MP 7,1 Apple Pro Display XDR in 2024 vs other options like 32 inch OLEDs

[rondocap]

I've been a Big Mac Pro fan for a long time, but never got the Apple Pro Display XDR. I did get the Studio Display, which has been pretty good.

Recently I picked up the new ASUS 32 inch 4K OLED 240Hz monitor. While it is a gaming monitor on the surface, it has USB-C display/charging and works perfectly with Macs.

Text and color fringing are also much better on this new generation of OLED. The 240 Hz refresh rate, even on a desktop non-gaming environment, is still noticeable and buttery smooth.

It also does HDR in macOS, and overall colors look absolutely beautiful. It makes the Studio Display next to it look a bit tame picture wise.

Of course, the OLED is likely a bit more saturated and perhaps for strict professional use may not be as tightly calibrated as the XDR display.

That's where it leads me to the question - the Pro XDR display is a few years old now, and monitor technology has gotten a lot better. It's still $5000+, however.

The ASUS is expensive - but it is a comparatively affordable $1299. That is a huge cost difference, and the picture quality is so good on the ASUS I am not sure how the XDR would compare.

Obviously a professional use case would likely favor the XDR, since it has more reference color and can get a lot brighter.

But how about for everyday use, and stuff like video editing but not necessarily reference grade needed?

The ASUS also has a USB hub, and the aforementioned USB-C display connection for Macs/MacBooks.

I love Apple monitors historically for their integration with Macs, but this ASUS worked perfectly out of the box just like an Apple monitor would, plus with tweaking ability if needed of the profiles.

Obviously the XDR still looks amazing, but I am trying to see if anyone can put into words the advantage it would have over the more modern monitors like the ASUS that I mentioned.

i.e in summary, talk me out of looking at an XDR display with sensible logic, lol.

 

[coffeemilktea]

i.e in summary, talk me out of looking at an XDR display with sensible logic, lol.

Realistically, the only people who should buy XDR displays are the ones who already know they'd benefit from certain very specific features that it has, since it's meant to be a cheaper (and prettier) alternative to $12,000+ reference monitors.

For regular consumers, the only real benefit you'd have is that it has a 6K resolution versus the 4K resolution of the ASUS monitor you mentioned. So if you're not sure if you need it — and it seems like you're not all that sure right now — you'd really be better off with the ASUS.

But at the same time, life is short, so if you want to blow $5000 on a monitor, then why not?

 

[mattspace]

i.e in summary, talk me out of looking at an XDR display with sensible logic, lol.

The XDR is a big display for people who need a big display. It's the biggest display for giving you the best presentation of the macOS UI.

It's not an accurate display for people who need an accurate display. It's not a consistent display for people who need a consistent display. It's not a self-calibrating display for people who need a self-calibrating display. It's not a reference display for people who need a reference display.

It's a faux-(x) for people who would like to think they have the option of having some of those things. It's a reference display, right up to the point when you are trying to charge money for doing something that has to be checked on a reference display, and then you realise it isn't good enough for the task.

It's effectively nostalgia for when Apple used to sell big black & white (only) screens to the DTP crowd. Mac-based cad and architecture people like it, so I hear.

You could probably get a more accurate, and repeatable calibration from the Dell 6k, but you'd have to live with the giant webcam bulge on top.

 

[ZombiePhysicist]

8 and 10k screens should be coming out soon. I love how apple products look, but this one is long in the tooth and over priced for what it is today.

I'm still loving my 85" 8k display. I'm not sure where I go from here, but nothing else is speaking to me at the moment.

 

[Agent_Apple]

I have had an XDR display paired with my 7,1 Mac Pro for three years and absolutely love it.

 

[avro707]

You could probably get a more accurate, and repeatable calibration from the Dell 6k, but you'd have to live with the giant webcam bulge on top.

Aside from that, the Dell screens look so plasticky. Wish they could do a bit better in that respect.

The Apple screens are beautiful glass and aluminium.

 

[leifp]

YMWV… having once been a visual imaging professional I have very particular tastes in what I find acceptable and what I find unacceptable in a display. These are not necessarily the same as others in my field. With that caveat out of the way…

I have dual 32” LG 4K displays and I find them absolutely not up to my desired capabilities (“retina” has become a necessity). But that 32” size is now my preferred minimum; I have a 27” Studio Display (SD) that blows them out of the water but it’s just too small. I can notice but don’t generally find jarring most shortcomings of the SD outside the size. Thus if Apple made a 32” 6K SD I’d be in the market… although I’d probably spring for the price difference to XDR assuming ProMotion tandem OLED or similar tech (I’ve given up holding my breath for microLED).

That said, I have been surprised by how little my 42” 4K OLED gaming monitor bothers me when I putzing around Windows…

In that vein, I would absolutely not spring for the present XDR at its present pricing. The price/performance (as I don’t need it professionally and never would have… I’m not a video guy) was never in it for me… but I really hope to buy its successor!

 

[JesterJJZ]

I love my BenQ monitors. I have a 31 and 27" on my MacPro.