Apple Updates Studio Display With Thunderbolt 5 and More

[dmr727]

It’s funny how ridiculously off I was on my optimistic thinking that an updated Studio Display with 120hz might actually be the same cost as the original Studio Display 😭.

If it makes you feel better, you weren't alone. A lot of us were hoping for 120Hz at the same price point. 😜 The good news is that of all of Apple's hardware, the displays are the easiest to just shrug your shoulders and buy something else.

 

[jakey rolling]

"I’ve seen countless posts from people screaming all they want is the display updated to 120Hz refresh rate. Now they have that option, the people screaming for it previously now seem strangely absent from the discussion. "

Those same people expected it at the same price.

Uh, yeah. It's almost like the internet exists and people are able to see what every other monitor manufacturer makes.

 

[AshX]

Not sure if it is "worse" per se. Some of Apple's original marketing for the Pro Display XDR was that it was supposed to compete with broadcast-quality reference monitors and the "True 10-bit" claim was part of that marketing. Now it's become pretty widely known that the XDR is far from being a reference monitor, so Apple is instead focusing on the hobbiest prosumers that the monitor is actually suited for.

It’s a big distinction if you’re looking for a display with true 10-bit and not “fake” 8-bit + FRC. The fact that this display is marginally cheaper but is likely an 8-bit + FRC panel is disappointing. You can access a true 10-bit display from Eizo or even Dell for less than this price.

It’s clear Apple has abandoned pro customers.

 

[jarman92]

Well if you want to be pedantic, I and most of us don't count slightly changing the speakers as a "new display". It's the same display for the same price.

And the higher end display is just a much worse Apple 6K display. So I'm actually with Gurman this time!

That's not being pedantic, it's revisionism. He was inarguably wrong.

 

[bluespark]

Very weak update. I can’t imagine any current Studio Display owners paying to upgrade to this, so I guess it’s intended for those who don’t currently have a Studio Display.

And how are there no 32” options, especially at this price point?! I’d expect a 27” Studio Display at hundreds less than the prior one, a 32” Studio Display at around this cost, and a 32” XDR Display at a higher cost for graphics professionals. Nope!

 

[amancalledsun]

Very poor upgrade after 4 years. What is Apple using the additional revenue with no amazing tech to pay for?

Flailing around at "AI"...

 

[Jacoblee23]

My wallet is relieved. No reason to update my current Studio Display and that is fine with me.

 

[jtdx99]

Saved up money hoping it would be 90Hz or 120Hz... guess I'll wait another 4 years

 

[LeifH]

So disappointed. Was really hoping for a 32-inch version, and a lower price. Was planning on updating my current display, but now…not so much. 😔

 

[amancalledsun]

My 2005 Cinema HD Display 23" is starting to look like great value...especially with the 16x10 aspect ratio. 🙃

 

[dannyyankou]

I expect to see some absolute bargains for the original display on liquidation sites, like Woot. If the price is good, maybe I’ll get one.

 

[dumastudetto]

If all you need is resolution, buy something else, if all you need is size, buy something else, if all you want is a monitor with a webcam, buy something else. If you want the complete package that Apple provides, buy an ASD.

Yeah, yours sounds like really solid buying advice to me.

 

[Rychiar]

no mention of what chipset they use?

 

[fathergll]

I guess there are varying schools of thought on this, but for me, the display tech is the window into the software. So would I rather have OLED or micro-LED over an extra port? Yes. Would I rather have 120Hz+ over an extra port? Yes.

Therefore, because the XDR has also lost the plot in terms of value, I opted for another brand of display. To be clear, it was costlier than Apple's offering here, but there is significantly more return on the investment. The Apple Displays, in my opinion, are ensconced in "shill purchase" territory - which is a realm I elect not to traverse.

I agree its a window into the software but I just meant 27" is not exactly a big window and they priced it so high you can't buy a second window unless you want so spend close to $7k once you add in tax. I'd personally take two decent monitors over a better one at these smaller 27" sizes for the same price but everyone has different needs.

That said I would agree there are many options outside of Apple.

 

[amancalledsun]

Abysmal XDR update. At CES, LG and Samsung introduced 32” 6K displays, thought Apple would have used one of those panels in its update.

