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PhaserFuzz

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 12, 2007
485
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I currently have the older Thunderbolt Display. I’m thinking about getting the new Studio Display and pairing it with the older monitor. Does anyone have a photo of what this looks like? Also, do you think it would work well?
 
Yes, I am going to do this.

I have been using the 27" TB displays for over 11 years and has been amazing as I prefer the sharp, uniform font.

Just picked up a base ASD and base Mac Studio from the Apple store and will be using both ASD and 27" TB as a dual display.

Prefer to use both Apple displays instead of my 32" 4K that does not have the same font, pitch and sharpness.

Will post tomorrow after migrating my M1 Mini data over to the Studio Mac.
 
Yes, I am going to do this.

I have been using the 27" TB displays for over 11 years and has been amazing as I prefer the sharp, uniform font.

Just picked up a base ASD and base Mac Studio from the Apple store and will be using both ASD and 27" TB as a dual display.

Prefer to use both Apple displays instead of my 32" 4K that does not have the same font, pitch and sharpness.

Will post tomorrow after migrating my M1 Mini data over to the Studio Mac.
Hi 4sallypat,

Any update on this? I'm curious as I have 2 27" TB displays I would like to use with Mac Studio.

All the best,

///Mike
 
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Hi 4sallypat,

Any update on this? I'm curious as I have 2 27" TB displays I would like to use with Mac Studio.

All the best,

///Mike
@runnersmike
Yes, have the dual Apple display setup now on my desk and LOVE it!
Did not have room for the 2nd ATD.

Even though the ATD is 11 years old, it still displays perfectly - sharp, clear, bright display.
Same font pitch and text sharpness on BOTH displays makes my HTML coding easy on the eyes.

The only small issue is that the ASD has a better anti-reflective coating compared to the ATD.
Maybe if my business does better, I will get 2 ASD and have a 3rd ATD....:p

The ATD (left) reflects a lot compared to the ASD (right).
IMG_8808.jpg
 
@runnersmike
Yes, have the dual Apple display setup now on my desk and LOVE it!
Did not have room for the 2nd ATD.

Even though the ATD is 11 years old, it still displays perfectly - sharp, clear, bright display.
Same font pitch and text sharpness on BOTH displays makes my HTML coding easy on the eyes.

The only small issue is that the ASD has a better anti-reflective coating compared to the ATD.
Maybe if my business does better, I will get 2 ASD and have a 3rd ATD....:p

The ATD (left) reflects a lot compared to the ASD (right).
View attachment 1994255
Hi 4sallypat!

Many thanks for your reply and sorry for my late reply :)

It looks awesome - I have bad eyes and the 27" Thunderbolt Displays fits my eyes great I have 2 of them in action and one spare (just in case). I'm really looking forward to be able to use them further on. I'm holding the handbrake a little bit more to see if new hardware will be release at WWDC. I want a new Mac mini that can handle two TB displays - if nothing new will be release I will go with the new Mac studio.

All the best,

///Mike
 
@runnersmike
Yes, have the dual Apple display setup now on my desk and LOVE it!
Did not have room for the 2nd ATD.

Even though the ATD is 11 years old, it still displays perfectly - sharp, clear, bright display.
Same font pitch and text sharpness on BOTH displays makes my HTML coding easy on the eyes.

The only small issue is that the ASD has a better anti-reflective coating compared to the ATD.
Maybe if my business does better, I will get 2 ASD and have a 3rd ATD....:p

The ATD (left) reflects a lot compared to the ASD (right).
Is your ASD nano-textured or "glossy"? I own the ATD and it glares like a mirror in the desert
 
Could anyone provide any input about reflectivity in Thunderbolt Display vs. "glossy" Studio Display?

TIA
The Thunderbolt display has a very glossy glass surface that reflects a lot.
While the new Studio Display with the standard glass has a coating that does not reflect much.

Next to each other, I prefer the new Studio Display glass - it's much easier on the eyes when there is light behind you.
 
@runnersmike
Yes, have the dual Apple display setup now on my desk and LOVE it!
Did not have room for the 2nd ATD.

Even though the ATD is 11 years old, it still displays perfectly - sharp, clear, bright display.
Same font pitch and text sharpness on BOTH displays makes my HTML coding easy on the eyes.

The only small issue is that the ASD has a better anti-reflective coating compared to the ATD.
Maybe if my business does better, I will get 2 ASD and have a 3rd ATD....:p

The ATD (left) reflects a lot compared to the ASD (right).
View attachment 1994255
Are you really saying that the old 1440p has the same sharpness of the new 5k display? lol.
 
