Studio Display Outputs At 1440p Resolution When Connected to 4th-Gen iPad Air and iPad Mini 6

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Have you even used an iPad Pro they are massive compared to a laptop screen

Best I know, the largest iPad Pro here in America has a 12.9" screen. Perhaps it's different where you are?

Best I know, there are no Apple laptops currently for sale (new) with a screen that small. Again, perhaps it is different where you are? Yes, there are PC laptops, etc with smaller screens but I'm mostly talking Apple stuff here.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Anyone who want to hook their iPad with external display and use them as desktop please explain to me how would you control stuffs on the another display if iPad OS support true external display mode? If you think more about it the less it make sense for a “user-friendly touch-based” device.

iPad pro supports mouse control. Hook it to a screen and use a mouse (and keyboard)... much like hooking a laptop to a screen in clamshell mode. App support is mixed bag but a little research will point anyone interested to apps that work well on external screens (Apple's own being some of them). Since Apple has gone there already (along with some others) and added keyboard + mouse support... and explicitly say this new screen can be used that way, perhaps we are getting a "peek" at a bigger push for the next incarnation of iPad OS over the next few years? However, any app wanting to support bigger screen + mouse + keyboard can already do that.

 

[anthony13]

I have two on the way. Hoping they don’t slow down my 14” Mac Book Pro too much, I’ll get a Mac studio down the line a bit.

 

[PortoMavericks]

Wonder if the 1st gen iPad Pro 12.9 w/ USB-C over Lightning can drive this (or any external display for that matter).

It can't.

In Lightning devices, the Airplay feed is transported through USB 2.0 and then it gets converted by the adapter. This adapter converts the Airplay buffer to HDMI or VGA signal.

That's the reason why Lightning devices can't have an external dock with HDMI and USB because there's no free bandwidth on the USB 2.0 lane to drive Airplay and USB at the same time.

I guess the first two iPad Pros had USB 3.0 but it won't work either (yes, I tried lol).

 

[jonblatho]

I wonder, however, is it not more sensible to get a base iMac 24” at that point.

No contest in my mind. It’s likely cheaper spec for spec and you get a real computer.

 

[kyjaotkb]

It can't.

In Lightning devices, the Airplay feed is transported through USB 2.0 and then it gets converted by the adapter. This adapter converts the Airplay buffer to HDMI or VGA signal.

That's the reason why Lightning devices can't have an external dock with HDMI and USB because there's no free bandwidth on the USB 2.0 lane to drive Airplay and USB at the same time.

I guess the first two iPad Pros had USB 3.0 but it won't work either (yes, I tried lol).

Glad you tried with the iPad Pro! I always wonder why Apple only gave USB3 to these early iPad Pros and not to subsequent iPhones and even iPads that use Lightning. I understand not moving to USB-C, but faster speeds would be useful when unloading photos from fast memory cards or when downloading movies via Lightning to the device. But I guess very few people actually use their lightning ports for data.

 

[Jeaz]

I really hope that Apple specifically mentioning iPad compatibility for the Studio Display is a harbinger of better external display support in iPadOS. But I feel like I've become Captain Ahab hunting the white whale on this - iPads have had the technical capability to use external displays for ages now, without any sign of better software support.

It's become like the iPad Pro people hoping for Final Cut Pro (and other Pro apps) on the iPad - it makes a certain amount of a sense, but is this actually Apple's vision for the iPad? Do they really envisage the iPad as a Viticci's modular computer, or do they still imagine it as a much simpler device?

The external display support is there, just up to each app to use. Of course, the since iPadOS itself doesn’t use it, it’s no surprise most apps doesn’t use it either.

But apps like Shadow App can make use of the full resolution of the external display. Like I have a 34” widescreen monitor with 3440x1440 and with it the iPad and Shadow app uses the full screen flawlessly.

But yeah, it would be great if the iPad did a better work with external screens in general.

 

[Karma*Police]

Why would anyone want to mirror iPadOS on Studio Display?

Maybe to watch videos in their office or bedroom where there is no TV? Or maybe to relieve eye strain? I’m sure there are good reasons to hook up an iPad to this overpriced display.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Best I know, the largest iPad Pro here in America has a 12.9" screen. Perhaps it's different where you are?

Best I know, there are no Apple laptops currently for sale (new) with a screen that small. Again, perhaps it is different where you are? Yes, there are PC laptops, etc with smaller screens but I'm mostly talking Apple stuff here.

