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Apple Releases Studio Display Firmware Update

jjudson said:
I'm still a little baffled why Apple sells monitors, and why anyone would buy them given the competition out there for really nice displays for much less than the $1600 - $5000 of Apple models...
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I have the older LG ultrafine monitor. The main usb port broke off twice.

Got the apple on day 1 release. Use it daily and I’d pay the money again maybe even more if it broke after applecare due to accident. I also use it for windows pc so often unplugging the main usb port.

The question isn’t about whether to buy…. It’s whether to buy the updated version when it comes out too.
 
zorinlynx said:
I love my ASD and am happy to see Apple releasing firmware updates for it to make it more stable. It is an excellent product and I have absolutely zero regrets buying it.

(Just had to say this to counteract all the negativity in this thread. I mean really if you personally don't like it, buy something else? It's a great display!)
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Most of the negativity in this thread and other threads comes from people who never used the Studio Display in the first place.
 
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I'm thinking of buying one. Since their old ones really lasted forever. But please update me about the bricked ASD after update. Might hold on until that's fixed. Also do you really need to update? I mean if i'm happy with it in it's current state. can't i turn of auto updates?
 
jjudson said:
I'm still a little baffled why Apple sells monitors, and why anyone would buy them given the competition out there for really nice displays for much less than the $1600 - $5000 of Apple models...
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I'm curious which better alternative for the Studio Display you would recommend.
 
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I know it says don't unplug your Studio Display, but that's not just power alone. You cannot unplug your Mac either. I had always thought it downloaded through Mac, and then moved the file over. Given the Studio Display has its own processor, etc I thought it was fully capable of updating itself. I read the warning twice too and it basically said don't unplug your Studio Display only, which I took to mean power. Disconnecting the Mac is a no-no.

I unplugged my Mac because I was in a hurry out the door to get to the office, but I wanted to wait for it to complete. Well the second I did the update stalled. A few seconds later I got the restore screen. Going to the website doesn't do anything except tell you to reboot the display and try again.

I plugged my Mac back in and saw nothing at first. I had to hop on a call for work so I started working on that with the assumption my display was dead, but maybe 5 mintues in the call I look up and I see the update screen is back. Afterward my display came back to life.

They should make it clear do not unplug the Studio Display. Do not unplug your Mac from the Studio Display as well. I would not have unplugged if I wasn't in a rush to get out the door for work, but I think they should be more clear on this precautionary message.

Edit: I assumed this was similar to the watch update where the update gets downloaded to the display and then the display takes over the update (similar to the Watch) given they have their own processors. I guess the display probably has minimal memory/storage unlike a watch that has enough storage for apps/media too.
 
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jjudson said:
I'm still a little baffled why Apple sells monitors, and why anyone would buy them given the competition out there for really nice displays for much less than the $1600 - $5000 of Apple models...
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I actually don't think this is true. Macs are super picky with displays. IMO 4K / 1440p resolution is just not really good text size (too small compared to 5K), so for comfortable viewing you need to blow up DPI which results in scaling. That's not optimal.

I absolutely hate the idea of spending so much, but in some ways Mac displays "just work." I did WFH for 2+ years with 1440p displays including the old Thudnerbolt Display and they just look terrible. I have a LG 5K at work and finally bought myself a Studio Display at home, and both are fantastic displays.

Overpriced? Yeah, but perhaps the resolution scaling needs to be fixed. I've gone to fancy WFH AirBNBs with 38" WS monitors and in the end it all looks like crap. Most people who setup 3rd party ultrawide monitors run into the same issue too. It's just not great. With that said 4K @ 27" with scaling isn't terrible.
 
Mr Magoo said:
I'm thinking of buying one. Since their old ones really lasted forever. But please update me about the bricked ASD after update. Might hold on until that's fixed. Also do you really need to update? I mean if i'm happy with it in it's current state. can't i turn of auto updates?
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FWIW mine installed the update fine with no bricking
 
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all went well here, was surprised that my Mac Studio (the computer) rebooted to install the update. And as part of that reboot there was a clear message not to unplug and not to power off the Studio display ...
 
maerz001 said:
How is the camera in the meantime? There was such a ********* after release and now?
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The camera is the only thing I was on the fence about. I found with adequate lighting the video quality is excellent. Thankfully, I do not have to use my camera much so it hasn't been much of an issue
 
The update bricked my ASD too - the same issue as reported earlier in this thread. I took my display to the apple store yesterday (after speaking to apple support on the phone, who couldn't fix it) and its still there, they couldn't "restore" it and have ordered a new logic board for it. As I can't go without a display, I bought a new one and will return it for a refund when my original is fixed. The new display updated perfectly to 16.4

My recommendation is that you unplug all other TB/USB-C connections from both the ASD and Mac before updating and only have the single TB from Mac to ASD plugged in (directly and not through a hub) for the update.
 
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Does this firmware update require Ventura? I'm not seeing it under Software Update (still under Monterey for some software compatibility). If so, that's odd, considering it should be independent to the actual computer!
 
Stu69 said:
The update bricked my ASD too - the same issue as reported earlier in this thread. I took my display to the apple store yesterday (after speaking to apple support on the phone, who couldn't fix it) and its still there, they couldn't "restore" it and have ordered a new logic board for it. As I can't go without a display, I bought a new one and will return it for a refund when my original is fixed. The new display updated perfectly to 16.4

My recommendation is that you unplug all other TB/USB-C connections from both the ASD and Mac before updating and only have the single TB from Mac to ASD plugged in (directly and not through a hub) for the update.
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Did you unplug something mid update?
 
fromgophonetoiphone said:
Did you unplug something mid update?
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No.

The full story is...

The first time I tried the 16.4 update, I had a Belkin ethernet adaptor, stream deck and usb-c mic, as well as the TB connection plugged into the ASD, with the TB connection to my MBPro 14" M1 Pro going via an extension TB cable. I've updated the ASD using this setup in the past with no issues but for 16.4 it bricked.

I took the ASD to my (very) local Apple Store and after about an hour of trying they managed to get it back up and working.

I then tried the 16.4 update again but this time with a direct TB connection between ASD and MBP with nothing else plugged into the ASD (I also put my MBP on external power) - however, the same result, it bricked again. I took it back to the Apple store and they are now replacing the logic board as they feel this is at fault?

I purchased a new ASD to continue working and updated to 16.4 with the direct connection first time, no problem (it took about 6 minutes in total)
 
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