The Thunderbolt display has a very glossy glass surface that reflects a lot.
While the new Studio Display with the standard glass has a coating that does not reflect much.

Next to each other, I prefer the new Studio Display glass - it's much easier on the eyes when there is light behind you.
Hey 4sallypat! I know i’m like exactly a year late, but would you mind sharing comparison pics of your ASD and ATD side-by-side? Something like this post in the discussion we had a while ago about the nano texture. It would be super helpful!

I compared the Pro Display XDR with a glossy Studio Display and a nano Studio Display pretty extensively at the Apple Store today. In case someone else stumbles upon this, I’ll just add my thoughts here.

Between the glossy and the nano texture, I really preferred the glossy display overall. The nano does cut out glare COMPLETELY! It’s pretty amazing. However it comes at the cost of depth and clarity. The color saturation between them is actually only different at an angle; when viewed head on it’s very subtle and almost indistinguishable. Although colors do seem more vivid on the glossy display, I think it has more to do with contrast, as I explain below.

The bigger issue is a loss of depth on the nano display in terms of contrast. It feels very flat when viewing the sample high-quality photos and videos in the Photos app. Faces don’t have the 3D depth that they do on the glossy display. I think this is because the nano texture seems to cut into the contrast ratio. Dark colors don’t have the opacity that they do on the glossy model.

The other issue is the loss of text clarity that makes the nano display feel like looking at a non-retina display. Text is blurry and soft around the edges. This is more evident in Light Mode than in Dark Mode, but it’s there nonetheless. On the glossy model, text is crisp and sharp and feels similar to how text looks on an iPhone OLED display. The only issue is on darker backgrounds, your reflection can be seen on the glossy model whereas on the nano display, there’s literally zero reflection under normal use cases. But this is case dependent on your surrounding light and I don’t know how it compares to the glossy display on a Thunderbolt Display. Hoping to see comparison pics!

For context, I currently have a Thunderbolt Display with a matte film from PhotoDon to cut out the glare. It was really hurting my eyes without the film.
 
Hey 4sallypat! I know i’m like exactly a year late, but would you mind sharing comparison pics of your ASD and ATD side-by-side? Something like this post in the discussion we had a while ago about the nano texture. It would be super helpful!

I compared the Pro Display XDR with a glossy Studio Display and a nano Studio Display pretty extensively at the Apple Store today. In case someone else stumbles upon this, I’ll just add my thoughts here.

Between the glossy and the nano texture, I really preferred the glossy display overall. The nano does cut out glare COMPLETELY! It’s pretty amazing. However it comes at the cost of depth and clarity. The color saturation between them is actually only different at an angle; when viewed head on it’s very subtle and almost indistinguishable. Although colors do seem more vivid on the glossy display, I think it has more to do with contrast, as I explain below.

The bigger issue is a loss of depth on the nano display in terms of contrast. It feels very flat when viewing the sample high-quality photos and videos in the Photos app. Faces don’t have the 3D depth that they do on the glossy display. I think this is because the nano texture seems to cut into the contrast ratio. Dark colors don’t have the opacity that they do on the glossy model.

The other issue is the loss of text clarity that makes the nano display feel like looking at a non-retina display. Text is blurry and soft around the edges. This is more evident in Light Mode than in Dark Mode, but it’s there nonetheless. On the glossy model, text is crisp and sharp and feels similar to how text looks on an iPhone OLED display. The only issue is on darker backgrounds, your reflection can be seen on the glossy model whereas on the nano display, there’s literally zero reflection under normal use cases. But this is case dependent on your surrounding light and I don’t know how it compares to the glossy display on a Thunderbolt Display. Hoping to see comparison pics!

For context, I currently have a Thunderbolt Display with a matte film from PhotoDon to cut out the glare. It was really hurting my eyes without the film.
If you look at post # 4 above, you will see the 2 displays.
I am still using the TB and Studio displays in tandem everyday.
They are both standard glass displays and have reflection issues only during the day.

I tend to tilt the screens to minimize the reflectivity.

Eventually, I will move to dual Studio displays for my Mac Studio and retire my 13 year old TB display...
 
If you look at post # 4 above, you will see the 2 displays.
I am still using the TB and Studio displays in tandem everyday.
They are both standard glass displays and have reflection issues only during the day.

I tend to tilt the screens to minimize the reflectivity.

Eventually, I will move to dual Studio displays for my Mac Studio and retire my 13 year old TB display...
Would it be possible for you to take some pictures showing off the reflectivity difference between the two different models?

I linked the other post above because they did a really good job showcasing the types and angles of pictures that a helpful for this type of comparison. Thanks
 
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