I don't disagree. Seems Apple designers could have easily made this thing VESA compliant with a stand included. It's something virtually every other monitor maker seems to achieve.
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.
PSA: Studio Display Stands Are Not Interchangeable
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I don't disagree. Seems Apple designers could have easily made this thing VESA compliant with a stand included. It's something virtually every other monitor maker seems to achieve.
This is insane. I can't tell you how many times I switch displays from initially being mounted on VESA to then repurposing it later on in life to being put on its original stand. Sometimes, when other newer monitors go bad (I'm talking to you, LG), they go back up on the VESA mount!
Typical Modern Apple.
Typical Modern Apple.
I placed orders for both the standard and VESA stands and will cancel one. I've pretty much decided to that the VESA is the way to go for my needs - greatest flexibility. But a major drawback is that I always buy hardware with an eye to eventually selling it, to upgrade. No question, if you get the VESA option, the reselling value of the display will be less, because the market for VESA-only displays is much smaller than a standard stand.
Adjustable good quality VESA mount stands are available for $50.
"Designed with the planet in mind"
4K monitors for less than $350, which is a much better price point for the amount the desktop space you get.
LG UltraFine 27-Inch Computer Monitor 27UL500-W, IPS Display with AMD FreeSync and HDR10 Compatibility, White
Immerse yourself completely with phenomenal image precision and ultra deep granularity with 4K UHD (3840x2160), presenting four times the resolution of Full HD with HDR 10’s industry standard for High Dynamic Range imaging. This IPS computer monitor helps keep colors consistent at a wide viewing ...
www.amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
I was afraid of that when I was reviewing the different stand options...
My best bet is to get the VESA version and then look for a nice looking matching 3rd party aluminum stand.
I can't believe they charge $400 more for a stand with a couple hinges. What are these made of? Platinum?
My best bet is to get the VESA version and then look for a nice looking matching 3rd party aluminum stand.
I can't believe they charge $400 more for a stand with a couple hinges. What are these made of? Platinum?
I don't understand why Apple keeps making dumb mistakes like this. It obviously done deliberately and it hurting loyal customers and affects the number of units sold. I don't get it.
For me, the stand is not height adjustable and lacks a HDMI input, especially at this high price point.
Vesa mount would be the best option for those getting this.
For me, the stand is not height adjustable and lacks a HDMI input, especially at this high price point.
Vesa mount would be the best option for those getting this.
I wouldn't say that. I know I am just one single anecdote, but My Thunderbolt Display went from Stand > VESA > Stand > VESA before I sold it, over the course of many years. It sure was nice having the flexibility. I was more than happy to pay for the VESA adapter. Seemed like a fine solution to me.
With this one, I don't know who in their right mind would get the regular stand option, considering you can get a VESA-mount stand from monoprice for $40 that blows the regular stand out of the water in terms of ergonomics.
It seems weird to me they wouldn't just make a backplate in common with all their devices so that you're only manufacturing different elements for the stand. Hell, that way they could let people iMac users pay an extra $400 for a nicer stand, or even people with more money than sense (but not too much money) get a nicer Pro Stand for $1000 and stick it on their lower-end monitor. Doesn't seem to make financial sense from the outside.
Last edited:
4K monitors for less than $350, which is a much better price point for the amount the desktop space you get.
LG UltraFine 27-Inch Computer Monitor 27UL500-W, IPS Display with AMD FreeSync and HDR10 Compatibility, White
Immerse yourself completely with phenomenal image precision and ultra deep granularity with 4K UHD (3840x2160), presenting four times the resolution of Full HD with HDR 10’s industry standard for High Dynamic Range imaging. This IPS computer monitor helps keep colors consistent at a wide viewing ...www.amazon.com
Apples and Oranges. 5K != 4K
4K monitors require non-integer scaling to get a QHD style desktop - which is my preferred sizing for 27" displays - and thus have an inherent performance burden. 5K monitors are integer scaling and thus don't suffer that burden.
While you may be satisfied with the tradeoffs, 4K displays just aren't equivalent to 5K displays
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
True, but turns out that a 27" 4k UHD display viewed at 21" meets Apple's definition of "retina" in that the angular size of individual pixels is at the limits of human vision. So going above 4k in a 27" desktop display rapidly takes you into diminishing returns. Sure, Apple's laptops have higher pixel densities, but they're designed to be used at about half the viewing distance.
