I've finally been able to check these three screens out in person: iMac 24", Studio Display (regular glossy), and Studio Display (nano-texture).
I've seen them at both an Apple Store and a Best Buy just to see if there is any noticeable difference between panels. I was able to have all these 3 panels lined up side by side.
Nano texture had the highest rejection of background reflection (as expected) but text also felt the softest. This is an excellent option if you absolutely cannot control the lighting in the room. Contrast takes a hit and as does the clarity. As a heavy text reader, this would drive me insane. I'd only consider the nano option if I absolutely couldn't make the lighting work for whatever reason. The fuzziness is not something I could deal with for extended reading after being used to standard retina screens and their sharpness since 2012. I honestly looked at the Nano Texture for reflection and colour control. The text softness was really bad. I doubt I'd want to read from this screen for more than a few minutes. If you're contemplating Nano texture, make sure to check it out in person and try reading a bunch of text for like 5-10 minutes. It's a noticeable hit in sharpness. Be ready for that!
The iMac and regular glossy Studio Display were sharper but they still had noticeable differences. For one, the Studio Display gets brighter and had higher contrast. I was getting deeper blacks on the Studio Display vs. the M1 iMac which seemed a bit greyer and the colours popped. Not the biggest issue. However, there was also a difference in sharpness between the two. The iMac's anti reflective coating rejected and diffused background light sources slightly more than the glossy Studio Display. The Studio Display was the closest to being like a mirror. However, it also looked the best and sharpest. For text clarity and colour work, this was the best option. The M1 display some fuzziness especially when I started zooming into the screen (Ctrl + scroll option ---- turned on in the Accessibility settings -> "Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom"). I've been using this zoom function on all my Macs over the past 13+ years and utilize this all the time. With the Studio Display, I could zoom in pretty deep and text would remain very clean and crisp. With the M1 iMac, when I started zooming in, there was definitely some fuzziness to the text. Spend a few minutes on each with text and the differences became clear. When the displays were turned off, you could see there is this extra coating on the M1 that makes it better suited for more uncontrolled environments than the Studio Display, but it comes at a cost. I made sure that this fuzziness of the text on the M1 wasn't limited to this particular M1. They also had 3 other M1 in different colours and they all had the same qualities.
Size wise, I've been used to the 27" iMac from 2009 and have loved it. The 23.5" size and implementation was actually done well. I think at this size, you still get decent enough space L<->R and top to bottom. I could totally live with the reduction in size. It feels like a more focused view. With the 27", I sometimes feel that there can be lot of empty space when not utilizing it for multiple things or full screen apps like Lightroom or Final Cut. With the 24", those full sized apps (Lightroom/Final Cut) still look nice and single basic apps such as Safari or Word still look right either by themselves or side by side. Your eyes don't have to move up and down a lot or from one corner to another with the 24". It's an easier and focused presentation that keeps things locked.
I also put both the bezels of both the Studio Display and M1 iMac side by side completely flush and noticed that the actual screen of the iMac is only have an inch or so below that of the Studio Display. It's at the bottom where the Studio Display goes on for longer. So if you get these with the standard stands, your eyeline wouldn't be too impacted between these 2 models. The start of the actual screen at the top is roughly at the same height. Max 1 inch difference there. It's just that the Studio Display is longer at the bottom and so you will have to look further down to see the bottom.
I was completely fine with the usable vertical height of the 24" iMac. I know you're locked into the M1 and 16GB RAM going forward, but I was more than fine with this to save money and get an all-in-one. It's the difference in clarity and overall quality that's thrown me off now. The Studio Display was the clear winner there and it's something I'm going to have to think about. I think I could adjust to the smaller size without much issue. It's just the sharpness that's holding me back.
I've seen them at both an Apple Store and a Best Buy just to see if there is any noticeable difference between panels. I was able to have all these 3 panels lined up side by side.
Nano texture had the highest rejection of background reflection (as expected) but text also felt the softest. This is an excellent option if you absolutely cannot control the lighting in the room. Contrast takes a hit and as does the clarity. As a heavy text reader, this would drive me insane. I'd only consider the nano option if I absolutely couldn't make the lighting work for whatever reason. The fuzziness is not something I could deal with for extended reading after being used to standard retina screens and their sharpness since 2012. I honestly looked at the Nano Texture for reflection and colour control. The text softness was really bad. I doubt I'd want to read from this screen for more than a few minutes. If you're contemplating Nano texture, make sure to check it out in person and try reading a bunch of text for like 5-10 minutes. It's a noticeable hit in sharpness. Be ready for that!
The iMac and regular glossy Studio Display were sharper but they still had noticeable differences. For one, the Studio Display gets brighter and had higher contrast. I was getting deeper blacks on the Studio Display vs. the M1 iMac which seemed a bit greyer and the colours popped. Not the biggest issue. However, there was also a difference in sharpness between the two. The iMac's anti reflective coating rejected and diffused background light sources slightly more than the glossy Studio Display. The Studio Display was the closest to being like a mirror. However, it also looked the best and sharpest. For text clarity and colour work, this was the best option. The M1 display some fuzziness especially when I started zooming into the screen (Ctrl + scroll option ---- turned on in the Accessibility settings -> "Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom"). I've been using this zoom function on all my Macs over the past 13+ years and utilize this all the time. With the Studio Display, I could zoom in pretty deep and text would remain very clean and crisp. With the M1 iMac, when I started zooming in, there was definitely some fuzziness to the text. Spend a few minutes on each with text and the differences became clear. When the displays were turned off, you could see there is this extra coating on the M1 that makes it better suited for more uncontrolled environments than the Studio Display, but it comes at a cost. I made sure that this fuzziness of the text on the M1 wasn't limited to this particular M1. They also had 3 other M1 in different colours and they all had the same qualities.
Size wise, I've been used to the 27" iMac from 2009 and have loved it. The 23.5" size and implementation was actually done well. I think at this size, you still get decent enough space L<->R and top to bottom. I could totally live with the reduction in size. It feels like a more focused view. With the 27", I sometimes feel that there can be lot of empty space when not utilizing it for multiple things or full screen apps like Lightroom or Final Cut. With the 24", those full sized apps (Lightroom/Final Cut) still look nice and single basic apps such as Safari or Word still look right either by themselves or side by side. Your eyes don't have to move up and down a lot or from one corner to another with the 24". It's an easier and focused presentation that keeps things locked.
I also put both the bezels of both the Studio Display and M1 iMac side by side completely flush and noticed that the actual screen of the iMac is only have an inch or so below that of the Studio Display. It's at the bottom where the Studio Display goes on for longer. So if you get these with the standard stands, your eyeline wouldn't be too impacted between these 2 models. The start of the actual screen at the top is roughly at the same height. Max 1 inch difference there. It's just that the Studio Display is longer at the bottom and so you will have to look further down to see the bottom.
I was completely fine with the usable vertical height of the 24" iMac. I know you're locked into the M1 and 16GB RAM going forward, but I was more than fine with this to save money and get an all-in-one. It's the difference in clarity and overall quality that's thrown me off now. The Studio Display was the clear winner there and it's something I'm going to have to think about. I think I could adjust to the smaller size without much issue. It's just the sharpness that's holding me back.
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