The Apple Studio Display is hard to justify

The Apple Studio Display: A Great Option Overlooked by Apple

Considering the precedent set by its predecessors, those had great cable management, those had a user-friendly way to swap the stand for a VESA mount. So, considering that the price has gone up, well, then so would the expectation and scrutiny if this 5K monitor came out in black with the cylindrical MacPro in 2013 for $1,600, our collective heads would've exploded with glee, but unfortunately, the technology to transmit this amount of pixels didn't exist yet. If in 2016 this monitor had come out in Space Gray alongside the TouchBar MacBook Pro instead of the LG UltraFine at $1,600, we would have all loved and praised it, but it's 2022 and we've already had five years of a $1,300 LG UltraFine display and 6+ years of the $1,800 5K iMac. This is old display technology, and some fancier speakers, and Center Stage camera isn't going to make up for that, or the poorly-placed mounting point and Thunderbolt input.

So, what have other monitor makers been doing in the meantime? Well, I'll show you one of my favorites after a word from this video sponsor, Squarespace. These days if you're running a business, you need a website, and by the way, I hate making websites, CSS, HTML, ugh. So, Squarespace is an all-in-one platform for building your business' online presence, it's quite appealing. You can monetize member areas, market with email campaigns, and SEO tools, and track insights and analytics. Squarespace is so good we use it here at Linus Media Group for our webpages. So, head to squarespace.com/macaddress and get 10% off today.

My favorite monitor available at the moment is this - The Huawei MateView. This is a screen that is unlike any other screen you can buy. It has a 3:2 aspect ratio, it has truly next-level industrial design that's just as height adjustable as the expensive stand option from Apple, while being just as attractive. Many people here actually mistook it for the Apple Studio Display. It's more color accurate, and almost as bright as the Studio Display while costing less than half the price. As far as value is concerned, this is a truly great monitor, but there are flaws here too. Unlike Apple, while we put no effort in the garnish, the speaker sounds like it came from a 2005 laptop. The built-in microphone is awful too, though there's no webcam anyway. The matte display finish shows way more glare than Apple's glossy screens, but perhaps the biggest flaw is the placement of the USB-C input, it's right here on the side of the stand.

That means it's always visible, contributing to the cable clutter, and if you wanna be able to use these built-in USB-A ports, which is handy, you have to use this plug. Oh, and the last issue is that for geopolitical reasons, it's not available in the US. My fellow Canadians, it's about $900 here, which is sweet.

Apple's external displays have always been quite expensive, but we accepted that for cohesive industrial design, great build quality, and advanced technology. But as the display technology got older, the prices at least became more manageable. The glorious 30-inch Cinema display launched at $3,500 but was only $1,700 when it was discontinued six years later. The last Thunderbolt display, which was great, by the way, was priced at $1,000. I think the Apple Studio Display costs too much; it should be $1,300 tops, especially when you consider that before, you could get an iMac with this panel for $1,800, with a whole computer for only $200 more than this monitor costs.

Apple's hardware engineering has been on a righteous role these past few years, amazing us with fast, efficient chips we never thought possible. This has been great for their computers, but what's happened with the Studio Display is that that philosophy has been applied here too, at the detriment to everything else. This is an electrically engineered product as opposed to a holistically designed product, and that really is too bad.

Thanks for displaying this Mac Address. If you like my alternative pick for the Studio Display, give this video a like, and if you just wanna get the Studio Display yourself, well, you might as well subscribe. Now, I'm curious, in the comments, how important are displays to you? I think they are a monument of computing on your desk so they should look and be nice, do you agree?

In recent years, Apple's external displays have consistently offered high-end features like Thunderbolt connectivity, HDMI, and USB-C ports. However, it seems that the company prioritized design over functionality in its latest offering. The Studio Display boasts an impressive 5K resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, making it suitable for professionals and gamers alike.

The display's 3:2 aspect ratio is also noteworthy, as most modern monitors have adopted the more common 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios. However, some industries like video production and film editing may benefit from this unique aspect ratio.

