Apple Still Working on Studio Display 2

[turbineseaplane]

5k and color accuracy are baseline features for me, and I assume for many ASD buyers. If 1440 resolution was good enough for me, I wouldn't own an ASD. I have an LG 4 right next to my ASD and the picture is noticeably not as good.

It has taken years to have any real competition in the 5k monitor space, and even now there aren't a lot of options.

re: 5k

The problem is somewhat about macOS and how poorly it handles non integer scaling.

All my back and forth with Windows really highlighted for me how great 4k already is. We don't actually need more pixels to have things look amazing, it's just that macOS makes things look less good than they should/could if it's not exactly 2x scaling.

 

[drrich2]

Another concern raised with using a 4K 27" display with a Mac by some has been the added load put on the Mac's GPU to drive it at a 'non-integer scaling' resolution. When I looked into the matter late last year, the real world impact reports appeared to vary from insignificant to...significant, particularly if you were doing things on your Mac that really taxed the system. Think 'the straw that broke the camel's back' type scenarios.

I have a 4K 27" Dell display I compared alongside my old 2017 5K 27" iMac for a bit, and didn't notice a striking difference. But again, some people in terms of display sharpness indicate it's evident to some, some have to really look for it and some can hardly tell a difference.

 

[thebart]

Yeah, I really love mine. Still salty about the hefty uncharge for the adjustable base, though.

I don't know why the adjustable stand would cost $400 MORE than the tilt stand. I bought a refurbed Dell U2723QE couple years ago for less than $400. It comes with a metal (aluminum?) stand that's height adjustable, tilts, rotates, and it's as smooth and sturdy as I can ask for. It looks fine, too.

 

[fathergll]

I would be happy if Apple sold the XDR for $2.5k including a stand and nano option. At this point since they "don't care", why not cut the price, move units and make profits? We all know the premium price for these are huge and cutting it in half would still be profitable.

Apple doesn't want to be in the display business like Samsung..etc. Display/tv business has terrible margins and expensive to support(think about the cost and effort for Apple to fix a 32" display under Applecare like this compared to other devices just with the logistics of handling a large display and the parts vs a laptop or iPad). They didn't even sell displays for many years for a good reason(hence why they got LG to do it in 2016).

XDR was a super niche product that was good for headlines at the time. They likely are just keeping a remaining stock around until a new version is ready. They don't need to discount it by 70%+ just to make some sales as they are not trying to deplete the stock. That was never the goal of a product like this. Its more of a halo product.

 

[DavidSchaub]

I don't know why the adjustable stand would cost $400 MORE than the tilt stand. I bought a refurbed Dell U2723QE couple years ago for less than $400. It comes with a metal (aluminum?) stand that's height adjustable, tilts, rotates, and it's as smooth and sturdy as I can ask for. It looks fine, too.

An accessory of an accessory gets double the accessories margin?

I expect these expensive stands are so low volume that Apple has difficulty covering all of their product development process overhead, so the price ends up high.

 

[diego]

Such an overpriced product, but still, I love mine.

Image: Great
Sound: Great
Webcam: Crap

Same, totally love mine. I would have never paid full price for it though - got it open box through Best Buy (plus a gift card) for $700. Perfect condition and I was able to put Applecare on it. Best deal ever!

 

[ChedNasad]

Until they support multiple inputs on these for people who use multiple computers I just can't get one

 

[drrich2]

Until they support multiple inputs on these for people who use multiple computers I just can't get one

Given Apple's preference (or so it appears to me) of making the ASD as a Mac accessory not targeting the broader PC market, let's follow up your statement and what may be the assumptions it triggers...

Let's say it has 2 inputs, but both are Thunderbolt. No HDMI or DisplayPort, just Thunderbolt. So, you could use 2 computers with it easily...as long as they had Thunderbolt, which is practically a given with Macs but less common on PCs.

Would you get one?

 

[oryan_dunn]

Given Apple's preference (or so it appears to me) of making the ASD as a Mac accessory not targeting the broader PC market, let's follow up your statement and what may be the assumptions it triggers...

Let's say it has 2 inputs, but both are Thunderbolt. No HDMI or DisplayPort, just Thunderbolt. So, you could use 2 computers with it easily...as long as they had Thunderbolt, which is practically a given with Macs but less common on PCs.

Would you get one?

For me, it would go from the category of not even considering it, to "how can I work around it's faults". They do make cables with a display port and USB-A on one end, and a USB-C on the other than could allow a Windows PC with display port to use a Studio Display. You then have to contend with the inability to adjust any settings at all without a Mac, though I believe there may be some software out there that allows some control from Windows.

I'll likely just stick with my Asus, ticks most of the boxes. If all I had was a Mac, I'd definitely get an ASD, but Apple likely can't not be Apple and design something useful to more than their own walled garden.

 

[sdf]

View attachment 2537626

Not exactly…

Again, named in 2010.

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

Same, totally love mine. I would have never paid full price for it though - got it open box through Best Buy (plus a gift card) for $700. Perfect condition and I was able to put Applecare on it. Best deal ever!

Yup, I got mine refurbished. Not as great of a deal as you scored, but gotta get any discount you can!

 

[chetzar]

I agree with second point. I connect and disconnect my Mac/Windows laptop at least once a day. Not sure USB connectors are designed for that…

Also I would add:
3. Compatibility with Windows brightness interface.

Having to boot up your Mac and connect it to the display just to adjust the brightness throughout the day is stupid.

Something that could EASILY be done one of two ways:
a) Software that runs on Windows and enables control of the brightness
b) A remote for the monitor

I was against remotes for awhile, but they are in a lot of ways easier than on-monitor controls