There is only one true answer to this: "because Apple said so". It's not a meaningful answer simply because Apple's decision was completely arbitrary and not based on any technical deficiency in earlier Mac OS versions whatsoever.
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Apple Releases Studio Display 15.5 Firmware Beta With Webcam Fix
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There is only Apple "hate" (too strong a term, but you chose it) because it makes no sense to OS limit a monitor in this way. The parts inside don't justify or necessitate such a restriction.
If I did, I certainly would not buy an Apple Studio display. There are far better alternatives on the market.
I never said that I think it's a good idea for the Studio Display to need Monterey to function properly. I simply said that you (not you in particular, the general you) can't complain if you bought something and it doesn't work 100% with unsupported systems.
And if you think it's stupid to require the latest macOS release, why buy it?
It's very telling that you think the only people who have a valid opinion on the quality of a monitor are those working in print or image editing. Considering how small that market is compared to the overall market of even just Mac OS users, that would be a very elitist position to take.
And the blogosphere and YouTubers who were seeded with free Mac studios and studio displays didn’t even bother to ask apple why it didn’t also support Big Sur or Catalina? My macs all run Monterey so I’m fine, but I’m just taken aback at the Monterey requirement, And a dearth of information regarding why.
Nothing special going on, actually.
Internal software versions before a release are always different than the public ones. Look at basically all WWDC demos and the betas that we get. Or software feature demos after a keynote (in person) and the month long delays afterwards.
In most cases, I would agree with this. The problem I would have with this situation in particular is that it is so unusual for a monitor to have such restrictive system requirements that I can imagine that the number of people buying this monitor without being aware of those requirements is probably not insignificant. I'm sure that there are more than a few Mac users who would (rightly, in my opinion) assume that any mid-level Apple branded monitor should work with any fairly recent Apple computer, as long as the Apple computer has the required hardware. After all, Apple customer buy into the Apple ecosystem for its purported longevity, or so I have been told.
OK.
This is not a display for the masses. It's for the studio-based professional Apple abandoned for years.
Case in point:
- Cyberpunk 2077 E3 Demo
- Watch_Dogs E3 Demo
- No Man's Sky Video Game Awards Gameplay demo
Ask too many questions and you don't get seeded with the next round of products!
I'm glad you refrained from calling them "reviewers" also, as they really aren't doing that.
The Grubers and Ritchies and Justines of the world are all doing various levels of Apple PR, nothing more.
I can tell you why the firmware upgrades require Monterey.
Monterey was the first version of macOS to support centerstage.
Given that the OS that’s inside of the Studio Display literally only does centerstage for the camera (which requires Monterey) and spatial audio (which also requires Monterey), it makes sense that Apple would only put the software update mechanism for the Studio Display in Monterey.
If you hook up a Studio Display to a computer not running Monterey, you don’t have centerstage, and you don’t have spatial audio, basically meaning that the software updates are completely useless to you.
You can still use the display at full resolution as what it was intended for… a display.
You just don’t get the extra bells and whistle‘s that require a modern Mac with Monterey.
By the way, same thing happens with AirPods. And the Apple Watch. And the Apple TV.
To get all the proper Apple integration with these devices, they all have to be updated to the latest firmware. You can’t connect The latest pair of AirPods to a device running iOS 14 and have them work perfectly. They’ll work, they will play sound as intended, but all of the extra bells, whistles and Apple integration requires them to be updated to the latest version of iOS.
It’s no different with the Studio Display. If you connect it to any computer, it will work as a regular display. But if you want all of the exclusive Mac features, you have to be on the latest OS.
If you are not using Monterey, anything this update will provide isn’t going to help you. It’s changing the way that centerstage works, which already isn’t available to you if you’re not on Monterey
Meant jokingly, but I agree. They don’t seem to understand how they can cause misery to their top dollar paying customers if they just mess up once. iOS 11 anyone? Or Catalina?
How often did they brick MacBooks the last 3 years with faulty updates?
Butterfly Keyboard, how about that?
They should handle software and hardware releases to their customers like they handle updates to their shareholders.
I don't think it's unreasonable to ask a company fix glaring problems before releasing the product. If not, that company can expect negative reviews - and perhaps lower sales - unless/until they fix it.
Seems like an honest trade.
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I don't understand how he gets two Studio displays so close together in order to get nearly identical angles?
Yeah, that might be true.
While iPhones and iPads are known for their long support compared to other mobile platforms, the opposite is the case for their traditional platforms. Apple is very quick to end support for older hard- and software, compared to, say, Microsoft.
It’s more that early demos represent early development on guided rails to avoid showing customers stuff that doesn’t work properly yet, or hasn’t even been done. What ships is still generally an evolution of those demos, but the demos don’t represent the true state of the code internally.
That said, what Apple would show at the beginning of March honestly is too close to release to be an early demo. They were running some build of what was intended to ship on the real monitors. But clearly not the build the factory installed.
For a bug like this one, generally how I’ve seen it happen is that someone makes what looks like a minor change very late in development, and because it doesn’t get enough scrutiny, it’s allowed to go out and is an embarrassment (rightfully so) for everyone involved. It’s not so much that it didn’t work, but rather that someone broke (or “regressed”) the feature attempting to fix bugs. Exactly when the bug was introduced and why it wouldn’t have been caught around the time of the announcement is beyond me. I don’t work in hardware, so I can’t guess how close to the wire they were cutting things delivering firmware to the factory to be installed.
EDIT (read your post wrong):
Firmware updates don't necessarily need to concern only Center Stage etc. They might be for overall stability, which other platforms that don't have Center Stage etc. would also benefit from.
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This is a display for prosumers. Studio-based professionals would only buy this type of monitor if they were on a very tight budget but still wanted something "reasonably close" to professional quality. There is a whole other market for actual professionals that Apple has not served since the days of the Power Mac 9600. Apple does not produce a single product for studio-based professionals.
CenterStage is definitely helping. There is one point in the stream he reveals the setup.
Mac Studio and Studio Display — Prolost
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Stu Maschwitz is a director, photographer, writer, visual effects artist, and designer of filmmaking software. A graduate of CalArts, Maschwitz spent four years at Industrial Light & Magic, before co-founding the legendary visual effects firm The Orphanage in 1999. Maschwitz’s directing work includes music videos, award-winning commercials, and second-unit for film and television.
Maschwitz designed the Magic Bullet color grading system for Red Giant, and is now Chief Creative Officer of MAXON, where he continues to create powerful, intuitive tools for animators, filmmakers, and motion designers.