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Additional comment that really hardly matters but I want to mention anyways: Did anyone else notice the unboxing experience of the Studio Display was a lot lower quality than most of the other apple devices these days? Difficult to open tabs, confusing initial box design (it's upside down in there!), and generally the materials that held components like the cables didn't feel quite up to par. Again, this is an incredibly stupid nitpick. It'll only ever go back in that thing when I'm moving, so it doesn't really matter at all now.

I don't know. I remember liking how secure it was and thinking it would be good when I had to move it again.
 
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Finally decided to stop agonising over when to get the Studio Display. Walked into the Apple Store tonight and walked out with a standard glass / tilt and height adjustable stand ASD.

Coming from an LG UltraFine 5K, not having to adjust brightness every time I wake up my Mac is already a godsend. As expected, the display's design is absolutely gorgeous and picture quality is stunning. The speakers are also rich and full and the volume adjustments are set perfectly unlike the LG's which went from too soft to too loud in one step.

Sadly, the webcam really is as crap as most people have stated. The webcam on the UltraFine is actually better. Just as well I hardly use it.

Overall very happy with my purchase!

ps. I had enquired in another thread about HDCP compliance. One member said it was not an issue. Unfortunately that info was not entirely accurate. My Apple movies didn't play right away but were fine once I restarted my Mac. I don't know how long it will work before I have to unplug or restart but this was the same issue I had with the LG.
 
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The VESA mount options have only been in stores once since the Studio Display came out from what I have seen. Tilt only is very common now and tilt/height is occasionally in stores.
Here in Spain most of the available ones in the store are either those base models (gone completely) or nano texture :D
 
Additional comment that really hardly matters but I want to mention anyways: Did anyone else notice the unboxing experience of the Studio Display was a lot lower quality than most of the other apple devices these days? Difficult to open tabs, confusing initial box design (it's upside down in there!), and generally the materials that held components like the cables didn't feel quite up to par. Again, this is an incredibly stupid nitpick. It'll only ever go back in that thing when I'm moving, so it doesn't really matter at all now.
Good to hear you're happy with your ASD!

As to the packaging: I am very happy that it is now almost completely plastic-free: Only the screen protection foil is still plastic, the rest is all paper! Same as the Mac Studio, too! By comparison the packaging of the 4k LG was an absolute plastic orgy as it's always been for monitors of old!
 
have you updated the ASD? Camera looks a lot better with the updated software compared to what they shipped with.
I do see a firmware update for 15.5. Is this the update that addresses the webcam / sound issues or both? Will be updating later today. Thanks.
 
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IMG_4282.jpg



My temporary setup while waiting for my house to be completed, only then will I have a proper "man-cave"!
 
As to the packaging: I am very happy that it is now almost completely plastic-free: Only the screen protection foil is still plastic, the rest is all paper! Same as the Mac Studio, too! By comparison the packaging of the 4k LG was an absolute plastic orgy as it's always been for monitors of old!
The cardstock type packaging is definitely far better, and of course it had a better unboxing experience than any monitor I've ever owned. I'm glad Apple in general laid off the plastic with their products, the iPhone and Apple Watch boxes are really something else. The pull tabs are far better than ripping a plastic film off anyways, and don't even get me started on that terrible way they did the iPods back in the day...
 
After updating the ASD to 15.5, I see no improvement to the webcam whatsoever. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much and I purchased the ASD knowing the webcam was bad so...not great but not overly bothered.
 
After updating the ASD to 15.5, I see no improvement to the webcam whatsoever. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much and I purchased the ASD knowing the webcam was bad so...not great but not overly bothered.
What type of lighting setup do you have? Most people saw an upgrade in lit bright rooms.
 
To be fair, it is evening over here. I'll take a look again in the morning.
Webcam isn't great, but I find it perfectly serviceable. And don't forget you're likely looking at the image blown up to 5K resolution. Probably looks better at the other end.

Is it as good as a 4K fixed field-of-view webcam? No. But is anyone really going to use a built-in webcam (regardless of the display's or laptop's price) to record enduring content anyway? Likely not.

Putting a 4K webcam in likely would have required a thicker chassis and larger top bezel. Or it would have to protrude like Dell's monitor with a built-in 4K webcam. Then Apple buyers would be complaining about that.

