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Hands-On With Apple's $4999 Pro Display XDR and $999 Stand

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Alongside the Mac Pro, Apple launched the Pro Display XDR, a 6K professional display that's designed to be used with the Mac Pro and other high-powered Apple machines.

We picked up a Pro Display XDR alongside our Mac Pro, and it arrived today, so we thought we'd do an unboxing, hands-on, and first impressions video for MacRumors readers.


As a display designed for professional use, the Pro Display XDR has a $4,999 price tag that's not exactly consumer friendly, and Apple is charging an additional $999 for the stand that we have here, which has resulted in endless jokes.

Basically, if you want a functional display, you need to shell out $6,000, because unless you're going to mount the display using the $200 VESA mount, this is the only available stand at the current time.

The Pro Display XDR ships in an all-white pull tab box like the Mac Pro, and it comes with a microfiber cleaning cloth, a braided power cable, and a braided Thunderbolt 3 cable.

We've got the Pro Display XDR without the matte nano-texture, which is $1,000 more expensive and not shipping yet, but if you do buy that nano-texture version, it's worth noting that you can only clean it with this included cloth if you don't want to damage it.

The Pro Display XDR connects to the standalone stand using super strong magnets, and the whole setup feels sturdy and high-quality, as it should at this price point.

Design wise, the Pro Display XDR has the same lattice design as the Mac Pro for the back of the display, used for ventilation and cooling. There are four USB-C ports on the Pro Display XDR, with one serving as a Thunderbolt 3 port for connecting to the Mac Pro.

You can swivel the Pro Display XDR into portrait mode or landscape mode using a little button on the monitor stand, which is handy for those who prefer to use their displays in vertical mode. Tilt and height are also able to be adjusted.

The display itself is 32 inches in size with a resolution of 6016 x 3384, and unsurprisingly, it looks fantastic. It features 1,600 nits of peak brightness and 1,000 nits of sustained brightness, along with a super wide viewing angle and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. In a nutshell, it's an incredible display.

The color accuracy is impressive and suitable for professional use, and the HDR paired with the 1600 nits of peak brightness is excellent for those who are editing HDR content.

Apple is charging a minimum of $4,999 for this display, which sounds outrageous, but it is a display for professional use and when it comes to the quality and the feature set, it is a solid deal and competitively priced compared to other pro-level monitors.

Reference monitors used by Hollywood studios for TV and film editing, for example, can cost five times more than the Pro Display XDR with the same specs as the Pro Display XDR.

The Pro Display XDR was designed to be used with the Mac Pro, but it is also compatible with 2018 or later 15-inch MacBook Pro models, the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and the 2019 iMac models. You can also use it with the 2017 iMac Pro, but not at the full 6K resolution.

What do you think of the Pro Display XDR? Let us know in the comments.

Article Link: Hands-On With Apple's $4999 Pro Display XDR and $999 Stand
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/12/19/hands-on-pro-display-xdr/
retta283 said:
All I know is Apple made a grand, grand PR mistake by not just including the stand with the monitor and adding $1000 to the price. They could've avoided all the memes and hate comments.

That's assuming it wasn't done for that exact reason.
Click to expand...

I absolutely agree. Had they set the total price at $5600, or something similar, they could have included a stand with 100% of the monitors and no one would have batted an eye.
 
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Reactions: Kram Sacul, heffsf, Billrey and 8 others
If an Apple Watch with a steel case can cost $300 more than an identical Apple Watch with an aluminium case, then what would be the price for upgrading the iStand in the same way?
 
retta283 said:
All I know is Apple made a grand, grand PR mistake by not just including the stand with the monitor and adding $1000 to the price. They could've avoided all the memes and hate comments.

That's assuming it wasn't done for that exact reason.
Click to expand...

I don't think Apple was looking for memes and hate comments. But for sure, they understood the value of controversy and how making the stand an expensive requirement has kept the display in people's minds and fostering curiosity with free advertising, with some making a purchase.
 
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I worked for Apple dealers in the late 80s and early 90s. A 20" CRT used in desktop publishing applications routinely sold for $4,000 to $5,000. The NuBus graphics cards to drive those displays were a couple thousand as well. So in today's dollars, $6,000 for a 32" flat screen with the quality and resolution of this one is not that ridiculous.
 
