The XDR absolutely should exist, because nobody else was going to make a Retina "pro" monitor for Macs, and Apple employees and management wanted one
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's Pro Display XDR is Nearly Five Years Old With No Update in Sight
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I didn’t know about the VESA thing, That’s unfortunate. So there’s no way to adapt after the fact? No kit or mod?
Still, every day I wish my monitor was a Studio Display. And my monitor is pretty fantastic. But having an external monitor, feel like a direct extension of your machine is invaluable.
The VESA thing is indeed a drag and the VESA mount option is either more popular or very popular because there are periodic sales on Studio Displays, but many of these sales specifically exclude the VESA mount version either because those are already selling or they don't have any of them available to put on sale.
There's no kit because the stand is built into the frame of the Studio Display, but from what I've read, you can take your Studio Display to an Apple Store and they'll convert them to a VESA mount version for a fee. When I was shopping for an Studio Display earlier this year I considered this option as the VESA mounts were out of stock and the regular versions were on sale. If I felt like the hassle of bringing a monitor in for service, I could have saved a little money in the process.
Instead, I paid full price. I waited and jumped on the VESA units as soon as they returned to stock.
Wow! I did not see Thunderbolt 5 being included in the M4 MBPs on my radar!
Could this mean that there will be some upgraded displays or different screen sizes coming? What kind of things would TB5 bandwidth open up? Sorry if this is a dumb question. I'm terrible at the screen size / scaling / refresh rate / density / text size math.
Could this mean that there will be some upgraded displays or different screen sizes coming? What kind of things would TB5 bandwidth open up? Sorry if this is a dumb question. I'm terrible at the screen size / scaling / refresh rate / density / text size math.
We're not really that display bandwidth limited, given Display Stream Compression; but it would absolutely allow better monitor docks, extreme resolutions, frame rates, and might be an excuse for Apple to start supporting daisy chaining of monitors (probably not).
We're not really that display bandwidth limited, given Display Stream Compression; but it would absolutely allow better monitor docks, extreme resolutions, frame rates, and might be an excuse for Apple to start supporting daisy chaining of monitors (probably not).
This made me think of something everyone's been wanting to see back since forever. Would this make the return of using iMacs as external monitors in target display mode a possibility or see the return of the 27" iMac if target display mode comes back?
Thanks to Thunderbolt 5 I do indeed expect to see Apple release new displays. I do not expect them to do so before they release the M4 Mac Studio and Pros, however.
To respond to @smirking the new spec allows for more pixels to be pushed, to reduce it to its essence. For myself, I expect/hope for either vastly improved refresh rates or much higher resolutions. Concrete example: TB4 had a 40Gbps throughput and HDMI 2.1 (48 Gbps) and DP 2.1 (UHBR13.5 (54 Gbps) and UHBR20 (80 Gbps)) both exceed that. Thunderbolt 5 has 80Gbps (bidirectional, i.e. 80 downstream/80 upstream) that can switch to 120/40 so it exceeds present specs and may be able to support future specs.
So, what do I hope for? Either increased refresh rate 32” 6K displays (e.g. 240Hz+) or 40” 8K, possibly at 120Hz. Some new tech would be awesome as well, such as their “tandem OLED”…
To respond to @smirking the new spec allows for more pixels to be pushed, to reduce it to its essence. For myself, I expect/hope for either vastly improved refresh rates or much higher resolutions. Concrete example: TB4 had a 40Gbps throughput and HDMI 2.1 (48 Gbps) and DP 2.1 (UHBR13.5 (54 Gbps) and UHBR20 (80 Gbps)) both exceed that. Thunderbolt 5 has 80Gbps (bidirectional, i.e. 80 downstream/80 upstream) that can switch to 120/40 so it exceeds present specs and may be able to support future specs.
So, what do I hope for? Either increased refresh rate 32” 6K displays (e.g. 240Hz+) or 40” 8K, possibly at 120Hz. Some new tech would be awesome as well, such as their “tandem OLED”…
I brought it up in chat and inspired a talk about it on MBW.
There's nothing stopping Apple from supporting Targeted Display Mode again.
How is an M4 iMac that different than an Apple Studio Display with an A13 in it
I wouldn't consider it likely, but it might happen some day.
Is an 40" 8K display the next size up from a 32" 6K display that would allow for smooth and readable pixel doubled text?
That might be just a little too large of a desktop screen for me, but I might come around. I've long wanted something larger than my 27" 5K display and a retina quality ultra-wide would be my dream come true as I want more space, but have never been comfortable using multiple displays.
As @DavidSchaub notes, it is. I also dislike multi-monitor setups, but that’s exactly what I have at the moment.
I use a 42” 4K OLED on my gaming PC and it’s a great size. I use dual 32” 4K on my Mac and dislike it. Windows does text rendering better than Apple does but I’m not an expert here. If I want 40” on a Mac it must be 8K is all I know…