Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Studio Display I or Studio Display II

G

Gouce

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I am currently computerless, having sold my MBP a couple of months ago to switch to a desktop.

I was waiting to see the updates on the Studio Display and Mac Mini as I would prefer to buy the latest release rather than the second latest.

Am I wrong in thinking that the Studio Display I is a way better value? Here in Japan, it’s 50,000jpy difference between I and II, and for what? Some extra built-in speakers (I use external speakers anyway) and some upgraded ports?

Happy to be told otherwise, but if starting from nothing, is the Studio Display II worth it over I?
 
If you're not in the market for the Studio Display XDR, there's very little value-add to the Studio Display 2 over the original.
Yeah, better speakers, slightly upgraded camera and upgraded ports (for machines supporting Thunderbolt 5)

It also drops compatibility with some computers that the prior model could support.

You can also look into alternatives that use the same display panel like the Asus ProArt PA27JCV. Different product with different calibration and whatnot, but same underlying display panel tech
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984, conmee and 4sallypat
casperes1996 said:
If you're not in the market for the Studio Display XDR, there's very little value-add to the Studio Display 2 over the original.
Yeah, better speakers, slightly upgraded camera and upgraded ports (for machines supporting Thunderbolt 5)

It also drops compatibility with some computers that the prior model could support.

You can also look into alternatives that use the same display panel like the Asus ProArt PA27JCV. Different product with different calibration and whatnot, but same underlying display panel tech
Click to expand...
Of course the XDR is nice, but buying that would a hysterical overkill in every sense of the word.

My needs out of a computer are email, MS Office, internet, and some light photo editing where even Lightroom is way too much.

So the XDR would be equivalent to me getting a maxed spec Mac Studio for the above. I think the base Mac Mini will suit me just fine (just waiting to see if they update it this year). The compatibility won’t be an issue for me.

Guess I’ll need to figure it out. I prefer just sticking with Apple Studio Display. I could wait a bit to see the refurbished populate in the Apple Store and see what the discount is there compared to Gen 1.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984 and casperes1996
Now the waiting game to see if the Mac Mini gets a touch up or not. Hopefully by the summer.
 
Gouce said:
I am currently computerless, having sold my MBP a couple of months ago to switch to a desktop.

I was waiting to see the updates on the Studio Display and Mac Mini as I would prefer to buy the latest release rather than the second latest.

Am I wrong in thinking that the Studio Display I is a way better value? Here in Japan, it’s 50,000jpy difference between I and II, and for what? Some extra built-in speakers (I use external speakers anyway) and some upgraded ports?

Happy to be told otherwise, but if starting from nothing, is the Studio Display II worth it over I?
Click to expand...
Here in the US, the prices between the 2 are about the same.

I have the SD I from 2022 with my Mac Studio Max and love it.
Also have a second 27" display (2011 TB Display) and both are great for me.

I don't have any need to upgrade to the SD II or XDR with my use.
 
4sallypat said:
Here in the US, the prices between the 2 are about the same.

I have the SD I from 2022 with my Mac Studio Max and love it.
Also have a second 27" display (2011 TB Display) and both are great for me.

I don't have any need to upgrade to the SD II or XDR with my use.
Click to expand...
In Japan, Gen 1 is 219,000JPY and Gen 2 is 269,800JPY.
 
Gouce said:
In Japan, Gen 1 is 219,000JPY and Gen 2 is 269,800JPY.
Click to expand...
Wow, Japan is priced higher than the US.

Guess my upcoming trip to Japan I won't be looking to buy an Apple item since the consumption tax is no longer waived....

Does Japan have Apple Refurbished displays for sale ?
 
4sallypat said:
Wow, Japan is priced higher than the US.

Guess my upcoming trip to Japan I won't be looking to buy an Apple item since the consumption tax is no longer waived....

Does Japan have Apple Refurbished displays for sale ?
Click to expand...
When I check refurbs on Apple Japan a few weeks ago, there were quite a bunch with various stand configs. As of yesterday, all gone. So unless people start returning them with problems, seems that’s it for that.