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Reactions: Lappen71, Blowback, pianophile and 20 others
I don't need a monitor like this but would love to see one in-store. Anyone know if the Mac Pro with monitor will be demo'd in stores? I was at a local store last week but that might have been too early to see a Mac Pro as none were present.
 
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Reactions: J.J. Sefton and Slix
Comments for "pro" gear posted on consumer websites are hilarious!

I feel the urge to explain the fundamentals of manufacturing, but i know it is a waste to even try. The time i just spent thinking about the way cost is distributed across the # of products sold....so lower volume products cost more just because of the lower volume....yup, never getting that time back!

I want the complete package...in 10 years maybe i can afford it too!
 
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InfoTime said:
I worked for Apple dealers in the late 80s and early 90s. A 20" CRT used in desktop publishing applications routinely sold for $4,000 to $5,000. The NuBus graphics cards to drive those displays were a couple thousand as well. So in today's dollars, $6,000 for a 32" flat screen with the quality and resolution of this one is not that ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I remember those. Sony Trinitron displays and Nubus-based RasterOps display cards. Guessing the Sony weighed about 75 pounds. Bought a bunch for a project at work.
 
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InfoTime said:
I worked for Apple dealers in the late 80s and early 90s. A 20" CRT used in desktop publishing applications routinely sold for $4,000 to $5,000. The NuBus graphics cards to drive those displays were a couple thousand as well. So in today's dollars, $6,000 for a 32" flat screen with the quality and resolution of this one is not that ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Correction: not at all ridiculous. :)

A monitor for color grading and such, with consistent color accuracy and brightness across the entire panel, that'll cost a good pile of money. Then here is the same kind of thing, but the most resolution, and extra effort on its aesthetics, which adds to the cost.
 
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Reactions: pianophile, J.J. Sefton and Duane Martin
retta283 said:
All I know is Apple made a grand, grand PR mistake by not just including the stand with the monitor and adding $1000 to the price. They could've avoided all the memes and hate comments.

That's assuming it wasn't done for that exact reason.
Click to expand...
I disagree... the people it's made for don't care and it just makes it a more exclusive item. Sort of like when people are shocked by the price of oil changes or tires in luxury cars.
 
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Reactions: gixxerfool, lkrupp and bobob
Negative press is still press. It is nothing considering a film's budget and like they stated, a deal compared to other monitors none of us average folk can afford.
 
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Reactions: Duane Martin
retta283 said:
All I know is Apple made a grand, grand PR mistake by not just including the stand with the monitor and adding $1000 to the price. They could've avoided all the memes and hate comments.

That's assuming it wasn't done for that exact reason.
Click to expand...

I disagree. They got a million dollars worth of free advertising and the people who buy these monitors didn't blink.
 
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Reactions: J.J. Sefton, lkrupp and G5isAlive
Cow For Cow said:
I absolutely agree. Had they set the total price at $5600, or something similar, they could have included a stand with 100% of the monitors and no one would have batted an eye.
Click to expand...

You mean charge $5,999 and then offer an $799 discount for those who wanted the VESA mount? You do not think that:
  1. People would have figured out what the price was?
  2. People would have complained?
I think it would have been better, but they would eventually have had to release the stand as an accessory and it might have made it look like they were trying to hide the price.
 
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Trained as an audio engineer, I am immensely grateful I don't need one of these. I'd probably need 2 monitors just to see all the plug-ins I'd need on a session and unless I'm running a multi-million dollar facility, and I could deduct the cost off my taxes, there is no way in hell I'd buy one, much less 2. Happy for those who need it. Enjoy!
 
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retta283 said:
All I know is Apple made a grand, grand PR mistake by not just including the stand with the monitor and adding $1000 to the price. They could've avoided all the memes and hate comments.

That's assuming it wasn't done for that exact reason.
Click to expand...

The people making memes and hate comments were never going to buy one of these in the first place.
Apple was/is right to ignore them.
Some people, especially tech fanatics, just can't get that not everything is about them.
 
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Reactions: PickUrPoison, JDGwf, osx86 and 13 others
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