One of the most significant drawbacks to the Studio Display is its speaker system. While Apple has made efforts to improve audio quality in recent years, the speakers on the Studio Display are still mediocre compared to other monitors on the market.

Another notable feature is the display's matte finish, which reduces glare and reflections. This makes it an excellent choice for users who work in bright environments or have sensitivity to light.

However, some users may find the USB-C port placement to be a nuisance, as it can make cable management more difficult.

In conclusion, while the Apple Studio Display is an impressive piece of hardware, its high price point and lack of significant innovation hold it back from being the best monitor on the market. If you're in the market for a high-end display, there are other options that may better suit your needs.

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In conclusion, while Apple has set the bar high for display technology, the Studio Display falls short of expectations in several areas. The Huawei MateView offers a more affordable alternative that still boasts impressive features and performance.

The best display for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. If you're looking for a high-end display with top-notch performance, I recommend considering the following options:

* LG UltraFine 5K Display: Offers excellent color accuracy and a sleek design.

* BenQ PD2700U: Boasts impressive gaming features and a comfortable viewing experience.

* Dell UltraSharp U2720Q: Features a unique 4K resolution with a high refresh rate.

Ultimately, the best display is one that meets your specific needs and budget. Be sure to research and compare different options before making a purchase.

In conclusion, while Apple's external displays have consistently offered high-end features, the Studio Display falls short of expectations in several areas. The Huawei MateView offers a more affordable alternative that still boasts impressive features and performance.

The best display for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. If you're looking for a high-end display with top-notch performance, I recommend considering the following options:

* LG UltraFine 5K Display: Offers excellent color accuracy and a sleek design.

* BenQ PD2700U: Boasts impressive gaming features and a comfortable viewing experience.

* Dell UltraSharp U2720Q: Features a unique 4K resolution with a high refresh rate.

Ultimately, the best display is one that meets your specific needs and budget. Be sure to research and compare different options before making a purchase.