Will need to wait for the Gen 2s to start populating the return section.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4sallypat
Gouce said:
When I check refurbs on Apple Japan a few weeks ago, there were quite a bunch with various stand configs. As of yesterday, all gone. So unless people start returning them with problems, seems that’s it for that.

Will need to wait for the Gen 2s to start populating the return section.
Click to expand...
Yes, I noticed that too in the US.

Since there isn't much of a difference for my use, I will keep both the 2022 Studio M1 Max and Studio display since it's been problem free since day 1.

OTOH my 15 year old 27" Apple Thunderbolt display using a TB2-TB3 adapter is also still going strong - very impressed with Apple's design and build quality.

2011 TB on left, 2022 Studio on right and 50" HDTV on top.
IMG_8809.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984
4sallypat said:
Yes, I noticed that too in the US.

Since there isn't much of a difference for my use, I will keep both the 2022 Studio M1 Max and Studio display since it's been problem free since day 1.

OTOH my 15 year old 27" Apple Thunderbolt display using a TB2-TB3 adapter is also still going strong - very impressed with Apple's design and build quality.

2011 TB on left, 2022 Studio on right and 50" HDTV on top.
View attachment 2610375
Click to expand...
I’m computerless at the moment (at home), as my 14 inch MBP from a couple of years ago was starting to hurt my eyes, so I sold it to go back to a desktop computer.

I, along with most others, were expecting much more in the upgrade department for the Gen 2 Studio Display. Now that it’s only ports/cam/speakers, I’m on the fence.

Since I’m waiting for the Mac Mini refresh, I have enough time to wait to see the refurb displays to begin adding up.

I’m curious on your opinion: I’ve always been anti-refurb. Just buy it new. But I read someone’s comment on this site that mentioned a good point on refurb being that for that specific item, they have to check it to ensure everything tests good, whereas QC on new models, they just pull a random unit from each pallet to check.

Do you think that’s a positive? Or if refurb has any advantage over new (aside from price break)?
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984
I was hoping for gen 1 SD’s to have a couple of hundred pounds off…..😕
Any UK third party sellers I have looked at either are out of stock or same price.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984
Gouce said:
But I read someone’s comment on this site that mentioned a good point on refurb being that for that specific item, they have to check it to ensure everything tests good, whereas QC on new models, they just pull a random unit from each pallet to check.
Click to expand...
U on this forum, you should know Apple's Refurbs are Top Quality. Purchase with confidence. They just don't give you that fancy packaging of new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984
I bought a new ASD (VESA/no nano texture) in late January for $1300 when the prices started dropping in anticipation of the refresh. I figured I’d grab one in January and then if the new one came out with 120Hz refresh rate for $1,599 I’d sell the original ASD since a lot of people like the display and don’t care about refresh rate. But now that I’d have to spend $3,299 to get 120Hz in an Apple display, I’m sticking with the original ASD. It’s a fantastic display, very bright, excellent colors, great design, and it works with my 2019 Intel MBP which I’ll retire when my M5 Pro arrives. If you can find one brand new I’d buy it, and I’d even consider refurb. I have an Alienware 27” 4K 180Hz display and as I mentioned in another thread, I prefer everything about the ASD except for refresh rate. The ASD doesn’t look bad it’s just after using ProMotion and the Alienware display, 60Hz is noticeable less smooth than 120Hz or 180Hz. Especially with Tahoe and all the motion and eye candy it includes, it looks so smooth on the Alienware. Anyhow, sorry for the long sorta-rant. I think the current ASD with just 120Hz (no new chip no new speakers or camera no updated TB5 ports) would have been perfect. But considering that isn’t a thing, I believe the original ASD is a great display if you can get your hands on one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984
OP, if I were you, I'd seriously consider a beefed up imac istead.

[Edit: I've bought several original studio displays over the last few years and they are great, even if the price and the stand options are less than ideal. I'd highly recommend going VESA mounted.]

I bought a m4 max studio and an og studio display back in January, thinking I was going to dive into video editing.

I'm sure I'll be grateful in the future to have bought the good stuff, but a beefed up imac would have been a much better fit for me right now. It is a smaller screen and a slower processor, yes. I would have saved some money.

