Display Pro XDR - still worth it?

[TylerYYC]

I just purchased a Benq pd3220u for $1500cad. The monitor connects via thunderbolt. It's 4K so I can daisy chain another monitor to it if I so wish. The colour accuracy is good but the gamut is not as wide as I thought it would be (can't see hidden logos on wide gamut tests, where my iPad can). I'm tempted to return it and try out the Display Pro XDR.

I've yet to see the Display Pro XDR in person... I'm tempted to buy it to try it out. Not sure what they'd think about me returning it though because I didn't think it was worth the cost?

I do graphic design work on the side but my main job is teaching. The monitor would be a treat, not a necessity. I can afford it.... but it's still a huge expense...

Is it worth it though? A year later, there are other monitors on the market that have similar specs. Example: https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Monitors/ProArt-PA32UCX/

Will the monitor depreciate soon? I don't think the price has budged yet... don't want to go in buying something that will be worth half it's value next year......

 

[eulslix]

MiniLED suppliers are all ramping up their production capacities right now, so expect MiniLED panels to drop significantly in price soonish. I doubt that any other manufacturer is going to tap into Apples niche though. Retina (6K) is purely an Apple thing nowadays, sustained peak brightness is also something rather useless to the average consumer and I also don't expect the competition to deliver on the amount of QA Apple does to it's products (which relates to calibration and general panel reliability).

It might very well be though - and I really hope this is going to be the case - that Apple will release a lower end screen, given that they're switching their entire lineup to MiniLED, including a rumoured iMac Pro, which would be the ideal panel size for a standalone screen. I really can't imagine them leaving their MiniLED MacBook Pros without a monitor matching its specs (other than a screen double the cost of the laptop, or a new iMac Pro), it would be just plain bad for productivity unless you would be forced to fall back to an inferior color profile when connecting to an external screen.

But you never know with Apple, sometimes they just decide to ignore a target audience for half a decade (*cough* Mac Pro). The fact that there is not a single rumor about such a screen is quite worrying to be honest. This could be explained though if they decide to share the chassis between the iMac Pro and an external screen, which would hardly be noticed by supply chain analysts.

 

[Lammers]

MiniLED suppliers are all ramping up their production capacities right now, so expect MiniLED panels to drop significantly in price soonish. I doubt that any other manufacturer is going to tap into Apples niche though. Retina (6K) is purely an Apple thing nowadays, sustained peak brightness is also something rather useless to the average consumer and I also don't expect the competition to deliver on the amount of QA Apple does to it's products (which relates to calibration and general panel reliability).

It might very well be though - and I really hope this is going to be the case - that Apple will release a lower end screen, given that they're switching their entire lineup to MiniLED, including a rumoured iMac Pro, which would be the ideal panel size for a standalone screen. I really can't imagine them leaving their MiniLED MacBook Pros without a monitor matching its specs (other than a screen double the cost of the laptop, or a new iMac Pro), it would be just plain bad for productivity unless you would be forced to fall back to an inferior color profile when connecting to an external screen.

But you never know with Apple, sometimes they just decide to ignore a target audience for half a decade (*cough* Mac Pro). The fact that there is not a single rumor about such a screen is quite worrying to be honest. This could be explained though if they decide to share the chassis between the iMac Pro and an external screen, which would hardly be noticed by supply chain analysts.

Mini-LED is still firmly in the early adopter phase and will be for some time, so it will be priced at a premium versus other technologies for the foreseeable future. The same thing happened with OLED. I'm afraid I don't see it as at all realistic to "expect MiniLED panels to drop significantly in price soonish".

At this point Apple's behaviour suggests they aren't interested in offering a lower-end screen and are leaving that market to other manufacturers. Same as they've done for wireless access points (when they killed off AirPort).

 

[Theophilos]

Apart from the Asus ProArt, are there any other displays that offer similar specs to the Pro Display XDR? I’m looking for something with HDR capability that is recognized by MacOS, which seems to eliminate the LG options.