My guess is both LG and Samsung wanted to charge Apple more for a 32" 6K panel than Apple had been paying previously, and Tim Cook balked at the cost increase. Instead he's passing on "value" to Apple shareholders by way of an increased profit margin. He has to offset the cost increases for RAM and SSD's somehow - not that I agree with it at all.

 

[Lilibu]

If you own the device on the left, will you replace it with the one on the right?
Hardly!

If you don't have a device on the left, there's a reason for that. Will you buy one on the right?
Hardly.

The biggest innovation in all this is the product icon at the top. Different... Higher... 🙂

 

[umbilical]

27 for $3299 ???? HARD PASS!

I expect 32, a long wait for nothing.

 

[umbilical]

It feels like every Apple upgrade is so minor and the price is so unreasonable. Nothing gets me excited anymore. Let’s hope the new MacBook Pro with touchscreen and OLED will be the first thing to excite me.

Why in hell you want touch the screen of a macbookpro? not make sense to me.

 

[amancalledsun]

I'm not aware of any audio professional, or anyone else for that matter, who claims to be able to measure bass as a percentage.

I'll take a stab at Apple's hidden marketing-speak meaning for you. They wanted a nice big % change to highlight. Since they don't publish the frequency range of the monitor's audio (or that of the predecessor), legitimately they could claim 30% deeper bass by expanding the low frequency support down from 30Hz to 20Hz, or 36Hz down to 24Hz. It is unclear, though, whether that is the correct interpretation. Perhaps they mean that the audio output at the lowest frequencies is 30% louder (which is measurable), which would also be no small accomplishment, as power requirements increase tremendously to increase low frequency output. It is completely unclear which interpretation is correct, though, as you note. I think the key word in the marketing copy is "deeper", which likely means improved response at lower frequencies than were previously supported. Just a guess.

 

[atomwork]

Whats up with this lame 27" option in 2026?

 

[Brother Cavil]

It's just a display. Why does it care what CPU the host computer is using? Why is it more complicated than it needs to be do its job as a display?

I feel the same. Why is it so over-engineered? Naked planned obsolescence?

I'm in the market for an Apple display, but at these prices I'm inclined to look at a Vision Pro as my large MacBookPro display when I'm in my studio. I also put off the purchase of a new TV for this reason. Let's see where the Vision platform goes in the next year.

My hunch is, nothing will happen in the next year. The updated model isn't even 6 months old. Vision is obviously a long play for them and I'm not convinced we'll see a truly next gen Vision Pro ever. It's clear that the public isn't interested in a full-blown "spatial computer", but I'm sure a lot of the tech is making its way into upcoming and potentially more consumer-friendly products like glasses.

I also really believe there's a market for a reasonably priced Vision display that connects to one's Macs, iPhones and iPads. It would be an instant buy for me. It's clear that most people who are buying Vision Pro are doing so for the big screen entertainment and remote display features. That's the product. That's the "killer app". The "spatial computing" stuff isn't resonating.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Fastest display for AI, absolutely no question about it.

 

[Fortimir]

Sure makes me feel better about keeping my 2x Studio Displays I already have. What an incredibly minor update — only thing I actually dislike is the quality of the webcam. Audio improvement is a non issue, as I'm already using Loopback to use left monitor as left speaker, right monitor as right speaker, and a subwoofer through the headphone jack with its own internal crossover. The XDR is a non-starter for me as dual monitors is more important to me than a single larger display, and there's no chance in hell I'm paying $6500.

Hopefully this weak move helps some people pick up the original version at a good discount.

 

[MSean101]

Two Thunderbolt 5 ports (up to 120Gb/s), with one upstream port (provides 96W pass-through charging) and one downstream port for connecting accessories or daisy-chaining up to four additional Studio Displays

Do we know if the old Studio Display can be daisy-chained to this new one?

 

[Ferrandix]

There was a time when Apple went from the 27-inch iMac to the 27-inch 5K Retina iMac, at a moment when there were no 5K monitors on the market and Apple had to engineer a custom solution to achieve that resolution. And they did it without really increasing the iMac’s base price.


That was in 2014, and you could get an iMac with a 5K display for two thousand bucks. Today, we still have a display with practically the same specifications.