Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Here's a Sneak Peek Inside Apple's New Studio Display

I guess Studio display WAS meant to be 27 inch iMac. Here's why

1.Studio display is thicker than 24 inch iMac
But how come? It's only 100 nit brighter which is totally unnecessary.

2. Two fans in Studio display
WHAT? 600 nit display does NOT need a fan. Even other displays with similar specs dont even have fans.

3. Power consumption is only 30W
This is way less than other 27 inch display and you dont need a thicker case with fans.

4. Holes on top
Speakers are located at the bottom and yet, there are also holes on top. Maybe for air cooling but Studio display does NOT need a cooling system.

5. The logic board is way bigger than M1 iMac
Why do you need a large logic board for 30W display? It's even larger than XDR's logic board for 140W power.

6. 27 inch iMac discontinued
If Apple was thinking about making a high end iMac, then they should't discontinue their 27 inch iMac. Instead, they replaced it with Mac Studio.

iMac Pro with M1 Ultra will require a thicker case so we'll see.
 
  • Disagree
  • Like
Reactions: Wokis and ric22
Marshall73 said:
This is a full fat fan inside an iMac (6 years of use) with lots of space Between the blades vs the new display fans which are similar to MacBook Pro fans which get clogged up after a few years. Fans you can’t clean are a dumb AF design.
Click to expand...
Holy crap! Where were you using that, inside a dryer duct or something? o_O;)

FWIW, this is my 2010 27" Core i7 iMac after 11 years of usage:

65655037470__EB075F57-357B-4218-B55C-C6573570F9AD.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: EatinPonies, u2u2, orbital~debris and 1 other person
sunny5 said:
I guess Studio display WAS meant to be 27 inch iMac. Here's why

1.Studio display is thicker than 24 inch iMac
But how come? It's only 100 nit brighter which is totally unnecessary.

2. Two fans in Studio display
WHAT? 600 nit display does NOT need a fan. Even other displays with similar specs dont even have fans.

3. Power consumption is only 30W
This is way less than other 27 inch display and you dont need a thicker case with fans.

4. Holes on top
Speakers are located at the bottom and yet, there are also holes on top. Maybe for air cooling but Studio display does NOT need a cooling system.

5. The logic board is way bigger than M1 iMac
Why do you need a large logic board for 30W display? It's even larger than XDR's logic board for 140W power.

6. 27 inch iMac discontinued
If Apple was thinking about making a high end iMac, then they should't discontinue their 27 inch iMac. Instead, they replaced it with Mac Studio.

iMac Pro with M1 Ultra will require a thicker case so we'll see.
Click to expand...
Apple uses misdirection to purposefully not tell us their plans. Yes I think this design resembles what could have been based on a larger iMac redesign. Yes it possible they are purposely denying other products that use a similar form factor at this point in time. The original 27” iMac details only described it as using up to a M1 Max. Could they provide something like we are still speculating about, absolutely. Just because they said the Mac Pro is the last product coming at peak performance event, doesn’t mean that other existing Mac Products won’t appear. Heh heh.
 
Last edited:
I took my HomePod from China to England and it was annoying I was stuck with a fixed power cord on that too, so I sympathise.

Quite why you would bring an iMac backwards and forwards between continents I do not know! Time for a laptop to travel with, and dumb monitors in each continent, methinks.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jamesrick80 and orbital~debris
Clearly the fixed power cord is because the display is simply too thin for the connector. They could potentially have introduced a new connector, but then it wouldn’t compatible with everything else out there so there would be even more uproar about it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Da_Hood and orbital~debris
With all its anti-consumer drawbacks, I think I'd opt for a Mac Pro if I were in the market for a new Apple computer.
 
ric22 said:
The point being the cooling system DOES NOT NEED TO BE LARGE. If there's enough space in a MacBook Pro for a Mac chip there's enough space in a Mini or this Studio Display.
Click to expand...
...and we're back to the cooling system, not just the fans. It's pointless arguing about the size of the fans on their own. The point being debated was whether the Studio Display having two fans somehow proved that it could run a M1. What the fans do do is make noise - and the way to minimise that is to have a whopping great heatsink with lots of fins that dissipate tons of heat without the fans having to run fast.

As the video you linked to shows - the M1 Max cooling system (even without fans) is twice the thickness of the Studio Display, and it's not the same as the M1 Ultra version. Also from that video (a) he showed that the fans never really went much about near-silent idle speed and (b) he mentioned that it wasn't thermal throttling the way the MacBook Pro did. A quick google will show you hundreds of discussions about fan noise on the MacBook Pros.

(Also - the fans/cooler in the studio display is top/center c.f. the A13 miles away in the bottom right. They ain't there to cool the iPhone-grade processor, which doesn't even look like it has a heat sink, they're cooling the display - that's what an extra 100 nits of backlight gets you...)
 
  • Like
Reactions: mbosse
ric22 said:
The point being the cooling system DOES NOT NEED TO BE LARGE. If there's enough space in a MacBook Pro for a Mac chip there's enough space in a Mini or this Studio Display. End of.
Click to expand...

A MacBook Pro's cooling system is just cooling the SoC and RAM.

If it had to cool a 140W power-supply, as well, you can be sure it would be a fair bit larger than it is.
 
sunny5 said:
1.Studio display is thicker than 24 inch iMac
But how come? It's only 100 nit brighter which is totally unnecessary.
Click to expand...

The 24" iMac has an external power supply so it can be thinner.

The Studio Display has an integrated power supply so it needs to be thicker to accommodate that.

It is possible the 27" (if it is released) will include the power supply and therefore will need to be thick, as well, or it might have an external power supply and therefore could be thinner.


sunny5 said:
2. Two fans in Studio display
WHAT? 600 nit display does NOT need a fan. Even other displays with similar specs dont even have fans.
Click to expand...

