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A 27 inch 4K monitor becomes retina at about 21 inches away. So in that sense you can say it qualifies as a Retina display. I myself have a 27 inch 4K monitor from LG and I can't even differentiate the pixels when I put my face up to it.

But also it's almost a full $1000 cheaper.

I've got a Dell 27" 4K monitor next to an LG 5K. I've scaled it so the windows appear the same size and you can definitely see that the images on the Dell are ever so slightly fuzzier than the LG.
 
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Retina wholly depends on your distance from the display. I use a 32" 4k display at about 25" away, it is by definition a Retina display in this case.
But that is also entirely pointless. If you put a large display very far away you might as well get an actual sharp and smaller display and put it closer.

I've got a Dell 27" 4K monitor next to an LG 5K. I've scaled it so the windows appear the same size and you can definitely see that the images on the Dell are ever so slightly fuzzier than the LG.
Yes! At work we also have 27" 4k displays. I can clearly see how much more fuzzy and blurry the image is compared to my 27" 5K Ultrafine. Not only that, the small shimmering artefacts caused by the non-native scaling drive me up the wall.
 
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Sorry, I don't get the point at all of comparing a 4K display to a 5K display. If you want to make these comparisons, please find 5K monitors from other manufacturers to use. The resolution disparity (with 1.7x the number of pixels) is more significant than the numbers suggest, making the differerence between being able to run a true retina (2:1) scaling with reasonable real estate vs one where the Mac upscales to 5K and then back down.

EDIT: And if you can't find comparable 5K monitors from other manufacturers, then end of story. Apple gets to charge whatever it wants.
 
Humm...I agree and have dealt with the same issues, especially if your work demands many hours in-front of the display.. continue to live with the eye & headache issues too, regardless of the monitor.

I thought the reflective mirror was also the cause (as with my beloved Apple Thunderbolt monitor). I also heard that Retina can cause eye strain and headaches to some too.

If what you say is the facts, then though Apple's Studio Display is quite expensive in comparison to it limitations and issues..but..."if" it does minimizes eye strain and headaches...then I would take a second consideration and look at it.

Hope to go somewhere and see the screen under the store's florescence lighting (as most stores have) to check the glare etc. Usually by looking at the screen for a few minutes, you can tell about eye strain etc.
Went to two stores today that had the Apple Studio Display and had a physical look (compared the lighting of the stores)...

Under florescence lighting, I can comb my hair with the monitor. Very disappointing. No difference from the Apple Thunderbolt Monitor. I will have to travel to an Apple store to see a Nano-texture monitor to even tempt me to consider, but in my area, is four hours away.

Nice monitor..but...it is a product that you have to "talk yourself into buying" for the cost...it is "it could have been great" a type of product...has great this or that...but also has bad this or that...hard to stomach paying over $2,000 with the bells and whistles for just a a monitor at what Apple is offering with it (let alone $1,599 plus tax for basic). But, I was surprised with I tried the camera. It did not look bad when using at the store as seen with reviewers. Still...there are things to love and there are things that make me think: "What the heck Apple..Why?"

My LG 27UL850 at $550 is a better (Matted) overall monitor (4K). Apple compromised on the Studio Monitor and probably just assumed Apple junkies will buy it regardless. I am still tempted (a junkie)...but..a hard sale at that price.

Other monitors like the DELL that was reviewed by Dan I would agree with what he said...

"If you can get over the plastic-y feel and quality etc. the lower price monitors (even at $550) are sometimes a better buy Don't get me wrong. The Studio Display is a nice monitor, good screen, great sound for a monitor etc...but CAN"T justify the cost for what Apple offered in 2022.
 
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It's overpriced because it has an iPhone inside which drives up the price. If they had just made a dumb 27" 5K display I would have been happy.
Or if they had done something compelling with the "embedded iPad"... now one could say they will in the future, but then that suggests that Apple has switched from fully baking great, compelling products before release to selling futures that may or may not materialize...

For me the ASD would be a buy even at the current price if height adjustment weren't an extra 400 (that's what I find obscene)
 
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After having spent the past week experimenting with different displays and display sizes, I have come to the conclusion that the ideal panel for me is has the following specs:

32"
3200x1800@2x
120Hz
min. 600nits brightness
98W USB-C PD

Unfortunately, no such panel exists, the only one coming close is in the Pro Display XDR at 3008x1692@2x, which is absolutely out of reach for me price-wise, and still yet only a 60Hz display.

In the meanwhile, I've found the Philips 329M1RV, which is a much more reasonably priced display with the following specs:

32"
1920x1080@2x (4K)
144Hz
500nits actual brightness (measured)
60W USB-C PD

I've found that running 4K displays at 3200x1800@2x (scaled down) actually looks pretty good after getting used to it. Obviously it's not as sharp as the Pro Display XDR, but coming from a @1x display, it's still a huge upgrade in both sharpness and screen real estate.