...and there are plenty of 4k displays at a fraction of the price of Apple's offerings. Plus lots of flexibility in terms of size.
5k @ 27" is the "Goldilocks Zone" for MacOS displays, and to get the system font/icon size "just right" on 4k@27" needs non-integer scaling which results in a slightly 'soft' display c.f. 5k and puts a bit of extra load on the GPU - which might have been a problem for Intel integrated graphics but isn't going to bother a M1 Pro/Max.
I've currently got a 5k iMac and a cheap'n'cheerful Dell 28" 4k side-by-side and the only obvious difference, unless you deliberately go looking, is that the cheap'n'cheerful TN panel on the Dell can't pretend to match the colour gamut of the Mac - but it's perfectly sharp enough, and affordable 4k displays with better colour are available. Plus, even at 28", unscaled 4k UHD is usable by anybody with good enough eyesight to worry about the difference between 4k scaled and true 5k.
Then there's all the other third party possibilities: ultra-wide displays, multiple, smaller 4k displays, 32"+ 4k displays that you could move further back to keep in the "retina" zone and/or comfortably run in 1:1 mode to avoid scaling.
Apple are charging an arm and a leg for the very narrow advantage that 5k has over 4k. Also, their "studio" display has an awful lot of "consumer" features - particularly speakers & mics which will be inadequate & redundant in any "studio" where audio matters. It's more of a MacBook docking station for the office.
That's great but some people won't want to use a 3rd party stand with their spangling Apple monitor. Not saying that's right or wrong but nevertheless Apple have made an absolutely ridiculous design choice here by not making their monitor interchangeable with its alternative stands. It's so preposterous that if you told me in passing I wouldn't believe you. Oh well, Apple in 2022 can't even ship a web browser with a working sidebar, so I shouldn't be in the least bit surprised.
LOL...yeah, it's cheaper because it's a lower resolution, uses a lot of plastic, doesn't have an internal SoC, doesn't have a 12 MP camera, doesn't have a Dolby Atmos capable speaker system.4K monitors for less than $350, which is a much better price point for the amount the desktop space you get.
LG UltraFine 27-Inch Computer Monitor 27UL500-W, IPS Display with AMD FreeSync and HDR10 Compatibility, White
Immerse yourself completely with phenomenal image precision and ultra deep granularity with 4K UHD (3840x2160), presenting four times the resolution of Full HD with HDR 10’s industry standard for High Dynamic Range imaging. This IPS computer monitor helps keep colors consistent at a wide viewing ...www.amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Also, I wonder what propelled Apple to start making its own displays again. They had left that business many years ago.
(I'm recalling now too that Apple used to be in the business of making their own printers. Well, just like the monitors, they didn't make every component, but they did design and put together the whole package.)
(I'm recalling now too that Apple used to be in the business of making their own printers. Well, just like the monitors, they didn't make every component, but they did design and put together the whole package.)
not sure if anyone noticed, but apple is losing its infamous efficiency
3 different external chassis for basically 1 product
having million color options for certain products (like, seriously, why you need that for iMac?)
not sure if this has any consequences, just observation.
3 different external chassis for basically 1 product
having million color options for certain products (like, seriously, why you need that for iMac?)
not sure if this has any consequences, just observation.
Tim Cook's still in charge, so I'm sure it's a highly efficient supply chain regardless.
But yeah, even for Apple it seems like you hit very diminishing returns for "niceness" above all else when you've got an extra 6 SKUS just for the colored keyboards with numeric pads on top of the regular colored keyboards, etc. This is just thrown on the pile.
Can we have a version which has no speakers or webcam please Apple? If I'm getting two for my "studio" I don't need double speakers and webcams. In fact I'd quite like to keep these separate.
Last edited:
Or... Apple gives you options and it's still not good enough.
iMac - have either a attached Tilt OR Vesa.
Some monitors don't have removable stands
Some don't have Raise.
Some don't have VESA
I have £800 Monitor here with Funky flat to wall Stand with no Raise and have to buy the Visa mount for an extrs £50.
I've ordered 2 VESA of these apple monitors - I am a bit narked they are only 27" not 30" but they are wall mounted in my studio. I am 100% sure there will be perfect clones of both Apple Stands in Vesa form in a few months.
They have in-house technology to use in the displays that differentiates them from competitors. Apple has put a lot of R&D into speaker/microphone/camera technology and obviously into SoCs like the A13.