Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,846
38,494


Amazon is continuing its string of big discounts today with a return of the all-time low price on Apple Studio Display, available for $1,299.99, down from $1,599.00. This is the standard glass version of the Studio Display with the tilt adjustable stand, and Amazon also has a few other models on sale as well.

studio-display-orange.jpg
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You can get the standard glass model with the VESA Mount Adapter for $1,299.99, down from $1,599.00, while the tilt- and height-adjustable stand model is available for $1,699.99, down from $1,999.00. In regards to the VESA model, this is another new all-time low price on the display.



If you want to upgrade to the nano-texture glass option, Amazon also has this model of the Studio Display on sale. It's available for $1,599.99, down from $1,899.00, which is a solid second-best price on the Studio Display with nano-texture glass. There's also discounts on both the VESA mount and tilt- and height-adjustable stand models.



The Studio Display features a 27-inch 5K Retina display with a 5120 x 2880 resolution and up to 600 nits of brightness. Apple says that the standard display is engineered for "extremely low reflectivity," but for rooms where there is a lot of glare, Apple suggests the nano-texture glass option with even less reflectivity.

If you're on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.



Deals Newsletter

Interested in hearing more about the best deals you can find in 2025? Sign up for our Deals Newsletter and we'll keep you updated so you don't miss the biggest deals of the season!







Article Link: Amazon Takes $299 Off Apple Studio Display, Available From $1,299.99
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Just not a good deal given the competitive landscape of alternatives now in 2025
That’s really more 4k displays then 5K choices then you have zero issues using the monitor via thunderbolt 3 that also acts as a 96 watt supply. Yeah depends on what feature set is good for you. No argument you can substitute for a lot less money on what you want to work with very affordable M4 Mac mini’s then just use the Studio Display. ;)
 
But none as good as the ASD. And they all have a 60hz display.

Really depends upon ones needs and wants on features, gamut coverage, HDR or not (ASD is not), refresh rate, display type preference, etc

It's a much more mixed bag in 2025 than it used to be

I would argue that at this point in time, $1299 should probably be the MSRP honestly
(I realize Apple never lowers MSRPs -- doesn't mean they shouldn't though)
 
BenQ PD2730S is a good competitor here

$1199 MSRP -- nearly the same specs but includes a height adjustable stand w/ VESA options built in and a ton more connectivity (DP, TB, PD, USB-C, HDMI, Audio Out), basic HDR (better than nothing), 100% sRGB, 98% DCI-P3 ...

No Webcam though ... Personally that's of no importance to me, but I understand some users will want one
 
But none as good as the ASD. And they all have a 60hz display.
That's a very debatable assertion (note: I did not say 'wrong'). So much depends on the customer's use case.

The ASD has a strong reputation for high build quality, excellent (by the standards of speaker systems build into monitors) spatial audio, excellent color accuracy out of the box , 'retina' resolution (5K at 27"), built-in webcam (depending on who judges anywhere from lackluster to pretty good) with Center Stage (either a nice feature or a gimmick, depending on who judges), its got Thunderbolt 3 input (but the outputs are USB-C, so it's not really a Thunderbolt hub), and the default glossy screen is sharp and 'punchy' compared to some matte displays. At least that's what I've gleaned from multiple reviews.

But there are multiple caveats.

1.) Displays mostly sit on the desk and aren't touched much. Yeah, the aluminum frame shouldn't flex like plastic cased displays can, but so? Is the industrial metal aesthetic worth much to you?

2.) Competitors may include VESA and stand (not either or, like ASD) and make the stand height-adjustable ($400 upcharge with ASD).

3.) Lots of people have a speaker system to hook to their setup.

4.) Nice color performance is not unique to the ASD.

5.) Some people prefer matte (which most competitors seem to be), and it's not always heavy-handed.

6.) As for 5K 27", the recently released ASUS is roughly $800! And I believe they're soon to release a 6K 32" $1,200 (at least rumored price) display, so you'd get retina, a bigger screen AND get it cheaper.

7.) Not everybody wants a built-in webcam or cares about Center Stage.

8.) I believe the ASD warranty is for a year, Apple Care+ to take it to 3 years costs more money. Check and see if a given competitor offers a better warranty than Apple's standard by default.

9.) The ASD doesn't offer HDMI or DisplayPort inputs, or KVM functionality, and it's made to work with a Mac; it can be connected to a PC (with some added hassles to adjust settings), but isn't a good match to hook to a video gaming console if I understand correctly. Some competitors are more platform agnostic and a better fit when people want to share a display between a Mac and PC, have the option to hook a gaming console to it, etc...

All that said, if you only want to use it with a Mac, value its various special qualities, value the iMac-like 'one cable' (Thunderbolt) to a MacBook Pro or similar for a minimalist desktop aesthetic and don't wish to provide separate speakers or webcam, you like glossy, are happy with just the stand OR VESA mount, and you don't choke on the price, then yes, a number of people like theirs a lot.
 
