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who's getting that apple pro display XDR?
- Thread starter gdeusthewhizkid
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I'd love one, but it is overkill. The display is $5,000 (or $6,000 if you want it with the stand, which is probably how most of us work) - they could cut that price in half and I'd still say that it's not worth it. The 27" 5K monitors are already arguably a superfluous step up from 4K monitors, and I say that as someone who is currently using two 27" 5K displays but also had a setup with 4K.
For the money they're asking for, I'd rather upgrade my Mac - it would give me a bigger boost than working with this monitor. If you're coming from nothing, get the LG Ultrafine 5K instead and be happy - heck, get two and knock yourself out, it'd still be cheaper than the XDR. Apple made something really special with this monitor but it's clearly targeted at professionals who can really make use of those features, and the pricing shows that.
For the money they're asking for, I'd rather upgrade my Mac - it would give me a bigger boost than working with this monitor. If you're coming from nothing, get the LG Ultrafine 5K instead and be happy - heck, get two and knock yourself out, it'd still be cheaper than the XDR. Apple made something really special with this monitor but it's clearly targeted at professionals who can really make use of those features, and the pricing shows that.
I am on the fence. It really ticks all of the boxes I have been looking for. But unfortunately it ticks other (expensive) boxes that I was not looking for. What I really want to know is if Apple is the sole buyer for the panel or if we might see it in another monitor with a less exotic lighting system behind it. And I really hope some other company is designing a less expensive stand for it.
I think your waiting until Christmas Time to buy it is a good idea. By then there will be reviews and more information about it.
I think your waiting until Christmas Time to buy it is a good idea. By then there will be reviews and more information about it.
I am tempted, for photo/video hobbies. But I wait and see about reviews to tell:
Display, on the other hand? Perhaps. It's pricey too, but... tempting.
- Does it work with PCs and/or Macbook Pros? E.g. can I run that from my work MacBook Pro without Mac Pro. Or does it work with a Linux workstation?
- How does one calibrate that thing? Sure, it's factory calibrated, but as we all know, displays drift over time.
- EDIT: Does it work with extenders somehow so that the computer can be kept far away?
Display, on the other hand? Perhaps. It's pricey too, but... tempting.
Who in their right mind would pay $1000 for an aluminum stand? The ultimate dongle...
Is the power cord included?
Is the power cord included?
I was prepared to pay $1000-1500 for a Thunderbolt-display-like 27"/5K. XDR is a nice piece of hardware, but the semi-pro market needs some love too. I can't really tell if the whole new Mac Pro will be much of a success. Mac Pro + Thunderbolt Display used to be quite affordable setup if you compare it to that upcoming Mac Pro + XDR monitor.
It is but it won't be as good as this one:
https://www.futureshop.co.uk/tellurium-q-statement-uk-mains-power-cable
Agreed, I'm not sure if Apple realize what they've done. They probably had a nice, dedicated professional base that would have paid prices like these, but then Apple began to overhaul and cut some professional-grade software, while also allowing their professional-level Macs to languish without updates. I'd imagine that they lost a number of professional customers in that process. Having a single, large update is good, but on its own it doesn't instill confidence that they're going to be actively maintaining the line or taking the professional customers seriously.
Maybe it's just sour grapes on my end because I'd love to use such a system but am unwilling (and can't justify from a professional standpoint) to pay the current asking price, but I'd think that they need to grow their professional base back again. Offer great hardware at a price that enthusiasts can afford, and those systems will trickle into professional settings, re-establishing Apple's presence there.
But then, Apple has the data and we're just speculating.
Try the LG TVs from 2016. It's basically what Apple bought and rebadged as a "new" product anyway.
https://nofilmschool.com/2016/10/lg-oled-gives-you-reference-quality-110th-price
https://nofilmschool.com/2016/10/lg-oled-gives-you-reference-quality-110th-price
Yeah I've just bought the new refreshed LG Ultrafine to replace my Thunderbolt Display. Was waiting for Apple to release their own monitor but I don't think it's forthcoming now.
The Ultrafine 5K is pretty nice. Design is a little utilitarian but I honestly like it a lot more than I thought I would, for some reason it seems to look worse in photos. Or I've just got used to it...
Yeah, I have never seen Ultrafine 5K in person, so I believe it might look worse in photos. But it's too bad current monitor market is such a boring place. Dell discontinued 5K monitor a long time ago, Philips had a 5K monitor too (and it's kind of cool, we have one at my office)... so for me the only option left is buying an iMac. Because that Ultrafine 5K costs like $1700 here in Czech republic (36000 CZK) and the iMac 5K starts at around $2300 ($2000-2100 on sale), so the price difference is almost nothing.
I think we will stuck with 27-32/4K for a long time. Too bad that the macOS scaling doesn't work properly on those monitor sizes at 4K.
I toyed with just buying an iMac. I have a 13" MBP, Blackmagic eGPU and LG 5K and have spent quite a bit more money for the same kind of performance, but having my whole computer with me when travelling is very valuable so it's just about worth it. I agree though, there's not a lot of choice for monitors, especially for a decent one to pair with macOS. Even the new Ultrafine 4K falls short of the "retina" definition, and that is ostensibly specifically designed for Mac.
It's pretty decent, obviously it's not the best value for money when compared with an separate case and card, but the BM one seems to be the only one compatible with the LG 5K. It speeds up my FCPX renders a lot (but not exports, as that is more CPU dependent - most YouTube reviews of it I've seen bemoan the lack of difference in export times, but you can clearly see in Activity Monitor that exporting doesn't really utilise the GPU at all), and makes using the 5K display a lot smoother overall.
There are some slight annoyances, like every time you eject the eGPU the apps which were using it are quit and have to restart. Overall though, it's a good upgrade for the 13" MBP. I'm not sure how much better it is than the dGPU in the 15", however.
I've yet to use it with any games, as Steam keeps crashing a lot in Catalina.