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Apple Studio Display Reviews: 'A Confounding Miss'

Danfango said:
I disagree with this evaluation. The entire proposition has changed.

I suspect a lot of people who will be buying this are plugging it into a MacBook Pro. I know I am.

The M1 working model is different to the Intel model. Historically I’d have a hefty iMac at home and a power efficient MacBook and all the sync issues to contend with. Now I have one MacBook which is both a laptop and a 27” iMac.

I spent on one decent quality computer and one decent quality monitor. This is overall cheaper and a hell of a lot more convenient.
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A lot of people will be plugging into a MacBook Pro, and for this use case it’s a great solution.

Not everyone’s needs are the same though, and what is being referenced is a very real gap on the desktop side that Apple has created by discontinuing the iMac 27” and forcing users to a Mac Mini or Mac Studio. There is no middle range there and buying a MacBook Pro plus Studio display is not an equivalent solution.

2020 iMac starting price: $1800
MacBook Pro M1 Pro ($2000) + Studio Display ($1600) + Keyboard ($100) + Mouse ($100) = $3800
 
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FUTDomi said:
No, I haven't missed the point. Read again.
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It is an uphill battle. Just let them buy this display if they like it that much. Apple has already greenlit for the rest of us to get displays somewhere else by making the Mac Studio “modular”.
 
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macsteve27 said:
A lot of people will be plugging into a MacBook Pro, and for this use case it’s a great solution.

Not everyone’s needs are the same though, and what is being referenced is a very real gap on the desktop side that Apple has created by discontinuing the iMac 27” and forcing users to a Mac Mini or Mac Studio. There is no middle range there and buying a MacBook Pro plus Studio display is not an equivalent solution.

2020 iMac starting price: $1800
MacBook Pro M1 Pro ($2000) + Studio Display ($1600) + Keyboard ($100) + Mouse ($100) = $3800
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You can't compare an all-in-one computer to a laptop PLUS a standalone display. That makes no sense. If you're going to do that, at least add the secondary monitor to the iMac which brings the cost to $3400. Still overpriced but it really shows what a great value the older 27" iMac was. However it's still not a great comparison because the base 2020 iMac only came with 8 GB RAM, the base M1 Pro comes with 16.

Another way to look at this is Apple dropped the price of the entry level iMac by $500. You lose some screen resolution but in other ways it's still retina and and it some ways runs circles around the machine it replaced.

I think people are getting way too hung up on iMac and Mac mini not being available with M1 Pro chips. Aside from the iMac Pro, those machines were always considered consumer level devices. Apple even got beat up by people in these very forums saying pros don't want all-in-one computers. Now people are pissed they took away the 27" iMac.

They can't win any way you slice it.
 
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macsteve27 said:
A lot of people will be plugging into a MacBook Pro, and for this use case it’s a great solution.

Not everyone’s needs are the same though, and what is being referenced is a very real gap on the desktop side that Apple has created by discontinuing the iMac 27” and forcing users to a Mac Mini or Mac Studio. There is no middle range there and buying a MacBook Pro plus Studio display is not an equivalent solution.

2020 iMac starting price: $1800
MacBook Pro M1 Pro ($2000) + Studio Display ($1600) + Keyboard ($100) + Mouse ($100) = $3800
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I don’t care what the price is, just give me a 120hz display. And I’m aware thunderbolt 4 doesn’t have the bandwidth for 5k 120, but proprietary ports are right up Apple’s alley.
 
SpinThis! said:
You can't compare an all-in-one computer to a laptop PLUS a standalone display. That makes no sense. If you're going to do that, at least add the secondary monitor to the iMac which brings the cost to $3400. Still overpriced but it really shows what a great value the older 27" iMac was. However it's still not a great comparison because the base 2020 iMac only came with 8 GB RAM, the base M1 Pro comes with 16.

Another way to look at this is Apple dropped the price of the entry level iMac by $500. You lose some screen resolution but in other ways it's still retina and and it some ways runs circles around the machine it replaced.

I think people are getting way too hung up on iMac and Mac mini not being available with M1 Pro chips. Aside from the iMac Pro, those machines were always considered consumer level devices. Apple even got beat up by people in these very forums saying pros don't want all-in-one computers. Now people are pissed they took away the 27" iMac.

They can't win any way you slice it.
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I agree it makes no sense to compare them. They offer very different things, the MacBook Pro offers portability, the 27” iMac offered a great screen for the price and a decent computer along with it. I was merely responding to another poster who prefers a MacBook and Studio Display to an iMac and a MacBook because it saves them money and is easier for their workflow. My point was that their exact use case doesn’t apply to everyone and their assertion that it is better than an iMac also does not apply to everyone. For those who have used 27” iMacs for their work like myself I now have to shell out extra money for a computer (be it MacBook or Mac Studio) AND a monitor in order to achieve the power and screen quality I had with the iMac.

Also I agree that Apple cannot please everyone, but I wouldn’t defend them or feel sorry for them on this. They are one of the largest most profitable companies in the world and they basically win no matter what. They could offer multiple options but are likely spacing them out to push an upsell on the Studio Display and Mac Studio.
 
jetjaguar said:
Same with Rene Ritchie. I feel Dave2D is the best of the “reviewers”.
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That guy irritates me to no end. I can take iJustine because I think her style is more entertainment focused than hardcore reviews. Ritchie is just a shill for Apple PR who never has a bad thing to say about them. I used to listen to him on podcasts talk himself into knots trying to justify some boneheaded move Apple made. Can't stand him.
 