Quick follow up - while the ASD doesn't have high dynamic range and a number of competitors do, the impression I've got from reviews is that HDR performance on IPS panels tends to be lackluster and not a big deal. Be on the lookout for future 5K 27" OLED displays, and we can revisit that issue!

The ASUS 27" 5K uses an IPS Black panel, which is supposed to offer better contrast than conventional IPS panels. IIRC from views it's not a huge difference, but it ought to have some impact, so be mindful whether an ASD competitor offers it.

The Apple Studio Display's brightness capability is strong; remember to compare that against rivals.

I believe a Mac keyboard can conveniently adjust display brightness with keyboard keys, like mine did when I was using an iMac. On my Dell 4K display, I use a downloaded app. that sites on my task bar to change resolution, brightness, etc... So the ASD may have an added convenience factor for some people.
 
Wow its about time. Example this person got two 27" 5k ASUS for the same price of a single Studio display before this price cut. I can see putting out the money for a single Apple Studio display as it can be almost like a iMac solution but if you wanted a few of them forget it. I personally can't go back to single screens anymore unless we are talking at 57" 8k Ultrawides(though i do stock trading on the side)

9896a858-657c-5db5-9932-ba879943724f

 
BenQ PD2730S is a good competitor here

$1199 MSRP -- nearly the same specs but includes a height adjustable stand w/ VESA options built in and a ton more connectivity (DP, TB, PD, USB-C, HDMI, Audio Out), basic HDR (better than nothing), 100% sRGB, 98% DCI-P3 ...

No Webcam though ... Personally that's of no importance to me, but I understand some users will want one
That’s not available until March 1st, then for either desktops and closed lid laptop operation lack of web cam is a big negative when its very common to use it for video meetings with general Mac usage just to save $100 with today’s low pricing. :)
 
Quick follow up - while the ASD doesn't have high dynamic range and a number of competitors do, the impression I've got from reviews is that HDR performance on IPS panels tends to be lackluster and not a big deal. Be on the lookout for future 5K 27" OLED displays, and we can revisit that issue!

The ASUS 27" 5K uses an IPS Black panel, which is supposed to offer better contrast than conventional IPS panels. IIRC from views it's not a huge difference, but it ought to have some impact, so be mindful whether an ASD competitor offers it.

The Apple Studio Display's brightness capability is strong; remember to compare that against rivals.

I believe a Mac keyboard can conveniently adjust display brightness with keyboard keys, like mine did when I was using an iMac. On my Dell 4K display, I use a downloaded app. that sites on my task bar to change resolution, brightness, etc... So the ASD may have an added convenience factor for some people.
HDR, or “High Dynamic Range”, can mean many different things. Apple’s 600 nits of brightness and 10-bit color range itself is very high dynamic range. But it doesn’t have HDR-PQ, which is a television feature.

But here’s the thing: You can buy a monitor, or you can buy a television, but you cannot buy one device which is both. Sure, I can watch movies on my Mac and display MS Word on my TV set, but neither is an optimal experience. Because you cannot optimize both types of viewing with one panel. Even with monitors, a gaming monitor will not be as good as an Apple Studio Display for editing photos.

So the specmanship game is nonsense. It’s like arguing that, since my Porsche has better acceleration than your pickup truck, the Porsche is better at hauling wood.
 
I believe a Mac keyboard can conveniently adjust display brightness with keyboard keys, like mine did when I was using an iMac. On my Dell 4K display, I use a downloaded app. that sites on my task bar to change resolution, brightness, etc... So the ASD may have an added convenience factor for some people.
I use MonitorControl with my Huawei MateView 28.2 4K+ monitor.

Ironically, I had to use MonitorControl for my Apple monitor too, because it was the older 30" Cinema HD Display. Apple removed the brightness control drivers for this monitor in the Apple Silicon version of macOS. The driver was available in macOS only for Intel machines.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drrich2
BenQ PD2730S is a good competitor here

$1199 MSRP -- nearly the same specs but includes a height adjustable stand w/ VESA options built in and a ton more connectivity (DP, TB, PD, USB-C, HDMI, Audio Out), basic HDR (better than nothing), 100% sRGB, 98% DCI-P3 ...

No Webcam though ... Personally that's of no importance to me, but I understand some users will want one
Aside from being BenQ and quite ugly, you have a compelling argument. But being that it’s BenQ it’s above its worth by at least $400.
 
Wow its about time. Example this person got two 27" 5k ASUS for the same price of a single Studio display before this price cut. I can see putting out the money for a single Apple Studio display as it can be almost like a iMac solution but if you wanted a few of them forget it. I personally can't go back to single screens anymore unless we are talking at 57" 8k Ultrawides(though i do stock trading on the side)

9896a858-657c-5db5-9932-ba879943724f

Your monochrome background doesn’t scream confidence in your setup. Though I do appreciate the minimalist bezels on the sides.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.