Was the Studio Display a flop?

[tothemoonsands]

By the way, I do not get the problems have with the ASD Webcam. I checked it against two dedicated webcam/soundbar-solutions and was impressed by how easily it beat those 500—800€ peripherals not only with the only really good «center stage» functionality but also ease of use and sound quality. In the end we opted for Camo and an iPhone 13 as webcam, which offers optical zoom and better quality, but for a built-in-webcam I was surprised by how good the ASD looked and just simply worked...

From what I've seen, the main concern is with low-light performance. Even in ideal lighting situations (i.e. including the bright lights of Apple's own sales floor), there is a fair amount of grain/noise.

It's not earth-shattering bad, certainly more than adequate for intended use of remote conferencing etc., but it's also not at all exciting - Especially for a ~$2000 display that is likely to be used for 5-10 years. If the trajectory of remote work continues, in a few years I would imagine 4K webcams to be commonplace/a necessity for professional requirements.

I think the initial criticism was amplified by the fact that it's the same combo of 12 MP lens and A13 Bionic chip found in the iPhone 11, but delivered significantly poorer results. To some extent, firmware updates have made some improvements.

 

[tothemoonsands]

Cons: can't use speakers on both monitors at the same time (stereo pair)

Have you wrote to Apple (via Feedback page) regarding this yet? This seems like a huge oversight. It would be incredible to take advantage of all speakers across 2 displays - it is that type of synergy that would encourage folks to get 2 ASD instead of say 1 ASD + 1 LG Ultrafine, etc.

 

[ignatius345]

LOL. Okay.

Btw, I don't like people resorting to the idea of stop-gap for whatever seems a flop. But I found the folk a few posts above on this page an interesting read.

I love these posts where people decide some Apple product is a "flop" because they personally don't want one. Great stuff!

 

[jclardy]

I've got one, and love it. Bought it with the overpriced adjustable stand. Display is great, brightness is great, design is clean. Speakers are great. Camera is acceptable.

My two complaints:
- Stand can't be removed by the user and replaced with the vesa mount.
- No input options at all (Would love to use it with my windows machine, but it is a nightmare to find a TB4/USB4 switcher that works with windows/mac, and I'm not going to manually plug and unplug things to switch computers.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

I have the Apple Studio Display, and I mean, I'm fine with it, but I've had the very similar 27" Apple Cinema Display before, and to be honest, I would not have switched, if Apple didn't cut support for screen brightness with Monterey.

Yup. You can't adjust the brightness on the Cinema Display anymore if you have Monterey or higher. It worked fine, but Apple released this update and killed the display. Interestingly, it happened 4 months before they released the successor, the Studio Display.

It smells a lot like Apple is using gangster tactics to boost its sales, but maybe I'm wrong.

So yeah, I basically had to get the Studio Display and I found a cheap one with Apple Care for the coming years. I was very lucky. Otherwise I would have stayed with the Cinema Display, which is still one of the best displays out there.

Otherwise, the ASD is of course a very good display, I can't complain. The only thing I've noticed to beware of is that if you change its position (I'm talking about the non-height-adjustable model), it can potentially flip to the back. It happened to some dude on Youtube while he was unpacking it. The stand design is very badly made (and not as good looking as the one on the LCD on top of that), so be cautious.

 

[Hastings101]

I absolutely adore my ASD. Aside from being only 60hz, it's flawless.

I'm surprised it's 60hz, that feels so outdated now to me when 75hz seems to be popping up more and more on even cheap monitors now. I'm sure it's a gorgeous display though, I have been thinking about getting one (that framerate is a dealbreaker for me though on a big screen).

 

[JamesMay82]

This will have me giggling all day. 😆

I have one. I also have two very good iMac screens that can't be used because the innards can't be used safely on the 'net anymore. I hope this ASD is the last screen I ever buy, just change out the Mini/Studio for my remaining years.

A sad thought thinking last purchases. My parents joke now about everything.. they say this our last carpet, last tv, last car etc… it’s become a standing joke with everything they buy now 😂

 

[jammyr]

I've passed the age group of impulse buy. Hence, I see little value in ASD.