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Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(calm drum music)- The Apple Studio Display brings outlots of emotions for people.It's either the screenwe've all been waiting for,or the biggestdisappointment in technologyin the past decade.- The Studio Display,the Apple Studio Display- Biggest disappointmentof the last 10 years.- Yeah.(test screen beeps)But like many deviceswe've seen come from Appleover the past many years,the story is a little deeperand more annoying,because those buggers in the glass circleare masters of getting you to pay morethan you otherwise would want to,and damn it, you're gonna like itbecause it's the best monitor there is.Right.So the expectation is thatthis monitor is perfectbut it's not, and that's the tension.So I'm gonna show you mynitpicks about the Studio Displayand a very suitable alternative-(air whooshes)Not from Apple.Looks like the cable's already attached.Oh right, and then there's that.(calm music fades)(dull music)Allow me to at least brieflyexplain why everyone is so mad.Apple has a pretty longin-storied history of making very nice,quite expensive monitorsfor their desktops.There's the Portrait Macintosh Displayfrom the late 80',and then thelarger-than-you-ever-thought-possibleApple Cinema Displays through the odds,all the way to the Pro Display XDR.32 inches, 6K resolution,mini LED contrast ratio,HDR brightness, its $5,000+price tag was defensible,but still quite dear.Everyone else who wantedan Apple display had toeither get the 5K displaybuilt into the iMacor settle at the Apple Store checkoutfor a $1,300 LG 5K UltraFine display.And the display-shapedhole in the Apple lineupfelt like a major oversight.I already lamented about this last fallwhen I pitched some admittedlystrange alternativeswhich I will stilldefend, but don't worry,because Apple have finallygiven us their answer.The $1,600 Apple Studio Display.(paper thuds)On paper it's what I've been asking for,a new Thunderbolt displaywith the lauded 5K resolutionin a well-built, attractive enclosure.It's certainly much more attractivethan the old LG 5K UltraFine display,which LG still sellsthough no longer through the Apple Store.Despite the new Studio Displaybeing an all-new product from Apple,it essentially uses the same LG panelthat is found in theUltraFine and the iMac,though in here it'sabout 100 nits brighter.That, paired with theanti-reflective coatingthat Apple puts on their glossy screensmeans that you can placeit opposite a windowand never notice.It also means that nano-textureis really not worth itunless you absolutely know you need it.The 200+ pixels per inch look nice, crisp,and is perfect for MacOS, but accuracy,Eh, I still have to figurethat out in another video.So subscribe if you wanna find outhow to calibrate an Apple monitor,even if it turns out tobe perfectly accurate,that should be a given at this price,and not really enough to justifythe $300 price increase alone.So what else is there?(intense drum music)The new Studio Display hasall the latest technologiesfitted within a very thin package.There are the bestspeakers you'll ever hearbuilt into a monitor.They're good enoughthat I don't think you'llneed to buy another pair.Next, the webcam gets Center Stage,which is probably the best place for it.This is the webcam and microphoneof the Apple Studio Display,there is lots of commotiongoing on behind me,as you can see, and the CenterStage camera is pretty nifty.When I tested it in a Zoom callI found that it works as goodor better than any of theother webcams I tried,and that's with harsh window light.Others have not found thewebcams as compelling,and their screenshots doshow some stark differences.There's room for improvement, for sure,but after some Zoom compressionit's not really that bad.Same goes for the microphone,all of these fancy newfeatures are enabledby an A13-powered logic board running iOS,and if that goes wrong, youcan only reboot the monitorby pulling the power cord,as there's no off button.(fast drum music stops)And that's my thing about this monitor.Apple might think they put lotsof thought into the featuresbut when you start zoomingin on the design details,you'll find that they'vereceived little attention.It's not actually all thatinnovative where it matters.(emotional guitar music)The fact they were able tofit the power supply they didbehind this panel is mightyimpressive, it's nice too,as you don't have to dealwith the giant powerbrick dangling somewhere,but that convenience is compromisedby the fact that Apple attacheda not-for-you-to-removecable to power the display.This was a problem they already fixedwith the LED Cinema displaybut somehow we've regressedback to this hassle.(calm uplifting music)Here's a free idea,what about powering the monitorthrough Thunderbolt from the Mac Studio?The USB-C standard supports enoughto power a display like this,so could you imaginea single-port solutionlike the old ADC connector?And then, for laptop users,Apple could flip the script,offering an externalpower supply with ethernetlike the iMac,and then make the StudioDisplay the perfect hub.Speaking of hubs, while the USB hubon the back of the display nowsupports up to 10-gig speeds,the Thunderbolt input is incompletely the wrong spot.Why is it over here (wheezes)with the downstream ports?It should be tucked in behindthe stand with the power cord.Everything going into themonitor should go through here.(calm uplifting music)(scoffs) Look how much betterthis immediately looks. (scoffs)The included Thunderbolt cableis also annoyingly short,that means you can'treally put the Mac Studioor a MacBook on the leftside of your screen,and if you have two screens,you're gonna have to put the computerin the center between them,and if you want three screensyou're gonna need to buy a longer cablewhich Apple will sell to you for $130.