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I second that! I bought the LG 5K right after COVID hit in April 2020 and it has worked flawlessly for me, absolutely ZERO issues and I kinda like the black boxy industrial look.

Is the Apple version worth the extra $$$ ? Better webcam (center stage) and likely better speakers and 100 nits extra brightness, and better appearance (to most) seem to justify the cost.

Don't forget the Speakers built in!

However there is way for 4k dual display by using something like this:

 
No, and it used to upset me, but I'm starting to think that 4K might be enough at 27", and possibly even at 32" for some people. I found this cool calculator that shows how close you need to be to distinguish individual pixels. https://www.designcompaniesranked.com/resources/is-this-retina/

Here's what it says:

5K 27" - 16 inches
4K 27" - 21 inches
4K 32" - 25 inches

So what this is saying is that a 4K 27" monitor will look just as sharp as a 5K 27" monitor if your eyes are at least 21 inches away from the screen. You should measure how far your eyes normally are from your screen, and from that, you can determine whether you actually need a 5K monitor or not.

In my case, when I lean back in my chair, which I do most of the time, my eyes are 27 inches from the screen, so most of the time even a 4K 32" monitor would look just as sharp as my 5K iMac. However, I do occasionally sit up straight, and in that position my eyes are only 21 inches from my screen, so I would be able to notice that a 4K 32" monitor is less sharp in that position, but it seems like I could get away with a 4K 27" screen and never be able to tell the difference.

IMHO you may wish to also consider the scaling unless your eyes are good enuf to use these at native resolution.

QHD 2560x1440 effective desktop sizing is often considered the sweet spot for 27" displays.

With a 5K display that's an integer scaling of 1:2 and with 4K it's a non-integer scaling of 2:3 -- which can reduce crispness and also puts some load on the GPU.

Whether that load is impactful will depend on the computer. Can folks get away with 4K at 27", accepting some loss of quality and efficiency? Sure. Not what I would want to do though - rather just stay at QHD at 27" until/unless I can go to 5K.
 
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Not sure this is much of an upgrade over my LG 5K monitor, first generation but overall pretty stable 90% of the time. Three main features that I think this will have over the LG 5K: HDCP compatibility (for 4k content), HDR, and centerstage. However, I don't use my monitor for anything besides work and bought a 3rd party web cam that is much better than the built in so don't really see a point.

Will save up and wait for an Apple mini-LED monitor at some future point
As far I know neither the Studio Display or the LG 5K has HDR support?
 
I have 4 other LG displays I purchased for our studio while Apple twiddled it's thumbs for a few years. The LGs (4k) are clunky and didn't hold their color. I tried--meaning I went nowhere in the labyrinth that is LG customer support--to get help or replace them. Absolutely worth the $300 add to buy from Apple.
 
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IMHO you may wish to also consider the scaling unless your eyes are good enuf to use these at native resolution.

QHD 2560x1440 effective desktop sizing is often considered the sweet spot for 27" displays.

With a 5K display that's an integer scaling of 1:2 and with 4K it's a non-integer scaling of 2:3 -- which can reduce crispness and also puts some load on the GPU.

Whether that load is impactful will depend on the computer. Can folks get away with 4K at 27", accepting some loss of quality and efficiency? Sure. Not what I would want to do though - rather just stay at QHD at 27" until/unless I can go to 5K.

Yep, it would definitely mean using non-integer scaling, but I think the difference in crispness and GPU load is very, very minor. So minor that the default effective resolution for 2016-2019 MacBook Pros used non-integer scaling, and I never saw many complaints about it. MacOS does scaling smarter than Windows, and a lot of things, such as images, get displayed at native resolution regardless of what scaling ratio you choose.
 
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2 points:

1) why is everyone assuming the Studio Display will have reliable ports? As far as I can tell, the ports look exactly the same as the Ultrafine 5K? I 50/50 odds they have the same build quality, since the specs of the studio display are identical panel-wise. I don't think the aluminum chassis has anything to do with the ports being more durable. From my own Ultrafine 5k, any tension or pull on the port will eventually break the port.