For a proper config of ASD, the price is about $2000. For the same amount of money, I could buy SIX decent 4K LG displays. That's six monitors. I could use three myself, and gift three to family members. Way more happier people including myself. Why should I be feeding the fat pay check for Apple executives? Zero.

Apple surely isn't stupid. The marketing people price in ASD owners will have a long replacement cycle. They assume you're going to keep it more than 10+ years. So you better use it to make it worth the hard (or easy) money you earned or re-sell at a reasonable price to recoup your sunk cost.

And what do you get for SIX decent 4K LG displays?

• no wobble whatsoever. LOL
• similar colour accuracy
• similar crisp text at normal viewing distance (at where crispness should be judged)
• a bit more GPU utilisation (around 5-8% if you choose to use a fractional scaled resolution); note that most of the time your GPU is idle doing very little workload.
• way more screen real estate than a tiny ASD in comparison as long as your desk can accommodate six monitors

I’ve got a 4K LG display and the Apple Studio Display. For my use the Apple Studio Display is hands down the better quality monitor. The display quality is crisp, it plays nicely with my MacBook Pro (no hunting around for the power button when you plug it in because the display doesn’t wake) and the inbuilt speakers and camera are useful. For what I want it for it’s perfect.

 

[kvic]

The only thing I've noticed to beware of is that if you change its position (I'm talking about the non-height-adjustable model), it can potentially flip to the back. It happened to some dude on Youtube while he was unpacking it. The stand design is very badly made (and not as good looking as the one on the LCD on top of that), so be cautious.

First time hearing this. I heard a lot Apple fans accusing non-Apple monitors shipped with wobble stands. True or not, almost everyone trying to defend Apple will parrot wobble stands. I don't have any issue with my "new moon" shaped LG stands which I think proven rock solid by four generations of UltraFine series models.

I would think fellows of Jony Ive would spend months if not years testing a $400 stand in their secret lab to polish it the 'perfectest' of perfect. Turns out quite the opposite. I google after you broke the news. Apparently it happens in another way to the $400 adjustable stand as well 😂

 

[iPhone1]

Have you wrote to Apple (via Feedback page) regarding this yet? This seems like a huge oversight. It would be incredible to take advantage of all speakers across 2 displays - it is that type of synergy that would encourage folks to get 2 ASD instead of say 1 ASD + 1 LG Ultrafine, etc.

It is surprising since my OG HomePod's can become a stereo pair but my monitors, which each have their own chips inside, cannot. I think its well documented so I don't think Apple will ever make it happen.

 

[ric22]

It's an iMac that has been lobotomised, yet retains the same price tag. It is not amazing for the price, by any means.

 

[mrmister]

I literally just posted a link to the thread that listed several different 5K displays.

You posted a link to a long list of pretty random ****—it would be nice if you pointed out which ones you are thinking of. I went through the list in about 3 minutes, and all the ones under $1000 are either by brands I never heard of, or aren't available, or say 'discontinued'. So I'm not sure this is the own you think it is.

Go to the list, find the ones that you think represent your argument, and come back here and let us know.

So we're gonna ignore the hardwired power cord then?

I mean, you don't have to ignore it—I don't really give a **** about it, though in theory yes, I do prefer non-hardwired power cords.

I think you're stronger on the price argument than the 'the cord is too attached' argument.

 

[mrmister]

I've had the very similar 27" Apple Cinema Display before,

Didn't the Cinema Display only come in 24 and 30?

 

[tornado99]

For people who want perfect, native scaling - this is the only option.

I wonder how many people who have an ASD actually stick to native scaling? I certainly wouldn't be happy with only 1440p equivalent space on such an expensive monitor.

I run my 4K 24" at 2240 x 1260, which is not native, and everything is pin sharp at 50-60cm viewing distance.

 

[haganah]

Here's my view. I work from home. I spend 10+ hours a day looking at this monitor with a lot of time on meetings.

1. It's great looking and aesthetics matter to me. I had 2 LG 5K's before this and just didn't love the look at all.
2. The screen is bright, colors are nice, and text is crisp so when I look for 10 hours even if it is a very tiny benefit to my eyes, it's better than nothing.
3. I use Google Meet for my video calls so whether or not the video is good or bad I don't know because of the terrible quality of Google Meet.
4. The cost was very high but I also got this at a discount so it wasn't as bad.

