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Apple Confirms Studio Display Will Work With PCs, But With Some Caveats
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Same. Primary display for my M1 Mini with the ability to connect my Windows laptop when needed would make it versatile enough for my use too.
I wonder, if the resolution varies from system to system, if I plug in a system with a 4K resolution output, will be rendered almost natively? Or will appear blurry on the Studio Display? It depends on how well does it scale.
The LG UltraFine 5K handles 4K input just fine. This uses the same panel.
You mean, a 4K resolution will appear as good as on any native 4K display? I guess some sort of downscale has to be made. Thank you for the info.
TrueTone is an OS level feature.... so not really stupid that a totally different OS would not support.
Why would Apple write a driver for Windows to make the rest of it work?
There is some downscaling but it is basically imperceptible.
Yeah, most the omissions are understandable - but I’m surprised the webcam won’t work. Maybe it will work, but is unsupported. Hopefully someone will test that out in a couple of weeks. It‘s just a non-starter for mixed-computer setups (which, in the age of WFH, is probably more common that it used to be).
I don't think that's accurate. I think you just lose the Center Stage features, but the webcam itself still would work. Even the website says camera features require MacOS, but that's not specific enough to conclude anything.
Some Logitech cameras have their version of CenterStage but its part driver and part chip that makes it work, with the chip powering the AI that drives the feature, which I suspect is probably Apple's implementation as well. I'm Curious if windows would detect the camera at all.
I believe it is an impressive monitor compared to the $300 cheaper LG UltraFine 5K considering it offers better out-of-the-box calibration, much better build quality, and significantly better web camera and audio quality.
And I believe it is still an impressive monitor compared to the 50% cheaper XB2779QQS if you are using it with a Mac (if not, then the XB2779QQS wins the value argument).
Yes, they are primarily selling it on it being a 5K panel, but that panel has been winning raves in iMac 5Ks for almost a decade. And they have also taken it beyond what we had in the iMac 5K with a 25MP CenterStage webcam and Spatial Audio.
It will look sharpest at 5120x2880 since that is native resolution. Going to 200% scaling in Windows hurts it a bit compared to HiDPI on macOS, at least to my eyes, but it still looks good (I use it that way every day for work in Boot Camp).
I agree I need to buy a monitor due to now working in a hybrid/remote however I do t want to buy something that only works with my job provided thinkpad
The LG UltraFine 5K will downscale to 4K if connected to a Mac or PC by a USB-C cable. Perhaps the Studio Display will do the same if the connection doesn’t have the bandwidth to support 5K.
That doesn't explain why Hey Siri is in the monitor not the Mac.
Not working with Windows is still weird, since it's just a webcam and mic and should be usable on any OS With generic drivers. I don't know about planned obsolescence, but it does feel like platform lock-in.
Agreed. I really hope the webcam and mic still work on windows, but even if it doesn't the lack of input selection is a hard pill for me to swallow. I am all for getting the best display, but the window of who those is best for seems pretty narrow. For the intended market, I think this looks solid. But clearly it's not a Swiss Army knife.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
The old Thunderbolt display sold for $1,000. This is better in every way and has more features. And Apple rarely devalues their own stuff.
Yes, I wish it had ProMotion and FaceID, but the thing is that Apple displays have always been really good.
The fact that this is tried-and-true is somewhat reassuring...
Also not mentioned, similar to the stands, once you connect a PC, that is the only PC that can ever be connected to the monitor.
Have to admit I find it ROFL amusing to claim the Apple Studio Display is an example of "planned obsolesce" considering it (in part) replaces the iMac 5K which, as an AIO, required you to toss the entire machine every time it came time to upgrade any component.
That's a non-issue - it's doing audio and video processing, running the webcam.
ARM chips are common in all sorts of electronic devices these days. There are almost certainly fridges with ARM processors, let alone most modern TVs. Why would Apple buy them from Samsung/Qualcomm/Broadcom when they can eat their own dogfood.
$1600 for effectively the same display that used to be bundled with a $1800 iMac - that's the problem.
You’d probably need a gaming laptop. There are not many gaming desktops that have thunderbolt or usb c output to a display and adapters are finicky as I’ve used several on my lg ultrafine.
I would not use this in a multi-computer environment with only a single input available.
I'm one of those Mac users. I have an employer provided PC laptop computer that I use to access the office network when working from home. Unfortunately, Apple has needlessly made life more difficult for people like me by including only one video input. My current monitor has five. How much would have it have cost to add a second USB-C/thunderbolt input? Sure, I suppose I can always unplug my mac from the monitor and then plug my laptop into the monitor. And then unplug my laptop and plug my mac back into the monintor when I want to use my mac again. But shouldn't user convenience be considered when designing an expensive monitor? Apparently not as far as Apple is concerned.
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
I think Apple is simply offloading the features from the iMac to the monitor instead of the Mini or Studio Base. Perhaps this is why the A13 is in there, to process the additional-to-simply-display features like CenterStage, Spatial Audio, etc.
This is not new. Apple always tunes for their own machines. With Boot Camp, Apple provided the software and drivers. Now that Boot Camp's gone, so is the additional hardware functionality from Windows.
Yep. Apple had a decision to make, and they chose to give its own customers the best experience possible. It's a targeted strike for Apple users. I could be wrong, but don't think Apple has ever made a product with every type of computer user in mind.
Like this? My Cinema Display is still alive and kicking I wouldn’t call this adapter terribly bulky but it works with my Dell work PC and my MBP. The camera on it isn’t great but it works with both computers and it’s certainly good enough for work calls. So ??♂️