Apples release strategy in the past few years has been confusing and occasionally infuriating.
At one point, the tech giant went on an aggressive campaign to grab hold of the professional market.
In doing so, it left its core enthusiasts behind.
Photo: Phillip Tracy/Gizmodo
The company flexed its muscles with ultra-premium but prohibitively expensive products like the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR.
Dropping down to the next best thing meant making major sacrifices.
How quickly things can change.
Photo: Phillip Tracy/Gizmodo
As such, it is the first sub-$5K monitor Apple has sold in years.
I do have some complaints, the high sticker price being chief one of them.
This is also a standard LCD panel so the picture quality ceiling is below that of more advanced panels.
It connects to the center of the monitor at a spherical hinge.
Flanking the display are relatively narrow bezels that leave enough space for a 12MP webcam.
The Studio Display inexplicably lacks height adjustment.
For that, you oughta pay an extra $400 for a completely different stand.
To make matters worse, the stand options arent interchangeable, meaning what you buy is what you get.
The Studio Display is plug-and-play.
Photo: Phillip Tracy/Gizmodo
And everything is already put together, no assembly is required.
There arent even any buttons.
The Studio Display runs entirely on software.
It senses when you plug the USB-C into a Mac or PC and powers up automatically.
It slid around as I inserted or disconnected cables from the rear I/O.
The three ports without the Lightning icon are standard USB-C inputs capable of 10Gb/s transfer speeds.
Photo: Phillip Tracy/Gizmodo
Thats it, though.
Video output can only be achieved through USB-C, not HDMI or DisplayPort.
And besides those USB-Cs, the monitor doesnt augment the ports on your desktop or laptop.
Text appears sharp, graphics and icons pop with rich colors, and the screen is plenty bright.
You might think, well, this is only 600 nits compared to the 1,600-nit XDR Display.
Its just really pleasant to look at.
I also wouldnt use the Studio Display as a gaming monitor considering the measly 60Hz refresh rate.
The default Apple Display covers the P3 color gamut and allows for a full 600 nits of brightness.
This mode is best for home and office use, your typical day-to-day operations.
There is an Internet and Web mode that uses sRGB and is fixed at 64 lux.
you might learn about the other modes here.
The sound quality is better than anything Ive ever heard out of a monitor.
Listening to Tim Atlass Tangerine, I was immediately struck by how deep the bass notes reached.
Its…not great.
It adds Siri to Apples desktops, which lack a voice assistant.
Should you buy the Studio Display?
Ive thoroughly enjoyed using the Studio Display over the past week or so.
Does it justify the price?
Heres the thing, though: the Studio Display doesnt have much competition.
If you could stretch the budget, the Studio Display is the better choice.
If you arent a creative pro who works with high-res assets, Id suggest looking at 4K monitors.
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