Ultimately, did I need it? No. Does it look nice, do a good job and potentially have a small benefit from crispness? Yes. Everyone has a different situation though.

 

[currocj]

I absolutely adore my ASD. Aside from being only 60hz, it's flawless.

Price not flawless. Gorgeous body/frame, but largely its the 2016 LG 5K Ultrafine.

I can get two ish LG 5Ks on ebay for $1200, not this for $1600, no way

 

[CalMin]

This is a troll thread, but I'll bite.

I can't defend the price, although Samsung's $1599 pricing on their 5K 27" monitor puts it into perspective. Making a high quality 5K display isn't cheap.

Everything else about the ASD has been excellent.
- Color calibration out of the box matches my MacBooks. I have tried several other monitors and can't get them to look right after extensive twiddling of settings etc.
- It just works and it ALWAYS works. No random glitches when connecting, no turning on in the middle of the night like my Dell for no reason.
- 600 nits is bright enough for my sunny room. And brighter than HDR panels I've tried.
- Black levels are excellent in normal use. Again, better than HDR panels I've tested.
- The speakers are excellent.
- The webcam is adequate enough for zoom calls with my boss. I don't want him to see the bags under my eyes anyway.
- The MacOS integration is perfect. Brightness, volume, True Tone etc. make it feel like an extension of my MacBook.
- People complain about lack of 120Hz, but Thunderbolt 4 can't push 5K @120Hz, so even if the monitor could do it, the Thunderbolt port cannot!

---

Ultimately it's not for everyone. It is expensive and if that is an issue then it's not for you. But, being expensive doesn't mean that it sucks.

I have been delighted with it. I don't know why it attracts so much negativity from people that don't own it.

 

[macpro2000]

I have 3 of them along with an XDR attached to my Studio. Of course blacks are nowhere near the XDR but for normal use, they work beautifully.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I spend all day working at home now (100% remote). Bought mine over a month ago. After dealing with $300 monitors for the last 10+ years I figured I'd splurge a little on something I spend all day on.

Very happy I did as I absolutely love it. It is a pleasure to read on, watch on, and work on. I'm at the age where I'm noticing my eyes starting to change and this monitor is a huge help (I can no longer read on my iPhone for long periods of time comfortably).

@CalMin (up 2 posts) summarizes a lot of the things I was just going to type out so +1 to that.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

First time hearing this. I heard a lot Apple fans accusing non-Apple monitors shipped with wobble stands. True or not, almost everyone trying to defend Apple will parrot wobble stands. I don't have any issue with my "new moon" shaped LG stands which I think proven rock solid by four generations of UltraFine series models.

I would think fellows of Jony Ive would spend months if not years testing a $400 stand in their secret lab to polish it the 'perfectest' of perfect. Turns out quite the opposite. I google after you broke the news. Apparently it happens in another way to the $400 adjustable stand as well 😂

That's the exact video I've seen, props to finding it 😂 And yeah, it really surprised me. I have a wall behind it, so it's less dramatic, but it could still get damaged. So now I have to think of it. I very rarely adjust it though, so I hope I won't forget …

I also tried re-producing the flip (all while holding the screen safely), and I did manage to make it lift off very easily. I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of more cases like these, lol.

Didn't the Cinema Display only come in 24 and 30?

The 30" was a completely different model, it was a big silver one.

Then came out a 24" and 27" model, which both have the same design. And it was a design leaned on the new iMacs that came around that time.

They then changed the cable to a Thunderbolt cable and renamed it Thunderbolt Display. Apart from the cable it's the same display, you can look it up, but it looks like the 24" one.

It's an iMac that has been lobotomised, yet retains the same price tag. It is not amazing for the price, by any means.

Actually, now that you say that, I wonder why I didn't straight up get an iMac for that price and use it as a screen. 🤣 I just had a look and here in Europe the cheapest iMac is around 200 € cheaper than the Studio Display. But it's only 24" though.

But it shows how it's really an option to think of. On top of that you might merge the internal drives of your both Macs to a RAID setup and get even more speed. You could merge both computers entirely and basically get the power of two machines, and all that for cheaper than just having bought the Studio Display.

I wonder how many people who have an ASD actually stick to native scaling? I certainly wouldn't be happy with only 1440p equivalent space on such an expensive monitor.

