Sadly not, I’m sorry, super bad pictures haha. I didn’t have a lot of time and engaged into a conversation with some tech review youtuber who happened to be there... sorry again. Just take a look at how you can see pixels on the glossy screen and how everything is smoother out on nano.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Pro Display XDR Nano vs. Standard
- Thread starter Aboo
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yep, two nano displays are too much $.
my plan is to get one Nano and keep my two 30” ACDs as secondary displays. The XDR will be the main display for design work, film editing etc, while the ACDs for email, internet, palettes, etc.
I wish they were cheaper to afford two of them but $6k or $7k with stand it’s too much...
I’m really wondering what’s the best way forward for me.
currently my desk looks like this (except for the trashcan gone and replaced by the cheese grater).
It’s really nice with the two Dell 5k displays, but I’m eager for a bigger canvas, so the XDR will be perfect. My timeline feels cramped on the 27”.
The Dell’s are glossy. Three displays is gonna be overkill, it wouldn’t even fit on the desk. XDR plus one dell might be ok, but of course not gonna look so nice and clean like right now.
Especially I’m really wondering if it’s smart to get Nano next to a glossy display. ?
Maybe I should go with a Glossy XDR and save those 1k towards a second one eventually. I know myself, I won’t be happy until I have two of them eventually, but it’ll take time before I can afford it, even have to finance the one for 12 months after getting the Mac Pro.
Keep your two monitors as secondary displays and put the XDR on the middle. You might need a bigger desk. 
I am looking into a vesa mount to hook up three displays in one arm. Humanscale have some solid options cheaper than the Apple stand.
I am looking into a vesa mount to hook up three displays in one arm. Humanscale have some solid options cheaper than the Apple stand.
You mentioned a timeline. Are you a video or audio creator? For video, where images are your product, I would highly recommend the nano if you can afford it. Its like looking at "paper", incredible for visual content. The slight loss in font sharpness is a tradeoff but well worth it for your use case.
For anyone else, audio creators, SW engineers, writers, I would think the advantages of the nano are not worth the tradeoff in font sharpness and I would recommend a standard glass.
Of course, like with food, this is also a matter of taste...
Agree, I love that paper look for image content. Absurdly though, my first XDR is gonna be my main display and when I’m editing I output the video to the second display, which then is still gonna be a regular glossy one... in after effects and Lightroom Its gonna be the other way around though- interface right, picture in the middle..
[automerge]1578225954[/automerge]
I think there’s just no physical space available for that...plus in that scenario would you go with glossy just for consistency? I’m afraid it’s gonna be extremely annoying if one screen is matte and one is glossy..Keep your two monitors as secondary displays and put the XDR on the middle. You might need a bigger desk.
I am looking into a vesa mount to hook up three displays in one arm. Humanscale have some solid options cheaper than the Apple stand.
Last edited:
No glossy for me. According to your photo you work on a bright environment, just like I do. That’s a big problem for glare and reflections on the screen. Like I mentioned before, that was one of the big issues I had with the iMac and TB displays and another good reason to keep my 30” ACDs.
it might be fine having the two different surfaces and you’ll get used to. If not, the worst case you might need two nanos.
it might be fine having the two different surfaces and you’ll get used to. If not, the worst case you might need two nanos.
Sorry for the late reply. I think backlight uniformity is the same as the iMac, but total brightness seems less. Also, as you move your head around you can see the the colors shift more than the iMac Pro, which I believe means that the viewing angles are worse. Based on the fact that no one else seems to be saying this, I might worry that my display is not up to par with others' -- or it could be that the iMac Pro display is just outstanding for its size.
Does it mean that I keep using iMac pro as a display for Mac Pro by using screen sharing? This is how I am using Mac Pro without the display right now.
Honestly, I am so happy with iMac pro as a overall computer but I am going to sell it after I can get a proper display for Mac pro.
I have ordered standard XDR display but there have been mix reviews so far. Still waiting for proper detailed review about the quality of display rather than focusing on that stand.
I have the nano XDR and I haven't noticed any uniformity issues at all. I do feel like the profile used on the standard displays jacks up the contrast a ton and makes it *look* like the standard displays are brighter, but I think that's a perceptual thing--the specs would say it's perceptual.
Just putting the standard Catalina desktop photo on the XDR next to the 5K LG Ultrafine or the iMac you can visibly see the wider dynamic range--the blacks are all blocked up on the iMac and LG, and you lose tons of subtle detail in the darker shades.
Just putting the standard Catalina desktop photo on the XDR next to the 5K LG Ultrafine or the iMac you can visibly see the wider dynamic range--the blacks are all blocked up on the iMac and LG, and you lose tons of subtle detail in the darker shades.
I went to the store AGAIN today, for the third time and was staring at both screens for about 45 minutes. It's so hard to make a decision for me, both look amazing - in the store lighting of course the Nano has a huge edge and gives me just this wow effect of looking at something totally unsee. It feels like you can touch the contents on the screen somehow, stuff just feels very haptic.
I noticed though that yes, blacks feel a bit more deep on the glossy one, and what's especially annoying to me what I didnt notice before is that on the nano, absolute white surfaces look really like brushed with sandpaper, very subtly, but I felt several times like I my vision wasn't clear, or as if the screen was dirty or something. REALLY tough decision.
I'm sitting right now at home, looking at my glossy Dell display, and even though there's a big reflection of the three lightbulbs in my back on the middle of the screen, somehow my brain filters it out unless I focus on it. Not sure though if this is not causing a constant headache or something
Then again, the conflict of having a matte screen next to a 2nd glossy monitor, still afraid it's gonna drive me nuts.
