iOS Do you use Apple Studio Displays? Sitting distance and other suggestions.

[patent10021]

I am thinking of getting two ASDs for programming, research, UI design. Left display will be vertical right display horizontal.

I've read that the optimum distance for 27" displays for eye health is 50cm-100cm depending on preferences, set resolution etc.

How far are you sitting away from your ASDs? I noticed that most electric standing desks are no more than 60cm deep. So if you consider the distance from desk edge to eyes that's another 20cm or so which is right in the pocket for a total of 80cm.

Do you have any suggestions for using ASDs specifically for programming like resolution settings or fonts and IDEs etc?

Thanks

 

[casperes1996]

I sit extremely close to mine due to a condition I have meaning I can't see that well in general and especially further away. We're talking single-digit cm at times. It's a 5K iMac I have, but it is very similar to the panel in the Studio Display. The resolution is extremely good and I recommend the exactly pixel-doubled 2560x1440@2x. Or its flip in vertical, 1440x2560@2x

 

[patent10021]

I sit extremely close to mine due to a condition I have meaning I can't see that well in general and especially further away. We're talking single-digit cm at times. It's a 5K iMac I have, but it is very similar to the panel in the Studio Display. The resolution is extremely good and I recommend the exactly pixel-doubled 2560x1440@2x. Or its flip in vertical, 1440x2560@2x

"pixel doubled" equals 5120 which means 5K? Why 2560x1440@2x? Do most people set ASDs to 2560x1440@2x?

Would you consider any other brands that might have features you wanted in your ASD?

What do you think of the 60Hz refresh rate? Many say unless you're gaming it's not really an issue. However, many programmers also say high refresh rates make scrolling through code significantly more pleasant.

I think the issue can be summarized by this statement.

When using the Studio Display with the MBP display, you never really get used to either refresh rate. It just feels kind of bad when you directly compare the Studio Display to the one with Mini LED and ProMotion, directly.

Use all 60Hz everywhere and you probably won't notice any lag. Mix the refresh rates between devices and you will.

 

[patent10021]

If anyone is curious, ASD has auto-rotation. Even without VESA it will rotate if you pick it up and rotate it putting the right side edge facing down.

 

[casperes1996]

"pixel doubled" equals 5120 which means 5K? Why 2560x1440@2x? Do most people set ASDs to 2560x1440@2x?

Yes. It's a 5K screen. 2560x1440@2x is a Hi-DPI/Retina resolution, using all the panel's pixels for its render. Exact pixel doubling gives the sharpest image as no interpolation is required on pixel borders. For the sharpest image either use 2560x1440@2x or 5120x2880@1x, though the latter will give you very tiny UI elements. Something like 3200x1800 in Hi-DPI mode also doesn't look bad or anything and is totally usable but I like the size of 2560x1440 and no interpolation is a plus. 2560x1440@2x is the default setting.

Would you consider any other brands that might have features you wanted in your ASD?

I have been looking at Huawei's MateView (the 28" one). It's 3:2 aspect ratio and I think that could be nice, though I haven't tried an aspect ratio like that. It's 3840x2560 so it's less than the 5K panel in pixel density, but better than 4k@16:9

What do you think of the 60Hz refresh rate? Many say unless you're gaming it's not really an issue. However, many programmers also say high refresh rates make scrolling through code significantly more pleasant.

I think the issue can be summarized by this statement.
Use all 60Hz everywhere and you probably won't notice any lag. Mix the refresh rates between devices and you will.

I have a 16" MacBook Pro with the ProMotion display (M1 Max) - I really don't care. I have to really stare at that screen intensely to notice the smoother motion. I can see it, but it really doesn't bother me going to 60hz and back and forth

 

[patent10021]

@casperes1996 For someone that has myopia (close text is fuzzy), and also wants to sit a fair distance away from displays to prevent eye fatigue e.g. 80cm, what resolution, display size and other settings would you recommend?

 

[casperes1996]

@casperes1996 For someone that has myopia (close text is fuzzy), and also wants to sit a fair distance away from displays to prevent eye fatigue e.g. 80cm, what resolution, display size and other settings would you recommend?

I mean, I have the opposite issue; I can't be too far away, so not sure I'm the best reference point there. But Apple's Retina resolutions are generally designed around optimal viewing distance while maintaining good sizing and sharpness, and they are aware of Myopia and try to prevent it.
The bigger the screen, the further away and the higher resolution required, though not necessarily linearly so. 4K-ish for example is by Apple's numbers optimal for 21.5" displays

 

[patent10021]

@casperes1996

This blog quote is interesting. What you were saying about Retina.

NOTE: While retina display monitors are generally thought of as 4K or larger, any monitor that can scale to 50% of its maximum resolution will look like a retina display. I proved this with the ViewSonic monitor which has a native resolution of 2560 x 1440. When scaled to 1280 x 720 (50%), text and image quality matched that of a retina display; though, obviously, the total resolution was much less.

But, a hidden criteria in addition to pixel density is viewing distance. The closer your eyes are to the screen, the closer the pixels need to pack together. MacBook Pro monitors (at least on my M1 MacBook Pro) display 144 pixels per inch. Traditionally, monitors display 72 ppi.

The easiest way to create a retina display is to take the native resolution of a monitor (say, 4K at 3840 x 2160 pixels) and cut it in half (1920 x 1080 pixels). This means that a block of four pixels now shares the work of one.

This is the real reason behind monitor manufacturers touting 4K, 5K, even 6K monitors. Almost never does the the monitor display its full resolution. Instead, the macOS turns that monitor into a “Retina display” by cutting the resolution in half to improve image and text quality. Thus:

• 4K monitors (3840 x 2160) reduce the display to 1920 x 1080 pixels
• 5K monitors (5120 x 2880) reduce the display to 2560 x 1440 pixels
• 6K monitors (6016 x 3384) reduce the display to 3008 x 1692 pixels

This thread is gold. I think I will pull the trigger on two of the Kuycon's. Incredible pricing.

 

[casperes1996]

@casperes1996

This blog quote is interesting. What you were saying about Retina.



This thread is gold. I think I will pull the trigger on two of the Kuycon's. Incredible pricing.

It’s not entirely accurate that the resolution is “reduced” the render resolution is the full display resolution and something like an image will use every pixel of the display in retina or hi-dpi mode. 4k is 4k. It doesn’t reduce to 1080p. But ui elements are scaled to 2x the size so the effective screen space resolution is halved. That’s an important distinction. Nothing is reduced. The image is enlarged.