I run my 4K 24" at 2240 x 1260, which is not native, and everything is pin sharp at 50-60cm viewing distance.

What do you guys mean by "native scale"? Do you mean to increase the resolution in the settings? Because by default it's at 2560 x 1440 or something like that. If you increase it, everything else (Dock, windows, etc.) become way too small.

In another thread, someone said it's still 5K, even if set at 2560 x … . I had compared with a 4K video on youtube and couldn't tell a difference to be honest. But when you do chose lower resolution settings, you do see the difference in quality.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

I enjoy the flawless bodytracking aspect of the built-in camera, do other displays have that as well?

 

[kvic]

I’ve got a 4K LG display and the Apple Studio Display. For my use the Apple Studio Display is hands down the better quality monitor. The display quality is crisp, it plays nicely with my MacBook Pro (no hunting around for the power button when you plug it in because the display doesn’t wake) and the inbuilt speakers and camera are useful. For what I want it for it’s perfect.

My 4K LG reliably sleeps and wakes up every single time so far for the one month in my hands. The joystick is right below the 'LG' logo in the middle of the bottom edge. You only need this cognitive training once. Then you'll never forget where to find it. Just saying.

That's the exact video I've seen, props to finding it 😂 And yeah, it really surprised me. I have a wall behind it, so it's less dramatic, but it could still get damaged. So now I have to think of it. I very rarely adjust it though, so I hope I won't forget …

I also tried re-producing the flip (all while holding the screen safely), and I did manage to make it lift off very easily. I'm actually surprised we haven't heard of more cases like these, lol.

I guess we haven't heard more often about the 'flop' (pun intended) because the ownership is low. That's perhaps another indicator that Apple isn't selling many copies of ASD.

Also psychologically, people treat a piece of craft with extreme care when it's expensive. Contrary to what they claim publicly how deep pocket they're and could buy a couple of ASD at the blink of their eyes. Another factor is ASD is only a year old. Owners are still in honey moon period. All in all, they take good care when operating ASD.

The ASD stands look like a disastrous design error. Another demo of Apple's 'form over function'. I worry about owners with younger children. Accidents could happen in a serious way. Now you broke the news for me. I won't forget and will make sure the message get crossed among friends and families.

 

[Analog Kid]

I guess we haven't heard more often about the 'flop' (pun intended) because the ownership is low. That's perhaps another indicator that Apple isn't selling many copies of ASD.

Of course the more likely reason you haven‘t heard of it is because it’s not a thing but, please, continue reasoning backwards from your desired conclusion. I’ve always thought contortionists were fascinating.

 

[JustinePaula]

I love these posts where people decide some Apple product is a "flop" because they personally don't want one. Great stuff!

What is a flop? Apart from the science version of some random number of calculations per second, Apple designs, markets, sells a product that somehow is not popular, it is quickly withdrawn, we have seen this countless times...So often I wonder why did they bother..

Then I start to wonder, but what if, instead of the high selling price=high profit, which I think now is not the case, it is a high/expensive to maintain some mystic about the brand, to be exclusive.. A bit like Mercedes will never make a cheap car, it is about luxury..

However unlike Mercedes, Apple has a huge SKU range, from trackers, to software, to banking products, to end with hardware, phones, laptops and accessories..

If the product was just that little bit more affordable, or upgradeable over time, for example buy the cheapest ipad pro, then in a year save up and upgrade.. I would have done this for my 2013 macbook pro laptop, and my 2013 ipad mini 2..I am willing to invest in "Apple Tax" think of it like buying a new car, you know going in, that you will need new tyres, new exhaust, annual service, new brakes, think of this as vital upgrades...So you budget for it...

But no, you have to throw the whole car in the landfill when after 60 000km/5 years, you cannot buy new tyres.. That would really not make the car brand popular.. But that is exactly what Apple is doing... Very odd they make a huge song n dance about being eco this, but generate a ton of e-waste when because of GREED, they build a vast inventory of a product, the Studio display, refuse to lower the selling price, and instead chuck the whole lot in e-waste somewhere..

Dump them here in Africa... we would be happy to take new "old stock"...

 

[macpro2000]

But it’s great for business sense and that’s what matters in a publicly traded company.