For the people in this thread talking about how 4K is not "real retina", I implore you to try running a 4K display at 3200x1800 for more than an hour and tell me if you still notice it.
 
So this has predictably caused a re-run of all the arguments about screen resolution etc. from the M8 thread.

Know what would be really helpful from MR?

A well-researched video on 4K on MacOS that looked into the issues of scaled modes, text quality, screen “real estate” because - surprise surprise - you’re not gonna get to the bottom of that by looking at 4K videos of dew-encrusted flowers and lizards.

What you want is a bunch of people trying out various apps in various screen modes to see how usable 4K really is.
 
But that is also entirely pointless. If you put a large display very far away you might as well get an actual sharp and smaller display and put it closer.
Not pointless. To the eyes, a 32" 4k display located 25" away and 27" 4k display 21" away are literally the same when it comes to the "retina-ness." It depends on one's other uses for the display too. The current distance is optimal for me, and I do enjoy the large screen when I wanna watch a movie on it.
 
I bought this display last week and I'm seriously impressed.

- Image quality is great and IPS Black really does make a difference.
- Connects seamlessly via USB-C
- Text is crystal clear, can't see much of a difference vs my built-in Retina display on the MBA. You obviously sit further away on a desk so the 163 PPI is plenty enough I find.

At 900 EUR this was less than half of the Apple Studio Display (1990 EUR locally). The adjustability really is a nice bonus and I also plan to connect my Xbox Series X for some casual gaming which I wouldn't have been able to do on the ASD.
OMG! You're giving a real-world usage experience! The Apple acolytes will never accept that anything less than 5K is usable with a Mac. It's their cash to burn I guess.
 
The Studio Display is overpriced, but we buy as much from personal preference and experience as we do from price. Prior to retirement I experienced failure after failure with Dell products at work. One Dell computer that failed right out of the box and two that died within the first two years. Leaky capacitors and general poor quality. I know my Studio Monitor is overpriced, but I want an Apple Monitor with my Apple Display. At my age this will probably be my last computer system.
 
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That's a tad misleading given the distance one holds a phone is very different from how far away a monitor sits.
The phone was maybe not the best comparison. But run 27-30" 4K and 5K monitors both at 2560 x 1440 and I guarantee you you will see the difference in crispness at normal sitting distances.
 
Thank you Macrumors for this article. This Dell monitor, or it’s larger 32 inch brother look a pretty good alternative

I would also observe dell sells some magnetic click on speakers that sit below the monitor.

What this has over the M8 is IPS black that give much superior image quality than a VA panel. In fact I am surprised Apple didn’t stick a 5K version in the Studio Display. It is LG technology after all. I suspect LG may be reserving that for themselves.
 
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It is still beyond me why there is no longer nger a 21 inch 4k panel like the razor sharp original LG ultrafine...
You can get an ASUS ProArt 22" 4K OLED monitor, but (i) it's gonna cost you and (ii) it has fewer pixels than the LG Ultrafine (it is only 2160p as opposed to "real 4K" like the LG / iMac 4K were).
 
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The Studio Display is overpriced, but we buy as much from personal preference and experience as we do from price. Prior to retirement I experienced failure after failure with Dell products at work. One Dell computer that failed right out of the box and two that died within the first two years. Leaky capacitors and general poor quality. I know my Studio Monitor is overpriced, but I want an Apple Monitor with my Apple Display. At my age this will probably be my last computer system.
yes I have banned my team for asking for the workplace dell latitudes as they are unreliable rubbish. Our allowed alternative is less unreliable HP dragonflies.

Ironically we have had great experience with Dell Ultrasharp, and their port selection means we don’t need to buy a dock. HP displays are really bad. So my team has HP notebooks and Dell displays.
Whe these go on sale, I will get either the U2723QE or the U3223QE for home to replace my old U2419dc. It will be a big upgrade.
 
I think the Studio Display is absurdly overpriced for a 6 year old panel, but the Dell is only 4K, does not have a camera and does not have a six speaker array. About they only thing similar is that they're both monitors.
i honestly don't get why folks would settle for build in speaker on a desktop, yes laptop no other choice but you can easily get better speakers for a desktop setup.
 
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I got the 32“ version of that monitor last week and love it. Looks really nice with the thin bezels and no logo (apart from the stand, but I got a monitor arm anyway, so that‘s gone).

I kind of considered the Studio Display at one point, but with frequent switching between my MacBook and Windows desktop PC this is the perfect monitor for me currently.
 
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