I actually have a reason I'm considering going back to my Logitech Brio webcam instead of using the one built in to my Studio Display, and it's really got nothing to do with the quality of the webcam, and it's a unique situation likely few will encounter. We frequently use Cisco WebEx for work meetings. The macOS client for WebEx has a bug where it sees the two webcams in my two Studio Displays and will get stuck on one camera and won't switch to the other. Sometimes it'll want to use the wrong camera and won't recognize switching to the other in the app's settings. This issue only comes up in WebEx. Zoom switches between the two camera correctly, as does FaceTime and Microsoft Teams. Anyway, like I said, it's a rare situation but I'm stuck using WebEx for certain things at work.
 
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Webcam isn't great, but I find it perfectly serviceable. And don't forget you're likely looking at the image blown up to 5K resolution. Probably looks better at the other end.

Is it as good as a 4K fixed field-of-view webcam? No. But is anyone really going to use a built-in webcam (regardless of the display's or laptop's price) to record enduring content anyway? Likely not.

Putting a 4K webcam in likely would have required a thicker chassis and larger top bezel. Or it would have to protrude like Dell's monitor with a built-in 4K webcam. Then Apple buyers would be complaining about that.

I actually have a reason I'm considering going back to my Logitech Brio webcam instead of using the one built in to my Studio Display, and it's really got nothing to do with the quality of the webcam, and it's a unique situation likely few will encounter. We frequently use Cisco WebEx for work meetings. The macOS client for WebEx has a bug where it sees the two webcams in my two Studio Displays and will get stuck on one camera and won't switch to the other. Sometimes it'll want to use the wrong camera and won't recognize switching to the other in the app's settings. This issue only comes up in WebEx. Zoom switches between the two camera correctly, as does FaceTime and Microsoft Teams. Anyway, like I said, it's a rare situation but I'm stuck using WebEx for certain things at work.
Honestly ASD or MacBook Pro 14" webcam is more than enough for Teams and Zoom. Not planning to upgrade my 'webcam' anytime soon.
 
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Sadly, the webcam really is as crap as most people have stated. The webcam on the UltraFine is actually better. Just as well I hardly use it.
I am not an owner of this fine display. I own a different 27-inch with a lower resolution. I think my display really shows the limitation of mobile photography (Iphone 13 mini). Are people expecting too much out of this webcam? I mean, 5k on a 27 inch is a fair amount of pixels. The sensors are small. It is amazing what they can cram out of them, but they are small. There is no going around it. I'm sorry if this has been lifted before.
 
Are people expecting too much out of this webcam? I mean, 5k on a 27 inch is a fair amount of pixels. The sensors are small. It is amazing what they can cram out of them, but they are small.

We are definitely not asking too much.

The iPhone camera, housed in a much smaller and cheaper device, is so much better.

You can get a $100 USB webcam, that isn’t any thicker than the display, that is also much better.

The main problem is that Apple chose to use a fisheye lens to support the dumb center stage feature that nobody uses on a Studio Display.

I would argue that the relatively thick display and wide bezel is a missed opportunity for Apple to use industry-leading sensors and lenses, on top of using a suitable lens for a single person sitting still in front of the display.
 
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We are definitely not asking too much.

The iPhone camera, housed in a much smaller and cheaper device, is so much better.

You can get a $100 USB webcam, that isn’t any thicker than the display, that is also much better.

The main problem is that Apple chose to use a fisheye lens to support the dumb center stage feature that nobody uses on a Studio Display.
Panel tech is expensive and hard and I would want them to put all effort into that. And I do not doubt the iPhone being better, but if you take a portrait with the front facing camera and compare it to a photo booth portrait on the studio display, how big is the difference?
 
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Panel tech is expensive and hard and I would want them to put all effort into that. And I do not doubt the iPhone being better, but if you take a portrait with the front facing camera and compare it to a photo booth portrait on the studio display, how big is the difference?
I actually really like center stage. It zooms in on my and I don't look so far away from the camera in conference calls.
 
I had a look at the camera again this morning. I don't know whether it was the update or because it's daytime or both, but it does look better now. Certainly good enough for a few zoom and FaceTime calls.
 
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