The LG UltraFine 5K has a fan to help cool the integrated power supply because, like the Studio Display, it can power a Mac laptop, as well.


sunny5 said:
3. Power consumption is only 30W
This is way less than other 27 inch display and you dont need a thicker case with fans.
Click to expand...

In addition to the power it needs, there is also the fact that it can provide an additional ~100W of power to a connected Apple laptop via the ThunderBolt cable.


sunny5 said:
4. Holes on top
Speakers are located at the bottom and yet, there are also holes on top. Maybe for air cooling but Studio display does NOT need a cooling system.
Click to expand...

Yes it does because of the high-performance power supply inside it.


sunny5 said:
5. The logic board is way bigger than M1 iMac
Why do you need a large logic board for 30W display? It's even larger than XDR's logic board for 140W power.
Click to expand...

It is the size it needs to be to support the A13 and it's storage and whatever else Apple wanted to include.

They did not make it the size it is for s**ts and giggles.



sunny5 said:
6. 27 inch iMac discontinued
If Apple was thinking about making a high end iMac, then they shouldn't discontinue their 27 inch iMac. Instead, they replaced it with Mac Studio.

iMac Pro with M1 Ultra will require a thicker case so we'll see.
Click to expand...

I doubt you will be able to cool an Ultra-class SoC in an AIO considering the cooling system the Studio has.
 
  • Like
  • Disagree
Reactions: Mr.PT, orbital~debris and sunny5
This is all very reminiscent of the Apple Thunderbolt Display. If memory serves, that too had almost enough to be a full Mac inside of it as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: orbital~debris
CWallace said:
A MacBook Pro's cooling system is just cooling the SoC and RAM.

If it had to cool a 140W power-supply, as well, you can be sure it would be a fair bit larger than it is.
Click to expand...
Do you think the heat from the 140W power supply will heat the whole enclosure up? I'd like to think they have a go at isolating the heat from it, as they do in the Mini/Studio/iMac etc.
 
Apple Studio monitor is a terrible value if all you are looking for is a solid 27inch monitor and you do not need all that extra stuff.

A good chunk of the BOM costs is all the added non LCD panel costs, ie the speakers, the whole computer built in but that you cannot use, even 2 fans lol.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: ric22 and turbineseaplane
hugodrax said:
Apple Studio monitor is a terrible value if all you are looking for is a solid 27inch monitor and you do not need all that extra stuff.

A good chunk of the BOM costs is all the added non LCD panel costs, ie the speakers, the whole computer built in but that you cannot use, even 2 fans lol.
Click to expand...

”A good chunk?” It costs only a few hundred dollars more than the only other 27” 5k monitor that we seem to know about, and it has a better display than that one (at least a brighter display), so hard to say it’s a terrible value.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WP31, mbosse and orbital~debris
KPOM said:
True, but Apple has long had a fairly limited product line, and so leaves out a lot of products that are technologically feasible. I’d like to see the 12” MacBook return and find it crazy that they tried to sell it with an underpowered Intel Core chip but didn’t use it to introduce Apple Silicon. Others would prefer the ASD to be a 27” iMac.
Click to expand...
I had the 12" MacBook before my 14" M1 Pro and my wife has the Air. I don't think there would be much point in having an M1 Air and M1 12" MacBook as they would both be fanless and nearly the same size.

To me a simple Mac Line up would be:

13" M1 Air, 14" and 16" Pro, 24" and 32" iMac but with the Apple Studio Display design, M1/M1 Pro Mini, M1 Max/Ultra Studio, Mac Pro.

That gives a high/low mix of every category plus an ultra high performance desktop for those that need it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Realityck and orbital~debris
EugW said:
It's just a frickin' monitor.
Click to expand...
True... a frickin' monitor running a full fledged, well-known operating system. We know there is bi-directional communication between the Mac and the monitor, as we've seen screenshots of it getting queried for filesystem usage (and it has microphones / Siri capabilities apparently). Once that version of iOS stops getting updated, it's a fairly easy target for future exploitation. Assuming the monitor sells well enough, and continues to be used long enough, to become a target worth exploiting.

I mean... even the T2 chip has a jailbreak. Curious people are going to explore what can be done with this thing. And malicious people will take advantage if possible. It's just the way these things go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: orbital~debris
cmaier said:
”A good chunk?” It costs only a few hundred dollars more than the only other 27” 5k monitor that we seem to know about, and it has a better display than that one (at least a brighter display), so hard to say it’s a terrible value.
Click to expand...
It's 700 so around 50% more if you compare both displays with height-adjustable stand. That actually is a pretty good chunk of money for most people!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mr.PT and ric22
patrick.a said:
It's 700 so around 50% more if you compare both displays with height-adjustable stand. That actually is a pretty good chunk of money for most people!
Click to expand...

Sure. And $5000 more if you compare both with autographs by random baseball players.

But that’s not the point.
 
hugodrax said:
Apple Studio monitor is a terrible value if all you are looking for is a solid 27inch monitor and you do not need all that extra stuff.
Click to expand...

Indeed it is a terrible value if you are not in the market for an LG UltraFine 5K with better aesthetics, build quality and support.

But for those who are, this monitor is an answer to a prayer they have been making for literally years.


The comment "this isn't for you" is too often thrown around as a disparagement, but in this case, it is literally true for the significant majority of Mac owners will pass this by with a shake of the head. And so they should, frankly.

But for those "it is for", they see it as a time to celebrate because Apple made a monitor better than the direct and singular competition and priced it at a third of the Pro Display XDR.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mbosse
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back