A number of journalists and reviewers have taken a close look at the new Studio Display and the enthusiasm is relatively muted.
The beautiful aluminum housing and the excellent loudspeakers and microphones are praised. That’s exactly what we expected, since we described here why the Studio Display is the new Thunderbolt Display. However, we didn’t expect Apple to take it so seriously – the technology actually seems to have stopped a bit in the past. Many testers criticize that the display costs almost as much as a complete iMac before, but you don’t get more performance, but less.
5K display without HDR, without 120 Hz
The display with 600 nits maximum brightness does not offer an HDR function. Also missing is the 120Hz refresh rate (called ProMotion at Apple), which the iPhones and MacBook Pros can do.
Reports about the webcam are extremely disappointed. If you expect Apple to install a webcam that outshines everything else in a product that will probably be produced unchanged for five to ten years, you will simply be disappointed. The webcam, many testers write, is significantly inferior to the front camera in the iPhone 11, inferior to the webcam in LG’s several-year-old 5K UltraFine display (which is currently difficult to obtain but still in production) and even inferior to the webcam in the current ones M1 MacBooks.
Webcam image quality washed out
Thats really sad. If you want to replace an iMac or even an old Thunderbolt display and spend almost 2000 euros, you should be able to expect that the camera is better and delivers up-to-date image quality. It’s downright absurd that Apple treats the tool of today so subordinately. Climate change, Corona and other global events that lead to more and more video telephony do not seem to have had an impact on a product that should exist on the market for the next few years.
Apple has told the Wall Street Journal that they have found a bug and that there is a software update for the webcam quality. So it’s good that a journalist looked over it again. It is currently almost uncomfortable for Mac users to have to show up in video conferences with these qualities. Joanna Stern from the WSJ tested the Studio Display against other current monitors in the video.
- Studio quality f/2.4 24 mm* all-glass Elgato Prime Lens
- Sony STARVIS Sensor optimized for indoor use
- True FHD 1080p resolution at sixty frames per second
- Advanced image engine processes maximum data at high speed
- Uncompressed video without artifacts
- Up to 82 degree field of view for full frame or wide angle
- Fixed focus range keeps you in focus
- USB 3.0 interface transfers image data with lowest latency
- Set brightness, exposure, and more in the app
- Save settings directly to the camera
So the bottom line is that the Studio Display seems to be a product that is average. The fact that the panel does not have HDR and 120 Hz for the price and only draws level with the LG 5K, which has been known for years, is not very innovative. In addition, we would not have expected a webcam that delivers such a bad picture. Against this background have a look at the webcam above, which you can also clamp to another monitor.
The LG 5K UltraFine Display is still a good choice
So if the webcam is an essential point in your purchase decision, so that you don’t have an extra device buzzing around on your desk, then you should grab the LG 5K UltraFine Display right away. The webcam is much better there, although not on iPhone level. In principle, the one in the studio display is already outdated. And the LG is hundreds of dollars cheaper. And it has a height-adjustable stand. Surprisingly – and at the same time disappointingly – it seems that anyone who can do without the aluminum housing will be happier with the LG at the moment.