2) the microphone on the Ultrafine 5K, I think its not so good. sounds pretty boomy on my end in my zoom calls. hope the Studio Display has a better microphone. can anyone else comment on their ultrafine's microphone quality?
 
1) why is everyone assuming the Studio Display will have reliable ports? As far as I can tell, the ports look exactly the same as the Ultrafine 5K? I 50/50 odds they have the same build quality, since the specs of the studio display are identical panel-wise. I don't think the aluminum chassis has anything to do with the ports being more durable. From my own Ultrafine 5k, any tension or pull on the port will eventually break the port.
Is this really a widespread issue? You can just zip-tie or velcro-wrap the cable to the stand if you're worried about this. Leave a loop and the strain on the connector will be nearly zero. I've never had any trouble setting up my devices such that cable strain is minimal.

It's not like this is a portable device; 99% of the plugging/unplugging you're going to do will be the other end of the cable if you're using a laptop.
 
2 points:

1) why is everyone assuming the Studio Display will have reliable ports? As far as I can tell, the ports look exactly the same as the Ultrafine 5K? I 50/50 odds they have the same build quality, since the specs of the studio display are identical panel-wise. I don't think the aluminum chassis has anything to do with the ports being more durable. From my own Ultrafine 5k, any tension or pull on the port will eventually break the port.

2) the microphone on the Ultrafine 5K, I think its not so good. sounds pretty boomy on my end in my zoom calls. hope the Studio Display has a better microphone. can anyone else comment on their ultrafine's microphone quality?

I suspect folks are hoping Apple wouldn't release a product with unreliable ports. Granted Apple's not had a perfect track record, but one would hope they spec'd a decently durable design.

Specs for the display aren't the quite the same; 600nits for the Studio Display vs 500 nits for the LG. Not to mention @Pressure's post above suggesting the panels are different.
 
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Even though they share the same size and resolution doesn't make them the same.

The old LG 5K display and iMac 5K are using LG panels LM270QQ1-SPA and LM270QQ2-SPA2. They are only 8-bit + Frame Rate Control (FRC) for "fake" 10-bit color by flashing two alternating colours quickly to be able to display billions of colours.

The newer panel used in the Apple Studio Display is the LM270QQ2-SPA3, which is a true 10-bit panel with higher luminance.
Is that confirmed? Apple‘s website doesn’t state whether it is true 10-bit. Or is that the only way to claim “1 billion colors”?
 
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1) why is everyone assuming the Studio Display will have reliable ports?
If you watch the event video, the case is machined aluminum. This would indicate that the ports will have the same mechanical design as all the other aluminum-cased machines it sells, which will break the cable before it breaks the port. This would make the ports more reliable because abuse of the cable will not get transferred to the connector, regardless of whether these are the same design as the LG 5K motherboard or not.

Remember that Apple actually has AppleCare and stuff coming back costs a lot more money than designing it right in the first place.
 
Remember that Apple actually has AppleCare and stuff coming back costs a lot more money than designing it right in the first place.

I just want to point out that Apple has a LONG history of not designing things right in the first place. I would not bank on this monitor not having issues that other Apple monitors have had over the years and I include the LG in this since it is at the very least using a panel heavily based on the UltraFine's panel. However, I would agree that it is unlikely to have issues like the connectors breaking, although Apple MacBook Pros have had that issue so...
 
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Do not buy the LG 5K. I own one and the image retention is awful. Good luck getting LG to fix it or finding a repair shop.

If the Apple Studio display exhibits image retention then at least you can take it to the Apple store, whereas the LG 5K is treated as if it doesn't exist.
 
Do not buy the LG 5K. I own one and the image retention is awful. Good luck getting LG to fix it or finding a repair shop.