(calm uplifting music fades)Then there's the whole stand situation.Apple's hardware designersmoved the mounting pointfor their modern monitor standsfrom here, in the center,down to here on the new iMac,and now this.The benefit is a smallerfootprint on your desk,that's great if you'reusing a yellow iMac at homebut it's not great if youneed more flexibility.The standard stand is a little lowfor a tall person like me.So Apple offers aheight-adjustable stand optionwhich uses the same nifty hinge designas found in the $1,000 Pro Display stand.And on here it's $400, whichis a little dear when you notethat the stand doesn't support rotation.Even more annoying is that,thanks to all that A13 power on board,the monitor does in factsupport auto rotation,which is awesome, butfor that you have to optfor the VESA mount.Generally I wish that VESAmounts and arms would look betterfrom behind, here though Appleisn't really helping things.Again, because of the mount placement,Apple had to createthis stretched H patternto move the mount point to the center,but that means now theApple logo gets blocked,a charitable way of putting it isthat it's peeking abovethe plate, how cute.Oh right, and I almostforgot the worst part.You have to choose what stand you wantat the time of purchase,because unlike previous Apple displays,this one has a non-user removable stand.Murmurs exist that youcan take the monitorto the Apple Store andhave them swap the stand,but I called, and at thetime of writing, you can't.(inquisitive music)Look, all I'm doing isholding the Studio Displayup to the precedent'sset by its predecessors.Those had great cable management,those had a user-friendlyway to swap the standfor a VESA mount.So considering that the price has gone up,well, then so would theexpectation and scrutiny.If this 5K monitor came out in blackwith the cylindrical MacPro in 2013 for $1,600,our collective headswould've exploded with glee,but unfortunately the technologyto transmit this amount ofpixels didn't exist yet.If in 2016 this monitor had come outin Space Gray alongsidethe TouchBar MacBook Proinstead of the LG UltraFine at $1,600,we would have all loved and praised it,but it's 2022 and we'vealready had five yearsof a $1,300 LG UltraFine displayand 6+ years of the $1,800 5K iMac.This is old display technology,and some fancier speakers,and Center Stage camera isn'tgoing to make up for that,or the poorly-placed mountingpoint and Thunderbolt input.So what have othermonitor makers been doingin the meantime?Well, I'll show you one of my favoritesafter a word from thisvideo sponsor, Squarespace.These days if you're running abusiness, you need a website,and by the way, I hate makingwebsites, CSS, HTML, ugh.So Squarespace is a all-in-one platformfor building yourbusiness' online presence,is quite appealing.You can monetize member areas,market with email campaignsand SEO tools, and trackinsights and analytics.Squarespace is so good we useit here at Linus Media Groupfor our webpages.So head to squarespace.com/macaddressand get 10% off today.(psychedelic music)My favorite monitor availableat the moment is this-(psychedelic music)The Huawei MateView.This is a screen that isunlike any other screenyou can buy.It has a 3:2 aspect ratio,it has truly next-level industrial designthat's just as height adjustableas the expensive stand option from Apple,while being just as attractive.Many people here actually mistook itfor the Apple Studio Display.It's more color accurate,and almost as brightas the Studio Displaywhile costing less than half the price.as far as value is concerned,this is a truly great monitor,but there are flaws here too.Unlike Apple, while we putno effort in the garnish,the speaker sounds like itcame from a 2005 laptop.The built-in microphone is awful too,though there's no webcam anyway.The matte display finishshows way more glarethan Apple's glossy screens,but perhaps the biggestflaw is the placementof the USB-C input,it's right here on the side of the stand.(sighs) Why?That means it's always visible,contributing to the cable clutter,and if you wanna be able to usethese built-in USB-Aports, which is handy,you have to use this plug.(calm music)Oh, and the last issue isthat, for geopolitical reasons,it's not available in the US.My fellow Canadians, it's about$900 here, which is sweet.(calm music fades)(gentle guitar music)Apple's external displays havealways been quite expensive,but we accepted that forcohesive industrial design,great build quality,and advanced technology.But as the display technology got olderthe prices at leastbecame more manageable.The glorious 30-inch Cinemadisplay launched at $3,500but was only 1,700 when it wasdiscontinued six years later.The last Thunderbolt display,which was great, by the way,was priced at $1,000.I think the Apple StudioDisplay costs too much,it should be 1,300, tops,especially when you considerthat before, you could getan iMac with this panelfor $1,800, with a wholecomputer for only $200 morethan this monitor costs.Apple's hardware engineeringhas been on a righteous rolethese past few years,amazing us with fast, efficient chipswe never thought possible.This has been great for theircomputers, but what's happenedwith the Studio Display isthat that philosophy hasbeen applied here too,at the detriment to everything else.This is an electrically engineered productas opposed to a holisticallydesigned product,and that really is too bad.(calm music)Thanks for displaying this Mac Address.If you like my alternativepick for the Studio Display,give this video a like,and if you just wanna getthe Studio Display yourself,well, you might as well subscribe.Now, I'm curious, in the comments,how important are displays to you?I think they are a monumentof computing on your deskso they should look andbe nice, do you agree?(calm music)\n"