Studio Display vs Old (2013ish) 27" Thunderbolt Display

[jondrew]

So after years of service I decided to replace my old (2013) 27" iMac. I went with the Mac Studio base model and so far I'm quite happy. But I wanted a new kick-butt monitor to go with this new computer. I looked at a few alternatives I saw in various reviews, but decided on the Mac Studio Display. I set everything up and it looked great. Wonderful display, although I've not had time to really do much with it yet. I also had my old 27" Thunderbolt monitor from my iMac. I bought the $50 adapter and plugged it in as a second monitor for my new set up. All I can say is wow, Im having a really rough time telling which monitor is better. Other than the larger bezel of the old beast, it seems just as sharp, just as bright and just as great colors as my new Studio display. We had 2 iMacs from back then and I still have the second thunderbolt monitor from that set up. I am seriously considering taking the new Studio back and just using these old thunderbolt displays. Someone convince me what I'm missing. I'm sure I don't have the most discerning eye, but these are so close in detail, sharpness and color, I'd be hard pressed to say which was which in a blind test where the bezels are covered up.

 

[tstafford]

The 27" Retina iMac displays were (are) incredible. My wife won't let go of her 2015 - I've tried to get her to upgrade to Apple Silicon (nope).

The ASD should get brighter and have better sound.

 

[royas]

Where you should see the most difference with the Studio display is with the fonts, I think. They are supposed to be way sharper compared to the Thunderbolt Display.

 

[chrfr]

So after years of service I decided to replace my old (2013) 27" iMac. I went with the Mac Studio base model and so far I'm quite happy. But I wanted a new kick-butt monitor to go with this new computer. I looked at a few alternatives I saw in various reviews, but decided on the Mac Studio Display. I set everything up and it looked great. Wonderful display, although I've not had time to really do much with it yet. I also had my old 27" Thunderbolt monitor from my iMac. I bought the $50 adapter and plugged it in as a second monitor for my new set up. All I can say is wow, Im having a really rough time telling which monitor is better. Other than the larger bezel of the old beast, it seems just as sharp, just as bright and just as great colors as my new Studio display. We had 2 iMacs from back then and I still have the second thunderbolt monitor from that set up. I am seriously considering taking the new Studio back and just using these old thunderbolt displays. Someone convince me what I'm missing. I'm sure I don't have the most discerning eye, but these are so close in detail, sharpness and color, I'd be hard pressed to say which was which in a blind test where the bezels are covered up.

The Thunderbolt Display is definitely not as sharp– it's 2560x1440 pixels where the Studio Display is 5120x2880px. I find the difference to be immediately obvious, but if you don't see it on yours then it seems like the display improvements aren't worth it to you.

 

[xraydoc]

The difference in text sharpness should be massive. If it’s not, please verify your display settings are correct (high-DPI mode).