The new studio displays do not interest me whatsoever, but if you think Thunderbolt 5 would be important to you in the not so distant future, go for it.

Also, someone mentioned apple refurbished; yes, I've bought two refurbished studio displays in the past, and they are absolutely perfect, indistinguishable from brand new. And if you buy refurbished directly from Apple, you can add applecare if you want.

Best of luck; if you are looking at non-apple yet retina friendly (218 ppi) displays, be sure to read the reviews! There's a lot of unhappy customers out there due to strange malfunctions with otherwise solid looking alternatives.
 
Gouce said:
Or if refurb has any advantage over new (aside from price break)?
Click to expand...
Not really. I've had new ones and refurbished ones. They're indistinguishable, although arguably a new one would have a longer screen life.

Given Apple's display releases, if you bought a studio display, there likely wouldn't be any reason to replace it for 5-7 years (use it until it dies). There's no way to know how many hours a refurbished display has already ran.

I'll say this; if you bookmark the apple store refurbished display page, you'll notice the refurbished displays sell out very quickly all the time. In January I would have bought refurbished but when I came back the next week, the VESA model I wanted was gone. And you'll hardly ever see a 32" XDR listed for very long.
 
While browsing various 5k brands, I have realised (late to the party…. 😬), all 5k+ monitors are Energy Rating E or F.
The first gen Apple was E, now F and the XDR is G (worst category).
I am surprised from Apple, when their mini/studio is so ‘energy efficient’.

My current dual QHD’s are category B.
 
If it was up to me, I'd get a refurbished Gen 1. Like you said, the upgrades are minimal for such a price, and unless you're doing heavy photo/video editing, chances are you don't need it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984 and conmee
MarkC426 said:
I am surprised from Apple, when their mini/studio is so ‘energy efficient’.
Click to expand...
Brighter display => more energy
More pixels => more bandwidth => faster switching => higher current => more energy
Onboard CPU doing webcam and audio => more energy
Beefy power supply for laptop charging etc. => more energy
No useless "economy mode" that nobody uses and only exists to qualify for A-rating => lower energy efficiency score

AFAIK the energy ratings are relative to everything in a fairly broad product category, so it doesn't mean that your display is equivalent to an electric kettle.

If you want to save the planet get a low-resolution display with a dim, murky screen... except you'll probably want to throw your old CF-illuminated, mercury-ridden display on a landfill and replace it with a modern energy efficient LED one, so there's the dilemma... Or, just boycott AI services...
 
  • Like
Reactions: AbeLincoln1984 and MarkC426
theluggage said:
Brighter display => more energy
More pixels => more bandwidth => faster switching => higher current => more energy
Onboard CPU doing webcam and audio => more energy
Beefy power supply for laptop charging etc. => more energy
No useless "economy mode" that nobody uses and only exists to qualify for A-rating => lower energy efficiency score

AFAIK the energy ratings are relative to everything in a fairly broad product category, so it doesn't mean that your display is equivalent to an electric kettle.

If you want to save the planet get a low-resolution display with a dim, murky screen... except you'll probably want to throw your old CF-illuminated, mercury-ridden display on a landfill and replace it with a modern energy efficient LED one, so there's the dilemma... Or, just boycott AI services...
Click to expand...
The energy rating also isn’t comparable to the past. What constitutes a rating of each letter changes over time. A C today is less power hungry than a B 2@ years ago, all else being equal.

Only compare energy ratings on comparable product in the same timeframe.

Comparing raw wattage makes more sense.
In SDR full normal brightness 120hz, Stydio XDR uses 33W. In HDR that climbs to 48. That’s from the energy rating label that came with my display. A lot of the time it’s gimme run at under half of that for me. That’s really not that bad. Basically no super high end display is gonna do much better. OLED might on very black scenes but even then the dimming zones here has a similar effect.

The 4K, much inferior, Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG my studio XDR replaced consumed around 30W with the studio having 50% more pixels, 50% higher brightness in the conditions we are comparing and overall much better image quality. So just 3-5W more for the studio but much better specs. For what it is, it is efficient. The energy rating just only considers panel size for its letter rating I believe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back