PSA: Studio Display Stands Are Not Interchangeable

[R2FX]

Steve must be furious watching thi from above… so much for the woke environmentalist at Apple obsessing with recycled materials that they can’t design interchangeable stand and pretend that it can only be done at the time of order.

Is the Apple academy still a thing or is it just full steam ahead into green woketopia???

 

[orbital~debris]

Quite a lot of faux outrage from people here who are unlikely to ever have decided to change the configuration of their display.

Just give the purchase some careful consideration before tapping the 'buy' button, and choose the best one for your needs.

 

[david.olstein]

I like the fact that Apple is offering a height adjustable stand. I don't like the fact that, unlike the stand for the Pro XDR monitor, this stand doesn't allow you to rotate between portrait and landscape mode.

It's also frustrating that there's only one input on the monitor. So in order to use it with a Mac studio and my PC laptop from work, I'm either going to have to reach behind the monitor and swap cables each time, which is going to be a royal pain in the ***, or I'm going to have to get some kind of switch box.

The lack of HDR and ProMotion is also disappointing, but not surprising.

 

[deeddawg]

Unless you later decide you need to mount it on a stand? Apple really are losing their collective marbles. Rapidly. What user in their right mind would buy a ~$1600 or, worse, a $2000 monitor that can never be remounted in a different setting? Along with the burgeoning list of discombobulating software design choices, they really are becoming actively user-hostile.

Third party 100x100 VESA stands are readily available. Perhaps not as pretty the the Apple stand, but there are plenty of options.

 

[SSD-GUY]

The curse of Ive lives on.

 

[deeddawg]

I like the fact that Apple is offering a height adjustable stand.

... and that adds 25% / $400 to the price of the monitor. Seems rather ludicrous

 

[MozMan68]

As if this is the only monitor manufactured with a non-removable stand. You have a choice of 3 models. We have also had iMacs for years that weren’t equipped with removable stands. Just get the VESA option. I think most people know their office configuration and requirements, and for the majority, it probably never changes.

Name a popular monitor that doesn’t include at a minimum, a VESA adaptor plate.

They should have just offered the two stands, but made them connect to the back via a standard VESA mount so people at least have options. Yes, it would have been that simple. And yes, nearly EVERY major monitor sold today has that option.

EDIT: Also, the VESA option for the iMac is so hidden on their site, most would never even know it is available. I can’t tell you how many people have asked for my help (and my company's help) to make their non removeable iMac stand Work on a monitor arm. The only solution? A POS Amazon contraption that does NOT work well…and looks horrible.

EDIT 2: To be fair…they’ve made the VESA option easier to select with the new iMac. And at least it IS an option here.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Deliberate lock-in. (Stand and cable)

Very customer unfriendly.

This is the monitor equivalent of the trash can Mac Pro.

Boo on apple.

 

[Robert.Walter]

I thought “It just works” was to describe the product, not Apples marketing strategy.
This is completely unnecessary, how, like, fck, did you run out of Magic or what’s the problem?
I can easily change the stand of an all-in-one iMac Pro but not a just-a-display with a smartphone chip from the same trillion dollar company? This is just, stupid. One step forward and two steps back.
“Think different” I guess…

“Profit Different”

 

[GermanSuplex]

Well, this was just a senseless decision on Apple’s part. I’m sure if you ask them they’d state they have their reasons, just seems like it would be easy to make the display easy to mount to any of the stands so people can upgrade in the future if they’d like. Oh well.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

"Please consider getting two or all three different versions to ensure the best user experience." ?

Yeah, just like the decision to make the iMacs stand non-removable. Need to mount your iMac on a wall with a vesa mount? Buy a whole new iMac! …and then integrated everything. Need more drivespace? Time to buy a new one. More memory? Another imac. Another sale. Another sale…

 

[ruka.snow]

It is clear when ordering it that you can get it like a iMac or with different stand options. Mine are the basic stand since that fits me.

 

[-BigMac-]

Come on... they really should have thought this one through.

They did. And this made the most profit

 

[jeffpeng]

So buy the VESA version and get a decent arm/stand. Got it. Or actually buy a decent 4K display with 120hz that has non-glare built in and save a ton of money.

On the plus side: there are very, very affordable VESA stands that are height adjustable and tilt more than 5 degrees. Also there are VESA mounts for the Mac Mini that allow to sandwich it between a monitor and stand or arm. So one can actually build their very own iMac and not pay 4 grand. It just looks more like an iFrankenstein, but what's looks, right? Just put it against a wall and you'll never notice. (Although, yes, YOU will know it's spaghetti back there.)

And frankly I'm not surprised. Form over function strikes again, and Apple keeps talking out of both sides of their mouth when it comes to the entire environmental stuff. It's just a marketing thing, and this, again, shows it abundantly clear.

 

[theluggage]

The correct answer...and honestly, the best idea from an ergonomic stand point.

...and only $200 extra for a slab of metal with 4 threaded bolt holes in it. Something which you get built in to a $400 TV.