If the Apple Studio display exhibits image retention then at least you can take it to the Apple store, whereas the LG 5K is treated as if it doesn't exist.
This alone will drive sales of the Apple Studio Display. That said, I did pay LG the $89 for the extended warranty and got my UltraFine 5K fixed when the screen suddenly gave out. Not sure what would have happened if it were out of warranty.
 
This alone will drive sales of the Apple Studio Display. That said, I did pay LG the $89 for the extended warranty and got my UltraFine 5K fixed when the screen suddenly gave out. Not sure what would have happened if it were out of warranty.

If the Studio Display is using the same panel or a derivative panel, which seems to be the case, wouldn't image retention still be an issue? Of course, the option of AppleCare can help that as long as it covers image retention, which I am sure it does.
 
If the Studio Display is using the same panel or a derivative panel, which seems to be the case, wouldn't image retention still be an issue? Of course, the option of AppleCare can help that as long as it covers image retention, which I am sure it does.
It isn’t the same panel. The screen hits 600 nits vs 500. Also, it is a true 10-bit display vs. 8+2. In any case, the difference is that it’s easy to find an Apple Store or authorized repair center if there is a problem. Getting an out-of-warranty LG monitor fixed is an issue.
 
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If the Studio Display is using the same panel or a derivative panel, which seems to be the case, wouldn't image retention still be an issue? Of course, the option of AppleCare can help that as long as it covers image retention, which I am sure it does.
Don’t get me wrong. I like the LG UltraFine 5k and if Apple didn’t release the Studio Display would probably keep it for another few years. But given the Apple support and the new features I decided to take the plunge. I’ll be listing the LG 5K on the MarketPlace next month for anyone interested. ;)
 
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I just want to point out that Apple has a LONG history of not designing things right in the first place.
Maybe I should have also contextualized that they also design a hell of a lot of stuff. It seems impossible to get everything right, but they seem to have a better success percentage of it than most companies out there. Or am I just drinking too much kool aid?
 
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Maybe I should have also contextualized that they also design a hell of a lot of stuff. It seems impossible to get everything right, but they seem to have a better success percentage of it than most companies out there. Or am I just drinking too much kool aid?

I don't know. They have had a lot of high profile blunders such as the CoreDuo MacBook Pro, the white plastic issues, iPhone 4, 2016 MacBook Pro Keyboard, display problems, etc. But it could also be that they are high profile because its Apple and people love hating. I do not think they have more design and build issues than any other manufacturer, but I also don't know that they have fewer. I will say they generally do have good support that does fix the problem even in times when they are slow to admit the problem. That is definitely worth something.
 
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It hasn't been confirmed that the Studio Display has the same panel as the 6 year old LG one. I'm hoping someone can figure that out once they've been delivered to customers, maybe, iFixIt could.

That for me will be the deciding factor, why pay so much for a very old display panel. Surely something better is right on the horizon after all those years?
 
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It hasn't been confirmed that the Studio Display has the same panel as the 6 year old LG one. I'm hoping someone can figure that out once they've been delivered to customers, maybe, iFixIt could.

That for me will be the deciding factor, why pay so much for a very old display panel. Surely something better is right on the horizon after all those years?
It sounds like it is probably the next iteration of the same panel. Even if it is new, the tech in it really isn't and we are on the precipice of significant changes in computer monitors such as miniLED, microLED (further off), and QD-OLED plus higher refresh rates that are already present. As much as I am disappointed in the refresh rate, the fact that it is an edge-lit LCD is probably the biggest disappointment.
 
Even though they share the same size and resolution doesn't make them the same.

The old LG 5K display and iMac 5K are using LG panels LM270QQ1-SPA and LM270QQ2-SPA2. They are only 8-bit + Frame Rate Control (FRC) for "fake" 10-bit color by flashing two alternating colours quickly to be able to display billions of colours.

The newer panel used in the Apple Studio Display is the LM270QQ2-SPA3, which is a true 10-bit panel with higher luminance.
Where did you see this referenced?
 
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