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Apple Studio Display (2026) - Owners Thread
- Thread starter lambsauce
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I have a 3-year old ASD. ISTR that monitor also had noisy fan complaints in the early weeks.
I waited a while before buying this one. No fan noise at all.
I waited a while before buying this one. No fan noise at all.
Well, I just placed my order for the 2026 Studio Display with nano texture glass and a VESA mount. It is over a grand cheaper then the XDR which I would like but it doesn't work with my works laptop at the end of the day and that will be a large part of it's daily use. Plus I am really not sure if mini LED and 120 HZ is worth over a grand more..?
Conutz
macrumors 6502
It just depends on what you need it for. In my case, I do mainly admin and coding, nothing that requires mini LED or 120Hz. In my view, the ASD is already expensive, adding an additional $1k pushes it clearly into the “no way” category – in my use case, it simply doesn’t represent good value. In contrast, I needed 64GB RAM, so bought a 14” MBP with M3 Max with 2TB SSD which cost > $5k at the time, and I didn’t blink.
Another example is an iPhone. I simply never bought a Pro because the jump from standard to Pro is just not worth it in my book. > 50% more is too much of a premium. I did, however, buy an iPhone Air as the delta Air price was well worth it for what I was after.
So if it’s simply a nice to have, I certainly wouldn’t*.
*If you’re wealthy and have “cash to burn”, as it were, well then…
Very true, I buy Pro iPhones but since Apple started charging a grand or more for them I have bought therm refurbished and used them for a few years as I do not see the value in them new. But then I bought my current MacBook Pro refurb from Apple, but I may buy the Ultra new if it exists but we will see. I am very glad I went into the Apple Store to look at them all as I never would have considered nano glass or the Studio Display. Have to say the built in speakers sold Apples monitors to me. But I did think using my brain what I actually use it for, and how compatible they were which lad me to the decision.
Just wanted a nice screen easy to use and will last a few years.
Conutz
macrumors 6502
Sounds like you made the right choice then. There is always a better model to tempt us! 😅
If anyone uses it in a room with say, one window, like a normal bedroom, the glossy display is absolutely fine.
In the Apple Store, watch out, you’ll think you need Nano because of the reflections. It’s just not the same at all at home.
Once you start working on it at normal brightness, reflections go.
In the Apple Store, watch out, you’ll think you need Nano because of the reflections. It’s just not the same at all at home.
Once you start working on it at normal brightness, reflections go.
Got my Studio Display 2026 model today, got it mounted on my arm, and I have got charging, camera, speakers, and 5K 60HZ working on both my MacBook Pro and Works Dell laptop using the Cable Matters KVM switch, not even using the cables it Cale with! Even though it is teeny bit fuzzy I made the right choice with nano I think. I had a matte screen before anyway. It is very nice and sharp and the speakers are brilliant! Just a couple of extra things to turn up then I can tidy up all the cabling.
So it is now daytime and sunny, I have turned the brightness up a bit, opened the curtains and oh yes the nano texture has definitely made sense now. looks ace, a LOT better then my old matte screen.
Conutz
macrumors 6502
In situ, just got a new desk mat coming, same as the one in the photo as it's marked and a little UPS for my NAS and I'm done. And everything just.. works. Mac laptop and works Dell laptop.
Photo Booth is weirdly glitchy when doing effects but apart from that I am chuffed. The speakers are top notch.
Bought a refurbed 2026 ASD w/ height / tilt control last week. Hooked it up to a Mac Studio M2 Max running Sonoma 14.8.7. Fired right up and keyboard brightness and sound controls work fine using an Apple MB110LL/B keyboard. I don’t use the camera much (sort of ugly) so did not test that portion of the ASD.
Received mine a week ago and I absolutely love it!
There's a backstory though. In 2024 I went through five studio displays and returned all of them due to uniformity issues – they either had noticeable color temperature shifts or really bad dirty screen effects. Uniformity is absolutely crucial for me in the work that I do. I ended up getting a second-hand LG 5k Ultrafine, which wasn't ideal but good enough to unblock me in my work.
When the new displays came out a few months ago, I bought the Studio XDR display. It was very uniform but it had darker edges (vignette effect) around the screen, which in the end was something I couldn't tolerate – I was noticing it all the time. So I returned it.
A week ago I saw the regular Studio Display on Amazon with a 12% discount and decided to try my luck one more time. And I am so glad I did! It is one of the most uniform LCD panels I've ever seen. Yes, there are some slightly darker spots but they are barely noticeable and I can't express enough how happy I am now. I still can't believe it – it took me 2,5 years and 7 tries to win the screen lottery!
Hope it encourages someone who might be struggling as I did 🙂
There's a backstory though. In 2024 I went through five studio displays and returned all of them due to uniformity issues – they either had noticeable color temperature shifts or really bad dirty screen effects. Uniformity is absolutely crucial for me in the work that I do. I ended up getting a second-hand LG 5k Ultrafine, which wasn't ideal but good enough to unblock me in my work.
When the new displays came out a few months ago, I bought the Studio XDR display. It was very uniform but it had darker edges (vignette effect) around the screen, which in the end was something I couldn't tolerate – I was noticing it all the time. So I returned it.
A week ago I saw the regular Studio Display on Amazon with a 12% discount and decided to try my luck one more time. And I am so glad I did! It is one of the most uniform LCD panels I've ever seen. Yes, there are some slightly darker spots but they are barely noticeable and I can't express enough how happy I am now. I still can't believe it – it took me 2,5 years and 7 tries to win the screen lottery!
Hope it encourages someone who might be struggling as I did 🙂
For professional work, think professional monitors : Eizo or Nec.