My thoughts were the opposite. I have had the height adjustable glossy model for the past few weeks. I got the nano-texture today and decided to keep it. For my 40-something old eyes there was no appreciable difference in text quality but I noticed the reflectivity differences instantly. I’ll post a few pictures tomorrow but have already boxed up the glossy to return to FedEx tomorrow.
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Studio Display with nano-texture glass - pros and cons?
- Thread starter Arctic Moose
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I think the nano-texture is fine as long as you don't notice/mind the difference in text.
I think, part of it is mental. As soon as I notice the muddiness, I cannot unsee that even though it's obviously not noticeable all the time and everywhere on the screen. It's like some people don't mind a dead pixel or micro-scratch on their screens but some do.
I'd say tt's difficult to demonstrate the difference in pictures, especially it's really subtle.
My best advice is to go to an Apple Store and see that in person and make your own judgment.
You need to spend time in front of them. I really did not like the nano display when I saw it in the store - the text was just not crisp enough. I've been using the glossy display at home for the last few days and the reflections have not been an issue - I'm more getting used to the smaller text and brighter screens going from 27" 4K to 5K than I am to the reflections from a glossy display.
I just got mine today, set it up, and am actively using it w/ my MacBook Pro M1 Max. These are my immediate observations:
It blows my mind that more Apple Stores don't have both of these on display side-by-side. Not one Apple Store (of...4? 5?) in the Minneapolis metro had a nano-texture display. Presuming it's the same nationwide, that's going to result in a lot of returns that would have otherwise been easily avoidable.
On the flip side, I'm guessing we'll see a *lot* of nano-texture displays appearing in the Apple Refurb store in 3-6 months!
- The maximum allowed scaled resolution is 3200x1800. My Dell U2720Q allowed me to do 3360x1890, although I preferred to run it at 3200x1800 as well. When I looked at a glossy ASD in the Apple Store connected to an M1 Ultra Mac Mini, it was able to do 3360x1890 and I thought it looked great. However, the nano-texture at 3200x1800 on the other hand looks awful. Worse than my Dell U2720Q at the same resolution.
- Even at it's default 2x Retina resolution of 2560x1440, you can still "feel" the blurriness. The nano-texture is just a different kind of matte and I really really do not like it. Take that and combine it with imperfect, non-integer scaled resolutions like 3200x1800, and it's brutal on a discerning eye.
- However, the nano-texture combined with greater brightness does do an amazing job of killing reflections. Much better than my Dell U2720Q in that regard.
- Webcam is indeed noisy, although realistically it probably won't matter much at all due to the compression of most online meeting software.
- I don't know what all the hubbub was about the speakers. Are they good for a monitor? Ok sure, I'll give them that. But they still suck and have no range. Pair them with an original HomePod and then you might be onto something. Oh wait, Apple killed the HomePod? Nevermind...
It blows my mind that more Apple Stores don't have both of these on display side-by-side. Not one Apple Store (of...4? 5?) in the Minneapolis metro had a nano-texture display. Presuming it's the same nationwide, that's going to result in a lot of returns that would have otherwise been easily avoidable.
On the flip side, I'm guessing we'll see a *lot* of nano-texture displays appearing in the Apple Refurb store in 3-6 months!
Are you going to get the glossy version, or just stick with a different display?
The best way I can think of to describe the nano-texture is like when you first wake up in the morning and your eyes are semi-blurry and whatever you look at appears to have a very slight/dull halo around it. It's the same feeling, just at a much smaller scale.
But damn, it is impressive how well it reduces reflections!
But damn, it is impressive how well it reduces reflections!
At 61, my eyes can't tell the difference between the glossy screen on the MBPro 14" sitting next to the nano ASD. What my brain hates is the visual gymnastics required to see through the reflections on the glossy screen. It seems to take more eye energy (if that's a thing) to process the glossy screen for me.
At 50 my eyes are probably the same but don’t want to have to jump through hoops to clean the thing. I want to be able to spray and wipe and done.
If you are in the US, you can order an ASD Standard Glass VESA Mount from Best Buy but it has to be ordered in person at your local store. While online still says "Coming Soon", you can order it at the store for store pickup only. I ordered a pair last Saturday, April 9th with store pickup for Wednesday April 20th.
Same here.
That's exactly it, un-noticing the reflection is really computationally expensive.
I have it set up now, and I am still on the fence. Most of the time I don't notice the reflection, but every now and then I do, and when it happens it is really distracting.
The lack of newer display tech is a more significant factor than I expected it to be. Scrolling is really jerky. I thought I was imagining things so I set the 14" up next to it and moved a browser window between them. On the 14" I can fairly comfortably read while scrolling, not so on the Studio Display.
Also, the webcam is absolutely atrocious, I think I got a better image out of my Ericsson phone in 2002.