Even most Windows laptops are 13.3 -17" screens. Very few are 11" or 12" screens. Too small. So yes, I'm not sure how a 12.9" iPad Pro screen is "massive" compared to most laptops of any OS!

 

[Jamie0003]

Why is anyone bothering to even test this? The iPad doesn’t even support external displays, all you get is a mirrored image?

 

[pedregosa]

I do use my IPP 11 with an external monitor at times. But, as others have pointed out, it is a compromised experience. One of the compromises with the new Studio Display is that you would not — I am fairly certain — be able to use the display’s built-in webcam. The iPad does not support external webcams, and I don’t think this would be an exception.

 

[tripleburst]

Why is anyone bothering to even test this? The iPad doesn’t even support external displays, all you get is a mirrored image?

as has been mentioned, there are ipad apps that support dual displays. like lumafusion for example.

 

[JCCL]

Why does anyone hook a laptop to a bigger display? To get more screen RE and/or to get more done. There are those who use iPads as their computer. Even the biggest iPad Pro offers a relatively tiny screen. Hook one to a bigger screen much like linking a laptop for the same general purpose.

Yeah I do that with a Surface all the time, because it OS allows for full productivity no different from a laptop? But with an iPad?

Great devices, much more powerful than my Surface on paper, but still crippled by it OS.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

as has been mentioned, there are ipad apps that support dual displays. like lumafusion for example.

and iMovie... and Keynote... and Netflix, etc. It seems there's a lot of pessimists about this topic that could learn a bunch of new iPad tricks by doing a few Internet searches. Mouse work? Yes. Keyboard? Yes. Apps able to scale to larger screens? Yes, some with inevitably more to follow. Some simple searches will reveal all.

And then there's stuff like this...

 

[darngooddesign]

Have you even used an iPad Pro they are massive compared to a laptop screen

Massive? maybe compared to the 12" MacBook. Otherwise the 13" iPad Pro is a little larger than the 13" MBA/MBP; the same height but narrower than the 14" MBP; and the 16" MBP is massive compared to the 13" iPad.

 

[bluespark]

Why is anyone bothering to even test this? The iPad doesn’t even support external displays, all you get is a mirrored image?

The significance probably isn't that many people are going to do this (certainly not regularly), but rather that it refutes the unfounded theories by some that Apple would "block" some devices from being able to use the Studio Display. All indications are that the Studio Display will work with various devices to the extent their hardware/software permits.

 

[antibolo]

What I want to know is will it be possible to use a HDMI to USB-C adapter to connect a 4K source? If I get a Studio Display, I would also like to use it for a game console as well as my Mac.

 

[PeteBurgh]

It seems there's a lot of pessimists about this topic that could learn a bunch of new iPad tricks by doing a few Internet searches. Mouse work? Yes. Keyboard? Yes. Apps able to scale to larger screens? Yes, some with inevitably more to follow. Some simple searches will reveal all.

Disagree! This isn't a case of users being dumb!

Sure, some apps use external display support to play/edit video, or do presentations (I lectured from an iPad like this for several semesters), but it remains the case the OS doesn't have any proper support for external displays. Simply mirroring with the same aspect ratio is obviously not proper support - the Home Screen and virtually all native apps appear with giant black bars at the sides for goodness sake!

If Apple wants the iPad (Pro?) to be a flexible, modular device that can be docked, adaptive aspect ratios (which laptops have had for a quarter of a century) and the ability to extend as well as mirror are table stakes. It is only Apple that can change this state of affairs, both to make the necessary changes to the OS and to signal to customers and third-party developers that this is something you can use your genuinely iPad for (and not just a weird niche).

Alternatively, I think it would be a perfectly legitimate design decision to keep iPadOS as a purely touchscreen OS, and avoid the compromises that come with versatility.

But no amount of pessimists Googling is going to add missing features to the OS!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I didn't say dumb- I said pessimist. There ARE apps that work as described. Some have been named in this thread. The OS does not block them from working like that... only the app developers not making their apps work like that. Now that "you can run iOS apps on Macs" is a marketed thing, the pressure to make such apps run on resolutions beyond iDevices will naturally grow. So I would fully expect more iDevice apps to be evolved to take advantage of being hooked to bigger screens. Apple themselves may press that a bit to even better promote that option on Macs.