Plus the cost of, you know, an actual stand...

 

[elvisimprsntr]

Why couldn't Apple just design a monitor that has the VESA mount built in, just like every other monitor manufacturer?

I can buy 3-4 monitors for the same price and a triple monitor stand for $80

 

[amartinez1660]

So if the stand gets damaged or breaks you need a new monitor typical Apple

At least if these are anywhere close as robust as the TB displays the chances would be hopefully low…
I have 2 of the old ones, from 2011 when everybody was still in 1080p land, still going as bright and as strong as when bought.

Haven’t needed new screens since then (except the iMac to complete a three screen setup). With that previous experience I would be actually willing to entertain this… risks involved and all.

 

[Marshall73]

We are not allowed to purchase a monitor with no height adjustability so we would buy the model with the visa mount and use our own mounts and stands. Lost of HR departments now demand height adjustable displays for staff or they get staff moaning about sore necks along with RSI and needing special keyboards and side grip mice etc. ❄️

 

[a104375]

Name a popular monitor that doesn’t include at a minimum, a VESA adaptor plate.

They should have just offered the two stands, but made them connect to the back via a standard VESA mount so people at least have options. Yes, it would have been that simple. And yes, nearly EVERY major monitor sold today has that option.

EDIT: Also, the VESA option for the iMac is so hidden on their site, most would never even know it is available. I can’t tell you how many people have asked for my help (and my companies help) to make their non removeable iMac stand Work on a monitor arm. The only solution? A POS Amazon contraption that does NOT work well…and looks horrible.

EDIT 2: To be fair…they’ve made the VESA option easier to select with the new iMac. And at least it IS an option here.

The iMac vesa option is horrible though, at least it was in 2018:

 

[jca666us]

Apple's new Studio Display comes with three different mounting options - a normal stand that only tilts, a tilt and height-adjustable stand, and a VESA mounting adapter. What's crucial to note is that the stands are built into the display and, thus, are not interchangeable.

When placing an order for the Studio Display, Apple warns that "each stand or mount adapter is built in. They are not interchangeable, so it's important to consider your workspace needs at the time of purchase."

The standard stand and VESA mount adapter come at no additional cost to the $1599 or nano-texture-based $1899 Studio Display, while the tilt and height-adjustable stand will increase the price of the Studio Display by $399.

The standard tilt-only display provides 30 degrees of tilt, with 5 degrees of downward tilt and 25 degrees upwards. The tilt and height-adjustable stand includes the same 30 degrees of tilt flexibility, alongside adjusting the height by as much as 105mm.

The Studio Display alongside the Mac Studio were made available for pre-order yesterday and will be available on March 18.

Article Link: PSA: Studio Display Stands Are Not Interchangeable

Apple should have sold this for $1299 with the vesa mount as standard and offered the other stand types as options to attach to the vesa mount.

 

[HiVolt]

Apple needs to rewind to when they had a removable stand and vesa adapter in the old 30" display... I still have one at work. It was used on a stand for a number of years, then on a vesa mount for a number of years, and it's been back on its stand for the last few years.

And it looks no different than the current stand mount, it just has - wait for it - a couple of hex screws.

 

[BJMRamage]

I am guessing this is about the LOOKS of the monitor. Adding a VESA mount with 2 optional stands wouldn't look "right"

Some industrial design team showed three variations WITHOUT a user-configurable stand/mount option. The higher ups liked the CLEAN look of each and didnt want to compromise the Look of an Apple Monitor. It also looks like the Tilt-only and the height/Tilt monitor do NOT share a connecting point either.

I haven't moved my external Samsung monitor since setting it up. I have an Architecture book underneath to lift it since this Monitor only tilts. it doesn't look great but I dont care, and I dont really care how ugly the back of this thing is the the stand/VESA/ports all over since I only look at the front of it.

 

[fel10]

Just Apple doing Apple things

 

[deeddawg]

...and only $200 extra for a slab of metal with 4 threaded bolt holes in it. Something which you get built in to a $400 TV.

Plus the cost of, you know, an actual stand...

Where are you seeing $200 extra for VESA option?

 

[mburkhard]

Come on... they really should have thought this one through.

Oh I'm certain they have!

Not being able to change mounting options is simply because the display is so thin. Where would you place the mechanism that would allow for interchangeable mounting mechanism? Exactly, there's simply no room for that.
Apple would have needed to make the display casing thicker to allow for that, something they just don't want to do. The quest for thinness strikes again. Make it thin, don't make it modular!
Apple designs products first and foremost for the marketing department. They want things to look elegant on their marketing materials. Screw flexibility and modularity!

Having said that, it would be interesting to know just how much more thickness they would have needed to include an interchangeable mounting mechanism or a VESA mount as standard. With the precision engineering Apple can do, I bet you it wouldn't have been much!

Too bad really, a typical Apple fail due to their religious quest for thinness. Get the VESA option and buy your own stand or arm, whatever suits your needs.