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Unregistered 4U said:
There are plenty of folks buying this specific monitor that does NOT allow a mount change… that will THEN want to change the mount? Again, on a monitor where the mount doesn’t change? No, not plenty of people.

I agree that, for those that aren’t buying one, it’s a nice handy complaint point. But, I have to concede that it’s not a problem for those that are ACTUALLY buying it.
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Ok, but that’s like saying “I’m selling this car with all door hardware removed, but that’s not a problem because the people who would buy a car that cant have doors dont care about having doors”

It’s a disingenuous argument, of course people who never cared about changing the mount dont care about buying a monitor with an unchangeable mount, but there’s a lot of people who would (and many who will) buy this display where that will be an irritation. Plenty of folks who buy this will buy it *despite* that limitation, not because they dont care about it.

There are also a lot of folks for whom this will be the reason they dont buy one, people who would have bought it without that limitation - and worse there will be plenty of people who buy it not realizing that limitation who might not have, because people are used to having that option with displays
 
venom600 said:
That guy irritates me to no end. I can take iJustine because I think her style is more entertainment focused than hardcore reviews. Ritchie is just a shill for Apple PR who never has a bad thing to say about them. I used to listen to him on podcasts talk himself into knots trying to justify some boneheaded move Apple made. Can't stand him.
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I'm a Luke Miani fan, personally.
 
There has been some misinformation—even published as news by Macrumors—that the power cable is non-removable. It is removable.

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1504473080348884992
 
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Spock said:
I can remember defending the "Apple tax" back when the products they released had the quality to back up the sometimes outrageously overpriced hardware. I think those days have passed, I think Apple is just getting more and more greedy with the Mac.
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I generally agree, but wonder what you think of the new 14/16" MBPs? They seem quite slick hardware to me. Sure there's a couple of minor things, such as HDMI 2.0, rather than 2.1. And yeah, the price is steep, but quality for money, right? Unless you want to upgrade the SSD and RAM, in which case, it is utterly taking the piss.
 
Reggaenald said:
Technically not. Looking at OLED reference monitors, like the ones Apple compared their PDXDR to, they have low res but high color accuracy. So, color > resolution
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Video proofing typically looks at the overall full screen regardless of scale. You may want to have a 1:1 sampling somewhere but it does not need to be on the color critical monitor.

Same with photos and pre-press, need to see the whole piece of medium. If details are needed, just zoom in with your software.

Though for the case of a primary display to a Mac, since it likely will double-duty as an interfacing display, then in that case more resolution is preferred.
 
pacificblue said:
There has been some misinformation—even published as news by Macrumors—that the power cable is non-removable. It is removable.
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Yeah this misinformation appeared because some cack-handed influencer couldn’t work out how to unplug it and the idiot followers overreacted.

Next thing they’ll be burning witches.
 
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rgwebb said:
To be fair, a car is not just an engine. The BMW is materially nicer to drive even if all other performance metrics are equivalent with the Nissan. Toyota has made a killing off withhold a decent interior and better exterior styling for their Lexus lineup. I’d rather be driving an RX350 than a Rav4.
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That’s true. I just feel we got a series 3 with a series 5 price.
 
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Apple have a tough call with monitors. If you want a real Mac, well you have to go to Apple, but there are at least half a dozen manufacturers out there building very very good monitors which it would seem from reviews will easily surpass the quality of this at half the cost or less. I do not predict it will sell very well.
 
Diskutant said:
What am I seeing here? A round plug, but a wide hole? Or goes the plug into the small round hole inside that wide hole? And what is the bottom part of the wide hole?
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He had to position the camera through the hole in the stand to see straight into the socket. You are seeing a white mug he has on the desk in front of the display at the bottom of the hole.

To me the plug side looks like it has a clicking mechanism which you unlock by turning counter-clockwise for like 3mm or so, then it can be yanked out. The socket side has 3 metal pins protruding. This is effectively a removable but a proprietary / non-standard one, whereas on older Apple displays or iMacs the socket is usually an IEC14, Apple's cable is a regular IEC3 plug but has a circular ring/disc for flushing.
 
petvas said:
Not available in Europe. If you look at the price difference between the LG and the Studio display then you can see that you pay for the better speakers, OS integration, much better design and hopefully better camera.
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It’s available in EU, not at AppleStore but local resellers. To be fair it’s a 860€ difference for the better design, speakers and (apparently maybe not) cam, as LG comes with height adjustment stand.?
 
jarman92 said:
Maybe "perfect" image quality for you. But a 4K 27" screen is not proper 2x Retina resolution and does not directly scale the UI elements of macOS. That's a fact, not a matter of opinion. I guess it doesn't matter to you, which is fine, but it matters a lot to many people.
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I know that, macOS renders the image at 5k and then downscales to 4k, but I doubt anyone can see a discernible difference to the naked way at proper viewing distance. Without seeing both screens at a zoomed macro photography I doubt 90% would notice any difference...
 
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