However, having now offered the answer to the original question of "Why would anyone want to..." nobody is obligating anyone to buy this screen for only this purpose... it's just an added option that works with this monitor. Those who might want it and use apps already capable of working that way can take advantage of this option. Those who see no point and/or use no such apps and have no need to perhaps toss the non-scaled version to another screen for any other purposes aren't being forced to buy this monitor and try to make that work anyway.

It's simply something that CAN be done... that does work... and a valid answer to "Why would anyone want to...". I recently had a tangible reason to link my iPad Mini to my 82" 4K TV screen. It worked and the content watched was not limited to being only iPad sized with gigantic black bars on all sides.

This monitor is not built ONLY to do this one thing. This is just something else that CAN be done with this monitor. It's seems favorable that someone could- with some effort/adapters- hook up an ancient Atari 2600 or Amiga 500 to THIS monitor and use it with those too. Unlike this, there's no mention of those options at all but they are probably possible and would work. If so and someone had that want/need, this monitor may offer an extra benefit for their uses too.

 

[KPOM]

A Mac mini 2018 with Intel UHD630 graphics can output an 5K image at 60 Hz? Impressive.

It can, but my 2018 HP EliteBook with the UHD620 struggles at times with my LG UltraFine 5K.

 

[opeter]

It can, but my 2018 HP EliteBook with the UHD620 struggles at times with my LG UltraFine 5K.

Thank you, but is there a big difference in terms of speed/performance between the 620 and 630?

 

[apparatchik]

I am throughly confused on this. I don't see a need to natively connect an iOS device directly to a monitor. Isn't connecting one to a mac via a cable and using quicktime enough? What's the additional benefit in connecting it directly to a monitor?

And if I want to use an iPad as a second display I use something such as Duet.

You can use your iPhone or iPad as a home console, using a gamepad and connecting it to your TV for example, the M1 iPad Air has the graphical power of a PS4 and some games even support extended display mode.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Then I read that the new displays require Monterey which I can't use do to older software

Wut!?
For real?

The monitors won't work on macOS that's pre-Monterey?

Oh my goodness

 

[joevt]

A Mac mini 2018 with Intel UHD630 graphics can output an 5K image at 60 Hz? Impressive.

Like the LG UltraFine 5K, the Apple Studio Display will connect to the Mac mini 2018 using a dual link SST connection - which means two DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2x4 connections over Thunderbolt to achieve 5K 60Hz 10bpc RGB.

I suppose you can try booting Windows and get 5K 60Hz using 6bpc (if that's an option for Intel GPUs) from a single HBR2x4 connection - This mode is supported by the XDR. To force this mode would require a USB-C connection, or a Thunderbolt 20Gbps connection (which you can get with a non-Thunderbolt cable), or a connection to a Thunderbolt 3 host that doesn't support two displays.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...titan-ridge-add-in-card.2209947/post-28191609

For single link SST, Apple added support for 5K width in Big Sur for Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake iGPU. macOS doesn't support 6bpc though, so a lower refresh rate is required for 5K 8bpc or 10bpc.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/intel-graphics-and-5120x1440-testing-in-big-sur.2244174/

For iPads that have USB-C with Thunderbolt, if they support 5K 60Hz on the Studio display, then they'll use HBR2 with DSC to get 10bpc.
For iPads that do have Thunderbolt, I don't know if they will use the single link SST mode or the dual link SST mode.
I don't know if the Studio display supports a single link HBR3 mode for 5K 60Hz 8bpc RGB which would be useful for GPUs that don't go through Thunderbolt and don't support DSC. I believe the XDR doesn't support HBR3 for single SST mode but does support it for dual link SST mode.

It can't.

In Lightning devices, the Airplay feed is transported through USB 2.0 and then it gets converted by the adapter. This adapter converts the Airplay buffer to HDMI or VGA signal.

That's the reason why Lightning devices can't have an external dock with HDMI and USB because there's no free bandwidth on the USB 2.0 lane to drive Airplay and USB at the same time.

Maybe an HDMI to USB-C adapter could work, but like you said, it wouldn't have a USB connection to support the USB features of the display. Current HDMI to USB-C or DisplayPort adapters are limited to 4K width.

 

[Sir_Macs_A_Lot]

Have you even used an iPad Pro they are massive compared to a laptop screen

Not the 11" iPad Pro.