I think I am going to keep it simply because wake and sleep works as expected, but I am really not happy about how overpriced this thing is.
I am considering canceling the order for a second one, but the mismatch in height with the Z27 on my VESA arm isn’t working, and even if I did do what I need to do to sort that out having two different monitors would still be jarring.
Having these next to each other also really highlights how thick the bezels are, which is fine, except for side-by-side extended desktop.
However, I guess that is the price of uniform-thickness bezels, now that I have the Studio Display I cannot stop looking at the chin on the Z27 in disgust. ?
Edit: I just caved and added an order for nano-texture. The standard one is estimated for delivery the 23rd of May and the nano-texture the 8th of June. I really hope I can find a nano-texture version to look at before I need to decide which to cancel. I also really, really hope the rumors of a Studio Display Pro are false!
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Seems wrong to buy two displays you don‘t really like for that kind of money and then hope nothing better is introduced soon. Especially as WWDC is just around the corner and it is quite likely that new or updated displays could be launched alongside the new Mac Pro.
That does make sense. However, there is no other monitor currently available that I would rather have, including the XDR, and I really wonder if a Studio Display Pro would be the exact same form factor as the Studio Display. (My footprint limit is about 27", I need two monitors for the flexibility, and bigger just isn't very practical.)
I really hope a software update can fix the webcam, although I'll have to accept it will always be worse than the Canon 5D I am currently using.
Would I pay another $1000 per monitor for smoother scrolling and darker blacks, which are the two factors I care about? Maybe, but probably not.
If I cancel the standard glass order I'll be able to watch the keynote before the estimated ship date of the nano-texture. That's what I am currently thinking.
Update: After a few more days with lots of indirect sunlight I have concluded that I am definitely actively bothered by the reflections, and also that I feel a lot more fatigued than normal spending many hours looking at it. I also have the brightness cranked up to max all the time to alleviate the glare. I cancelled the standard glass order, and have kept the nano-texture, which hopefully won't ship until after WWDC.
I am also thinking about to have nano-texture or normal glass. It is easy for me to have fingerprint or dirt on the screen so I need to clean the screen almost evey week. Would it be a concern for me to go for nano-texture if I plan to use the display for long time say 4-5 years?
I will say that two weeks in with the standard glass and I’m still not sure. The ASD is definitely harder on the eyes after a day of staring at it than the Dell 4K display it replaced but I’m not sure if it’s the glare, the brightness, or just that the UX is 25% smaller than on a 4K. I got the Best Buy Totaltech so I have 60 days with these to figure it out.
I have zero eyes strain with my ASDs standard glass even that I’m in front of them close to 12 hours a day, some days even more. What have helped me with that is having a BenQ ScreenBar Halo on top of my ASDs. It’s incredible how those lamps help with eye strain.
Is it possible to work on your routine to not touch the display to reduce fingerprints at least? I have a friend that has the XDR display with nano-texture, and he does not pay special attention to the surface, he cleans it as he pleases, even sprays it with screen cleaner... he uses the apple cloth only thought.
It could be a combination of the factors, try to eliminate one by one. Increase the scaling, reduce the brightness... for the
I personally could not stand the mirror effect of the ASD when I saw it in person. I also hated my iMac 5K with the glossy screen, and I sold it.
Edit: It is not glare, it is reflection... since you got the standard glass, right?
I wish my apple store had a nano texture model because I’m very curious about which I prefer. Best buy doesn’t have one either. Feel like I gotta be safe and go with the standard but I’ve never had a glossy screen monitor before.
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Does your local store have the standard glass? If yes, then spend some 30 minutes in front of it and see you will hate that you see yourself and the surroundings behind you. Make sure to change the appearance from light to dark, because in dark theme you will see more reflections.
I honestly couldn’t see a single reflection when looking at it head on, which makes me think it’s more of a lighting problem with the store. I’m more concerned about the nano texture making the picture look blurry as I’ve seen many people say.
Can someone here tell me about the actual cleaning experiences with the nano-texture display? I know you are only supposed to use Apple's own cleaning cloth but I'm sure sometimes your display could get dirt that you can't just dry wipe off? So how easy it is to keep it clean from let's say droplets of spit and other stuff that could accidentally land on the display?
I own a 27" iMac nano texture and I don't follow the Apple recommandations. I just clean it with coton clothe or micro fiber clothe + windows spray since about 5 months and everything is OK. I'd say the maintenance is easier than MBP or MBA glossy displays in which I have to use the Apple clothe to eliminate all the smudges (very efficient for that).
Very easy to keep clean contrary to many posts. Very lightly dampened micro fibre cloth for spotting, dry micro fibre for dusting. Water is all you need and no risk of damage if not used in excess. The included Apple cloth is very nice but unnecessary. In a month of use my nano Studio Display has been far easier to keep clean than my older Thunderbolt monitor. The more I use it the more I realize what a pain the glossy displays are.