Apple Studio Display 3 Months Later: The Best Mac Display?

The Apple Studio Display is the best display for Mac after a long term review, BUT why is that a bad thing?

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0:00 What this display is NOT
1:50 What's not great
4:50 What's great
10:30 The best display?

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[rudedog]

I ordered one on day one. Was worried about all the negative reviews. Then I remembered why I bought it. As you said, it just works. It will work for many years to come. I have this paired with my Cinema Display non-thunderbolt. That display still works great and the Studio Display will work for a decade. You get what you pay for. Quality.

[vikram.SumerSingh]

I agree, for me the biggest surprise was how the scaling works so well. everything is so clear.

[brandonedling]

After watching several of your videos over the past few months, I wanted to let you know I appreciate your approach. Between you, MKBHD and Rene Ritchie, I feel like I get accurate information delivered in a professional, fun, drama-free way. Thanks so much for doing what you're doing. Keep up the good work!

[Reformd]

Great review! Many tech YouTubers critique products for not being what they want them to be rather than analyzing what the product is, the market it serves, and whether or not the product sufficiently and successfully fills the need for its place in the market. Even though the Studio Display isn’t for me, I can appreciate why Apple made it and the market it serves.

[ratiomal]

those background frames looks amazing, how to get it?

[simpromovie]

The only thing that is "wrong" with this display is the A13 chip inside. They should put an M2 inside and call this thing the new 27" iMac. Than the price (even if it's a bit higher) is also totally justified...

[johnsanfelipe]

I was able to finally pick up this monitor for $1299...WOW, totally worth the purchase as it works intuitively with the MBP M3 Max 16.

[stevenaziz]

I think the Studio Display is amazing. Its features easily outweigh all of its shortcomings. I’ve never been as satisfied as I am now with my Studio Display with any Mac accessory I’ve ever purchased. It’s simply the best by a very very very long shot.

[leokimvideo]

Update, My Studio Display blew up yesterday, belching smoke for 6 minutes before a final loud bang. Only lasted 18 months, very scary failure and I did get it on video. Posted pictures of the failure on my community tab and what to look out for before this failure. I can't post a video because I now have no display

[Piketom]

I have had mine for just about as long and have been using it with my 14” MacBook pro. It truly is the best display to pair with that computer and is amazing for working from home. I found that the riser Apple Sells for the iMac works well for the studio display. The reason I did not get the height adjustable stand is that the riser cost a fraction of the cost of the height adjust option.

[rizwanmuhammad]

How does the display quality compare to your 2020 iMac display. Side by side since you have both.

[Technocrat.]

I love my 2020 iMac 27" 5700xt, 5K display. Speakers are more muffled, so i use the same external Logitec speakers i've had for 10 years. Display is similar to Studio display.

[Munkin]

I would say the months-long lead time issue you raise at 4:30 has been resolved. Ordered the same one you have two days ago and it arrived at my door 20 hours later.

[movdqa]

I bought a 2014 iMac 5k last year for $500 and use it as a computer but I can also use it as a monitor for another Mac and plan to try it one of these days. It's another option to get a 5k monitor off a Mac on the cheap. I'm currently using a 2010 iMac 27 as a third monitor for an M1 Mac mini using a piece of open source software and it works really well. One other nice thing about using an old iMac as a display is that it can also be used as a monitor for Windows systems.

[markslima]

i'm rocking a 2011 27" cinema display hd with my macbook air m2, and it is still fantastic. sure it is a little bulky with thick bezels, but the build quality and design still solidly holds up today. if the new studio display came out in 2018, for $1000, i would jump on it. but as is, i have no reason to hold onto my 2011 apple display until they give us a more next-gen HDR screen with a better camera. it's a nice display, but i would probably use continuity cam for video calls. a near miss for me, especially at $1600, but still a very tempting dispaly

[ghrvofb]

Why do monitor manufacturers put vent holes on top of a screen and not the sides or better, underneath? Dust will most definitely accumulate. I always appreciated my mid-2011 iMac screen that had a smooth top. I wiped off dust from there all the time and I was so glad it wasn't in my machine. Do you know if it safe to vacuum the top of your monitor when it is off?

[heymiker]

I'm thinking about switching to Apple from PC/Android so this may sound like a stupid question but....

With this setup of a Mac mini and studio display, are you able to FaceTime with other iPhone/Mac users?

[ModeratelyInsane]

Appreciate the long-term review. Planning on getting one of these in the near future.

[timstafford]

JS - Totally with you. ASD pricing and (non)availability is annoying BUT it's awesome. I've loved mine (waiting on a second one). If you are (like me) captive to the apple ecosystem the ASD is terrific. My other issue with other options is the poor brightness - once you see 600 nits on the ASD you can't go back.

[RebirthofSOC]

Thanks for the review - just to confirm, is your Caldigit DOWNSTREAM of the monitor? I'm thinking of using my dock downstream of the monitor to drive 2 displays (Plugable TBT3-UDZ)