Apple Studio Display: An attractive 27-inch 5K display… Despite its scary price tag

Apple Studio Display (2022) – Best prices:

Many were surprised by the disappearance of the 27-inch Intel-based iMac from the Apple Store just as the company announced the new Mac Studio with its powerful M1 Max and Ultra processors. The Mac Studio is clearly meant to replace the iMac but, of course, it lacks the built-in 5K display that was a key design feature of the 27-inch iMac – and also a key factor in its popularity.

The new Studio Display is clearly intended to fill that gap. However, its high price – almost as high as that of the all-in-one iMac itself – and some initial problems meant that it did not receive the same warm reception as the Mac Studio.

Monstrous prices

Until its recent discontinuation, Apple’s 27-inch iMac retailed for a starting price of $2,599, which of course included the 5K display as well as the processor, GPU, RAM and storage. the iMac.

On the other hand, the new Studio Display only offers a 5K screen and its starting price is 1,749 euros. This price includes either a VESA mount adapter or a base stand that lets you adjust the screen’s tilt, but not its height. If you want to adjust the height of the screen, and many people do, you can either balance it on a pile of books or put your hand in your pocket again to give yourself the Apple stand. adjustable in inclination and height.

Neither mount allows for rotation, however. It is also possible to opt for a glass panel “nano-texture” reducing reflections, which costs a few hundred euros extra. Needless to say that the prices charged by Apple, which range from 1,749 euros to 2,499 euros, are not unanimous.

Design made in Apple

The Studio Display’s design clearly follows the lead of last year’s revamped 24-inch iMac M1, with the former’s 27-inch screen measuring just 18mm thick. The panel features much narrower edges than previous iMac models, reducing the overall screen size to 623mm wide, 478mm high and 168mm deep, when mounted on the stand base recliner (24.5 inches x 18.8 inches x 6.6 inches). It features sharper angles – Apple’s current design fetish – than the 27-inch iMac, but in many ways the display panel is very similar to that of the older iMac.

That’s not a bad thing, as the 5K resolution (5120 x 2880, 217.6 ppi) delivers a bright, crisp image with vivid colors and, like the iMac, it supports the DCI- P3 used in professional video editing. The image quality will certainly suit a wide range of graphics and design applications, as well as general office use, and the Mac’s Display Preferences panel has a simple drop-down menu that lets you select a variety of color presets suitable for different tasks and workflows.

The Studio Display is also brighter than the iMac (600 nits instead of 500), but it doesn’t support HDR or the 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate of the latest iPhone and iPad models. , and therefore isn’t quite the cutting-edge screen that Apple seems to consider it to be. Ironically, the Studio Display is redeemed by the extra features that complement the display itself. The display has a Thunderbolt 3 port on the back, which is used to connect it to a host Mac, and which can also charge a laptop at 96W if needed.

A well-stocked connection

The Studio Display also has three USB-C ports for connecting peripherals and accessories, which is certainly handy, although similar USB hubs are common on many modern monitors. Curiously, we found that the Studio Display did not work with a Thunderbolt 3-equipped Windows PC when using the Apple-supplied Thunderbolt cable. However, a third-party Thunderbolt 4 cable seems to work without issue.

Despite its compact design, the Studio Display manages to pack in a six-speaker, four-woofer, and two-tweeter system, which delivers impressive sound quality – and very respectable bass – given the limited space available inside. of the thin screen panel.

Apple Studio Display (2022) – Best prices:

With a view to the “new normal” and hybrid working, the Studio Display also houses a 12MP webcam and three microphones for video conferencing. Controlled by Apple’s A13 Bionic processor (the same chipset used in the entry-level iPad), these elements offer functions such as the Center Stage function, which allows the camera to pan automatically so that you always stay in the center of the image. This is useful if you need to move around during a video call, for example to give a presentation. The A13 Bionic also controls the beamforming microphones, allowing them to follow you as you move and reducing background noise.

Persistent faults

Note, however, that these features will only work with Macs running MacOS Monterey 12.3 or later, or iPads running iPadOS 15.4 or later, and will not work with a Windows PC you connect to the Studio Display.

Webcam image quality issues have been reported, prompting Apple to promise a software update to fix the issue. To be fair, the Studio Display’s webcam was noticeably brighter and crisper than my old MacBook Air’s 720p webcam, despite some noticeable graininess that seemed to overlap the image, which clearly needs fixing.

Using the webcam for video calls also highlighted the fact that the standard Studio Display doesn’t allow the screen to be adjusted in height (or rotated, for that matter), which has proved awkward when trying to adjust viewing angles. As noted above, a stand that allows 105mm of height adjustment will cost you a few hundred dollars more.

The Studio Display is an attractive external monitor for use with a desktop or laptop Mac, complete with additional video conferencing-oriented features and an impressive six-speaker system. It’s significantly cheaper than Apple’s 6K Pro Display XDR, which starts at $4,999, and is clearly aimed at current iMac users and people who work from home, rather than high-end (and still, for now, Intel-based) Mac Pro users. However, the Studio Display still seems overpriced, even compared to Apple’s iMac, let alone competing displays sold by other manufacturers at far more affordable prices.

Source: ZDNet.com