my Windows setups, the center monitor(s) have a higher PPI than the rotated side monitors, so spanning a window across them just makes the image on the smaller display astronomically large.
Oh, right, making it impossible to run a presentation on one monitor with the presentation notes on a second and Teams on the third, I had suppressed that nonsense.
Are there any third-party utilities that enable this kind of functionality?
AFAIK, just turning of separate space for multiple displays in the OS settings.
Nice. What are the two VESA-mount displays on the sides? They seem to be different proportions than the ASD.
All three are Studio Displays. The outer two are VESA mounts and the center is a tilt/height model. Maybe the camera lens is distorting things a bit.
As @xraydoc noted, turning off separate spaces does restore this functionality.
However, this means the menu bar is only visible on the primary display, which is a huge pain.
Even worse (as @xraydoc also pointed out) full screen makes the secondary display literally useless, which is a dealbreaker for Teams presentations, and at the very least a major annoyance in all other situations.
It wouldn't have been so bad if switching between modes wasn't such a hassle, but it requires logging out and logging back in again.
I wish I could just turn off Spaces altogether, so my desktop behaved as a single space with the SAME menu bar on each one where fullscreen apps would act just like windowed apps except they fill one whole display and optionally also hide the menu bar on that display.
There are, I think, some small apps that will replicate the menu bar on a right-click of the mouse button. Can't recall their names (or a name), but I'll do a quick Google search and report back. It's not quite as good as having the menu bar on each display, but it's a step.
The main problem with "single space" is it blacks out the other monitors when opening an app to full screen -- or at least it used to; I don't think I've tried it on Sonoma, to be honest.
I picked up a Studio Display yesterday after debating with myself for weeks. It's replacing my LG UltraFine. I love the way it looks on my desk. I also got a new keyboard and mouse. Last night I got the version 17 firmware update. The webcam quality is marginally better, but the webcam is adequate for my needs.
Congrats. I bet you continue to enjoy the ASD. They work really well, look great, etc. They just cost a lot of money - sort of cry once, smile a lot kind of thing!
