There’s no easier way to say this: Once you use the Apple Studio Display, it will be almost impossible to switch to another monitor. It’s a mega-screen that, of course, tackles the needs of professional creators. And what it facilitates better than others is the conversation between hardware and software. Frankly, Apple wouldn’t even have to try hard to get this moving off the shelves by virtue of being a 5K Apple-branded monitor that comes with design and features that have few (if any) rivals.
A quick overview of the Studio Display before diving in: It’s a 27-inch 5K Retina display, measuring 1.2 inches thick, and it has a thin 0.5-inch black bezel. The unit we have been using for a few months has standard glass with tilt-adjustable stand. Needless to say, it will stand out when placed next to any typical PC display that’s usually wrapped in black plastic. It’s got 600 nits of brightness, can display P3 wide colour gamut, True Tone is built into it, it’s got three USB-Cs on the back and one Thunderbolt and it’s got a built-in A13 processor.
Plug-and-play at its best
One of the biggest selling points is the 5K Retina display. Apple consistently transitions to Retina displays, which offer many times more pixels than non-Retina ones. The 5K resolution makes everything appear crisp, and MacOS scales up to this resolution effortlessly. There are two big improvements on the Studio Display over the one found in the 27-inch iMac from 2019. Apple has increased the brightness (from 500 nits to 600 nits) and added True Tone, which automatically adjusts the display’s colour temperature based on your ambient lighting. Those switching from an iMac to the Studio Display, the change will be visible but you are already used to high-res monitors. In case you’ve never had a 5K Apple display before, this will become the apple of your eye.
Like with any Apple product, everything happens out of the box. There is no need to mess with the colour tint or white balance or anything. It just looks great out of the box. Being new to Studio Display, I spent a few minutes fumbling for a power button, which is not there (and not required). It’s plug-and-play at its best. Though there is no power button, I’ve not been having an issue with the display turning on for the Mac Mini. It just instantly wakes up and does what’s required. This is where a lot of cheaper monitors can have issues, from auto-waking the display correctly to auto-switching to the correct input. I watched a lot of TV and movies on this screen, especially content from Apple TV+, and overall, the viewing angles are quite impressive and so are the colours.
The next thing that stands out for me is the design. The whole thing is made of aluminium and glass and feels solid as you would expect. It’s got this stunning, industrial look and there’s nothing even comparable to it in the market. Most monitors don’t have a 5K display and are not machined out of aluminium. The Studio Display has Apple aesthetic written all over it and pairs perfectly with a Mac Studio.
Besides aesthetics, Apple’s design is solid in terms of build quality. It’s one of the most stable monitors I have used. While you type, it doesn’t wobble at all. The unit that I have been using is the simple tilt adjustable version and the mechanism Apple designed for the adjustments is solid. As much as I like this, I would have liked height adjustment at this price point. You have to pay a few thousand extra to get the tilt-and-height-adjustable stand.
Another note of appreciation comes from the absence of a power brick. Frankly, I am tired of heavy power bricks and the cable management issues it brings. Apple built the power components into the display itself.
The ports on the back are one of the reasons why I would recommend you this monitor. It can seamlessly integrate with any Mac. For those using monitors optimized for Windows, this may not be a big deal but for the Apple user, it’s the monitor to cherish. So far many Apple users have had to deal with monitors from other brands that have issues. Not here; it’s rock solid performance.
A monitor with a chip
At the beginning, I mentioned the presence of the A13 Bionic chip, which has powered the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the ninth-gen iPad. Why does a monitor require it? The chip is capable of one trillion operations per second. The A13 Bionic chip enables innovative Studio Display features like Centre Stage, Spatial Audio and ‘Hey Siri’.
Center Stage is a camera trick that automatically adjusts and pans the frame to keep you or a number of people in view when video chatting. The chip on the Studio Display also optimises image signal processing from the 12MP webcam. For audio, the chip tackles processing for Dolby Atmos content to create a three‑dimensional soundstage.
Taking a close look at the panel, it offers 60Hz refresh rate and it’s 600 nits. Not happy? Actually, it’s what most of us need… most of the time. Keep the Studio Display next to a new MacBook, which has a higher refresh rate and nits. In conditions where a Studio Display is kept doesn’t really require that kind of brightness. Seeing videos in HDR in real-time on the MacBook Pro at an outdoor location requires all the brightness. Not at home, where your room is anyway well-lit.
For most creative professionals, 600 nits are enough. In case you want to go that extra mile, opt for nano-texture glass in case you’re in a workspace with bright light sources, like a lot of sunlight. Typical matt displays have a coating added to their surface that scatters light. However, these coatings lower contrast while producing unwanted haze and sparkle. Etched into the glass at the nanometre level, the nano-texture scatters light to further minimise glare.
Apple has gone out of its way to offer the best speakers. In fact, there are six speakers in here, four of them are force-cancelling woofers (they reduce vibration) and two of them are tweeters (similar technology to what they did in the MacBook) and those sound amazing. It’s not going to replace a speaker system but it’s the best I’ve experienced coming from an all-in-one solution.
As good as the speakers is the studio-quality three-mic array that helps you come through loud and clear on video calls and voice recordings. And with directional beamforming, everyone hears you — not what’s going on around you. The microphone is almost as good as what you will get when you use AirPods Max. Needless to say, the ultra-wide camera offers a wide, 122‑degree field of view. The Apple silicon allows Centre Stage and it works beautifully with your go‑to video conferencing apps. In case you want a higher resolution, there is always Apple Continuity, which I haven’t tried out yet on the Studio Display.
Should you buy it?
I’ve used this display for a few months and it’s something I would like to depend on for video editing, colour correcting and anything to do with visuals.
If having a 5K display that’s colour accurate right out of the box and works well is your priority, then the Studio Display won’t fail. The second scenario where I think the Studio Display is worth it is if you want the look and build quality it has to offer; few monitors will look close to as good as this one and it will serve you well for many years.
If you’re a Mac user who always demands a high-quality, colour-accurate display with all of the Apple bells and whistles included, this one has you covered. There is a crowd that’s not so concerned about pricing. When that factor is kept aside, there is almost nothing you can fault about the build quality, colour accuracy and seamless experience. The Apple Studio Display is simply love at first sight for any Mac user.
Connect it to something like the Mac Mini or Mac Studio to get the best out of the display The Telegraph
At a glance
Device: Apple Studio Display (5K, 27-inch)
Price: Rs 159,900
High notes
Stunning design
5K resolution at its best
Colour accuracy is spot on
Impressive spatial audio
Runs A13 CPU
Build quality is exceptional
Muffled note
The default monitor option should have had height adjustment (for the variant with height adjustment, you need to pay extra)
There is one Thunderbolt 3 port and three USB-C ports at the back. Don’t go looking around the machine for a power button!