I'm not doing anything for print, just video, I would say for print image work, the Nano is an absolute MUST. for video I'm not so sure. Had a long discussion with an Apple guy and even he leaned a bit towards glossy. What's mean is that they have the glossy attached to a macbook pro with only ****** HD content on it, while the Nano is hooked up to the Mac Pro and has the nicest 6k HDR footage playing on it...
I noticed though that yes, blacks feel a bit more deep on the glossy one, and what's especially annoying to me what I didnt notice before is that on the nano, absolute white surfaces look really like brushed with sandpaper, very subtly, but I felt several times like I my vision wasn't clear, or as if the screen was dirty or something. REALLY tough decision.
I'm sitting right now at home, looking at my glossy Dell display, and even though there's a big reflection of the three lightbulbs in my back on the middle of the screen, somehow my brain filters it out unless I focus on it. Not sure though if this is not causing a constant headache or something
Then again, the conflict of having a matte screen next to a 2nd glossy monitor, still afraid it's gonna drive me nuts.
I'm not doing anything for print, just video, I would say for print image work, the Nano is an absolute MUST. for video I'm not so sure. Had a long discussion with an Apple guy and even he leaned a bit towards glossy. What's mean is that they have the glossy attached to a macbook pro with only ****** HD content on it, while the Nano is hooked up to the Mac Pro and has the nicest 6k HDR footage playing on it...
Haha but you didnt see the display in Person yet?To CHfilm, Dude, NANO all the way
The Nano does look stunning, there's no doubt.
The question is, do I really need this, and is the upgrade worth a 1000 euros.
The glossy display also has some cool look, just like the imac and other glossy screens that we came to love.
Here's a poor, way too short video from the store:
Here are two from my current setup. As mentioned before, during the day I have zero reflective issues, but once it gets darker here and I have to turn on the main light for the room, I get one nasty reflection right in the center of the screen.
Check with and without. Without I find glossy quite nice.
With:
Without:
Last edited:
Since (like me) you're interested in text sharpness, did you consider the Dell 8k? It's about half the price ($3229 on New Egg) of the XDR, and might be sharper (275 ppi vs. 220 ppi). There is, of course, the question of whether Catalina can properly scale 8k (so the menus aren't too small), and whether the new Macs can properly drive it. [
Dell 8K Dual Displayport 1.4 Monitor on macOS Catalina
I remember this being discussed earlier (though I can't quite remember where), and the consensus was that macOS didn't know how to handle an 8K image ...
egpu.io
Last edited:
lol that looks insane!
For After Effects it would sure make a lot of sense though, I never have enough space for all my tools.
Two Glossy screens + the XDR surely will make a lot more sense than one glossy + the XDr from an asthetic standpoint. I'm not sure how well the single VEGA II will handle three hires screens though. Might be an option when I get an optional W5700X or second VEGA II.
But then again, I think long term, 2 XDRs is the way forward for me. Even though they are HUUUUUUGE. Sitting just in front of one I feel almost like an IMAX experience watching video haha.
I have now had the nano display for a few days and the coating/texture/whatever is driving me insane. all the texts appears a but blurry and on bright or white areas you can very clearly see the nano texture. I don't know, I think I'm going to replace it with a glossy one.
what are your thoughts now a few weeks later?
what are your thoughts now a few weeks later?
I hate glare, so I don't mind it. I only notice it if I put the XDR next to my LG Ultrafine, and even then its mostly only noticeable when I am a bit too close to the screen. I will say that on a pure white background there is a very slight mottled appearance from the nano, but I am mostly using mine for editing photos, so I only notice it when browsing websites with white backgrounds.
Seems the consensus is the glossy for text and numbers (e.g., Word, coding, spreadsheets), since it's sharper—and the nano for photo and video work (particularly if you can't easily control the ambient lighting, or just like a brighter room) since, for those applications, the reduction in sharpness isn't noticeable, while reflections can be a significant problem.
Last edited:
This is exactly what I’m worried about for myself too!
I agree that on pix and videos it looks stunning but what workflow involves ONLY text or ONLY video? One of my displays usually shows the UI, and the other shows pictures or video playback. Or if I do after effects I have tons of UI around the video too. I guess in those tools it won’t matter as much since they have dark UIs, but in between I have to answer mails and read stuff online etc so I’m also dealing with white pages a lot.
AND I can’t control the lighting.
I’m really troubled by this, my nano hasn’t shipped yet so I could swap it for a glossy one, but then I’m considering just giving it a try. Sigh, worried that I’ll be the same and will hate that “fog” on text and white surfaces.
[automerge]1579944536[/automerge]
Do you feel the coating is more visible on white areas than in regular matte screens? It almost seemed to me that way when I was observing it in the store..
could you make a test for me and take a pic with your flashlight from about 4. Meters away of the nano? I’m trying to understand how my lamps behind me are gonna flare on the display. Not sure if the nano would even help in my scenario because I have spiky highlights behind me that are bothering me more than reflections.
Ahhhh posts like these really make me question my choice too. I wish it would just be delivered already so I could directly check it out in my environment, but then again maybe it's better to cancel it straight away now before all wheels are set in motion.
[automerge]1580140150[/automerge]
Can you possible take some up close pictures or videos of the "noise" ? You still hate it? I was hoping the eye gets used to it after a while and simply ignores it, but if what you're describing is true, I'm afraid of a similar effect really, like constantly thinking something's wrong with my eyes or so because the dispaly isnt 100% crisp and clean.
If you look *really* closely you can see it. But you have to be looking for it. It's much more noticeable if you compare it to a glossy screen right next to it. I would say that for the first 24-48 hours I wasn't sure I loved it either, but now I don't notice or care except when glance back and forth between my LG UltraFine and the nano. Once there's two nanos that will be...never.
You will never know until you know from use in your location. The fact that you keep gravitating to the nano when you see it in the store--next to the glossy--tells me that you won't mind it at all after a day or two of use.